Five new comedies and three new dramas will help build on the strength of America’s top-rated network. Five of the new series will premiere in the fall and three at mid-season.

For next fall, the Network is increasing its comedy lineup with four new comedies, expanding its comedy block on Thursdays from 8:00-10:00 PM and creating an encore hour for comedy broadcasts on Saturdays.

PHOTOS: CBS 2014 Prime Time Shows

The new comedies are “The Crazy Ones” from executive producer David E. Kelley starring Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar; “The Millers”, a multi-generational family comedy from executive producer Greg Garcia starring Will Arnett, Margo Martindale, Beau Bridges and JB Smoove; “Mom”, an edgy family comedy from executive producer Chuck Lorre starring Anna Faris and Allison Janney; and “We Are Men”, an ensemble comedy starring Tony Shalhoub, Kal Penn, Chris Smith and Jerry O’Connell.

Two new dramas have been scheduled for Mondays at 10:00 p.m. “Hostages”, the serialized suspense thriller from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer starring Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott, premieres in the fall, building to a season finale in January. Soon after, “Intelligence”, a high-octane action drama starring Josh Holloway, Marg Helgenberger and Meghan Ory, moves into the time period for the remainder of the season.

The freshman series will be joined by 20 returning shows including “NCIS”, the season’s most watched show; “The Big Bang Theory”, the season’s #1 comedy in viewers and demos; “60 MINUTES”, the season’s #1 news magazine; and “Elementary”, the season’s #1 new drama.

The other returning series include: “How I Met Your Mother”, “2 Broke Girls”, “NCIS: Los Angeles”, “Person of Interest”, “Survivor”, “Criminal Minds”, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, “Two And A Half Men”, “Undercover Boss”, “Hawaii Five-O”, “Blue Bloods”, “48 HOURS”, “The Amazing Race”, “The Good Wife” and “The Mentalist”.

In addition, the proven hit returning comedy “Mike & Molly, starring Academy Award nominee Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell; the new steamy legal drama “Reckless”; and the new romantic comedy “Friends With Better Lives” are set for mid-season.

This will be Harris’ fourth time hosting the Tonys. Previously, Harris served as the host of the 63rd, 65th and 66th Annual Tony Awards. As he did in 2012, Harris will also act as a producer, along with executive producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment.

Of course, the Emmy Award winner excitingly announced his returning role at the awards with a joke.

“[The show will] be more impressive than ever – if my math is correct, it will be 267 times bigger than last year,” said Harris. “Oh, wait. No, that can’t…hold on…carry the one…I’m awful at math. But rest assured, the show will rock!”

“We are thrilled that Neil will be joining us, once again, at Radio City Music Hall to host THE 67TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS,” said Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League and Heather Hitchens, Executive Director of the American Theatre Wing. “Neil’s creativity and passion for Broadway shines through when he is on the stage and off – and we cannot wait to see what surprises Neil will have up his sleeves!”

The 67th Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 9 at 8:00 p.m. on CBS. For full coverage of the Awards, check out CBSNewYork’s web exclusive coverage.

“Kinky Boots” is based on the 2005 British movie about a real-life shoe factory that struggles until it finds new life in fetish footwear. Lauper’s songs and a story by Harvey Fierstein have made it a crowd-pleaser.

The show opened in early April to wide praise (except for a few grinches). In a weak musical year, it may be the best Broadway has to offer. And two great pop icons like Lauper and Fierstein are sure to attract Tony voters.

“Matilda: The Musical” is a witty musical adaptation of the novel by Roald Dahl and is true to his bleak vision of childhood as a savage battleground.

The nominations were announced Tuesday in a televised event co-hosted by Tony winner Sutton Foster and “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

The awards will be broadcast on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 9.

What does it take to make a great Broadway musical? A talented score, a clever book, great singing and dancing, impressive costumes and an engaging set. Do all great musicals hit all of these points equally well? Of course not. But “Kinky Boots” does.

That’s why it grabbed a leading 13 Tony Award nominations on Tuesday.

