Welcome to Week 1 of CBS Renew/Cancel for the 2026-27 TV season. All Paramount+ peaks listed are as reported in our weekly What's Trending on Streaming column, and all Attention Score peaks are collected via Television Stats, which measure online attention on a daily basis. You can find more information on Attention Scores here. All data from the What's Trending on Streaming column is collected directly from Paramount+ daily at 2 pm Eastern Time. All A18-49 and viewership data is sourced from Nielsen. Let us know what you think in the comments and by voting below!
Week 1 Predictions
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| *Attention Score for Cupertino is as of Saturday, October 10 |
As of Week 1, three fall 2026 scripted series are predicted to be on the chopping block: FBI, Elsbeth, and Eternally Yours. A fourth, documentary Harlan Coben's Final Twist, is also predicted to be canceled. Below is a more detailed look at each scripted show, followed by an analysis.
FBI
FBI has officially entered the third season of its three-season renewal issued back in 2024. It premiered with great promise on Paramount+, peaking at #2, and its linear ratings were up from its eighth season premiere. The former is arguably more impressive than the latter, given FBI is airing at the 8 pm this season versus the lower-viewed 9 pm time slot last season.
Online attention dipped quite significantly for FBI between its eighth and ninth season premieres, where it went from a 9.0 Attention Score to a 5.3 score, which it hit the day of its premiere. Its network rank in that metric is a much more modest eighth place.
There are a number of outcomes that could happen with FBI this season, from a cancelation to a short tenth season to another multi-season renewal. Given how crowded CBS's schedule is and how they've been prioritizing newer shows over veteran ones (see: the benching of Matlock, Ghosts, and NCIS: Sydney), and FBI is a prime candidate to be this year's long-running veteran to come to a conclusion.
It is worth keeping an eye on spinoff CIA's performance. While CBS is likely hoping CIA can be FBI's heir apparent, its linear performance and Paramount+ chart rank this week were significantly worse than FBI's. If things get much bleaker for CIA, CBS could opt to bring FBI back for another year to launch a new spinoff/franchise extension.
Elsbeth
This is not the start CBS would have wanted out of Elsbeth. The King duo-created drama almost never misses the Paramount+ Top 10, even if it often peaks around the #8-10 spot. The season premiere not only failed to chart, but was also down 46% in online attention.
It remains to be seen how Elsbeth performed for CBS on Thursday night in the A18-49 demo and in viewership, but it's going to need a sizable bump from what it's been doing at 10 pm to make up for this. It's bad enough that it failed to chart on Paramount+; it'll be worse if it turns out it's hurting Cupertino's live ratings, the one Thursday night show that did chart on Paramount+ this week.
Last season, the greatest indicator for a show's cancelation on CBS was if it failed to chart on Paramount+. If this season is no different, Elsbeth is not on track to return for a fifth season. It is still early though, and CBS will almost certainly bring back at least one of Elsbeth and Cupertino to keep the relationship with the King duo (their shows often over-index with critics and upper income viewers). If Cupertino fades out of the Top 10 in future weeks, Elsbeth could come out triumphant.
Eternally Yours
It's a bit early to judge Eternally Yours too negatively, given linear ratings have not been released yet and its online attention is to be determined. It's also hard to judge it positively, given its series premiere failed to chart in Paramount+'s Top 10.
Yes, it's true that it was a steep task for a show with only 20something minutes of content to compete on a Top 10 list that features shows that have been around since the Clinton presidency. It's also true that only one scripted show consistently failed to reach the Top 10 and still got renewed: NCIS: Sydney, which was judged more on its Paramount+ performance in Australia, its cheapness, and its ability to allow CBS to form an all-NCIS night without committing to a full season of NCIS: Origins.
Eternally Yours is arguably a soft-launch for CBS to see just how badly they need Ghosts on the schedule. The show is entering the second season of a two-season renewal and is on the expensive side, so they probably wouldn't have minded being able to replace it with Eternally Yours. With what little data we have on Eternally Yours, it doesn't appear as though they would be able to get away with that.
Last Week's Poll Results
According to last week's reader poll results, a plurality of 48% expect NCIS: New York to be CBS's first new scripted show to be renewed in the 2026-27 TV season. Meanwhile, Elsbeth is predicted to be the first veteran show canceled, something expected by 13.4% of voters. The untitled Sheriff Country spinoff is expected to be the first new series order by a plurality of 49%, though nearly 30% selected 'None of the Above.'
A solid 42% of poll respondents think a scripted show will land a multi-season renewal of 3 seasons or more, which leaves a 'No' vote with a fairly narrow majority.
Perhaps most interestingly, a razor-thin majority of 52% of poll respondents expect to see a new scripted show on CBS's midseason schedule that has not been announced yet. While this would be pretty unprecedented, CBS did just announce three new unscripted series, including a reboot of Undercover Boss.
This Week's Polls
Interactive Schedule
The below fillable schedule allows you to make and share your own predictions. Select the prediction category at the bottom to change the color scheme, then fill in the box with the show to fill out your predictions. You can then share them in the comments or on social media by selecting Save Screenshot and Download.
| The TV Ratings Guide | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | FBI | CIA | Harlan Coben's Final Twist | ||
| Tues | NCIS | NCIS: New York | NCIS: Origins | ||
| Wed | Survivor | The Amazing Race | |||
| Thurs | Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage | Eternally Yours | Elsbeth | Cupertino | |
| Fri | Sheriff Country | Fire Country | Boston Blue | ||
| Sun | Marshals | Tracker | Encores | ||
Renewed
Certain Renew
Likely Renew
Leans Renew
Leans Cancel
Likely Cancel
Certain Cancel
Canceled