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CBS announced its Fall 2009 lineup on Wednesday morning, and Medium, which was just dropped by NBC after five seasons, has found a new home. Confirming an Ausiello report, the Patricia Arquette starrer, produced by CBS TV Studios, moves to Fridays on the Eye, between Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs.

After NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman had axed the show, and labeled it "an aging franchise, without a single fan letter, with no passion," CBS TV Studios had issued a sternly worded statement: "NBC's cancellation of Medium is inexplicable to us," it said. "The ratings don't lie: Medium outperforms many of NBC's renewed shows."

CBS announces fall schedule: 'The Mentalist' jumps to Thursdays

CBS will debut three new dramas and one new comedy this fall. The Mentalist will also get a new night on Thursdays and the NBC drama Medium gets a fresh lease on life on the eye's Friday lineup.

Mondays will feature the new Jenna Elfman comedy Accidentally on Purpose, about a film critic who gets pregnant after a one-night stand with a slacker. The comedy airs at 8:30 p.m., bumping Big Bang to 9:30 p.m. behind Two and A Half Men. NCIS: Los Angeles starring Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J airs at 9 Wednesdays behind behind the mothership NCIS. At 10 p.m., Juliana Margulies stars in The Good Wife as a politician's wife who returns to the work force as an attorney.

"It's a real sea change at 10 p.m.," say CBS Corp CEO Leslie Moonves in reference to The Jay Leno Show on NBC. "There will be more shares available." Adds the Eye's head of scheduling Kelly Kahl, "We'll see some huge opportunity for growth at 10 p.m."

Wednesday stays intact for CBS, while Thursdays will feature The Mentalist at 10 p.m. The show bowed on Tuesdays last fall and went onto become the network's most-watched new series. Medium -- which was canceled by NBC on Tuesday, and is produced by CBS/Paramount -- will now air on CBS Fridays at 9 p.m. behind Ghost Whisperer. Cold Case gets yet another timeslot on Sunday -- this time at 10 -- to make way for the new drama Three Rivers at 9; it's a medical drama about a preeminent transplant hospital, starring Moonlight's Alex O'Loughlin.

Midseason shows include The Bridge, a cop drama from Canada, and Miami Trauma, a medical series starring Jeremy Northam from Jerry Bruckheimer. Rules of Engagement will be back this winter, too, along with Flashpoint. New reality shows include Undercover Boss, which features CEOs who disguise themselves as everyday workers at their own companies; and Arranged Marriage, a self-explanatory show from the Project Runway producing team of Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth.

Gone are Without a Trace, The Unit, and Worst Week.

Jay Leno brushed aside criticism from competitors who believe his fall primetime show is not only a cynical move by NBC but bad for television. Speaking to a small gathering of reporters in New York on Tuesday, Leno said "I'm a big boy" and he's not affected by the naysayers who doubt the viability of his nightly primetime show this fall. Earlier on Tuesday, in fact, ABC latenight host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke at Leno's expense at the network's upfront presentation to advertisers, saying NBC was so desperate to hold onto Leno that it was willing to "destroy the network" in the process. Leno chuckled when he heard Kimmel's comments.

"As long as it was funny," said Leno. "Trash talking is a part of the competition. You do your best. It gives you the impetus to prove them wrong."

Leno can't give too many specifics on his new fall show, other than to say it'll likely average two guests a night and include some sort of standing comedy bit in the second half-hour to encourage viewers to stay tuned for their local 11 p.m. newscast. Leno's signature Headlines and Jay Walking bits will probably fill Mondays and Tuesdays; he's not sure about the frequency of musical acts. Mostly, Leno seems juiced by the opportunity to get a jump start on topical jokes. "Before the parade of white guys starts, I'll be out there," Leno says, in reference to the other latenight hosts.

He also downplayed any potential battle for guests with Conan O'Brien, who will take over The Tonight Show after Leno steps down May 29. "There are really only 18 guests who would make a difference," says Leno of A-listers like Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and Brad Pitt. Gibson, along with Billy Crystal and Arnold Schwarzenegger, will appear on The Tonight Show during Leno's final week.

