TV Ratings Guide: CBS Week 21 Renewed/Cancelled: What CBS’ Fall Schedule Means for Elsbeth, NCIS: Origins, Ghost, Matlock, America’s Culinary Cup, FBI and More + March Madness Champions Renewed/Cancelled!

Prediction key:

Week 21 predictions:

The show’s 18-49 demo average and weekly peak performance on Paramount+ are in parentheses

America’s Culinary Cup: I mentioned in a recent update that if CBS intended to renew this show, it would likely be announced at the same time as the fall schedule. I was hoping that a midseason schedule would be announced along with the fall schedule since that’s how they’ve done it in recent years, but it’s probably a bad sign for the Culinary Cup that CBS didn’t announce a renewal last week, even if they didn’t announce their midseason plans. CBS did say they wanted a cooking show, but they haven’t promoted it yet because they’ve promoted this show enough. I saw it But maybe that awful holdover from Survivor is what really made them reconsider. It’s not retired yet, but if that’s what CBS intended, there’s no reason not to renew it by now. it is High possibility of cancellation.

Harlan Coben’s Final Twist: There have been some off-kilter predictions on CBS renewal/cancellation this year, but the only complete show is Harlan Coben’s Final Twist. The series had low ratings, aired only five episodes, and seemed like a super-cheap midseason filler that could sustain CBS for the months between Christmas and the Olympics. They didn’t seem to consider it a long-term series, but they still renewed it last week by announcing it would be joining the fall schedule. This is probably the most shocking part of all. CBS has a strong lineup for next season, and no one expected them to cede the fall slot to a midseason filler show that aired just five episodes and averaged just a 0.16 rating in the demo, barely beating “48 Hours.” CBS has enjoyed midseason broadcasts in recent years, with Watson, CIA, and Marshall all debuting and being renewed midseason, so this could be a way to debut all new shows in the fall and avoid airing new premieres midseason. If so, Einstein may have inherited this frame as well. Matlock appears to have lost his Thursday slot, so he could be another option. Or maybe CBS is already planning on franchising CIA and will rush another show in the franchise for a midseason debut. It’s been standard in recent seasons for CBS to announce its midseason plans alongside its fall schedule, so it’s unusual for us to have no idea what will air in this slot, but The Final Twist is likely to be a fall affair, and we’ll probably have a pretty good idea of ​​what will take over this slot midseason.

Elsbeth and the FBI: On the surface, the fall schedule appeared to be a big win for Elsbeth and the FBI. Both veteran dramas are set to have their time slots upgraded next season after having fairly low linear ratings this season. Elsbeth is one of CBS’ lowest-watched shows in live and same-day ratings, so moving the show, which relies heavily on delayed viewing, to the 9 p.m. slot is a fairly unusual move. The FBI hasn’t performed as badly as Elsbeth in the linear demo, and has picked up a bit since CIA’s premiere, but for a show partially owned heading into its ninth season, it certainly looked like it would end next year. It’s been compounded by its poor year-over-year trends since its move to Mondays, but now it’s being moved to the 8 p.m. slot, which is the best place to air it on any network, but especially on CBS. So what do these timeslot upgrades actually mean? If there’s not enough improvement to justify these early slots, it could backfire and CBS could choose to cancel these two shows that seemed set up as bubble series for next season anyway. In the case of Elsbeth, CBS may have lacked confidence in Cupertino, who was immediately ordered to series before filming anything. If they had doubts about Cupertino’s potential, maybe they wanted to air together for compatibility but just didn’t want to ruin Elsbeth by airing her behind. If that’s the case, it says more that CBS was worse in Cupertino than that it was necessarily better in Elsbeth. Still, it’s a good sign that they, along with Cupertino, are trying to keep Elsbeth from falling. As for the FBI, they may be planning on extending its run beyond Season 9, but they may just be moving up the FBI/CIA pairing by an hour in preparation for a new CIA series. Next season could feature a new CIA series, as CBS has designated Monday as “CIA Night.” However, it seems more likely that the FBI will stick around next season and beyond than I expected.

Ghosts and Matlock: Two of CBS’ strongest series in multiplatform viewing were benched, and there’s a bit of confusion as to why. Eternally Yours is said to have been planned as a companion to Ghost. Instead, it appears they won’t air together (save for a two-hour holiday special), as Ghosts premiered Season 6 in its entirety midseason. Either “Eternally Yours” will be limited to 13 episodes and replaced mid-season, or “Ghosts” will be moved elsewhere, but the schedule announcement seemed to suggest that “Ghosts” will remain in its regular slot. Matlock has had a tough season with linear decline, but remains a top performer in multi-platform profits. CBS may just consider this show to be a lower priority, as it has had a shortened season and may have had a much shorter run time due to the serial storylines. It’s not a syndicated player, and Elsbeth is more syndicated contract friendly due to its procedural nature and longer season, making it more likely to have a long-term future. Some spots become available mid-season. Sunday at 10 is a revolving door for CBS shows, and if Matlock moves there, it’s a sign they’re in trouble. It should be open at 10 a.m. Monday, but CBS may prefer to air Einstein there. It looks like 90 minutes will be free on Wednesdays, but if the sitcom is limited to Thursdays, what can you pair with Matlock? Perhaps Cupertino could be limited as well, meaning we could see the current Thursday lineup again next year, even if it disbands in the fall. Regardless of where it airs, Matlock is unlikely to become a huge hit again, having peaked in season one. However, if we can maintain high viewer ratings on multiple platforms, we may be able to continue broadcasting. Because the show remains one of the most-watched shows on CBS.

NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sidney: I’ve long said that CBS’ NCIS Nights are underwhelming, and now that CBS has renewed all three shows, it seems like even they agree. Origins and Sidney will share a time slot, making them the only CBS veterans confirmed to have episodes cut next season. It made sense for Sydney not to do all 20 episodes, as doing a full season this year seemed like an outlier. However, it’s pretty awful that Origins is shuffled to 10pm and the season is shortened. CBS actually appears to be underwhelmed by its performance and may be heading for an exit. With NCIS: New York now on the air and taking the 9pm slot, CBS has a promising new NCIS series lined up, and seeing how quickly they can pump out new spinoffs of top series, Origins and Sydney may not be needed as much anymore. Shortened seasons for procedural dramas aren’t very sustainable, and it’s not the model we’re used to seeing on CBS series. CBS may regret renewing these shows so quickly, or it may simply be trying a new scheduling strategy. Either way, Origins will start next season as one of the weakest shows on CBS’s packed schedule, but stubbornly sticking to airing NCIS all night long could save it again, even with fewer episodes. What about Sydney? It has a low rating so there’s no discussion of updating it at all, but at least it’s cheap. CBS may intend to continue airing the show, even on a limited basis, for as long as Australia wishes.

CBS March Madness Updated/Cancelled:

CBS’s “Renew/Cancel March Madness” was scheduled to end last week, but voting was extended by a week due to an incredibly close race between Ghost and the CIA, leaving the two series tied through the weekend.

share this