Who imagined it would feel so good to receive news about the upcoming fall schedule?
CBS is the first network to announce its plans for the 2024-25 season, and it’s brimming with good stuff.
The lineup features three new dramas, two new comedies, a new alternative series, a reimagined classic game show, special event programming, and 18 returning series. WOW!
Most of this is news we’ve already shared, but there are also some surprises.
Let’s get the full scope of what CBS just announced.
New drama series for fall include NCIS: Origins, starring Austin Stowell as a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs and narrated by flagship NCIS series star Mark Harmon; and Matlock, a reimagining of the classic television series, starring Emmy and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates as a brilliant, wily lawyer with unusual and unexpected tactics.
Midseason will introduce Watson, starring Morris Chestnut as a modern version of one of history’s greatest detectives solving medical mysteries.
The new multi-camera comedy for fall is Poppa’s House, starring Damon Wayans as happily divorced “Poppa,” who finds himself still parenting his adult son, Damon Wayans Jr.
Also coming is Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, the sequel to Young Sheldon, following Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy (Emily Osment) as they raise their young family in Texas while navigating the challenges of adulthood, parenting, and marriage.
The new fall alternative series is The Summit, hosted by Manu Bennett, which follows 16 strangers embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime journey through the treacherous New Zealand Alps in an attempt to reach the peak of a distant, towering mountain and win $1 million.
Midseason will launch a new edition of the legendary game show Hollywood Squares, starring Drew Barrymore as the center square, in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes.
The new schedule of CBS Original series also includes the return of the new #1 series on television, Tracker, starring Justin Hartley; the 2023-2024 season’s #2 new program, Elsbeth, starring Carrie Preston; the world’s #1 TV franchise, NCIS; and #1 news program 60 Minutes.
“This is another CBS primetime schedule that will break through the clutter and entertain a mass audience,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. “We’re grateful to the creative talent who deliver the characters and stories, as well as the viewers who spend nights, seasons and years with them.”
In addition to CBS’ new and returning top series, the Network’s year-round schedule of original programming also features annual high-profile events, including the return of the GRAMMY Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the Tony Awards, the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash and the recently announced American Music Awards.
Fast forwarding one year into the future, the CBS also ordered its first new series for the 2025-26 broadcasting season – the drama series Sheriff Country, starring Morena Baccarin, an extension of the Fire Country universe.
The following is the new 2024-2025 schedule:
MONDAY – Monday night features the additions of two new series. The popular comedy The Neighborhood returns for its seventh season at 8:00 PM, paired with the new comedy Poppy’s House at 8:30 PM. At 9:00 PM, the flagship series NCIS returns for season 22 as a powerful lead-in for the new drama NCIS: Origins 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 – Wednesday night returns in fall and spring with two 90-minute high-stakes competition series, and in mid-winter a special all game show-themed night. In the fall, the groundbreaking reality series Survivor kicks off the night at 8:00 PM, serving as a compatible lead-in for the new reality series The Summit at 9:30 PM.
The annual midseason winter break between the spring edition of Survivor and the return of The Amazing Race at 9:30 PM will be eventized with three game shows.
A special primetime, The Price Is Right At Night, hosted by Drew Carey, kicks off the festivities at 8:00 PM, followed by the return of Raid the Cage, hosted by Damon Wayans, Jr. and co-host Jeannie Mai, at 9:00 PM, leading into a new edition of the Hollywood Squares, starring Drew Barrymore as the center square, at 10:00 PM.
THURSDAY – Thursdays feature a thematic night of comedy and humorous dramas. At 8:00 PM, the new comedy Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage leads into the #2 comedy series, GHOSTS, at 8:30 PM.
The amusing new legal drama Matlock, starring Emmy and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, debuts at 9:00 PM and serves as lead-in to the critically acclaimed #2 new series, Elsbeth, at 10:00 PM.
FRIDAY – Friday night features the return of S.W.A.T. at 8:00 PM followed by the hit drama Fire Country at 9:00 PM. At 10:00 PM, Blue Bloods closes out the night as it returns for the second half of its 14th and final season.
Following the conclusion of Blue Bloods in midseason, NCIS: Sydney leads off the night at 8:00 PM, with Fire Country remaining in the 9:00 PM slot, followed by S.W.A.T. at 10:00 PM.
SATURDAY – CBS’ 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 – Sunday night begins at 7:00 PM with 60 Minutes, television’s acclaimed #1 news program, followed at 8:00 PM by television’s new #1 series, Tracker. At 9:00 PM, The Equalizer, starring Queen Latifah, returns for a fifth season.
