You’re the head programmer at CBS and you just hit the jackpot. Your network has the Super Bowl and you know it’s going to deliver the biggest rating of 2021. Which leads to the inevitable question: what show do you choose to run immediately after it, delivering a guarantee of the largest audience of the year?
 
The agonizing decision: do you pick an existing show audiences are familiar with or use that platform to launch a brand new show and give it maximum exposure? The game plan seems to change from one season to the next, but this year, CBS has chosen to premiere the remake of “The Equalizer” starring Queen Latifah.
 
This strategy has been risky in years past. Consider:
 
-In 1985, ABC debuted a show called “MacGruder And Loud,” an Aaron Spelling drama. It got huge numbers but lasted only 14 episodes.
 
-In 1990, CBS picked “Grand Slam” to air after the big game. It was cancelled by March, only airing six episodes and leaving two that never made it to air at all.
 
-A year later, ABC chose a comedy called “Davis Rules.” It didn’t, and was cancelled by ABC, picked up by CBS the following season and then cancelled again for good after that.
 
-NBC picked the Larry Hagman comedy “The Good Life” to follow SB XVIII in 1994. Thirteen shows later, this Life was over.
 
-In 2017, the sequel to “24” called “24: Legacy” got its shot on FOX. By April, time had run out.
 
-And CBS tried a reality show called “The World’s Best” in 2018. The World wasn’t interested.
 
Still, it’s not always a failure. Fox launched the pilot of Family Guy post-game 1999, and despite its eventual temporary cancellation, it’s still on the air. And the wonderful “Wonder Years” had its first episode air after the championship in 1988. It became a classic.
 
On the other hand giving the timeslot to an established series almost always works. The biggest audience in post-game history was called “The One After The Super Bowl,” a one-hour “Friends,” which attracted almost 53 million viewers and a 46% share. (There’s a great article about how much pressure those involved with this particular episode were under here.)
 
“60 Minutes” has been used by CBS three times over the years, always with huge numbers. It did really well with an "All In The Family” show in 1978. “Survivor” made a winner of CBS in 2001. And “This Is Us” made a splash for NBC in 2018.
 
So CBS is making a big bet with “The Equalizer” next Sunday. We'll have to see if it's still here by this time next year.

And what about CTV? Global has the rights to the Queen Latifah drama, so they can’t simulcast it. What big show have they chosen to debut in the post game timeslot?
 
The answer is “The Holmes Family Effect,” a new reality show with Mike Holmes. Not exactly the huge attraction you might expect for the biggest timeslot on TV. And personally, I think they’re wasting all those eyeballs. But hey, I’m not going to be watching either of them. Or the Game for that matter.
 
With everyone else in reruns, it’s a night to catch up on all those unwatched DVR shows.