When CBS announced its premiere dates for the fall 2025 schedule, it was no surprise that CIA was missing from the list. What was a pleasant surprise was that Watson season 2 was moving forward in the schedule, switching from a midseason start to a fall start.
The Morris Chestnut drama will also move nights from its Watson season 1’s timeslot, now airing on Mondays straight after new episodes of FBI season 8. While this initially seems like great news for Watson season 2, there is a disadvantage that nobody is talking about.
Sure, there are mentions of how the ratings are going to be more important for a fall series, but what about the competition it has? This change will now mean that the CBS medical drama has competition with another medical series, and this could cause problems for Watson season 3 potentially happening.
Watson Season 2 Is Premiering Early After CBS’ Unexpected Schedule Change
CIA Wasn’t Ready For A Fall 2025 Start
Originally, CIA was going to take the last timeslot on Monday nights, which made sense considering it is set in the same universe as FBI. However, it was clear there were problems, as by July 2025 there had been no casting updates except that Tom Ellis would star in the series. In fact, we had a disappointing update that the scripts were being polished.
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CBS Boss Defends Their Unusual Watson Season 2 Decision For Morris Chestnut’s Medical Drama: “There’s No Other Real Logical Place For It”
CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach defends a surprising scheduling decision related to Watson, addressing the new show’s unexpected delay.
As filming needs to start in July for a fall start, it wasn’t too surprising to hear that CIA was being moved to the midseason. This meant that CBS had to find another show to air in the fall, and Watson ended up getting that honor. Watson season 2 will move nights and time, taking the 10/9c timeslot on Mondays, and this is great for the series as a whole.
It shows that CBS has support for the medical drama, and the timeslot could work out as a strong one with FBI airing first. There will be a little more pressure on Watson to perform well in the linear ratings, though, compared to a Sunday midseason timeslot.
Watson Season 2’s New Schedule Pits It Against NBC’s Brilliant Minds
Watson And Brilliant Minds Are Both Medical Dramas
Something that nobody is talking about is the competition that Watson season 2 will have. It will air up against NBC’s medical drama Brilliant Minds, which also returns for season 2. It’s not unusual for networks to put similar shows on at the same time for competition, but this can work out negatively for CBS.
When Watson originally had the Sunday night timeslot, it wasn’t going to be up against too much. Granted, NBC hasn’t announced its midseason plans in full, but there is unlikely to be a medical drama airing on Sunday nights.
Brilliant Minds wasn’t the strongest show for NBC during its freshman year, so CBS may believe that the Sherlock Holmes-inspired series can hold steady up against it, and the two shows are substantially different in terms of storytelling.
CBS knew that Brilliant Minds season 2 would air on Mondays at the end of the night, giving the Morris Chestnut series more competition. Brilliant Minds wasn’t the strongest show for NBC during its freshman year, so CBS may believe that the Sherlock Holmes-inspired series can hold steady up against it, and the two shows are substantially different in terms of storytelling.
While it is a risk for Watson, it could also work out in its favor. There will already be FBI fans tuning in, and they may be more likely to stick around for the next show, especially if they still believe that CIA will air next.
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Watson
- Release Date
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January 26, 2025
- Showrunner
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Craig Sweeny
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Morris Chestnut
Dr. John Watson
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Eve Harlow
Dr. Ingrid Derian
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Brilliant Minds
- Release Date
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September 23, 2024
- Directors
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Lee Toland Krieger, David Katzenberg, Dawn Wilkinson, Harry Jierjian, Jordan Canning, Maggie Kiley, Sudz Sutherland, Charles Randolph-Wright, Deborah Kampmeier
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