During the first half of the season, when the CBS Sunday primetime lineup often has a delayed start due to late afternoon NFL broadcasts, the 10:00 PM slot will feature encore broadcasts of popular Network dramas.
In midseason, after the end of football, Tracker and The Equalizer will provide a potent lead-in to the new drama Watson at 10:00 PM.
THE NEW FALL DRAMAS:
NCIS: ORIGINS (Monday, 10:00-11:00 PM)
NCIS: Origins follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and is narrated by Mark Harmon.
In the series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office, where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid).
The series stars Austin Stowell as young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Kyle Schmid as Mike Franks, Mariel Molino as Special Agent Lala Dominguez, Tyla Abercrumbie as Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo Sullivan and Diany Rodriguez as Special Agent Vera Strickland. Flagship series star Mark Harmon will narrate and executive produce.
MATLOCK (Thursday, 9:00-10:00 PM)
MATLOCK stars Kathy Bates as the brilliant septuagenarian Madeline “Matty” Matlock, who, after achieving success in her younger years, decides to rejoin the workforce at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within.
Matty is assigned to Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), a senior attorney and key rainmaker with a thirst for justice, while Olympia’s ex-husband, Julian (Jason Ritter), the son of the head of the firm, is intrigued by Matty and her clever skills.
Matty works alongside the firm’s younger associates – the charismatic Billy (David Del Rio) and the uber-ambitious Sarah (Leah Lewis) – as she endeavors to establish herself in her new high-stakes world. Matlock is a reimagining of the classic television series of the same name.
NEW FALL COMEDIES:
GEORGIE & MANDY’S FIRST MARRIAGE (Thursday, 8:00-8:30 PM)
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, the sequel to Young Sheldon, follows Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy (Emily Osment) as they raise their young family in Texas while navigating the challenges of adulthood, parenting, and marriage.
We can’t be the only ones wondering about the “first” in the title!
POPPA’S HOUSE (Monday, 8:30-9:00 PM)
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.
He’s also challenged 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. The Wayans and Dean Lorey are executive producers.
NEW ALTERNATIVE SERIES:
THE SUMMIT (Wednesday, 9:30-11:00 PM)
THE SUMMIT, hosted by Manu Bennett, follows 16 strangers embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime journey through the treacherous New Zealand Alps in an attempt to reach the peak of a distant, towering mountain.
With their backpacks containing an equal share of $1 million, the group must traverse an exhausting distance in just 14 days in order to win the cash they are carrying.
But not everyone will make it, as these strangers must work together to tackle the dangerous terrain, unforgiving Antarctic winds, heart-pounding challenges, and gut-wrenching eliminations on their way to the peak.
Tracking them along this journey is the “Mountain’s Keeper,” who will surprise the trekkers with brutal twists and force decisions that complicate an already grueling ascent.
Morals and relationships will be tested when they must decide what to do if someone falls behind – because if the group fails to reach The Summit in time, all the prize money will be lost.
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES (Wednesday Beginning in January, 10:00-11:00 PM)
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, starring Drew Barrymore, is a classic game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes.
The “board” for the game is a vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants.
The celebrities are asked questions, and the contestants judge the legitimacy of their answers to win the game.
Award-winning actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore will take her place as the famed “center square,” answering questions for the contestants.
NEW DRAMA FOR MIDSEASON:
WATSON (Premieres Sunday Mid-Season, 10:00-11:00 PM)
Watson takes place seven months after the death of the titular character’s friend and partner, Sherlock Holmes, at the hands of Moriarty.
Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) resumes his medical career as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders. Watson’s old life isn’t done with him, though – Moriarty and Watson are set to write their own chapter of a story that has fascinated audiences for more than a century.
Watson is a medical show with a strong investigative spine, featuring a modern version of one of history’s greatest detectives as he turns his attention from solving crimes to solving medical mysteries.
Watson stars Morris Chestnut as Dr. John Watson. Craig Sweeny wrote the pilot and will showrun and executive produce.
NEW DRAMA FOR 2025-2026 BROADCAST SEASON:
SHERIFF COUNTRY
Sheriff Country stars Morena Baccarin as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr of Fire Country).
Mickey investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater while contending with her ex-con father and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter. Sheriff Country is an expansion of the universe of the hit drama series Fire Country.
Sheriff Country’s initial episode is being written by Tony Phelan and Joan Rater with a story by Phelan, Rater, and Max Thieriot.
Executive producers are Thieriot, Phelan, Rater, and Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed for JBTV. The series is produced by CBS Studios.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.