CBS has suffered the deepest declines of any of the Big Four this season, and the longtime No. 1 network in households is in danger of finishing second for the first time since 2002.

But despite media buyers’ concerns about its aging shows and lack of a recent breakout new hit, much of CBS’s new show development looks very in line with the mass-appeal, old-skewing shows that currently dominate its schedule.

The biggest change is where those shows will go. Unlike ABC, which left its fall schedule largely unchanged from last year, CBS will have new programs on every weeknight and will tweak its Sunday lineup as well.

The network has ordered five new shows—three dramas and two comedies--for the 2008-’09 season, three of them adaptations of already-proven foreign series.

The shows sound a lot like what is already airing on CBS. One of the comedies, Jay Mohr’s “Project Gary,” is another broad family sitcom, this one about a divorced dad.

Two of the new dramas have an investigative theme. “The Mentalist” is about a former psychic who helps the California Bureau of Investigation solve crimes. Though seemingly more character-driven than the network’s current forensic dramas, it will join more than a half-dozen other crime-focused dramas on the network. The second drama, Jerry Bruckheimer’s thriller “Eleventh Hour,” is about a scientific investigator for the government.

“Worst Week,” about the disastrous run-up to a young couple’s wedding, marks the third straight season in which CBS has picked up a new comedy focused on young people (following “The Class” and “The Big Bang Theory”). It is a single-camera comedy, a change from most of the network's sitcoms. “Hour” and “Week” are both based on British shows.

The final new show, “The Ex List” starring “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Elizabeth Reaser, is the only one to blend comedy and drama. It is an adaptation of an Israeli program about a woman who is told by a tarot card reader that she has already dated the man she will marry, and she needs to reconnect with that man soon.

Meanwhile, CBS canceled “Moonlight” and “Shark” but picked up “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Rules of Engagement” and “The Unit,” all bubble shows, as well as "How I Met Your Mother," which has seen a recent ratings surge.

“Week” will air on Mondays, in the plum post-“Two and a Half Men” slot at 9:30 p.m., followed by “CSI: Miami.” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Mother” will continue to lead off the night.

“Mentalist” will be slotted after “NCIS” at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, leading into “Without a Trace” at 10 p.m. It’s “Trace’s” fourth timeslot switch in three years, but perhaps the smartest scheduling move made by CBS, which has struggled to launch a new show in the timeslot the past three years.

Wednesday will house the network’s second comedy block, with “Christine” leading into 8:30’s “Gary.” The next two hours will be the same as the past three years, “Criminal Minds” followed by “CSI: NY.”

On Thursdays “Survivor” and “CSI” stay put at 8 and 9 p.m., followed by “Hour,” which shares a producer (Bruckheimer) with “CSI.”

“Ghost Whisperer” will continue to lead off Friday, followed by “List” and “Numb3rs.” Saturdays will be crime drama repeats at 8 and 9, with “48 Hours Mystery” at 10.

Sundays will also see a change, though no new shows. “60 Minutes,” “The Amazing Race” and “Cold Case” retain their timeslots, but “Unit” takes over “Shark’s” 10 p.m. slot.

Many of CBS’s scheduling changes were prompted by an often frustrating season for the network.

All of its signature “CSI” programs fell to series lows, and the highly touted new Jimmy Smits drama “Cane” tanked. Reality program “Kid Nation” drew controversy before it even premiered for its treatment of children, while the “Survivor” franchise stumbled to its lowest-rated finale in 16 seasons.

The network, which usually has the most steady schedule of the Big Four, had fewer original programs slated for midseason than any other network, and its ratings tumbled when the writers’ strike forced its scripted shows into reruns.

Earlier this year, CBS head Les Moonves predicted that his network would slide to No. 2 in households behind Fox this season. Though the latter did take the lead during the strike, CBS has since regained a slight advantage, with a 6.7 Nielsen household rating season-to-date compared with Fox’s 6.6. Still, next week’s two-hour “American Idol” finale could push Fox back ahead when the season ends on May 21.