Fall TV is on its way, and that means premiere dates are being announced. CBS is holding a lot of shows until October, but Matlock isn’t one of them. It will premiere in September, but there is an odd scheduling choice for the new series.
Matlock was originally going to air in the 2023–2024 TV season. Then the strike action in the summer delayed everything, and CBS opted to push the gender-swap reboot to the next season. Kathy Bates takes on the titular role, and it looks like this is set in a world where the Matlock of the past is a TV show.
When will Matlock premiere on CBS?
The new show will premiere on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. This will follow the premiere of 60 Minutes Season 57.
Yes, this is a different night and time to what CBS set for the fall schedule. No the show isn’t moving timeslots. This is just a one-off, although it’s not exactly clear why CBS would make this decision. It’s not like it’s following some big sporting event to capture on the audience already tuned into the network.
To make the scheduling decision even more confusing, there isn’t going to be a new episode the following week, even in the regular timeslot!
Matlock will then return in October 2024
After the initial premiere, Matlock will go on a break. The show will return with an encore of the series premiere on Thursday, Oct. 10. This will be at the usual time of 9 p.m. ET/PT, following a new episode of Big Brother. There will be an Elsbeth rerun after it.
Then we’ll get the second episode of Matlock on Thursday, Oct. 17. This will be timed with the premieres of Ghost Season 4 and Elsbeth Season 2.
This is similar to CBS’s decision to premiere Elsbeth in February and then take the whole of March off before the second episode aired. It is an odd and damaging scheduling decision, and I am worried about the new series. Hopefully, there are enough Kathy Bates fans out there to give the show a chance, because I’m excited to see her in the lead.
It does leave me questioning CBS’s support of female-led shows. I’m still angry over the NCIS: Hawaii cancellation, and it's not like Elsbeth got the best treatment to kickstart its show. CBS needs to do better when it comes to its female-led series.