Hollywood is coming back to life with new episodes of scripted series returning in mid-February, according to CBS. The network will be the first to release scheduling plans following last week’s tentative agreement to end the lengthy labor crisis in Hollywood. The return of new episodes will kick off with the broadcast of the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, featuring the premiere of the new series “Tracker” starring Justin Hartley. Several returning series, including “Young Sheldon,” “NCIS,” “Ghosts,” “Blue Bloods,” and “FBI” will follow later that week.
The premieres will be about five months later than usual due to the dual strikes by screenwriters and actors that disrupted Hollywood scripted production since May. CBS and other networks have relied heavily on reality series, repeats, and game shows, with CBS suffering a viewership drop of more than 30 percent without its usual scripted programming. The network television executives have expressed concerns about the decline in ratings and have been awaiting the return of scripted programming.
The upcoming winter series will feature fewer episodes than usual, with new seasons of CBS scripted series running 10 to 13 episodes and concluding in May. Additionally, two new shows, “Matlock” and “Poppa’s House,” which were supposed to premiere in the 2023-24 television season, will be pushed to the 2024-25 season instead.