TV Shows

Two Major CBS Shows Premiering Earlier Than Expected

New seasons of Matlock and Elsbeth begin on Sunday on CBS before switching to Thursdays for the 2025-26 season.

Cropped CBS News logo (Photo Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Two big CBS shows are premiering earlier than usual.

New seasons of Matlock and Elsbeth will be kicking off CBS’ premiere week on Sunday.

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Matlock’s Season 2 premiere will air at 8:30 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT, followed by Season 3 of Elsbeth at 9:30 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT. Fans will then be getting a double dose of both shows, as the second episodes of the seasons will be premiering on Thursday, Oct. 16 at the usual time: 9 p.m. ET for Matlock and 10 p.m. ET for Elsbeth.

Pictured (L-R): Leah Lewis as “Sarah Franklin”, Skye P. Marshall as “Olympia Lawrence”, and Kathy Bates as “Madeline Matlock”. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS

In Matlock’s Season 2 premiere, “The Before Times,” “Matty questions the paternity of the man claiming to be Alfie’s father. Also, the team takes on an arson case while Olympia tries to protect Julian’s involvement in the Wellbrexa case.” The series stars Kathy Bates, Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, Leah Lewis, Sam Anderson, and Aaron Harris.

Meanwhile, in “Yes, And…,” Elsbeth’s Season 3 premiere, “Elsbeth dives into the world of late-night comedy when backstage tensions rise between a talk show host (Stephen Colbert), his head writer Laurel (Amy Sedaris) and her on-air sidekick husband, Mickey (Andy Richter). Also, Elsbeth meets a new police officer (Lindsay Mendez) who is an aspiring stand-up comic when off the clock.”

Pictured: Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Stephen Colbert as Scotty Bristol Photo: Michael Parmelee/CBS

Star Carrie Preston told PopCulture.com that working with Colbert, whose The Late Show was canceled a week before filming, was “so fun” and that he “was really game and ready to go.” She also revealed that everything with Judge Crawford last season “did a number” on her titular character. And something from that case is going to come back and “make Elsbeth kinda stop in her tracks.”

Even though Matlock and Elsbeth are premiering on Sunday, as previously mentioned, they will be going back to their normal slots on Thursday, Oct. 16. That is the only day not changing from the 2024-25 season. The night will kick off with Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage and Ghosts, followed by Matlock, and then Elsbeth is rounding out the night. There will be a lot to look forward to, and it all begins this Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET with Matlock Season 2 and 9:30 p.m. ET with Elsbeth Season 3. All episodes of both shows are streaming on Paramount+.