‘Survivor’ Season 51 locks in release date as CBS rolls out fall 2026 schedule for ‘The Amazing Race’ and more
CBS has officially mapped out its fall 2026 television schedule, and reality TV fans won't have to wait until October to dive back into their favorite competitions. While the network is sticking with its recent pattern of launching most scripted programming in early October, a handful of unscripted favorites will arrive weeks earlier. ‘Survivor’ Season 51 is part of the early rollout, and it is set to premiere on September 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Not far behind is ‘The Amazing Race’, which kicks off Season 39 on September 30 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. Before either competition show returns, ‘60 Minutes’ will kick off the fall season on September 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT, becoming the first major CBS program to make its comeback.
Once those early premieres are out of the way, CBS will turn its attention to scripted entertainment. Rather than spreading launches across several weeks, the network plans to introduce nearly its entire scripted lineup within a six-day window beginning October 4. Sunday night belongs to two of the biggest performers on broadcast television. ‘Marshals’ and ‘Tracker’ will be the first scripted series to return at 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, respectively. The two dramas finished among the most-watched entertainment programs on network TV during the previous broadcast year, with only live sports attracting larger audiences.
Monday will look a little different this fall. CBS has dropped its Monday comedy block, making room for a lineup centered entirely on dramas. ‘FBI’ moves to 8 p.m., followed by ‘CIA’ at 9 p.m., with both series airing one hour earlier compared to last season. Rounding out the evening is the new true-crime series ‘Harlan Coben's Final Twist’, which takes over the 10 p.m. slot. Tuesday remains all about the ‘NCIS’ franchise. The flagship series opens the night before handing things over to ‘NCIS: New York’. The latest addition to the franchise sits between the original series and prequel series, ‘NCIS: Origins’.
‘Eternally Yours’ and ‘Cupertino’, both making their series debuts this fall, will premiere on October 8. They will share Thursday evening with returning favorites ‘Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage’ and ‘Elsbeth’. Not every familiar title will be back immediately, though. ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Matlock’ have both been held for midseason and will not be part of the October rollout. That does not mean ‘Ghosts’ is disappearing completely during the fall. CBS has planned two special episodes tied to the holiday season. One will air on October 29 with a Halloween theme, while another will arrive on December 10 as part of the network's Christmas programming. Friday's schedule is also full of action-packed dramas. ‘Sheriff Country’, ‘Fire Country’, and newcomer ‘Boston Blue’ will all premiere on October 9.
