CBS is stocking up for summer 2014.
The network has renewed once-canceled drama Unforgettable for a third season consisting of 13 episodes and slated to return next summer.
After getting the ax following its freshman season, CBS revived the Poppy Montgomery procedural for a short summer run. This summer, the drama averaged 8.23 million viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 and a 2.0 among the 25-54 set. It ranked as Sunday's top scripted program in total viewers. In its Sundays at 9 p.m. slot, Unforgettable was up nearly double year-over-year in all three metrics.
The pickup makes CBS two-for-two with its summer scripted dramas. The network already renewed big-swing summer scripted entry Under the Dome for a second 13-episode run and has already ordered the Steven Spielberg-produced futuristic drama Extant as it continues to look to "event" programming to keep the lights on during the typically low-rated summer viewing months.
In addition to Under the Dome and Unforgettable, CBS in August ordered Spielberg-produced Extant to join its roster of original scripted fare for next summer. All three dramas are part of the network's push toward year-round original programming.
Speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour, CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves told reporters that Dome "changed the face of summer television." "It's the way television should be. It's the way television can be," he said, stressing that the network wouldn't abandon its 22-episode-season approach.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
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