CBS releases 2023 fall TV schedule, but there's a catch
Many popular CBS TV shows are returning, along with some new ones, but exactly when is still a question.
As the 2022-2023 is winding down with finales airing throughout May, CBS is getting viewers ready for what they can expect with its 2023 fall TV schedule and beyond, announcing its full slate of shows, the days of the week they are going to air and time. A lot of it will seem familiar, with popular shows in their traditional spots, but there are a number of new shows set to premiere on the network this year.
Hit CBS TV shows like NCIS, NCIS: Hawai'i, FBI, Young Sheldon, Ghosts, Fire Country, Blue Bloods and The Equalizer are all back and airing at the exact same time they did this past TV season. CBS' two most popular reality/competition shows, Survivor and The Amazing Race, are also returning in the fall, but with an extra 30 minutes each, so they both last 90 minutes every week. In addition, there are two new shows set to premiere this fall: the Kathy Bates-led reboot of Matlock and The Good Wife/The Good Fight spinoff, Elsbeth.
Here is the full seven-day 2023 fall TV lineup for CBS:
Mondays
- The Neighborhood season 6, 8 pm ET/PT
- Bob Hearts Abishola season 5, 8:30 pm ET/PT
- NCIS season 21, 9 pm ET/PT
- NCIS: Hawai'i season 3, 10 pm ET/PT
Tuesdays
- FBI season 6, 8 pm ET/PT
- FBI: International season 3, 9 pm ET/PT
- FBI: Most Wanted season 5, 10 pm ET/PT
Wednesdays
- Survivor season 45, 8 pm ET/PT
- The Amazing Race season 35, 9:30 pm ET/PT
Thursdays
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- Young Sheldon season 7, 8 pm ET/PT
- Ghosts season 3, 8:30 pm ET/PT
- So Help Me Todd season 2, 9 pm ET/PT
- Elsbeth season 1, 10 pm ET/PT
Fridays
- SWAT season 7, 8 pm ET/PT
- Fire Country season 2, 9 pm ET/PT
- Blue Bloods season 14, 10 pm ET/PT
Saturdays
- 48 Hours, 10 pm ET/PT
Sundays
- Matlock season 1, 8 pm ET/PT
- The Equalizer season 4, 9 pm ET/PT
However, one key detail regarding all those shows is missing — their premiere dates. With the writers strike currently ongoing, it is unclear if the fall TV season is going to be able to start in September as it traditionally does or if new seasons are going to be pushed back. According to Variety, CBS does have a contingency plan in place should the writers strike last to a point it impacts the fall TV schedule, with a number of unscripted TV shows expected to fill these slots if need be.
There's one other schedule quirk to be aware of. With CBS once again airing NFL football games on Sunday, it has announced that CSI: Vegas season 3 is going to return later in the year at 10 pm ET/PT. This is because CBS does not want to have CSI: Vegas bleeding into its local 11 pm news broadcasts in the event that an NFL game goes long. So for the fall, the Sunday 10 pm CBS time slot will feature encore broadcasts of other CBS shows.
CBS also offered a preview of what's coming beyond the fall TV schedule. It announced that Tracker, a new crime drama starring This Is Us alum Justin Hartley, is going to premiere after CBS's broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII on February 11; no word on what its regular time slot is going to be. Then there is the new comedy Poppa's House, starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., that will premiere mid-season.
Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.