Amid the chaos of when – or even if – some key primetime shows will be returning for their regular September/October places in the schedule, US network CBS has, at least, formally renewed a number of its existing hits ahead of resuming any actual production…
All Rise (heading to a second run), Blue Bloods (starting an eleventh season) , Bull (back for a fifth season), FBI (returning for a third season), FBI: Most Wanted (for a second season), MacGyver (into a fifth season), Magnum P.I.,(going into a third run) NCIS (heading into its eighteenth season) , NCIS: Los Angeles (for its twelfth season), NCIS: New Orleans (for its seventh season), Seal Team (its fourth season) and S.W.A.T. (also its fourth run) are all back – none of them huge surprises given their steady-to-stellar ratings. They join the already renewed EVIL, another breakout hit which will return for a second run.
Two new series that look set to be firmly on the radar are the confirmed The Equalizer reboot,starring Queen Latifah in the role created by Edward Woodward and Clarice, a series looking at the early days of a pre-Silence of the Lambs, Agent Starling (here played by Rebecca Breeds, in the original film played by Jodie Foster).
This comes as several key industry figures have discussed the COVID fall-out and are having ongoing discussions about the feasibility of kickstarting the next production schedule. Some have said this will be impossible for many shows until health concerns fade or a vaccine is available. Given that earliest realistic predictions of a vaccine still point to early in 2021, there are strong indicators that the next tv season will remain in flux for some time to come.
