Hop in the Wayback Machine to the fall of 2007, kids.
CBS, long TV's most-watched network, was ready to take some risks. The Tiffany Network's schedule included a musical (R.I.P. "Viva Laughlin"), a drama with a largely Latino cast (R.I.P. "Cane"), a boundary-pushing youth-oriented unscripted series (R.I.P. "Kid Nation") and a vampire drama that was so "out there" that even the network wasn't exactly sure what it would end up being (R.I.P. "Moonlight").
So that didn't work out so well, did it?
CBS ended the season looking up at FOX.
Perhaps that's why CBS' schedule for the fall of 2008 looks so darned safe. CBS viewers like crime procedurals! So CBS will give them "The Mentalist" and "The Eleventh Hour." CBS viewers like traditional comedies without minority cast members! So CBS will give them "Worst Week" and "Gary Unmarried." Women watch CBS on Friday! So CBS will offer "The Ex List."
Only time and viewership will tell if CBS has learned the right lessons from two straight subpar development seasons.
