Renewal hysteria swept CBS early Wednesday, with the Eye network picking up 23 total series for the (sure to be coronavirus-addled) 2020-2021 television season.
In addition to sure-thing tentpoles such as NCIS (and its spinoffs NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans), Blue Bloods and 60 Minutes, CBS is bringing back freshman bubble series All Rise, Bob Hearts Abishola and The Unicorn. Other in-limbo shows securing a green light include TVLine reader fave S.W.A.T., as well as Bull, SEAL Team and MacGyver. Rounding out the renewal list are FBI, FBI Most Wanted, The Neighborhood, Magnum P.I,, 48 Hours and Undercover Boss.
Those lucky 17 join the previously announced renewals of Young Sheldon, Mom, Survivor, The Amazing Race and acclaimed freshman drama Evil.
A CBS insider, meanwhile, confirms that freshman series Carol’s Second Act, Broke and Tommy, as well as venerable utility player Man With a Plan have all been cancelled. They join previously-axed Sunday drama God Friended Me will not be back for Season 3.
TVLine’s 2020 Renewal Scorecard has been updated to reflect the slew of pickups and cancellations.
With the COVID-19 crisis wreaking havoc on pilot season (and creating a growing list of development casualties), CBS was widely expected to bring back most of its current lineup, struggling bubble series included. It remains unclear when the 22 returning series will resume production and what impact any potential/inevitable delay will have on episode counts.
“Thanks to these exceptional shows, we’re going to win the current season by 1 million viewers,” declared CBS president Kelly Kahl in a statement. “Next year, we’ll have these strong returning series as our foundation…and Super Bowl LV too. It’s a well-balanced lineup across Entertainment, News and Sports that will put us in an incredibly stable position for 2020-2021.”