The veteran comedian is not under any illusion that he'll immediately succeed in his new 10 p.m. timeslot. "When I took over The Tonight Show, we lost against Letterman [for nearly two years]," he recalls. "If you lose, you work harder. We're not expecting to blow the doors off CSI. But maybe we'll catch up to them in the summer when they're in reruns."

NBC won't say what adults 18-49 rating Leno will need to achieve to stay profitable; instead, the suits insist he'll be viewed differently than other shows in primetime. Unlike the typical scripted series that airs for 22 weeks, Leno will be judged on a 52-week basis since he'll be delivering original content most of the year (save a few weeks during the Olympics). "This is a marathon, not a sprint," says NBC's head of research Alan Wurtzel. "Leno is the quintessential counter-programming. A lot of people are looking for a real alternative. We are very bullish [about the show's future]."

Leno wasn't particularly sold on the title, however. He wanted Weeknights with Jay Leno but the NBC brass feared the show would be nicknamed Weeknights so the network went with The Jay Leno Show, instead.

I don't know about you, but NBC's official renewal of Chuck has been the highlight of upfront week for me. (ABC's cancellation of According to Jim finishes a very close second.) But it's time to bring the victory celebrations to a close and get down to business -- the business of asking questions. Will a tighter budget lead to a less awesome (and populated) show? Does the massive Subway deal mean an end to Sarah's yogurt shop? Will the midseason launch kill the show's momentum? Will Chuck and Sarah start dating for real? Will exec producer Josh Schwartz answer all of these and then some in the following exclusive Q&A? I can tackle that last one: Yes!

NBC said the show's budget will remain unchanged from last season. I'm hearing different. What's the deal?
JOSH SCHWARTZ: I can tell you that [Warner Bros.] asked us to make budget cuts to meet a decrease in the NBC license fee. That's how it was presented to me. That's as far as I know. My job is to then be able to produce the show at the number the studio is able to deficit it for.

How will the cuts affect what we see?
SCHWARTZ: Hopefully, you won't be able to tell. I don't think the look of the show is going to change. We might have certain episodes where Chuck's mission is such that we don't get the opportunity to go to the Buy More [as much]. We love our cast and, obviously, we want to use them as much as possible in as many episodes as possible.

I heard Julia Ling [Anna] might not return. True?
SCHWARTZ: No. We have plans for Anna to return.

Has she been taken off contract?
SCHWARTZ: We actually haven't finalized all of our actor deals yet. It's all being sorted out. But, like I said, we're going to do whatever we can to try to keep the ensemble together.

Will the show's central trio be in every episodes?
SCHWARTZ: Yes. Chuck, Sarah, and Casey are in all episodes.

Will Sarah be working at a Subway next season?
SCHWARTZ: [Laughs] You know, I don't know the full details of the Subway integration yet. I know it will be significant. Chuck is a show that happens to be well positioned for effortless product integration, especially because Chuck works at an electronics shop in a strip mall. If Sarah or someone worked at a Subway it would hopefully be no more intrusive or unrealistic than Liz Lemon working at NBC.

Are you concerned at all about the show being off the air for 10 months?
SCHWARTZ: It was really a tough choice that the network faced: Put us on Friday or [hold us until] midseason. I really believe Chuck is the little show that could. Our fans are clearly passionate, clearly loyal, and hopefully all we'll do is get them more and more [excited] for our return. And we'll come up with fun ways of stoking the fans throughout the fall. We also have something very, very fun planned for Comic-Con this year.

How about a season 3 spoiler in honor of the show's renewal?
SCHWARTZ: The biggest thing, obviously, will be dealing with the ramifications of how we ended the season. What does it mean for Chuck [and] how will it manifest itself? And I think for anyone who is concerned that he's no longer going to be the Everyman, or an accidental hero, fear not.

Will Chuck and Sarah start the season off as a full-fledged couple?
SCHWARTZ: I don't want to give anything away, but obviously, Chuck having the Intersect in his head will severely complicate their ability to be a couple. Oh, here's something: Look for... [the rest of this answer will run in this week's Ask Ausiello, posting tonight.]

Really? For who?
SCHWARTZ: [The rest of this answer will run in this week's Ask Ausiello, posting tonight].

Male or female?
SCHWARTZ: Gosh, isn't it more fun to tease?

I guess.
SCHWARTZ: Teasing is what you're good at.