CBS defends lineup of all-male fall shows

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CBS will add six new shows to their lineup this fall
All six star men, and only one has a non-white male in the leading role
This comes one year after their five new fall shows all starred white men
CBS' head honcho Les Moonves defended the move on Wednesday
There will no be only two shows on CBS starring a woman this fall - 'Mom' and 'Madam Secretary'
Of the eight pilots the network passed on, six starred women

Published: 13:07 EST, 17 May 2017 | Updated: 13:32 EST, 17 May 2017

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CBS' lineup of new fall shows is a boy's club for the second straight year.

The network debuted their new programming at their upfront in new York City this week, which features six new shows starring men.

It is a slight improvement on last year, which featured five new shows which all starred white men.

This year the network also has five new shows starring white men, and one starring Shemar Moore.

These new programs come in the wake of CBS cancelling their long-running female-fronted sitcom 'Two Broke Girls.'

When asked why for the second year in a row the network had no shows starring woman, CBS' head honcho Les Moonves defended the move.

Men, men, men, men: CBS will add six new shows to their lineup this fall (Bobby Moynihan and Jaleel White in 'Me, Myself & I')

One-and-a-half men: All six star men, and only one has a non-white male in the leading role (Young Sheldon right, Shemar Moore in S.W.A.T., on left)

'Are you concerned, particularly in a medium like television where women watch more than men, that you have such a male-centered [lineup]?' asked on reporter after the network's presentation according to Entertainment Weekly.

Moonves responded by saying: 'Well, number one, more women watch CBS, percentage-wise, than any other network, so our shows have a lot of female appeal.

'I don’t think we’ve ever had to apologize for having 'Madam Secretary' and Lucy Liu, and 'The Good Fight' and 'The Good Wife.'

Liu is not the top-billed star on Elementary, that is Johnny Lee Miller, and 'The Good Wife' was cancelled at the end of the 2016 season.

'The Good Fight' meanwhile airs online on CBS All Access.

Moonves then added: 'We do a number of pilots, a lot of them have women in starring roles. There are a lot of women on the schedule. The best pilots win at the end of the day. And we think our track record is okay.'

The only female-fronted programs that will air on the network this fall are the aforementioned 'Madam Secretary' and 'Mom,' starring Anna Farris and Allison Janney.

The six new CBS shows are '9JKL,' starring Mark Feuerstein; 'SEAL Team' starring David Boreanaz; 'Young Sheldon' starring Iain Armitage; 'Me, Myself & I' starring Bobby Moynihan; 'Wisdom of the Crowd's starring Jeremy Piven; and 'S.W.A.T' starring Shemar Moore.

Of the eight pilots CBS passed on this year, six starred women, including such names as Kristen Chenoweth ('Perfect Citizen'), Amy Brenneman ('The Get') and Poppy Montgomery ('Mission Control').

Arrested development: This comes one year after their five new fall shows all starred white men (Mark Feuerstein above in '9JKL')

All good: CBS' head honcho Les Moonves defended the move on Wednesday (Jeremy Piven on left in 'Wisdom of thew Crowd,' David Boreanaz on right in 'SEAL Team')

When questioned again about the lack of females both on camera and behind the camera, and if the network was maybe headed in the 'wrong direction,' Moonves said: 'I don’t think that’s the case. Let me put on my CEO hat for a second because I’m not the president of entertainment.

' When I look at the totality of what CBS is, I look at news, I look at daytime, I look at sports, I look at Showtime, I look at The CW. And when you look at the totality of that, I think we’re fine in terms of the amount of women who are behind the camera and in front of the camera.

'I think we’re doing a very good job. I don’t think we’re looking in the wrong direction, on the contrary.'

The male-heavy CBS fall lineup will kickoff this September.