'Survivor' and 'The Amazing Race' Episodes Will Be Longer Than Ever Next Season
CBS is going to try something different for Wednesday nights in the fall of 2023. The network will expand Survivor and The Amazing Race to 90 minutes each. This means CBS will only have to worry about scheduling two shows on Wednesday nights instead of three. The move comes amid the Writers Guild of America's strike, which may mean scripted shows will not be ready to launch in September.
Survivor will kick off Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, with Jeff Probst back as host. Survivor is among the longest-running reality shows in American television history, having launched in May 2000. The show is in the midst of its 44th season, with new episodes airing Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET. It is the most-watched reality show on Paramount+, according to CBS.
The Amazing Race will start at 9:30 p.m. ET, with Phil Keoghan back as host. The Amazing Race debuted on CBS in September 2001 and inspired international editions. Season 34 wrapped up in December 2022. Season 35 is already in production. Cameras began rolling at the first location, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in October.
CBS released its fall schedule on Wednesday into a world of unknowns for Hollywood. The WGA strike started on May 2 after the union and studios failed to reach a new contract for writers. It is unclear how long the strike could last, but it began just before writers would usually start meeting to begin work on fall shows. As a result, CBS couldn't announce premiere dates for the fall.
The network only has four new shows ready for this season, and two of them will not premiere in the fall. Elsbeth, a new spinoff of The Good Wife, will air Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, while Kathy Bates' Matlock reboot will air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. Justin Hartley's Tracker will be held until the night of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, and its regular slot was not announced. Poppa's House, the only new comedy, was held back to mid-season.
There will also be an interesting new strategy for Sunday nights. CBS plans to move CSI: Vegas to the 10 p.m. ET slot, but that slot will feature repeats of other shows if NFL games run late. For example, if a game goes past 7 p.m. ET and significantly delays the start of 60 Minutes, CBS might put an episode of NCIS on after The Equalizer.
Other nights will look very familiar to longtime CBS viewers. Mondays will still have The Neighborhood, Bob Hearts Abishola, NCIS and NCIS: Hawai'i, while all three FBI shows dominate Tuesday nights. Thursdays will include Young Sheldon, Ghosts, So Help Me Todd and Elsbeth. Fridays will have the same schedule, featuring S.W.A.T., Fire Country and Blue Bloods.