Summer is winding down, the pool towels are getting folded up for the season and the couch is calling us back to some of our favorite fictional worlds.
The Big Four broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC — have released their fall schedules, and between returning favorites reclaiming their old time slots and a fresh crop of newcomers hoping to earn one, there’s a lot to plan around this September and October.
“We’ll build on that this fall by expanding the powerful NCIS franchise, introducing a new original drama from the creators of THE GOOD WIFE and ELSBETH, and a new comedy from the acclaimed duo behind GHOSTS,” CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said in a statement, previewing a fall built for “launching new hits, scaling audiences and growing content value.”
CBS was first out of the gate with its schedule, and the network is leaning hard into its NCIS universe. NCIS holds its Tuesday 8 p.m. spot, followed by the new spinoff NCIS: NEW YORK at 9 p.m. — starring LL Cool J as Agent Sam Hanna, newly transferred to his hometown — and NCIS: ORIGINS at 10 p.m.
Mondays get a shake-up, too: CBS is scrapping its comedy block in favor of FBI at 8 p.m., CIA at 9 p.m. and HARLAN COBEN’S FINAL TWIST at 10 p.m. Thursdays bring GEORGIE & MANDY’S FIRST MARRIAGE at 8 p.m., the new vampire-marriage comedy ETERNALLY YOURS at 8:30 p.m., ELSBETH in a new 9 p.m. slot and the new legal drama CUPERTINO — starring Mike Colter as a lawyer taking on Silicon Valley’s elite — at 10 p.m.
Fridays hold steady with SHERIFF COUNTRY, FIRE COUNTRY and BOSTON BLUE, while GHOSTS, MATLOCK, NCIS: SYDNEY and the new dramedy EINSTEIN — with Matthew Gray Gubler as Albert Einstein’s reckless great-grandson — wait for a midseason return.
Related: 13 Things You Didn’t Know About NCIS
Over at NBC, the fall officially kicks off with the network’s broadcast of the 78th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, followed three days later by the Thursday premiere of THE TRAITORS: NEW BLOOD, an all-civilian edition of the Alan Cumming-hosted competition series, at 8 p.m. It leads into LAW & ORDER: SVU at 9 p.m. and the mothership LAW & ORDER, which moves into a new 10 p.m. slot.
Monday nights bring Season 30 of THE VOICE, with new coaches Queen Latifah and Riley Green joining Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine, followed at 10 p.m. by the new Peter Krause law-enforcement drama LINE OF FIRE, premiering Sept. 21. The One Chicago block — CHICAGO MED, CHICAGO FIRE and CHICAGO P.D. — returns to Wednesdays on Oct. 7, with the LAW & ORDER shows following the next night.
Fridays welcome Season 3 of HAPPY’S PLACE at 8 p.m. and the new Tea Leoni-Tim Daly comedy NEWLYWEDS at 8:30 p.m., both premiering Oct. 23. NBC will also mark its 100th anniversary with a live three-hour variety special on Dec. 10, while the David Boreanaz-led ROCKFORD FILES reboot and the Jake Johnson comedy SUNSET P.I. wait until January and February, respectively.
ABC, meanwhile, is holding several of its most popular dramas — HIGH POTENTIAL, THE ROOKIE, its new spinoff THE ROOKIE: NORTH and WILL TRENT — until 2027, along with SHIFTING GEARS and new seasons of THE BACHELOR and BACHELOR IN PARADISE.
In their place, R.J. DECKER returns for Season 2 on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. behind Season 35 of DANCING WITH THE STARS, and the SCRUBS revival keeps its spot leading out of ABBOTT ELEMENTARY on Wednesdays. Thursdays remain a three-hour emergency-services block: 9-1-1 at 8 p.m., 9-1-1: NASHVILLE at 9 p.m. and GREY’S ANATOMY at 10 p.m. — which is getting its own currently untitled spinoff, set at a rural West Texas medical center, sometime in 2027.
FOX is keeping its scripted footprint small this fall — just four hours of it and only three live-action shows in the mix. ANIMAL CONTROL moves to Sundays behind THE SIMPSONS, while BEST MEDICINE and DOC hold down Tuesday’s drama hour, and the animated comedies UNIVERSAL BASIC GUYS and the returning GRIMSBURG round out Sunday nights.
The rest of Fox’s fall belongs to unscripted staples and returning game shows, with the network saving its biggest scripted bets for midseason. The Stephen Amell-led BAYWATCH reboot lands in January, followed by the Stephen Fry espionage thriller THE INTERROGATOR and new seasons of MEMORY OF A KILLER and MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN.
Fox also teased two shows worth circling further down the road: a HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN reboot from Friday Night Lights producer Jason Katims, following a probationary angel sent to help people in need, and STEWIE, a FAMILY GUY spinoff — both slated for the 2027-28 season.
Add it all up, and families have a genuinely full slate ahead: familiar procedurals reshuffling time slots, sitcoms testing new pairings and enough new pilots that something is bound to land. As always, our advice stays the same — check back with Movieguide® for reviews before you commit your family’s remote control to any of them, new or returning.
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