CBS got gutsy last season, and what it had to show for it was the reality show “Kid Nation” and “Viva Laughlin,” a musical drama, both busts.

This season CBS is back to playing it safe. It has tweaked its schedule slightly and is adding five new shows, none the least bit daring.

That will earn the network a third-place finish in viewers 18-49s in fourth quarter and likely for the full season, say media buyers. CBS's one worry is that NBC could slip past it with NFL football early in the season and the Super Bowl in first quarter.

It could well happen.

CBS will be trusting in returning shows like “CSI" for ratings, with its new shows likely turning in modest performances. 

“While the network says its new shows follow classic concepts, albeit claiming they will also be more character-driven, its ultimate performance will probably rest with its returning shows halting and reversing their declines,” says David Scardino, entertainment specialist at RPA in Santa Monica, Calif.

“That’s a tall order, it seems to us.”

Still, CBS will do well a few nights of the week and it will be competitive on others.

Among its strongest nights is Monday. CBS will battle it out for No. 1 in 18-49s with ABC, which has “Dancing with the Stars.”

CBS tweaked Mondays. It replaced one of its four sitcoms by moving “The New Adventures of Old Christine” to Wednesdays and slotting in “Worst Week,” a new sitcom about a soon-to-be-married couple. “CSI: Miami” at 10 will trounce light competition.

The sitcom “Rules of Engagement” will return in midseason, although CBS hasn’t settled on a night. Its only other midseason show is the murder mystery “Harper’s Island,” which isn’t scheduled yet.

CBS will trail ABC on Thursdays but not by much, and it will be ahead of NBC and Fox with “Survivor,” “CSI” and the new “Eleventh Hour,” a drama from “CSI” executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

It will do well on Fridays with returning dramas “Ghost Whisperer” and “Numb3rs.” The new “Ex List” at 9 is about a woman searching for a former boyfriend. Media researchers like “Ex” and think it will do well on the night, when CBS has little competition.

Weaker nights for CBS are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, although it’s not in terrible shape any night.

On Tuesdays, CBS will have a tough time against ABC’s “Dancing” and, in midseason, Fox’s “American Idol.” “Idol” and “Dancing” were last season’s two most-watched shows.

CBS has the retuning “NCIS” at 8 and “Without a Trace” is now at 10. It was moved from Thursdays. CBS’s hole on Tuesdays is at 9, when its new drama “Mentalist” competes with ABC’s “Dancing.”

CBS’s strong spot on Wednesdays is at 10, when “CSI: NY” will clobber ABC’s “Dirty Sexy Money” and NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle.” Its weak spots are at 8 when a new comedy block will likely struggle and at 9, when its returning “Criminal Minds” will face ABC’s “Private Practice.”

Saturday for CBS is a throwaway night with repeats.

On Sundays in fourth quarter, CBS will do okay with “60 Minutes,” “Amazing Race,” “Cold Case” and “The Unit” against NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” It will do better for the full season on a night when ABC is strong with “Desperate Housewives” and Fox has a lock on young adults with its animation block.