The password is: spinoff.
CBS, the most-watched broadcast network for 17 straight years, has announced its primetime line-up for next fall. Five new series will be featured – comedy DMV; spinoff dramas CIA, Sheriff Country and Boston Blue; and singing competition The Road. Four nights of the schedule will house programming changes (excluding Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday). And at least five new series – dramas Harlan Coben’s Final Twist, Y: Marshalls, Einstein and Cupertino; and food competition America’s Culinary Cup – will launch in midseason.
Flipping the NCIS and FBI franchises, mothership FBI will move to Monday at 9 p.m. ET into new spinoff CIA at 10 p.m. Earlier in the evening, the eighth, and final, season of The Neighborhood leads in new comedy DMV at 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday is now an evening of NCIS beginning with the granddaddy of the franchise followed by NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney.
While Wednesday is unchanged with 90-minute installments of the competition series Survivor and The Amazing Race, midseason will shift to game shows Hollywood Squares and The Price Is Right at Night from 8-10 p.m. ET, followed by the one-hour mystery anthology Harlan Coben’s Final Twist at 10 p.m. ET.
Wednesday in the spring on CBS will feature the 50th edition of granddaddy Survivor followed by new food competition series America’s Culinary Cup at 9:30 p.m. and a half-hour edition of Hollywood Squares at 10:30 p.m.
As expected, Friday on CBS will consist of spinoffs Sheriff Country and Boston Blue surrounding Fire Country at 9 p.m. And singing competition entry The Road airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET following returnees 60 Minutes and Tracker (and into drama repeats at 10 p.m. ET). Yellowstone spinoff Y: Marshalls, meanwhile, will move into the Sunday 9 p.m. ET hour in midseason into sophomore Watson.
The bottom line:
CBS in 2025-26 will extend its total viewing streak to 18 years. That’s a given. Utilizing the strength of its core programs with the new entries, the immediate advantage for the Eye network is the built-in familiarity of dramas CSI, Sheriff Country and Boston Blue. Unlike the streaming services, which dares to different with many of their program entries, CBS recognizes the value of sticking with the tried and true with its older skewing audience.
While The Road and Sunday is unprecedented, it is also an interesting counter-programming strategy opposite Sunday Night Football on NBC. And it is the one bold move on its new primetime line-up.
As for a comedy set at the DMV. Do you really want to spend a weekly half-hour in that environment? Not!
Here is the fall primetime schedule on CBS followed by the new program descriptions. New programs are bolded.
Monday
8:00 p.m.: The Neighborhood
8:30 p.m.: DMV
9:00 p.m.: FBI
10:00 p.m.: CIA
Tuesday
8:00 p.m.: NCIS
9:00 p.m.: NCIS: Origins (new day and time)
10:00 p.m.: NCIS: Sydney (new day and time)
Wednesday
8:00 p.m.: Survivor
9:30 p.m.: The Amazing Race
(Starting in January)
8:00 p.m.: Hollywood Squares
9:00 p.m.: The Price Is Right at Night
10:00 p.m.: Harlan Coben’s Final Twist
(Starting in spring)
8:00 p.m.: Survivor 50
9:30 p.m.: America’s Culinary Cup
10:30 p.m.: Hollywood Squares
Thursday
8:00 p.m.: Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage
8:30 p.m.: Ghosts
9:00 p.m.: Matlock
10:00 p.m.: Elsbeth
Friday
8:00 p.m.: Sheriff Country
9:00 p.m.: Fire Country
10:00 p.m.: Boston Blue
Saturday
8:00 p.m.: Encore telecasts
9:00 p.m.: Encore telecasts
10:00 p.m.: 48 Hours
Sunday
7:00 p.m.: 60 Minutes
8:00 p.m.: Tracker
9:00 p.m.: The Road (two hours)
New Program Descriptions
Drama
CIA
CIA, starring Tom Ellis, is a one-hour crime drama centered on two unlikely partners – a fast-talking, rule-breaking loose cannon CIA case officer (Ellis), and a by-the-book, seasoned and smart FBI agent who believes in the rule of law. When this odd couple are assigned to work out of CIA’s New York Station, they must learn to work together to investigate cases and criminals posing threats on U.S. soil, finding that their differences may actually be their strength.
Sheriff Country
Morena Baccarin stars as this Fire Country spinoff as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr of Fire Country). She investigates criminal activity while she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater, contending with her ex-con father, Wes (W. Earl Brown), who is an off-the-grid marijuana grower, and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter.
Boston Blue
Donnie Wahlberg as he reprises his role as NYPD officer Danny Reagan as he takes a job with Boston PD. Once in Boston, he is paired with detective Lena Peters (Sonequa Martin-Green), the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family.
Harlan Coben’s Final Twist – midseason
In each one-hour episode, bestselling author Harlan Coben will guide audiences through gripping tales of murder, high-profile crimes and life-altering surprises, each meticulously unraveled to reveal hidden truths, deceptions and lies. With exclusive interviews and never-before-seen archival materials, the series will provide an in-depth look at stories where nothing is as it seems.
Y: Marshalls (working title) – midseason
Luke Grimes stars as Kayce Dutton from Yellowstone, who joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence.
Comedy
DMV
This single-camera workplace comedy set at the place everyone dreads going most: the DMV. The logline: Our quirky and lovable characters are making minimum wage, doing a thankless job where customers are annoyed before they even walk in the door. Good thing they have each other.
Non-Scripted
The Road
With access to behind-the-scenes workings of the music industry, viewers will see what happens when some of the best up-and-coming performers pile into a tour bus and tackle a grueling schedule in pursuit of their dreams. From executive producers Taylor Sheridan, Blake Shelton, David C. Glasser, Lee Metzger and Keith Urban, the docu-follow format trails Keith Urban on his journey to discover the next big artist alongside Gretchen Wilson, who acts as the “tour manager.” Singers will join the headliner on tour, performing as opening acts in venues across the country. They will compete to win over local fanbases to secure a spot in the next city and remain on the tour.
America’s Culinary Cup – midseason
Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi serves as creator and host of this new culinary showdown featuring a cast of the nation’s most decorated chefs as they embark on a one-of-a-kind, high-stakes competition designed to challenge their creativity, endurance, presentation, leadership and more.
