CBS Touched by a Shake-up

Tue., Jan. 14, 2003 2:30 PM PST by Lia Haberman

Even God is no match for network programming execs.

CBS' long-running series Touched by an Angel is saying its final farewell this year before ascending to the syndication playground in the sky.

Now in its ninth year, the show stars Roma Downey, Della Reese, John Dye and Valerie Bertinelli as do-good angels who manage to resolve earthly conflicts within 60 minutes. Touched is still earning decent Nielsen ratings, 8.1 million viewers tune in on Saturday nights. In its heyday however, the divine drama attracted 27 million viewers and spent four seasons as a top 10 fixture.

The 200th episode will air next month.

A special two-hour sendoff is planned for May sweeps, which includes a sneak peek at heaven, as envisioned by executive producer Martha Williamson (a world where network heads are powerless and actors work for minimum wage?).

Hoping that lightning strikes twice Williamson is currently developing a new series for the network.

Eye executives, who unveiled their midseason machinations to TV critics Monday, were full of surprises, which included news of a JAG spinoff, the grounding of The Real Beverly Hillbillies and a controversial green light for a miniseries about Hitler (apparently rural folk are scarier than critics of the Third Reich).

Judging by the net's successful franchise CSI, it's only a matter of time before CBS develops doubles for all its popular shows (Everybody Loves Frank, Too!).

For now the net is concentrating on a take off of its military drama JAG. Characters and plotlines for the new show will be introduced on the original series this season, though stars David James Elliott and Catherine Bell are not expected to transfer to the new show about Naval detectives.

Meanwhile, Hitler will take CBS by springtime. The four-hour miniseries, about the early life of Adolf Hitler, will air in May. Robert Carlyle plays the title role, which had originally been pitched to Ewan McGregor.

An early draft of the project, based on the scholarly work Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris by historian Ian Kershaw, was criticized as humanizing the Nazi leader. CBS revised the script, tentatively titled Hitler: Origins of Evil, to avoid any suggestion that the program justifies the atrocities committed by Hitler.

Meanwhile CBS' hick hunt has proven unsuccessful. The network seemed headed for a hoedown showdown after an advocacy group, the Center for Rural Strategies, placed ads in major newspapers last week objecting to the redneck reality series, The Real Beverly Hillbillies. Casting agents say they were unable to find an Appalachian family fit for the rags to riches format.