“Kinky Boots” opened in early April to wide praise (except for a few grinches). In a weak musical year, it may be the best Broadway has to offer. And two great pop icons like Lauper and Fierstein are sure to attract Tony voters.

MORE: Complete List Of 2013 Tony Awards Nominees

Lauper’s first attempt as a Broadway composer has received high praise for her hard-driving songs. The New York Times called her songs “audience hugging,” and while Variety noted that her lyrics don’t always make a lot of sense, she has written a number of musical showstoppers.

The plot is based on a small British film, of the same name, about Charlie (Stark Sands) who inherits his father’s failing shoe factory and teams with Lola (Billy Porter), a black drag queen, to design a line of flashy boots for cross-dressers. Together, they save the factory.

Along the way, we get a lot of completely expected messages about being true to yourself, “overcoming prejudice and transcending stereotypes.” But you knew that coming in. The question is, does this show deliver? And nearly every critic thinks it does, finding most of it highly entertaining.

The book, by the beloved Mr. Fierstein, follows the same story arc as the film. You will even see some similarities to his book for “La Cage aux Folles” and to his performance in “Hairspray.” And the concept of saving a British factory town has inhabited “Billy Elliot” and “The Full Monty” as well. The idea of drag queens saving the world also showed up not too long ago in “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” as well as “La Cage aux Folles.” It also bears some relation to Fierstein’s “Torch Song Trilogy.”

But this show seems to transcend that predictability because of the direction and high-powered choreography of Jerry Mitchell, as well as the costumes (and boots) by Gregg Barnes.

Cyndi Lauper’s extensive career in hard-driving pop music (starting with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” in 1983) and her extensive performing in MTV videos and concerts has made her an influential pop musician for more than 30 years, and it is her musical style that makes “Kinky Boots” a hit.

Harvey Fierstein is an influential actor and playwright who has written, directed, sung and acted since 1982 and is one of only two people to have won Tonys in four categories (the other is Tommy Tune). He is widely popular in the gay and straight communities and seems unable to not succeed.

“Kinky Boots” is the Fierstein/Lauper combination that is likely to propel the unlikely musical to a Tony Award.

James Cooper is a freelance writer covering all things Theater and Fairfield County. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

Both will compete for the best musical prize with the acrobatic “Bring It On: The Musical” and “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” adapted from the beloved holiday movie.

Among the flurry of nominations, “Kinky Boots” also earned Fierstein a nod for best book, David Rockwell got one for sets, Jerry Mitchell for directing and for choreography, and its two leading men — for Billy Porter and Stark Sands. Annaleigh Ashford earned a featured role nomination.

“Matilda” earned nominations for choreography, Matthew Warchus’ directing, Chris Nightingale’s orchestrations, best book by Dennis Kelly, Tim Minchin for lyrics and songs, and Bertie Carvel for best leading role in a musical.

Carvel, who played the same evil headmistress role in London, said he is enjoying his time in New York, although he did admit to being nervous about how Americans would react. “I feel like I’ve landed on happy shores,” he said. “The show is in great shape. People are loving it.”

The leading actor in a play nominees are Tom Hanks for “Lucky Guy,” Nathan Lane for “The Nance,” Tracy Letts from “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, David Hyde Pierce from “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” and Tom Sturridge from “Orphans.”

The best musical revival candidates are “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” “Annie,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” and “Pippin,” which nabbed 10 nominations.

Kenneth Posner had a great morning — the lighting designer got nominations for “Kinky Boots,” “Pippin” and “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” He will face off against Hugh Vanstone, the lighting designer for “Matilda: The Musical.”

The best play nominees are Richard Greenberg’s “The Assembled Parties,” Nora Ephron’s “Lucky Guy,” Colm Toibin’s “The Testament of Mary” and Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”

The nominations were announced Tuesday in a televised event co-hosted by Tony winner Sutton Foster and “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The awards will be broadcast on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 9.

