‘MacGyver,’ ‘Bull,’ and ‘Kevin Can Wait’ Earn Full Season Orders

MacGyver Lucas Till, George Eads, Tristin Mays
George Eads, Tristin Mays, and Lucas Till in ‘MacGyver’ (Photo by Guy D’Alema ©2016 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)

Just a few weeks into the fall 2016-2017 season and CBS has given three of its new shows full season one orders. Kevin Can Wait, MacGyver, and Bull will all be sticking around for a full season after proving to be ratings winners for the network. Kevin Can Wait ranks as the top new comedy of the fall season and Bull is the #1 new show of the fall 2016 season. MacGyver, based on the classic action series starring Richard Dean Anderson, has become Friday’s #1 new series. All three of the new series have also upped the number of viewers tuning into CBS over the same time period in 2015.

“We’re thrilled viewers have embraced these three shows creatively,” stated Glenn Geller, President, CBS Entertainment. “Each one has made an immediate and positive impact on our schedule, while significantly contributing to growing their respective nights.”


Bull‘s been averaging 17.32 million viewers which is an 18% increase over last year. The series stars Michael Weatherly, Freddy Rodriguez, Geneva Carr, Jaime Lee Kirschner, Annabelle Attanasio and Chris Jackson, and has Steven Spielberg involved as an executive producer. Kevin Can Wait, starring Kevin James, Erinn Hayes, and Taylor Spreitler, has been averaging 11.26 million viewers. And MacGyver‘s Friday night time slot has increased more than 55% over the number of people who watched CBS on Fridays at 8pm ET/PT in 2015.

Bull Plot: Brilliant, brash and charming, Dr. Bull is the ultimate puppet master as he combines psychology, human intuition and high tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick. Bull employs an enviable team of experts at Trial Analysis Corporation to shape successful narratives down to the very last detail. They include his quick-witted former brother-in-law, Benny Colón, a lawyer who acts as defense attorney in the company’s mock trials; Marissa Morgan, a cutting-edge neurolinguistics expert from the Department of Homeland Security; former NYPD detective Danny James, the firm’s tough but relatable investigator; haughty millennial hacker Cable McCrory, who is responsible for gathering cyber intelligence; and Chunk Palmer, a fashion-conscious stylist and former All-American lineman who fine tunes clients’ appearances for trial. In high-stakes trials, Bull’s combination of remarkable insight into human nature, three Ph.D.’s and a top-notch staff creates winning strategies that tip the scales of justice in his clients’ favor.

Kevin Can Wait Plot: Kevin Can Wait stars Kevin James as a newly retired police officer looking forward to spending carefree, quality time with his wife and three kids, only to discover he faces tougher challenges at home than he ever did on the streets. Kevin’s retirement plans consist of chilling with his family and having epic adventures with fellow retirees Goody, his former partner and close friend, and Duffy, his oldest pal, as well as his brother, Kyle, a fireman whose closest encounter with a blaze would be a grease fire in the firehouse kitchen. However, Kevin’s dream is jeopardized when he discovers that Donna, his wonderful wife of 20 years, has shielded him from key family info while he worked overtime protecting the community. Their usually reliable eldest, Kendra is dropping out of college so she can support her unemployed fiancé, Chale, while he designs the next “big app”; his teenage daughter, Sara has budding anger-management issues; and their youngest, Jack is a bit of a hypochondriac. For now, his plans for a cushy life will have to wait, because Kevin has work to do, and this time, his family is his beat.

MacGyver Plot: MacGyver a reimagining of the classic series, is an action-adventure drama about 20-something Angus “Mac” MacGyver, who creates a clandestine organization within the U.S. government where he uses his extraordinary talent for unconventional problem solving and vast scientific knowledge to save lives. Joining his team on high-risk missions around the globe is maverick former CIA agent Jack Dalton and Patricia Thornton, ex-field agent turned director of operations and Riley Davis, an unpredictable computer hacker with a chip on her shoulder. At home, MacGyver is entertained by his ambitious roommate, Wilt Bozer. Under the aegis of the Department of External Services, MacGyver takes on the responsibility of saving the world, armed to the teeth with resourcefulness and little more than bubble gum and a paper clip.