Probably since the dawn of television program scheduling the infamous powers-that-be have been trying to decide how to pair television shows.  Oversimplifying the problem/question, each season as they plot it out, they are trying to decide whether they want a block of shows they feel naturally fit together, where the audience for one show is an “obvious” for the next, or if they want to pair shows that are at first glance about as far from a match made in heaven as an audience member can imagine, and yet, when you get tempted by that teaser scene into staying tuned into the next show, suddenly you discover a new favorite show you might otherwise have never found on the schedule.

CBS putting NCIS back to back with NCIS: Los Angeles in previous seasons, and NCIS: New Orleans this season is a prime example of that seemingly obvious and natural fit.  The hope is, if you like one NCIS show, you like all NCIS shows.

In contrast, there are many who wondered at the pairing of Blue Bloods with Hawaii Five-O.  A match-up that as succeeded for several seasons now.  Perhaps it is the nostalgia factor of Hawaii Five-O that leads some to also like a Tom Selleck led show.  Or maybe audience members who like one cop show on an island (Hawaii) like another cop show on an island (Manhattan).   Whatever the magic is (two strong family/community-centric shows?), the majority of the audience from Hawaii Five-O appears to stay where they are for another hour and follow the Reagan family as they keep New York safe in Blue Bloods.

Stalkers Maggie Q Dylan McDermott

When it comes to Wednesday nights on CBS one can not help but think that Stalker is benefiting from having been slotted in after Criminal Minds.  Both shows are intense rides and with 9 seasons under their belt Criminal Minds has shown not only that they know what they are doing, but they are skilled at bringing characters in and out of the fold.  New this season, Stalker follows a Threat Assessment Unit (TAU) as opposed to the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) of Criminal Minds, but the characters are equally determined to protect the victims, hunt down the bad guys, and keep people safe.

In some respects, Stalker and Criminal Minds might have been placed together on the schedule as a combination of both theories… they would attract the same audience, and yet there may have been a fear that Stalker was not getting enough advance attention and promotion for the Criminal Minds audience and fan base to find the show.

If Morgan (Shemar Moore), Reed (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness) from Criminal Minds were to help the TAU out on a case or two on Stalker the show might not only get a bump in the ratings, but keep those extra audience members as they discover what they have been missing out on.

Criminal Minds airs Wednesdays on CBS @ 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT
Stalker airs Wednesdays on CBS @ 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT

Criminal Minds On the Web:  http://www.cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/CriminalMinds
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/CrimMinds_CBS
CBS Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CBSTweet

Criminal Minds Cast on Twitter:

Joe Mantegna:  @JoeMantegna 
Shemar Moore:  @shemarmoore
Matthew Gray Gubler:  @GUBLERNATION
A.J. Cook:  @ajcookofficial
Kirsten Vangsness:  @Vangsness
Jennifer Love Hewitt:  @TheReal_jlh

Stalker On The Web:

Website: http://www.cbs.com/shows/stalker
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StalkerCBS
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StalkerCBS
CBS Twitter:https://twitter.com/CBS

Stalker Cast on Twitter:

Dylan McDermott @DylanMcDermott
Maggie Q  @MaggieQ
Victor Rasuk  @victorrasuk
Mariana Klaveno  @MarianaKlaveno
Elisabeth Röhm  @ElisabethRohm