CBS Again Feels the Heat at a Summer TCA

Beverly Hills, CA -- For the second consecutive year CBS had a rough go of it at the annual Summer Television Critics Association tour, as critics once again pounced on a new President of CBS Entertainment, holding his feet to the fire for decisions made before he was in charge.  Their ferocity was palpable, prompting a few critics and network executives alike to speculate that they had planned a “coordinated attack” prior to the start of the session.  I have no knowledge of that.  But this year as last, I wonder why CBS is singled out for being somehow more negligent than the other broadcasters in the areas of gender balance and racial diversity.  The truth is this:  They all have more work to do in righting decades-entrenched wrongs in front of and especially behind the camera, but as those of us who have been covering this business since the ‘90s can attest, the advances they have all made during the last ten years are significant.