The Tony committee also said playwright Larry Kramer, author of “The Normal Heart” and co-founder of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, will receive the Isabelle Stevenson Award for a “substantial contribution” on behalf of a charity or social service organization.

Select nominations for the 2013 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards, announced Tuesday:

Best Play: “The Assembled Parties,” “Lucky Guy,” “The Testament of Mary,” “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”

Best Musical: “Bring It On: The Musical,” “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” “Kinky Boots,” “Matilda The Musical.”

Best Book of a Musical: “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” “Kinky Boots,” “Matilda The Musical,” “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” “Hands on a Hardbody,” “Kinky Boots,” “Matilda The Musical.”

Best Revival of a Play: “Golden Boy,” “Orphans,” “The Trip to Bountiful,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Best Revival of a Musical: “Annie,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” “Pippin,” “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Tom Hanks, “Lucky Guy”; Nathan Lane, “The Nance”; Tracy Letts, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”; David Hyde Pierce, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”; Tom Sturridge, “Orphans.”

Best Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play: Laurie Metcalf, “The Other Place”; Amy Morton, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”; Kristine Nielsen, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”; Holland Taylor, “Ann”; Cicely Tyson, “The Trip to Bountiful.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Bertie Carvel, “Matilda The Musical”; Santino Fontana, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”; Rob McClure, “Chaplin”; Billy Porter, “Kinky Boots”; Stark Sands, “Kinky Boots.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Stephanie J. Block, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”; Carolee Carmello, “Scandalous”; Valisia LeKae, “Motown The Musical”; Patina Miller, “Pippin”; Laura Osnes, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Danny Burstein, “Golden Boy”; Richard Kind, “The Big Knife”; Billy Magnussen, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”; Tony Shalhoub, “Golden Boy”; Courtney B. Vance, “Lucky Guy.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Carrie Coon, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”; Shalita Grant, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”; Judith Ivey, “The Heiress”; Judith Light, “The Assembled Parties”; Condola Rashad, “The Trip to Bountiful.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Charl Brown, “Motown The Musical”; Keith Carradine, “Hands on a Hardbody”; Will Chase, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”; Gabriel Ebert, “Matilda The Musical”; Terrence Mann, “Pippin.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Annaleigh Ashford, “Kinky Boots”; Victoria Clark, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”; Andrea Martin, “Pippin”; Keala Settle, “Hands on a Hardbody”; Lauren Ward, “Matilda The Musical.”

Luke’s win was certainly a highlight of the evening–he went knocked-over surprised to practically bawling on stage, and finally came round enough to give a speech thanking fans that was probably as genuine as anything an award winner has given to date. This kind of raw emotional reaction is of course exactly what country fans adore in their artists–and what sets this genre apart.

But Luke wasn’t the only one to show that degree of tearful sincerity during the show. Both Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert battled emotions as they accepted Record and Song of the Year awards for “Over You,” a song they wrote together and that Miranda recorded and turned into a Number One hit. The photo of them embracing on stage is one of the night’s most memorable.

As for the award, Miranda noted that “having your songs and lyrics be recognized by your peers is as good as it gets.” And she also made sure to give a shout out to country music as a whole, saying that she loves being a part of the genre because “every time someone gets nominated, I just cheer.”

You could see that love not only from fans but between artists all night long. Blake Shelton seemed truly excited that his cohost Luke Bryan won Entertainer of the Year, for instance (as did Shania Twain, who presented the award and practically had to hold Luke up when he accepted). Same goes for Jason Aldean’s win for Male Vocalist of the Year–the high fives he got as he took the stage, including the cheers from fellow nominee Eric Church, was impressive.

And speaking of Eric Church, while he wasn’t nominated for Entertainer of the Year, and didn’t win Male Vocalist, he did take home a trophy for Album of the Year for Chief, which is a plenty significant honor. He was handed the trophy by presenter John Fogerty, and noted that he couldn’t believe he just met the Creedence Clearwater Revival bandleader. “We should hang out later,” he said, probably only half joking.

Read the full ACM Awards wrap up on Radio.com