Hunter's CBS Schedule PREDICTION

CBS will be releasing their fall schedule tomorrow (Wednesday) around 5:00-6:00 in the morning Pacific Time, 8:00-9:00 Eastern Time. Now that most things are known, I will predict what CBS's schedule will look like tomorrow.


Sunday
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 NCIS: Los Angeles
9:00 Madam Secretary
10:00 Elementary

Monday (early fall)
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 9JKL (new)
9:00 The Big Bang Theory (R)
9:30 Superior Donuts (new time)
10:00 Scorpion

Monday (late fall)
8:00 Kevin Can Wait
8:30 Man with a Plan
9:00 9JKL (new time)
9:30 Superior Donuts
10:00 Scorpion

Tuesday
8:00 NCIS
9:00 Bull
10:00 NCIS: New Orleans

Wednesday
8:00 Survivor
9:00 S.W.A.T. (new)
10:00 Criminal Minds (new time)

Thursday (late fall)
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 Young Sheldon (new)
9:00 Mom
9:30 Life in Pieces
10:00 Instinct (new)

Friday
8:00 MacGyver
9:00 Hawaii Five-0
10:00 Blue Bloods


Consistency is key here, in this schedule that I have concocted.  Three nights are looking exactly the same, and only two shows are changing timeslots. I think that Sundays will stay put, because, with the amount of money CBS is making on the show, Elementary will probably have another 24 episode season, and I don't see any shows moving to Saturdays. If Madam Secretary and/or Elementary were to move to Saturdays, however, I would not be opposed to it. I expect Tuesday to stay the same, at least for the fall. CBS didn't move Scorpion or NCIS: New Orleans to 10:00 until season 3, so I expect Bull to stay at 9:00 for now. New drama SEAL Team may cause it to move, due to compatibility with NCIS, but I doubt that show premieres before mid-season, since S.W.A.T. will probably make the fall schedule. I don't expect a move for NCIS: New Orleans because I think it may be a season away from a Sunday move, and because premiering the second new fall drama in the late fall means more staggering (which I will elaborate on later). Fridays stay the same because, why not?

I think that the Kevin Can Wait and Man with a Plan pairing will remain intact because of how similar they are. New comedy 9JKL will probably be fairly compatible with them, so I expect a 9:00 timeslot for it, with Superior Donuts moving to 9:30. However, things will have to be different for the early part of the fall with The Big Bang Theory on the night. Since 9JKL was an easy frontrunner all pilot season, I think CBS is high on it, so it will get that big lead-in for the first few weeks. This leaves the 9:00 timeslot empty, so I scheduled reruns of The Big Bang Theory there. CBS loves to rerun the show, and it will provide a solid lead-in to Superior Donuts. I think that will only happen for 2 or 3 weeks though, with a two-hour Scorpion premiere, one-hour Superior Donuts premiere, and maybe back-to-back 9JKLs on its final week with The Big Bang Theory on the night. Thursday comedies stay mostly unchanged, with Young Sheldon filling the hole left by The Great Indoors.

Wednesday nights is what I am most unsure of with this schedule. I am sure of the shows, but not of the timeslots. I think there is about a 50% chance Criminal Minds moves to 10:00, and a 50% chance it stays at 9:00. Will CBS choose to use the higher-rated lead-in and higher-viewed timeslot on new series S.W.A.T, or will they use a more compatible lead-in on it? We will find out tomorrow. S.W.A.T. is practically a lock for Wednesdays, as it is this season's Bull, starring a former Criminal Minds cast member. CBS will likely have room for four new shows this fall. Last fall, CBS had six new shows, and they premiered three in the early fall, three in the late fall. So, with four new shows, I expect two early fall premieres, and two late fall premieres.

Mid-season for CBS is complicated, with a lot of shows, and only two new shows in the fall that may need replacing. Code Black may get a Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders-like treatment, potentially replacing a mid-season show that fails, as it won't need much promotion. It's possible that a scripted show also bridges seasons of Survivor. For the remaining shows, I would say to expect some late spring premieres.


What do you think of my prediction? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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