TCA press tour: ‘Medium’ says goodbye to NBC and hello to CBS

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“Last time we were here, NBC made us walk here.”

“Medium” executive producer Glen Gordon Caron is kidding, of course, but he told reporters gathered Monday during the CBS portion of press tour that there isn’t a whole lot of love lost between the show and its old home on NBC.

After NBC decided not to renew “Medium” earlier this year, CBS stepped in to pick up the show for a sixth season, which will premiere on Fridays this fall.

Caron said a move to CBS was an idea that always made sense given that its sister company, CBS Television Studios, produces the show.

“It’s been a casual conversation for years. ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be at CBS?’ ” he said. “When negotiations with NBC went south, CBS stepped in. But it’s been a conversation for a long time.”

He added that he did try to combat cancellation with last season’s cliffhanger ending: Allison suffers from a brain tumor and winds up in a coma. “I was trying to write an ending so provocative that it would be impossible to cancel the show.” Caron said. “You can see how well that worked out.”

When one reporter asked about the show’s relative lack of buzz, he quickly pointed out that “Chuck” may be a big hit on Twitter, but doesn’t attract the number of viewers “Medium” does.

“’Chuck’ is a really, really good show that NBC has attempted to launch -- twice,” he said. “They’ve really only been able to bring a certain number of people to it, and those people have brought a tremendous amount of buzz to the show, but it hasn’t translated into more viewers.”

Arquette said things worked out for the better, pointing to the show’s new lead-in, Friday-night powerhouse “Ghost Whisperer.” “I feel grateful actually. I always thought there was great programming on CBS for us to be paired with,” she said. “Numb3rs” will follow at 10 p.m.

As for storyline news, Caron let loose with a spoiler. “I guess I can let the cat out of the bag. Allison comes out of the coma.”

She’ll also wind up in her own version of “Night of the Living Dead,” a planned episode that will air the day before Halloween. “We’re going to insert her into it, the landscape of her dreams.” Also, Marc Webb, who just finished directing the romantic comedy “(500) Days of Summer,” has signed to direct an episode.

But back to picking on NBC. “We had five good years with NBC, if we didn’t we wouldn’t here today,” Caron said. “That said, CBS has already run more promos than NBC has in the whole five years.”

“I say that with love in my heart,” he added.

-- Denise Martin