‘MacGyver,’ ‘Magnum P.I.,’ ‘Blue Bloods’ Get CBS Premiere Dates

CBS is putting one of the last big pieces of its 2020-21 schedule into place.

The network has set premiere dates for its Friday dramas MacGyver, Magnum P.I. and Blue Bloods. All three shows are set to debut Dec. 4, giving the network a nearly full series lineup and at least one hour of originals on every night of the week.

With the Friday shows in place, CBS will have nearly all of its “fall” schedule up and running by the first week of December. The two remaining holdouts are second-year drama Evil, which was originally slated for 10 p.m. Thursdays, and a reboot of 1980s drama The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah in the title role. That show was set to air on Sunday nights.

CBS has announced two previous waves of premiere dates for its scripted series after shows banked enough episodes to run for several weeks at a time. Three of the network’s Thursday comedies and dramas NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans premiered last week, and several others are set to premiere over the next two weeks.

The Magnum P.I. premiere was co-written by Peter Lenkov, the former showrunner of the series who was fired in July and dropped from a CBS Studios overall deal after an investigation into multiple claims that he created a toxic work environment on his shows. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the script was banked before Lenkov’s firing. Eric Guggenheim, who took over as showrunner, is the other credited writer on the episode.

Because of the later-than-usual starts brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Magnum P.I. and Blue Bloods will each have 16 episodes this season, rather than their usual 20 to 22. An episode count for MacGyver hasn’t been announced.

Related Stories

Related Story

CBS Shortens Episode Counts for Most of Its Scripted Originals