Articles about CBS
Modernising Matlock
Matlock is returning to television, but this new version is more than a gender-flipped reboot. Creator Jennie Snyder Urman discusses her ambition behind the legal drama, partnering with star Kathy Bates and the “unimaginable” task of being a showrunner.
Team player
As Seal Team returns for a seventh and final season, star David Boreanaz reflects on the impact of the action drama, his breakout role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and his multi-discipline approach to making television.
Carrie on crime-fighting
Elsbeth star Carrie Preston reflects on leading a television series for the first time in a series that puts her character from The Good Fight in the spotlight, and considers the revival of case-of-the-week dramas and how she’s adjusting to being recognised in public.
Getting to know Elsbeth
The Good Fight attorney Elsbeth Tascioni gets her own series in CBS crime drama Elsbeth. Showrunner Jonathan Tolins breaks down the origins of the show, his relationship with the character and the evergreen comfort of the murder-mystery genre.
Remade Abroad: NCIS: Sydney
As long-running crime franchise NCIS expands to Australia, showrunner Morgan O’Neill tells DQ how NCIS: Sydney blends familiarity with scale, ambition and a new cultural perspective.
Aloha state of mind
Executive producers Matt Bosack, Jan Nash and Christopher Silber lift the lid on the newest instalment of the NCIS franchise, NCIS: Hawai’i, which features the brand’s first female lead.
All things equal
Showrunners Terri Edda Miller and Andrew W Marlowe tell DQ about reimagining vigilante drama The Equalizer for US network CBS and producing the Queen Latifah-led series during the pandemic.
Rewind: CSI
Twenty years after CSI: Crime Scene Investigation first aired, creator Anthony E Zuiker recalls the origins of the show that spawned three spin-offs while redefining police procedurals and the use of forensics on television.
Life-changing television
On the back of an extensive film career, NCIS star Maria Bello tells DQ why she has come to love working in television and reveals the secret to the long-running US crime drama’s global success.
Wolf’s pack
With six series on air, veteran writer and producer Dick Wolf talks to DQ about the changing television industry and reveals why he would tell aspiring producers to go into a different line of work.
Heroes without capes
Missy Peregrym and Zeeko Zaki tell DQ about starring in Dick Wolf’s CBS procedural FBI and explain why they’re keen to represent the often hidden work of the law enforcement agency.
Following procedure
Procedural series were once the bread and butter of US broadcast networks. But international buyers are finding them harder to come by amid the appetite for increasingly serialised storytelling. DQ examines the future of the story-of-the-week format.
Join the club
From Hulu’s The Path and the most recent season of FX’s American Horror Story to upcoming series Waco and Raven, TV dramas about cults have caught the zeitgeist. DQ takes a closer look at this trend.
Talking Bull
After 13 years investigating crimes on US juggernaut NCIS, Michael Weatherly swapped the navy police for the courtroom with Bull. As the legal drama begins its second season, the actor discusses both CBS series, auditioning for Steven Spielberg and why procedurals still have the ability to satisfy viewers.
Crowd control
US drama Wisdom of the Crowd sees a tech visionary create a crowdsourcing app to solve his daughter’s murder – and revolutionise crime-solving in the process. DQ speaks to creator Ted Humphrey about the origins of the CBS series, which stars Jeremy Piven.
Law and order
Shawn Ryan and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas tell DQ about forthcoming US drama S.W.A.T., which focuses on a police sergeant torn between his community and his fellow officers when he is tasked to run a specialised police tactical unit in LA.
In the Navy
The deeply personal stories of the members of an elite Navy SEAL squad are told in CBS military drama SEAL Team, as executive producers Ben Cavell, Sarah Timberman and Ed Redlich explain.
Sci-fi high
Science fiction has a long association with television, but it’s now more visible than ever. DQ explores how a shift in storytelling has pushed the genre into the mainstream.
Measuring success
As technology continues its assault on traditional television models, success is no longer just about overnight viewing figures. So in today’s crowded drama marketplace, what defines a hit – and how are our views of success changing?
Back in the room
DQ visits Big Light Productions to see a writers room in practice as executive producer Frank Spotnitz works on a second season of Ransom.