CBS has done it again, giving us a bulk of renewals as the year starts. This is great news for many fans, but there are fans of one particular show who are likely — like me — to be worried. Watson wasn’t on the list.
CBS announced that 10 of its shows have landed new seasons for the 2026–2027 TV season. These, unsurprisingly, include the likes of NCIS, Fire Country, Tracker, and Matlock. One of the more surprising decisions may have been NCIS: Sydney, but there is the benefit of it being a project with Paramount+ Australia, which could help with lower production costs to allow for lower linear ratings.
The show that is nowhere on the list is Watson, and it becomes one of just two (DMV was the other) CBS shows on the bubble. And we know what that means.
Watson is likely canceled after season 2
I hate to say it, but CBS is likely going to cancel Watson. The second season lost an average of 62% of its demo and 50% of its total audience compared to the first season, which is a dangerous drop. This is despite moving to an arguably stronger time slot of Mondays at 10/9c following FBI, a time slot that was going to be given to CIA.
It is worth noting that Watson was a midseason series on a Sunday during its first season, so the linear ratings were already on the lower side. But for so many not to show back up for the second season will give CBS reason to worry. The series now sits at the bottom of all CBS shows in terms of both the demo and total audience, and while linear ratings aren’t the be all and end all for renewals, they do weigh in a big way for decisions.
Watson is also on the move to a bad time slot
The lack of inclusion on the bulk of renewals is just the icing on the cake to make me worried about the series. I was already worried when CBS decided to move Watson from Mondays to Sundays in the midseason. While this could have been a stronger time slot following Tracker and helping to get the original viewers, the show is moving to what has become CBS’s “death slot.”
It will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT, which has been the time slot that has killed shows like NCIS: Los Angeles and The Equalizer. While CBS likely wants to finish out the season, it’s clear that it doesn’t have much hope for it, and by May, we’ll probably see it as the bubble show canceled to make way for Einstein.
Watson is currently available to stream on Paramount+.