'Bull' Season 4: Why is Episode 18 not airing this week and what to expect when the CBS show returns
'Bull' fans will be disappointed. Episode 18 'Off the Rails' will not air on CBS on Monday, March 23 and has been pushed to next week. While the exact reason isn't officially confirmed by the network, we could look at scheduling as one of the reasons. Should the legal procedural complete 22 episodes, then it will follow last season's template where it continually spaced out episodes before finally ending the season in May.
The previous episode turned heads for the theme it chose. With the whole world in a state of panic due to coronavirus, 'Bull' somehow managed to sneak in an episode that walks on the same path of an outbreak in New York City, except it's a bacteria, Anthrax. The case they tackle is also the one that sees TAC pull off some impressive moves to win a case, especially when it goes down to the wire.
'Bull' also registered the highest ratings ever of the season after the previous episode. According to tvseriesfinale, the episode saw a whopping 7.1M live viewers and a 0.72 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This trumps the highest number which was 0.69, the rating of the season opener. 'Bull's highest live viewership before the previous episode was 6.6M for episode 6: 'Into the Mystic'. Incidentally, that is the same episode that is airing as a rerun today.
And despite the staggering views, the episode received mixed reactions on Twitter. "In view of the coronavirus scaring the heck out of everyone maybe you could have saved this anthrax episode for another time. Poor choice!" tweeted a fan. The episode also garnered some reviews for the storyline with one fan saying, "This episode is sad but it's a good episode."
However, there was an advisory issued ahead of the episode which saw Michael Weatherly saying: "Tonight's episode deals with a citywide panic, not unlike the fears and concerns people are experiencing all over the world at this moment," Weatherly said, referring to the coronavirus outbreak. "Before we start, we wanted to remind you this is a work of fiction. It was written and filmed months ago. And its only purpose is to entertain you."
There is no official synopsis yet for the upcoming episode.
'Bull' airs on Mondays at 10 pm ET on CBS.