Crimetime After Primetime

Crimetime After Primetime is the umbrella title for a group of late-night crime-investigation shows that debuted at various times on CBS during 1991 and 1992, running through late summer of 1993. The line-up was originally supposed to debut in January 1991, but was delayed several weeks due to the beginning of the Gulf War.

History

Prior to 1989, CBS aired the similarly formatted CBS Late Night. The block was canceled to make way for The Pat Sajak Show, a conventional late-night talk show. After the shortening, and eventual failure, of The Pat Sajak Show, a revamped CBS Late Night block debuted, airing a variety of news, talk shows, reruns, and adult game shows.

In March 1991, after a two-month hiatus due to Gulf War coverage, CBS retooled the block by airing original series under a new umbrella title of Crimetime After Primetime.

Much like CBS Late Night did in the late 1980s, Crimetime After Primetime relied heavily on dramas that were imported from Canada, giving the programs (most of which were produced to meet Canadian content quotas) an additional revenue stream. CBS also invested in producing some original series for the block.

The block was dropped when CBS began broadcasting Late Show with David Letterman.

Series lineup

The shows in the series followed this general lineup:

• late Monday nights/early Tuesday mornings: Sweating Bullets (known as Tropical Heat outside of the U.S.), and Urban Angel.
• late Tuesday nights/early Wednesday mornings: Forever Knight (later new episodes were syndicated through May 1996, after CBS cancelled it), and The Exile
• late Wednesday nights/early Thursday mornings: Scene of the Crime, replaced by Dangerous Curves
• late Thursday nights/early Friday mornings: Fly by Night, replaced by Silk Stalkings (continued with new episodes on USA Network through April 1999, after CBS cancelled it)
• late Friday nights/early Saturday mornings: Dark Justice (the series was later rerun by TNT)

Short-lived revival

The concept was temporarily revived under the branding CBS Summer Showcase in 2015 in the interregnum between the finale of Late Show with David Letterman on May 20, 2015 and the premiere of Late Show with Stephen Colbert on September 8, 2015, as the network carried current or last-season repeats of their primetime dramas in the 11:35 pm time slot under the following schedule:

• The Mentalist (May 21–June 5)
• Hawaii Five-0 (June 8–12 & July 27–31)
• CSI: Cyber (June 15–19 & August 17–21)
• Elementary (June 22–26)
• Blue Bloods (June 29–July 5)
• The Good Wife (July 6–10 & August 24–28)
• NCIS: Los Angeles (July 13–17)
• NCIS (July 20–24 & September 7)
• Scorpion (August 3–7)
• NCIS: New Orleans (August 10–14)
• Madam Secretary (August 31–September 4).

See also

• List of late night network TV programs
• Crimetime Saturday

External links

• Dangerous Curves at IMDb
• Sweating Bullets at IMDb
• Fly by Night at IMDb