CBS Renew/Cancel Week 21: Watson Keeps Marching On + Renew/Cancel March Madness Voting Continues

The Ratings Junkie

Below are the Week 21 predictions for which shows CBS will renew and cancel for the 2025-26 TV season, followed by an analysis. Underneath that comes results for the first round of voting in CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness, along with voting for the second round. Lastly comes the interactive schedule, where you can create and share your own predictions. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Prediction Changes
-Watson is upgraded from Tilts Renew to Leans Renew

Prediction Key

Week 21 Predictions

Watson

Watson finds itself with another upgrade — this time back to Leans Renew. While Watson itself has not proved me wrong, CBS has. Excluding the premiere, it’s one of their lowest-rated shows despite airing behind Tracker. However, CBS has advertised this show nonstop. It’s the main focus of their promotion during the NCAA tournament, and will get another Monday at 10 pm rerun the day after the first part of its two-part finale. CBS clearly wants their latest fully owned drama to work, and seems to be on track to give it a second chance. Whether it deserves that second chance is debatable, but that’s not what these predictions are for. Watson has been on a clearer path to renewal ever since both FBI spinoffs and S.W.A.T. were canceled, and since The Equalizer made its ungraceful move to the Sunday night death slot (thanks in large part to Watson’s weakness).

Season Finales

With many of their series having varying episode counts, CBS is staggering finales. It involves several two-part finales, out-of-time slot finales, Elsbeth sliding to 9 pm, and S.W.A.T. left virtually on an island throughout May as a rare show with a 22 episode order. Whether an inevitable ratings uptick encourages CBS to give Elsbeth an earlier time slot next season, or an inevitable ratings decline discourages a potential buyer from saving S.W.A.T., both remain to be seen. Whether The Amazing Race finale-Hollywood Squares rerun pairing on a Thursday could provide a sneak peak into CBS’s Friday nights in the fall also remain to be seen. However, all three scenarios seem plausible to various extents. Most surprising, though, is the multiple preemptions of NCIS: Origins reruns for Watson reruns. Giving Watson more exposure is understandable, but coming at the expense of a fellow new drama is a remarkable move. Could NCIS: Origins be a surprise candidate for a time slot change or being saved for midseason? We’ll find out more during the May upfronts.

CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness Elite Eight

The second round of voting for CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness is now open, and will remain open through Saturday, March 29 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

All six shows that made last year’s Elite Eight and were also eligible to compete in this year’s tournament made the Elite Eight again. Once again, S.W.A.T. was the leading vote getter by a comfortable margin, pulling off a decisive upset against Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. FBI: International survived an extremely tight rematch with The Neighborhood, which it beat decisively last year. NCIS also faced a tight match from Fire Country, ultimately making its way back into the Elite Eight, marking the second year in a row 2023’s winner lost its first round match. Tracker easily survived its matchup against Elsbeth, which itself defeated NCIS: Origins in the play-in round rather narrowly. The Equalizer defeated both NCIS: Sydney in the play-in round and Watson in the first round with ease. Interestingly, Watson actually would have defeated NCIS: Sydney in their matchup had the NCIS spinoff made it through its play-in match. Finally, despite its recent cancelation, FBI: Most Wanted was no match for FBI.

The returning six series will be joined in the Elite Eight by Matlock, which crushed fellow new show Poppa’s House, and Ghosts, which survived a battle with Blue Bloods by just a 13 vote margin out of nearly 2,000 votes cast.

Will S.W.A.T. and The Equalizer return to the Final Four for the second consecutive year? Will FBI reclaim its spot in the Final Four from 2023? Which of Tracker and NCIS will go down earlier than it did last year? Vote in the polls below to make your picks!

Interactive Schedule

The TV Ratings Guide	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Mon	The Neighborhood	Poppa’s House	NCIS		NCIS: Origins
Tues	FBI		FBI: International		FBI: Most Wanted
Wed	Survivor			The Amazing Race
Thurs	Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage	Ghosts	Matlock		Elsbeth
Fri	NCIS: Sydney		Fire Country		S.W.A.T.
Sun	Tracker		Watson		The Equalizer