CBS Unveils Its 2008 Summer Schedule

CBS has unveiled its 2008 summer schedule. Here is the full press release:

CBS to Present Nearly 90 Hours of Original Programming, Including Three New Reality Series, Two New Dramas, a Summer Edition of “Big Brother,” Two Mixed Martial Arts Live Events, “The Tony Awards” and a New Chapter in its “AFI’s 100 Years” Series

“Greatest American Dog” (Working Title) Premieres Thursday, July 10, 8:00 PM

“Million Dollar Password,” Hosted By Regis Philbin, Premieres Sunday, June 1, 8:00 PM

“Jingles,” (Working Title) from Executive Producer Mark Burnett, Debuts Sunday, July 27, 9:00 PM

“Big Brother” Returns with Three Weekly Editions Beginning Sunday, July 13

Mixed Martial Arts Comes to Primetime Network Television for the First Time with Two Live Events, Saturday, May 31 and Saturday, July 26

“Swingtown” Premieres Thursday, June 5, 10:00 PM (NEW PREMIERE DATE)

Original Drama Series “Flashpoint” Debuts Friday, July 11, 10:00 PM

“The American Theatre Wing’s 62nd Annual Tony Awards” to be Broadcast Sunday, June 15, 8:00 PM

“AFI’s 10 Top 10” to Air Tuesday, June 17, 8:00 PM

New Summer Time Periods for “Without a Trace,” “Numb3rs” and “Cold Case”

CBS today unveiled its 2008 summer schedule comprising nearly 90 hours of original programming, including three new reality series (GREATEST AMERICAN DOG, MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD and JINGLES), two new dramas (SWINGTOWN and FLASHPOINT), summer stalwart BIG BROTHER, two live mixed martial arts events (CBS ELITE XC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS), THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING’S 62ND ANNUAL TONY AWARDS and AFI’s 10 TOP 10.

The summer lineup will also see rebroadcasts of WITHOUT A TRACE, NUMB3RS and COLD CASE moving to new time periods.

The Reality Series:

Extraordinary teams of dogs and owners across the nation will compete for the title of GREATEST AMERICAN DOG (working title), premiering Thursday, July 10 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT). Owners and their pets – from “pageant dogs” to those simply trained at home – will live together and compete against each other in games that put the owners’ ability to train their dogs to the test. The winning team will walk away with a $250,000 cash prize.

Regis Philbin returns to prime time to host MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD, a modern update of one of television’s greatest game shows, premiering Sunday, June 1 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT). This update takes the classic game and brings it to the 21st century with big celebrities, big money and big stakes. Contestants team up with some of the hottest stars, from Rosie O’Donnell, Betty White, Rachael Ray and Neil Patrick Harris to “High School Musical’s” Monique Coleman, to earn up to one million dollars. One player from the team is told secret passwords and can use only one-word clues to get the teammate to guess them. If the player and the celebrity can work well together and become a solid team, that player could uncover the MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD.

JINGLES (working title), premiering Sunday, July 27 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) from executive producer Mark Burnett, is a weekly competition which challenges contestants to write and perform a jingle about anything from products to sports teams each week. The products will be anything from a food or toy, to a health or beauty aid, or a team fight song, TV show theme or update to a classic jingle. To survive each competition, they will have to impress not only a panel of judges and a live audience, but also the American public, who will ultimately decide the winner.

BIG BROTHER, a CBS summer stalwart, returns for its 10th edition on Sunday, July 13 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) with all new game twists and surprises. BIG BROTHER will also be broadcast on Tuesday (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) beginning July 15 and Wednesday (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) beginning July 16 with the live eviction show hosted by Julie Chen.

GREATEST AMERICAN DOG is executive produced by R.J. Cutler, Stu Schreiberg and Stephen Kroopnick for Magic Molehill Productions, Inc. in association with Actual Reality Pictures and Triage Entertainment, Inc.

MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD is produced by FremantleMedia North America, Inc. Vincent Rubino and Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia North America, are executive producers.

JINGLES is produced by Mark Burnett Productions. Mark Burnett, David Hurwitz and Paul Cockerill are executive producers.

BIG BROTHER is executive produced by Emmy Award winner Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan, in association with Endemol USA Inc.

Mixed Martial Arts:

CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS, the first live mixed martial arts primetime network television event, will be broadcast Saturday, May 31 (9:00-11:00 PM, live ET, delayed PT) from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Elite XC heavyweight sensation Kimbo Slice headlines the night of action that will also see Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler defend his title again Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith in a middleweight championship bout. CBS will present its second CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHT on Saturday, July 26.

CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS is produced by SHOWTIME Sports. Executive producer is David Dinkins, Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.

The Drama Series:

Previously announced SWINGTOWN, from the director of “Big Love” and “Rome,” premieres Thursday, June 5* (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). The series peeks into the shag-carpeted suburban homes of the culturally transformative ’70s to find couples reveling in the sexual and social revolution that introduced women’s liberation and challenged conventional wisdom. During this heady era of provocative change, Susan and Bruce Miller move their family to an affluent Chicago suburb where they’re confronted with personal choices, experimentation and shifting attitudes, all against the backdrop of a changing social climate defined by its unforgettable music, fashion and style.

FLASHPOINT, an emotional journey into the tough, risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the SRU (inspired by Toronto’s Emergency Task Force), premieres Friday, July 11 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). It’s a unit that rescues hostages, busts gangs, defuses bombs, climbs the sides of buildings and talks down suicidal teens. As they race against the clock to determine what brought these people to their respective breaking points, members of this highly skilled team use their training in negotiating, profiling and getting inside the suspect’s head to diffuse the situation to try to save lives.

SWINGTOWN is produced by CBS Paramount Network Television. Mike Kelley, Alan Poul and Carol Barbee are executive producers. Jack Davenport (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), Molly Parker (“Deadwood”), Grant Show (“Melrose Place”), Miriam Shor (“The West Wing”), Lana Parrilla (“Boomtown”) and Josh Hopkins (“Brothers and Sisters”) star.

FLASHPOINT was originally developed by CTV, Canada’s largest privately owned English language broadcast network, and Toronto-based Pink Sky Entertainment. For the series, Pink Sky has joined forces with Avamar Entertainment, in association with CBS Paramount Network Television and CTV. The series, which will also be broadcast on CTV, is executive produced by Anne Marie La Traverse, a former executive producer at Alliance Atlantis, and Bill Mustos, former drama chief at CTV. The series was created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern. Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon and David Paetkau star.

The Specials:

THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING’S 62ND ANNUAL TONY AWARDS, honoring theatre professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, will be broadcast Sunday, June 15 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT). Broadcast on CBS since 1978, this year will mark the 11th year that the Tonys are being held at the historic Radio City Music Hall.

AFI’S 10 TOP 10, a new chapter in its Emmy Award-winning “AFI’s 100 Years…” series, will be broadcast Tuesday, June 17 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). This new edition will count down the top 10 films from 10 classic American film genres, including animation, fantasy, science fiction, gangster, western, sports, romantic comedy, courtroom drama, mystery and epic films.

Effective with the summer changes, WITHOUT A TRACE will relocate to Tuesday (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) beginning June 3; NUMB3RS moves to Friday (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) effective July 11 and COLD CASE moves to Sunday (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on July 27.

CBS’s Summer Schedule

Thursday, Effective May 29

8:00-9:00 PM TBA

9:00-10:00 PM CSI

Saturday, May 31

9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

Sunday, Effective June 1

7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES

8:00-9:00 PM MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD (Series Premiere)

9:00-10:00 PM COLD CASE

10:00-11:00 PM TBA

Tuesday, Effective June 3