CBS sees future in Better Lives, kills CSI:NY

Leading US broadcast network CBS has taken comedy Friends with Better Lives to series, but has dropped the long running CSI: NY and Rules of Engagement.

Friends… is billed as being about a group of 30-somethings, each one of which thinks the others have better prospects.

The sitcom comes from Kapital Entertainment and 20^th Century Fox Television and stars Jason van der Beek and joins a batch of other comedies previously announced including We Are Men, which stars Jerry O’Connell, Chuck Lorre-produced Mom, The Millers and Crazy Ones.

Also added is legal drama Reckless, which CBS Studios is coproducing with Sander/Moses. Further new dramas include Warner Bros. and Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Hostages; and cyber spy drama Intelligence, which CBS is coproducing with ABC.

Meanwhile, CSI:NY will not return, ending a 10-season run and leaving only the original CSI series on the network. Rules of Engagement, which ran for seven seasons, Vegas and Golden Boy have also met their end.

CBS will hold its Upfront on Wednesday.