CBS has been doing pretty well this year. So we didn’t expect too many changes to their lineup for next season. And there aren’t many.
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays are the same. On Wednesday, they are doing something unusual. They are only airing two shows, and both, Survivor and The Amazing Race, will be 90 minutes long. It will be interesting to see if people will want to watch that much of both shows. On Thursday, The Good Wife spinoff, Elsbeth, replaces CSI: Vegas at 10p. The latter is moving to Sundays at 10p and Kathy Bates will lead that night as Matlock. And who doesn’t love Kathy Bates? Maybe the late James Caan, but that is all.
So just a few tweaks. And they are some good ones because Elsbeth has a built-in audience because people love their Good Wife. When it comes to Matlock, the trailer makes it look like a lot of fun.
Those are not the only two new shows coming to CBS. Justin Hartley will be starring in Tracker, which will make its debut after the Super Bowl. And Damon Wayans and his son Damon Wayans Jr. will be starring in the sitcom Poppa’s House. I am assuming that will take Bob Hearts Abishola’s timeslot in 2024.
To read about the new series, then
THE NEW FALL DRAMAS:
ELSBETH (Thursday, 10:00-11:00 PM)
ELSBETH stars Carrie Preston (THE GOOD WIFE) as Elsbeth Tascioni, an astute but unconventional attorney who, after her successful career in Chicago, utilizes her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD. Based on the character featured in THE GOOD WIFE and THE GOOD FIGHT.
ELSBETH stars Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni, Wendell Pierce as Captain C.W. Wagner and Carra Patterson as Officer Kaya Blanke. Robert King, Michelle King, Liz Glotzer and Jonathan Tolins are executive producers. Tolins will serve as showrunner. Robert King directed the pilot from a script he wrote with Michelle King. The series is produced by CBS Studios.
MATLOCK (Sunday, 8:00-9:00 PM)
MATLOCK stars Kathy Bates as the brilliant septuagenarian Madeline “Matty” Matlock, who achieved success in her younger years, and decides to rejoin the workforce at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within. Inspired by the classic television series of the same name.
MATLOCK stars Kathy Bates as Madeline “Matty” Matlock, Skye P. Marshall as Olympia, Jason Ritter as Julian, David Del Rio as Billy and Leah Lewis as Sarah. Bates, Jennie Snyder Urman, Joanna Klein, Eric Christian Olsen and John Will are executive producers. Kat Coiro directed the pilot from a script written by Urman. The series is produced by CBS Studios.
TRACKER (Premieres after the Super Bowl 2024)
TRACKER stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a lone-wolf survivalist who roams the country as a “reward seeker,” using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. The series is based on the bestselling novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver.
NEW COMEDY FOR MID-SEASON:
POPPA’S HOUSE
POPPA’S HOUSE, starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., features Wayans as legendary talk radio host and happily divorced “Poppa” who has his point of view challenged at work when a new female co-host (Essence Atkins) is hired, and at home where he finds himself still parenting his adult son (Damon Wayans Jr.), a brilliant dreamer who is trying to pursue his passion while being a responsible father and husband.
POPPA’S HOUSE stars Damon Wayans as Poppa, Damon Wayans Jr. as Damon, Essence Atkins as Ivy and Tetona Jackson as Nina. Wayans and Kevin Hench are executive producers. Andy Ackerman directed the pilot from a script written by Hench and Wayans. The series is produced by CBS Studios.
