Christian Kane

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Annoyed, perhaps, that Friday was its only Jerry Bruckheimer-free night of the week, CBS is swapping freshman dramas "Threshold" and "Close to Home" for a November sweeps test run.

Starting this Friday (Nov. 11), "Close to Home" will move into the 9 p.m. slot after "Ghost Whisperer." The trial will run for two weeks. "Threshold" won’t take over at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays until Nov. 22 (a two-hour "Amazing Race" is set for 11/8 and the CMAs are in place on 11/15), but will remain there the following week.

If these alternative time slots prove successful, CBS could make the moves permanent.

Neither "Threshold" nor "Close to Home" has been a failure for CBS, but neither drama has achieved quite the level of viewership the network had hoped for.

Expectations were that "Threshold," with its alien invasion themes, would play will with Jennifer Love Hewitt communicating with the dead. While "Ghost Whisperer" has been a solid hit with nearly 11 million viewers per week, "Threshold" has struggled to retain that audience, averaging just 7.8 million viewers.

"Close to Home" has averaged just under 10 million weekly viewers, holding on to most of the 10.8 million people who watch "Amazing Race" each week. That’s not bad, but CBS cancelled venerable drama "Judging Amy" (nearly 10.6 million viewers) in hopes of finding a younger Tuesday night audience. "Home" has fallen short of that goal.

Best of all, the move will give CBS a Bruckheimer produced series on Sunday ("Cold Case"), Monday ("CSI: Miami"), Tuesday ("Amazing Race"), Wednesday ("CSI: NY"), Thursday ("CSI: Original Flavor," "Without a Trace"), Friday ("Close to Home") and Saturday (whatever procedural repeats CBS decides to trot out). That’s pretty impressive.