CBS is adding three new dramas along with a half-hour comedy, starring Damon Wayans Sr. and Jr., to their 2023 primetime lineup. The network’s confirmed schedule also includes the return of 22 shows including the three FBI series, S.W.A.T. season seven, and season two of breakout hit Fire Country.
“Along with our outstanding team at the Network, I am incredibly excited to introduce four new series with big-name talent portraying distinct, bold, engaging characters,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “These new shows from marquee auspices capture everything our viewers love about a CBS series – unique personalities, suspenseful drama, intrigue, high stakes, and relatable laugh-out-loud comedy with heart and humor. The new additions to our lineup are a stellar complement to our winning slate of returning series and we are confident they will resonate with our viewers on broadcast and streaming platforms.”
New seasons of the reality competition series Survivor and The Amazing Race will kick off with special 90-minute episodes. Other scheduling highlights include the premiere of Tracker starring This Is Us‘ Justin Hartley immediately after Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024.
CBS’s 2023-2024 Primetime Schedule:
MONDAY – Monday’s winning slate returns intact with the popular comedies THE NEIGHBORHOOD and BOB ♥ ABISHOLA opening the night from 8:00-9:00 PM. At 9:00 PM, the #1 broadcast series, NCIS, returns for season 21, leading into the third season of NCIS: HAWAI`I at 10:00 PM.
TUESDAY – FBI Tuesday returns with the top-rated lineup of the night. FBI opens the night at 8:00 PM, followed by FBI: INTERNATIONAL at 9:00 PM and FBI: MOST WANTED concluding the block of heroic storytelling at 10:00 PM.
WEDNESDAY – Two iconic reality series will expand to 90 minutes each to deliver a full night of adventure and challenges. The groundbreaking broadcast hit and most-watched reality show on Paramount+, SURVIVOR, hosted by Jeff Probst, kicks off the night at 8:00 PM. At 9:30 PM, the globe-trotting, Emmy Award-winning THE AMAZING RACE hosted by Phil Keoghan returns, ending at 11:00 PM.
THURSDAY – Thursdays kick off with the top two comedies on television. The #1 comedy, YOUNG SHELDON, anchors the night at 8:00 PM, leading into the #2 comedy series, GHOSTS, at 8:30 PM. At 9:00 PM, the witty drama SO HELP ME TODD, starring Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin, returns and serves as a perfect pairing with the humorous new drama ELSBETH, starring Carrie Preston, at 10:00 PM.
FRIDAY – CBS’s most dominant night will feature the return of S.W.A.T. at 8:00 PM followed at 9:00 PM with television’s #1 new series and CBS’s #1 streaming series on Paramount+, FIRE COUNTRY. At 10:00 PM, Friday’s consistent winner, BLUE BLOODS starring Tom Selleck, closes out one of television’s strongest nights as it returns for its 14th season.
SATURDAY – CBS’s Saturday night lineup features encore broadcasts of the Network’s popular dramas at 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM, followed at 10:00 PM by the true crime docuseries 48 HOURS, Saturday’s #1 non-sports primetime series.
SUNDAY – CBS’s Sunday night starts at 7:00 PM with 60 MINUTES, television’s acclaimed #1 news program, followed at 8:00 PM by the new legal drama MATLOCK, starring Emmy and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates. At 9:00 PM, one of television’s top shows, averaging over 10 million multiplatform viewers a week and reigning as the most-watched drama among African American viewers, THE EQUALIZER, starring Queen Latifah, returns for a fourth season.
During the first half of the season, when the CBS Sunday primetime lineup often starts later due to late afternoon NFL broadcasts, the 10:00 PM slot will feature encore broadcasts of popular Network dramas. CSI: VEGAS returns for its third season to anchor the 10:00 PM slot later in the year.
Details CBS’s New Series:
ELSBETH (Thursday, 10:00-11:00 PM)
ELSBETH stars Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni, an astute but unconventional attorney who utilizes her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD. After leaving her successful legal career in Chicago to tackle a new investigative role in New York City, Elsbeth finds herself jockeying with the toast of the NYPD, Captain C.W. Wagner (Wendell Pierce).
Working alongside Elsbeth is Officer Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson), a stoic and ethical officer who quickly develops an appreciation for Elsbeth’s insightful and offbeat ways.
ELSBETH is based on the character featured in THE GOOD WIFE and THE GOOD FIGHT. Robert King, Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, and Jonathan Tolins are executive producers. Tolins will serve as showrunner. Robert King directed the pilot from a script he wrote with Michelle King. The series is produced by CBS Studios.
MATLOCK (Sunday, 8:00-9:00 PM)
MATLOCK stars Emmy and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates as Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a brilliant septuagenarian who achieved success in her younger years and decides to rejoin the workforce at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases. Matty is assigned to Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), a senior attorney and key rainmaker with a thirst for justice. Olympia’s ex-husband, Julian (Jason Ritter), the son of the head of the firm, is intrigued by Matty and her clever skills. As Matty endeavors to establish herself in her new high-stakes world, she works alongside the firm’s younger associates – the charismatic Billy (David Del Rio) and the uber ambitious Sarah (Leah Lewis).
Bates, Jennie Snyder Urman, Joanna Klein, Eric Christian Olsen, and John Will are executive producers. Kat Coiro directed the pilot from a script written by Urman. The series is produced by CBS Studios. MATLOCK is inspired by the classic television series of the same name.
TRACKER (Premieres after the Super Bowl 2024)
TRACKER stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a lone-wolf survivalist who roams the country as a “reward seeker,” using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. The series is based on the bestselling novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver.
TRACKER stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, Fiona Rene as Reenie, Robin Weigert as Teddi, Abby McEnany as Velma and Eric Graise as Bobby. Hartley, Ken Olin, Ben Winters, Hilary Weisman Graham and Jeffrey Deaver are executive producers. Olin directed the pilot from a script written by Winters. The series is produced by Twentieth Television.
POPPA’S HOUSE (Mid-Season)
POPPA’S HOUSE, starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., features Wayans as legendary talk radio host and happily divorced “Poppa” who has his point of view challenged at work when a new female co-host (Essence Atkins) is hired, and at home where he finds himself still parenting his adult son (Damon Wayans Jr.), a brilliant dreamer who is trying to pursue his passion while being a responsible father and husband.
POPPA’S HOUSE stars Damon Wayans as Poppa, Damon Wayans Jr. as Damon, Essence Atkins as Ivy and Tetona Jackson as Nina. Wayans and Kevin Hench are executive producers. Andy Ackerman directed the pilot from a script written by Hench and Wayans. The series is produced by CBS Studios.
