OK, I totally didn't see that coming. CBS timed the release of what would air after the Super Bowl with the Survivor finale tonight and the winner is...a show that nobody predicted - reality show Undercover Boss. Nope, not the Mentalist or NCIS, NCIS: LA, The Big Bang Theory or How I Met Your Mother. Or Survivor.
Additionally, after its premiere following the Super Bowl, Undercover Boss will move to Sundays at 9pm with Cold Case moving back to 10pm.
CBS seemed to feel that a bigger percentage of the Super Bowl audience could enjoy Undercover Boss than some of its other options. But it is still a surprise.
Here's the synopsis of Undercover Boss via CBS:
Undercover Boss is a new reality series that follows high level corporate executives as they slip anonymously into the lowest level jobs within their companies. Once undercover, they'll get their hands dirty with the rank and file, find out what their employees REALLY think of them and discover how smoothly their companies are REALLY run. In the process, these senior executives learn about themselves, the perception of their company and the spirit of their work force.
The link is missing to ‘l’ on the end.
Weird decision by CBS, but the ratings will tell.
seriously…..
no way! I wanted it to be Survivor…
Can you say cop-out? Bad job CBS…
Surprised. They should have gone with Survivor
Why, CBS? Why?
This show could become a bonafide 9pm Sunday hit for CBS if it gets a good enough sampling out of the Super Bowl. However, I’m expecting Boss to eventually become another Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader: it will start out as a solid hit, but viewers will get tired of it over time.
Link to THRfeed now working.
Somehow I replaced “an” with “to.” My brain does stupid things sometimes.
That’s some NBC thinking right there…
I agree completely. This show will fade fast. I think each episode will see a rapid decline in viewers. It just doesn’t seem like a show with sustaining power.
Recovering from my initial reaction of “ummm….wow”
I remember Undercover Boss getting good reviews from the upfronts from people who weren’t expecting to like it, so I guess I can kind of understand wanting to give it a good initial sampling. And no one really expects a long-term boost from a post-SB slot, so they aren’t really losing anything by airing a show that won’t last all that long. And it is apparently the only show they’re launching at midseason (no dates yet for Miami Medical, The Bridge, or Rules), so it’s the only thing they need to push.
It’s certainly a surprising decision, but I’m not entirely sure it’s a particularly bad one.
Sounds like a decent idea to me. Why not introduce something new? No point in putting an old show on that peaked nearly a decade ago.
Oh no! It should have been Survivor! I guess CBS wants to save Cold Case with a should-be nice lead-in from UB. They want to fight every Sunday.
The premise of Undercover Boss has potential to be an inciteful and even poignant show. Bet it won’t be.
Who else thinks Undercover Boss is a Friday/Saturday night show? Something you show the hermtis that stay home on those nights to “give them a hope in life” or some crap like that… CBS really screwed the pooch on this one!
what a waste no way will i watch some lame cheesy reality show
What the hell is this? I would have guessed Three Rivers getting the Slot before i guessed this show.
But i guess CBS needs to build up Sundays somehow.
I don’t see how this does better than The Apprentice, Family Guy/Cleveland Show, Desperate Housewives.
vsaint,
I don’t think CBS necessarily needs it to beat those, it just needs it to improve on the horrid numbers Three Rivers was getting.
Wow… CBS is going to be disappointed in this.
Reality programming bubble has peaked. Talent shows still will work, American Idol, AGT, etc.
The synopsis of the show: “UNDERCOVER BOSS is a new reality series that follows high level corporate executives as they slip anonymously into the lowest level jobs within their companies…”
With unemployment so high, we don’t want to see millionaires make a mockery of the jobs that us lowly employees who work our asses off to perform. So they will spend one day in our job, and still get paid by the company about 30K while the real employees are lucky to make 80 bucks that day.
Yeah way to go CBS. Make a mockery of us.
Oh boy, another crappy “reality” show. What did attention whores do for fun before they could get a gig on these kind of shows?