The new boss at CBS, one Glenn Geller, is pretty confident he knows what he's doing and where CBS is going.

As well he might. He's been at CBS for 14 years and for 13 of those 14, CBS has been the most-watched network in the United States. As he pointed out during the recent TV critics press tour, "We have the only two entertainment shows on TV that are watched by more than 20 million viewers, The Big Bang Theory and NCIS. And we have 17 series that are watched by 10 million viewers or more."

NCIS, which airs tonight (CBS, Global, 8 p.m.), and its spinoff NCIS: New Orleans (CBS, Global, 9 p.m.) are massive shows. The sort of series that nobody tweets about and nobody claims is "buzzed about," but has an enormous following.

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Both are, in essence, police procedurals involving the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The solid characters deal with murder, espionage and terrorism. The connections to the naval element can be convoluted but the point is that the shows make Americans feel safe, knowing that experts are successfully dealing with all manner of danger to the United States and its citizens.

For years, Criminal Minds performed the same task. An elite squad of FBI profilers tackle the country's most twisted criminal minds. As it turned out, those twisted criminal minds were everywhere. Watching Criminal Minds could make citizens worry about leaving the house. Only a belief in the sterling qualities of FBI profilers and their sidekicks could get a person through the day and out of the house.

Listen, CBS didn't get where it is today by failing to give Americans what Americans want – they are afraid and want reassurance. And if you think about it, while everything outside the house might be scary, what's even more frightening is what's outside the United States. Thus, in another stroke of genius, in March CBS will unveil Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.

What is it? Here's executive producer and co-creator Erica Messer explaining the show's origins: "There's a great big world out there, where Americans are travelling more than ever before, and when we did the research and found that 68 million Americans leave the United States every year, our brains just started ticking. There's crime that happens to those Americans, and wouldn't it be amazing if there was a team of FBI heroes that could come save you?"

Yes, amazing. There you go – a genius concept. If Americans must – really, really must – leave the country, it would be great to know that an elite FBI team would come running to the rescue, should trouble arise. What a fantasy! What a way to play upon the unease and angst that foreign countries immediately ignite in so many citizens. Brilliant.

As Messer said, the show isn't actually aimed at Americans who travel abroad all the time. No siree. That's not the point. "When we see international cases involving any Americans, and we tend to lean forward and say, 'How did that happen to them? That could have been me or my neighbour who travels or my brother or sister or loved one.' So we wanted to keep the relatability that Criminal Minds does so well and bring that to this series as well. So even if you're somebody who doesn't want to travel the globe, chances are you know someone who does, and so those relatable, scary stories are the ones that we're bringing to you."

Right. Well, it turns out that Messer's idea for the show (it will star Gary Sinise as the lead FBI hero) began with a vacation abroad. She didn't say where. But what was so scary? "By the time we landed, everybody was exhausted and hungry and thirsty. I wouldn't let any of us drink the water that was in the shuttle bus. I'm slightly paranoid about that kind of thing. So my pitch [for the show] started with that and then continued, 'What if the water was poison and what if the driver was a psychopath and what if …' and I just kept going and going in a spiral."

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Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders will be a solid hit, I suspect. It's ideal for the times. So many Americans don't want to let foreigners into their country, let alone travel to some place where, you know, the cab driver might be a psycho. As I said, the new boss at CBS knows exactly what he's doing.

There are two twists, mind you. It was acknowledged that the FBI's "International Response Unit" featured on the show is fictional. Also it was acknowledged that the show will not travel to other countries during production. Certainly not. It's being made in Studio City in L.A. and only at Studio City in L.A.

Talk about taking your own advice. Genius.

Airing tonight

American Experience: The Mine Wars (PBS, 9 p.m.) is an excellent and sobering account of the battle between coal miners and coal companies, and the local authorities in West Virginia in the early 20th century. There were brutal conflicts over labour conditions and unionization that involved strikes, assassinations, marches and what the program calls "the largest civil insurrection in the United States since the Civil War." Much of it began, as we learn, when Mary Harris (Mother) Jones, a notorious labour organizer, walked into a coal-mining town in southern West Virginia in 1901. An amazing story, hers.