CBS has renewed a staggering 18 of its series to return for the new fall season, banking on returning favorites to adjust to a truly unique pilot season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The network has picked up the dramas All Rise, Blue Bloods, Bull, FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, MacGyver, Magnum P.I., NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Seal Team and S.W.A.T. On the comedy front, CBS renewed Bob ♥ Abishola, The Neighborhood, and The Unicorn while news programs 60 Minutes and 48 Hours and reality series Undercover Boss also made the cut. This gaggle of shows joins previously renewed for next season Evil, Chuck Lorre’s Mom, and Young Sheldon — both in the middle of two-year pickups — Survivor and The Amazing Race for a total of 23 shows, scripted, reality and newsmagazines.
We’ll address the series that did not make the cut in another story but for the most part, CBS is banking heavily on their current lineup because none of the networks can have a proper pilot season due to the Hollywood shut down in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The network has started to narrow down the field by passing on The Lincoln Lawyer series from David E. Kelley and comedy pilot Fun. Among the rest, the multi-cam B Positive, the only completed broadcast pilot this season, and drama The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah have been gaining traction and are likely to get a series pickup in the coming weeks.
The renewals mostly come as no surprise because pretty much all of the returning shows have been performing admirably for the network. Seven of CBS’s returning shows top 10 million viewers and they include NCIS, FBI, Blue Bloods, Young Sheldon, Bull, 60 Minutes, and FBI: Most Wanted. The latter is one of a number of freshman series being brought back, a list that also includes All Rise and The Unicorn.
