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CBS could make history next month. It could become the first network to stand pat from one season to the next when the fall lineups are rolled out in May for advertisers. CBS’ prime-time lineup is that solid across the board.

The late-season successes of The Unit, Courting Alex and The New Adventures of Old Christine have provided worthy candidates for the few weak spots that existed. Fact is, CBS has already announced 2006-07 renewals for the bulk of its schedule.

However, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. CBS will find ways to make room for at least four or five newcomers. Schedules need to be refreshed each season so that the entire lineup doesn’t get old together. It also would be bad form to allow your competitors to dominate media attention for their new series in the walk-up to the new season. “Same old, same old” is not a scintillating marketing slogan.

Ergo, a few series that would be automatic renewals on other networks will be pink-slipped by CBS. Almost certain to go is the Sunday movie, which has been in a death spiral since the arrival of Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. This will mark the end of an era, as CBS is the last network to maintain a regular movie-of-the-week presence. There probably will be occasional “Hallmark Hall of Fame” films and a miniseries or two, but the regular weekly franchise is likely to fade into history.

Of the established series, The King of Queens is problematical because of increasing costs and declining ratings. Kevin James and Leah Remini are getting close to the million-dollar-an-episode mark, and the show’s ratings don’t justify that. How I Met Your Mother and Christine could be shuffled around Two and a Half Men to create a safe harbour for a new comedy that would cost less than half as much as King.

Noteworthy for its omission from CBS’s early renewal roster is Close to Home, but there’s a logical reason. CBS was waiting to see how the rookie crime drama fares against NBC’s relocated Las Vegas. Early indications are Close to Home is doing just fine, so a renewal could come at any moment.

The fate of Out of Practice is less certain. If CBS has a couple of comedy pilots it likes, Out of Practice could be a goner. Absent that, the new Wednesday combo of Out of Practice and Courting Alex could be back.

While CBS is doing contortions to open a few holes, the other networks are struggling to find new series to fill all their troubled time periods.

There are still a handful of spring tryouts to premiere across the dial. However, generally shows whose premieres are held this late into the season are not considered hot prospects.

This spring an entire network is being cancelled — actually two halves — as the WB and UPN will merge into one, the poorly christened CW, whose name is liable to change before its debut in September.

Major hits such as those in ABC’s Sunday lineup and Lost, NBC’s three Law & Orders, Medium and ER and Fox’s American Idol and 24 have nothing to worry about. For many other series, spring is a nervous time.

Here’s a look at the shows that figure to make the cut and those that won’t. (If a show is currently off the schedule, it’s probably road kill.)

ABC: SITCOMS AT RISK

The end of Alias has already been announced. Commander in Chief will return April 13 — not the previously announced April 18 — but it will take a miracle for the political drama starring Geena Davis as the first female president to win another term. Bringing it back in a death slot opposite Without a Trace and ER underlines this.

In Justice, which got off to a promising start, has crashed and burned. Its star, Kyle MacLachlan, has been recruited for a recurring role on Desperate Housewives, so the cancellation notice is just a formality.

Invasion, now on a planned hiatus, could go either way. It’s a positive sign that ABC is bringing it back for the May sweeps rather than running out its order in March and early April, when ratings are not as crucial.

Other exceptions to the rule that series now off the air won’t be back are Dancing With the Stars, a sure returnee, and The Bachelor.

American Inventor has gotten off to a solid start — but that was with March Madness on CBS. ABC will be monitoring how the reality show fares now that’s back in the picture.

Most of the network’s sitcoms also are in jeopardy, although financial considerations could save some. Hope & Faith, for example, is still a season short of the ideal number of episodes for syndication and the network owns the show. Also, ABC doesn’t want to put Kelly Ripa, who would be universally courted if she became available, into play.

Another factor that could save some borderline series is the absence of Monday Night Football for the first time in more than 30 years. That opens another three hours in the fall.

NBC: PRIME PIGSKIN

Prime-time football, now to be on Sunday, liberates NBC from programming four hours. It couldn’t have come at a better time, which is why NBC paid zillions to get back into the game. By removing Sunday from the mix and continuing to use Saturday as a dumping ground, NBC will have to programme only 15 hours a week.

The reduced agenda might save the network from itself. The most promising thing to happen this spring is the breakthrough of Deal or No Deal. However, having learned nothing from ABC’s assassination through overexposure of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, NBC has extended the Howie Mandel game show to three nights a week. That won’t be necessary come fall.

Still, there will be plenty of holes to fill. The West Wing and Will & Grace will slip into retirement and will have plenty of involuntary company. Four Kings is going to be dethroned and Scrubs looms as another cut. E-Ring and Surface are examples of shows whose absence is an indicator they won’t be back. Heist was savaged by critics and opened poorly in the ratings, a deadly combination.

It’s too soon to make a call on Conviction because Dick Wolf’s latest crime drama played against basketball the past two weeks.

The Apprentice might be hyping its next season in Los Angeles, but it’s not a certainty to make the air if ratings continue the steady free fall that began at the end of the first season. If The Apprentice does return, it could be after football at midseason, with only one edition for the season.

The good news is My Name Is Earl and The Office have officially been renewed.

FOX: WAIT TILL JANUARY

Malcolm in the Middle and That ‘70s Show went into this season knowing it would be their last. There has been no such announcement about Bernie Mac but it’s an almost certain cancellation.

It’s easier to note the series that will return than when they’ll do so, since Fox doesn’t begin playing for real until January, when American Idol changes the face of TV.

Prison Break has earned a second season. Rather than dividing the story into two halves again, it might be reserved for January to air uninterrupted in tandem with 24. House and Bones also are sure returnees and The O.C. is close to a certainty. Cops and America’s Most Wanted could roll along forever.

The Simpsons and King of the Hill will return on Sunday. Family Guy is pretty sure to join them, and The War at Home is 60-40 to be back. American Dad and Free Ride are about 40-60 against.

The Loop’s early performances aren’t promising and Unan1mous lost more than half its American Idol lead-in on opening night. It might not even finish its initial run.[[In-content Ad]]

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