We’re still a long way away from the end of the 2025-26 TV season, but CBS has once again gotten an early jump on handing out renewals to several of its biggest series. In fact, it has nearly made decisions on all of its primetime scripted series, with only a few shows left on the bubble.
CBS began its renewals early by ordering second seasons of its two new dramas, Boston Blue and Sheriff Country, just weeks into the season. CBS then decided to kick off the new year by handing out some early renewals to several of its hit series.
The January renewals saw CBS picking up Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, Matlock, and NCIS: Origins for season 3; Elsbeth, NCIS: Sydney, and Tracker for season 4; Fire Country for season 5; and NCIS for season 24. They joined previously renewed series FBI and Ghosts, which are still under multi-season renewal orders that will bring them back for a respective ninth and sixth season.
With these series renewed, there are only four scripted CBS shows that are on the bubble and in danger of being canceled… though two of these four shows haven’t begun their run.
The most glaring omission from the CBS renewals is medical drama Watson. The Morris Chestnut-led drama is in the most danger at this time, and a renewal is looking less and less likely. The series continues to struggle in the ratings department and will be moving to Sunday nights when it returns from its winter break, where its ratings are likely to slip.
Watson season 1 will be coming to Netflix, so if enough fans get invested in the first season and catch up on season 2, it could help give the show a much-needed boost to tip the scales in its favor. However, even that could prove not to be enough, as we’ve seen CBS cancel well-performing bubble shows many times in the past to make room for new series.
Also on the bubble is CBS’s new comedy DMV, which did not secure an early renewal like this season’s new dramas. DMV has not proven to be a breakout hit, and there is a very good chance that CBS will pull the plug on the show after just one season. CBS will likely look to see how the show’s ratings perform as the season continues, but if the numbers don’t begin to rise, we don’t imagine a second season is in the cards.
As for the last two CBS shows on the bubble? CBS has understandably not made a decision on CIA or Marshals’ futures. The two series will both begin their runs as part of the midseason lineup, so CBS will likely wait to see how they perform before deciding on the future of the shows. If they start strong like Sheriff Country and Boston Blue, we could certainly see CBS handing out early renewals to the series, but we’ll likely need to wait a few weeks into their run before expecting any announcements.