CBS has finalized its 2026-27 lineup of returning scripted series, canceling the two shows on the bubble, sophomore drama Watson and freshman comedy DMV. Their season — now series — finales will air May 3 and May 11, respectively. The news comes a week and a half before the network is slated to unveil its 2026-27 schedule on April 15.
Watson and DMV‘s pending cancellations were telegraphed back in January when, after a blitz of early renewals, they were the only CBS on-air scripted series left in limbo. Among the network’s lowest rated shows, their survival faced long odds and depended on how CBS’ then-upcoming midseason dramas Marshals and CIA would perform and how the network’s comedy pilots Eternally Yours and Tillbrooks (fka Regency) would come in.
Yellowstone spinoff Marshals, riding high with a Season 2 writers room commissioned prior to launch, landed one of the quickest renewals ever after only two episodes. FBI offshoot CIA followed with a Season 2 pickup of its own earlier this week, shutting the door for Watson. Overall, CBS renewed 12 dramas for next season, including all 4 freshmen, Marshals, CIA, Sheriff Country and Boston Blue, with two new series previously picked up for 2026-27, Robert and Michelle King’s Cupertino and Einstein, starring Matthew Gray Gubler, set to join them.
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Since veteran CBS comedy series The Neighborhood is ending its run with the current eighth season, there was some glimmer of hope for DMV contingent on the network’s two pilots, single-camera vampire comedy Eternally Yours, from Ghosts showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, and the multi-camera Tillbrooks, a historical spin on the classic multi-cam family sitcom.
The fact that CBS has pulled the trigger on DMV‘s cancellation indicates that its executives feel good about the pilots.
I hear Eternally Yours has been delivered to the network and has received an enthusiastic early response. Eyed as a companion to Ghosts, filming in the same Montreal location under the same showrunners, Eternally Yours had been a considered a strong series contender since the script stage, with its frontrunner status now solidified.
Meanwhile, I hear the taping for Tillbrooks went well, with that pilot getting delivered to the studio this weekend. It is unclear whether CBS could pick up both to series but, with both The Neighborhood and DMV departing, that is not out of the question.
In an interesting wrinkle, the typical owned vs. non-owned argument that often comes into play in decisions on series pickups of pilots is getting a twist here. Eternally Yours is produced by CBS sibling CBS Studios while Tillbrooks comes from an outside studio, Warner Bros. TV. The two are poised to become corporate siblings following Paramount’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros., with the latter also behind CBS’ other returning comedy series next season besides Ghosts, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.
Watson, a medical mystery drama set in the Sherlock Holmes universe, did respectable business in its midseason launch last season on Sundays behind Tracker, earning a Season 2 renewal. The series, starring Morris Chestnut, was initially held back for another midseason run on Sundays before being summoned to the fall schedule to fill in for the delayed CIA, landing behind FBI on Mondays. Watson saw its ratings decline in the new Monday berth. It was eventually sent back to Sundays this spring.
Single-camera workplace comedy DMV also got off to a solid start. It ranked No.9 among all broadcast series for CBS’ Oct. 12-19 premiere week with 10.1M Live+35 Day multi-platform viewers. That is above its lead-in, The Neighborhood, and half of the series the network has renewed for next season. While DMV‘s Live+Same Day linear ratings have remained relatively steady, its delayed multi-platform viewing has declined.
DMV star Harriet Dyer remains in business with CBS Studios, which produces the freshman series as well as Watson. She also is star, co-creator and executive producer of the studio’s Paramount+ comedy Colin From Accounts, which is filming its third season.