--- description: CBS addressed concerns over lack of diversity on its TV shows a few months after it announced its 2016 fall TV schedule, where all six of its new shows will have white male leads title: CBS Responds to Concerns About Lack of Diversity on TV Shows image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaec6d283c1443ef4/6988a1fc524fc078a7df91d8/gettyimages-509263936.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # CBS President Says Network Needs to do Better on Diversity by [Rosalie Chan](/author/rosalie-chan/) ## Rosalie Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 11, 2016 2:16 PM CUT  Actor Sean Murray, executive producers Glenn Geller and Gary Glasberg and actors Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette and David McCallum attend the cake cutting celebration for "NCIS" 300th episode on February 9, 2016 in Valencia, Calif. Actor Sean Murray, executive producers Glenn Geller and Gary Glasberg and actors Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette and David McCallum attend the cake cutting celebration for "NCIS" 300th episode on February 9, 2016 in Valencia, Calif.Michael Tullberg—Getty Images by [Rosalie Chan](/author/rosalie-chan/) ## Rosalie Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 11, 2016 2:16 PM CUT CBS addressed concerns over lack of diversity on its [TV shows](http://time.com/3853661/upfronts-tv-shows-renewed-canceled/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") a few months after it announced its [2016 fall TV schedule](http://time.com/4341696/upfronts-2016-cbs-presentation/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), where all six of its new shows will have white male leads. On Wednesday at the 2016 Television Critics’ Association tour, critics asked CBS president [Glenn Geller](http://time.com/4415147/stephen-colbert-late-show-james-corden-rumors/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") about this issue, [the Washington _Post_ reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/08/10/we-need-to-do-better-cbs-responds-to-tv-critics-about-fall-shows-only-led-by-white-men/ "undefined"). Critics brought up questions about why people of color were not included in the top level of casting, why there are no showrunners who are people of color and about representation of LGBT people. Geller admitted that the lead actors are less diverse, but he noted that CBS’s writers and ensemble casting are more diverse than last year, and the directors are on track to be more diverse this year. He added that however, CBS needs to do better. He also said that there are LGBT characters on some of CBS’s shows, and [Laverne Cox](http://time.com/4395518/celebrities-best-college-money/?iid=sr-link5 "undefined") will star in “Doubt” this season, saying she would be the first transgender woman to play a transgender series regular on TV. “We work very hard to make sure that every facet of our company is as diverse as possible,” Geller said. “But I hear you. I really do. And I understand that we need to do better.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4448169/cbs-president-says-network-needs-to-do-better-on-diversity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4448169/cbs-president-says-network-needs-to-do-better-on-diversity/"},"headline":"CBS President Says Network Needs to do Better on Diversity","datePublished":"2016-08-11T14:16:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:35:21.769Z","description":"All six of its new shows have white male leads","url":"https://time.com/4448169/cbs-president-says-network-needs-to-do-better-on-diversity/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","Race","Pop Culture","LGBT"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaec6d283c1443ef4/6988a1fc524fc078a7df91d8/gettyimages-509263936.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rosalie Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rosalie-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaec6d283c1443ef4/6988a1fc524fc078a7df91d8/gettyimages-509263936.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NCIS 300th Episode Cake Cutting Celebration","caption":"NCIS 300th Episode Cake Cutting Celebration","creditText":"Michael Tullberg—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4448169/cbs-president-says-network-needs-to-do-better-on-diversity/","name":"CBS President Says Network Needs to do Better on Diversity"}}]}] ```