CBS will replace two of its standout reality franchises: “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” will permanently expand to 90-minute episodes next season, the network announced Thursday morning when it revealed its 2023-2024 TV lineup.
The Eye network is initially going all-out with its plans for the fall, but there’s a caveat to all of that: The writers’ strike means primetime very likely won’t look the same as it does in September. Indeed, CBS already has contingency plans in place, including several unscripted series waiting in the wings.
But for now, CBS is going into the fall with a primetime schedule that looks almost identical to its current schedule. Switching on Wednesday to just “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race,” for example, simply takes the current 10 p.m. night’s resident, the canceled “True Lies,” out of the equation. Last fall, CBS opened the season with three reality shows for the night: “Survivor,” “The Real Love Boat” and “The Amazing Race,” so Wednesday reality is not uncommon. (And the 90-minute versions of “Survivor” or “The Amazing Race” aren’t expanded, but so far those versions have been reserved for special moments, like premieres and finales.)
Among the other changes, new drama “Elsbeth,” starring Carrie Preston and based on her “The Good Wife”/”The Good Fight” character, will premiere Thursdays at 10 p.m., behind returning comedies “Young Sheldon” and “Ghosts, In addition to the comedy-drama So Help Me Todd.
This switches the Thursdays at 10pm of the “CSI: Vegas” series into Sundays at 10pm, but with a twist. As CBS frequently faces the excesses of NFL Sunday night football, sometimes pushing the last show of the night to 11 p.m. on the local news hour, this fall it will repeat The Eye (or nothing). At all, if the match goes too late) in the 10m slot. “CSI: Vegas” will return when football is mostly over.
For the rest of the night, CBS brought 1988 back again, by science or magic. That’s because the night will see the pairing of “Matlock” and “The Equalizer” in the eye. “Matlock,” starring Kathy Bates in the role made famous by Andy Griffith, is a brand new film that will benefit from being sandwiched between 60 Minutes and Queen Latifah’s The Equalizer.
“The Equalizer” moves to 9pm in this scenario, catching up with the canceled “East New York,” while the current 10pm series “NCIS: Los Angeles” is retiring.
Thanks to a last-minute deal-making that saved “SWAT” for one final season and sent “Eastern New York” to the East River, that’s it for the schedule changes. Mondays are still the same with “The Neighborhood,” “Bob Hearts Abishola,” “NCIS,” and “NCIS Hawai’i.” Tuesday’s still Dick Wolf all the time with “FBI,” “FBI: International,” and “FBI: Most Wanted.” And then Friday’s keeping the “SWAT”/”Fire Country”/”Blue Bloods” first responders vibe for the time being.
Waiting in the Wings: The new comedy “Poppa’s House” stars Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. in a multi-generational family film. And then there’s “Tracker,” which will get you the post-Super Bowl time slot on Sunday, February 11, 2024, right after the big game. Next, we’ll see where Justin Hartley’s streak might land.
Because again, the network’s prequel announcements for this year are pretty much what’s on the paper. The reality of all this depends on a lot of things, including how long the strike lasts.
Each network has its own contingency plans; At CBS, that could include a mix of repeats (procedurals like “NCIS” still work well in reruns, just ask Netflix), as well as “new-for-you” shows from CBS Studios that previously aired on Paramount+ ( “Star Trek” night, anyone?), international collectibles and unrecorded fare.
In the reality department, CBS has a lot on the shelf that it might bring out this fall if the scripts aren’t ready. This includes new seasons of “Tough as Nails” and “Lingo,” as well as primetime releases of “The Price is Right” and “Let’s Make a Deal.” Also ordered: “Buddy Games” and “Loteria Loca”. CBS also has a “Big Brother” machine.
This marks the first schedule unveiled by new CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach, who took charge of the department last fall. And it’s a bit bittersweet: For the first time in decades, CBS (and parent Paramount Global) chose not to reveal its schedule during opening week at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Instead, the plan was to celebrate at a party in LA this week — until those plans were put on hold due to the strike.
Still, Reisenbach had a powerful message for advertisers: stabilize CBS. “Along with our stellar team at the network, I’m very excited to present four new series with big-name talent that portray distinct, bold, and engaging characters,” she said in a statement. These new shows from Marquee Sponsorship capture everything our viewers love about CBS series – unique characters, suspenseful drama, intrigue, high stakes, laugh-out-loud comedy and good humor. The new additions to our lineup are an excellent complement to our winning list of returning series we’re confident It will resonate with our viewers on broadcast and streaming platforms.”
CBS is touting its 15th consecutive season as the number one network in viewership, which notes it ties its previous streak between 1955 and 1970. According to its research, as of April 30, the network averages 5.97 million viewers ahead of NBC C 5.39 million.
Here’s CBS’ fall 2023 schedule:
Monday
8 p.m. “The Neighborhood”
8:30 p.m. “Bob Hearts Abishola”
9 p.m. “NCIS”
10 p.m. “NCIS Hawaii”
Tuesday
8 p.m. “FBI”
9 p.m. “FBI: International”
10 p.m. “FBI: Most Wanted”
Wednesday
8 p.m. “The Survivor”
9:30 p.m. “The Amazing Race”
Thursday
8 p.m. “Young Sheldon”
8:30 p.m. “Ghosts”
9 p.m. “So Todd Help Me”
10 p.m. “Elsbeth” (new drama)
Friday
8 p.m. “SWAT”
9 p.m. “Fire Country”
10 p.m. “Blue Bloods”
Saturday
8 p.m. repeats
9 p.m. repeats
10 p.m. “48 hours”
Sunday
7 p.m. “60 minutes”
8 p.m. “Matlock” (new drama)
9 p.m. “The Equalizer”
10 p.m. repeat / “CSI: Vegas” (After Football)
Here’s a first look at the trailers for the new fall series “Elsbeth” and “Matlock”:
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