Watson will soon arrive in the 2026 TV schedule with a winter premiere to follow up on John's personal crisis in the fall finale way back in December. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Morris Chestnut's medical drama is one of the only two shows that CBS has not yet renewed. It remains to be seen how much longer fans will be waiting before news about a potential Season 3, but a big change is coming for the back half of Season 2, and showrunner Craig Sweeny explained why he sees it as a sign of "appreciation" from the network.
The medical drama changed nights from the end of Season 1 to the beginning of Season 2 last fall, with Watson moving over to Monday nights to be paired with FBI. While Morris Chestnut was optimistic about the FBI/Watson pairing back in September, the showrunner shared why he's happy about getting moved back to Sunday nights for 2026. Speaking with CinemaBlend following the fall finale (which is now available streaming with a Paramount+ subscription), Craig Sweeny said:
I appreciate it, because it was our home. It feels most like home to me, so it feels like a consistent flow of theme. I mean, I'm happy to have any any airtime at all. It's a blessing in 2025, or in any year. To me, I interpret it as a real show of appreciation for Watson by CBS
Starting with the winter premiere on March 1, Watson will be back on Sunday nights. The cancellation of The Equalizer last spring means that it won't be returning to the same lineup from the first season, however. CBS' new Sunday lineup will be comprised of Marshals' first season at 8 p.m. ET, Tracker Season 3 at 9 p.m. ET, and then Watson Season 2 at 10 p.m. ET. CIA will be replacing Watson on Monday nights.
It's hard to blame the showrunner for appreciating the move, and not just because Sunday was the medical drama's original home. Justin Hartley's Tracker has been a huge hit from the very beginning, and it's a safe bet that Marshals will find an audience quickly as the first network TV Yellowstone spinoff. Whatever the reason why CBS left Watson out of its mass renewal spree in late January, perhaps being grouped with Tracker and Marshals will be a boon to the returning series.
Watson initially wasn't expected to return for Season 2 until midseason 2026, but was moved to premiere air in fall 2025 on Mondays when the decision was made to push CIA back to the new year. This meant not only an earlier start for the medical drama compared to Season 1, but also more episodes.
Craig Sweeny shared that there's more Watson has been able to accomplish in Season 2 due to these changes, citing how the "Sasha/Stephens relationship... feels more organic" with more time. The showrunner went on:
A longer season allows you to play dynamics like that over the course of multiple episodes. Process-wise, it's a bit interesting because we were ordered for 13 [episodes], and then that was expanded to 20. The season has sort of existed in my mind in both ways, so there's a version of this where things happen faster, but I'm certainly grateful for all the Watson that anybody wants to ask me to make.
At this point, fans can seemingly at least count on the full order of 20 episodes for Season 2. As for Season 3... well, the best move now is likely to keep on tuning in to the latest. The winter premiere is up next, called "The Tunnel Under the Elms." Watson and his team of fellows will have to race against the clock after a man and his pregnant wife are in danger from a scary sinkhole.
It should also be interesting to see if the show includes a time jump from the end of the fall finale, since I'm certainly curious about the fallout of John appearing ready to make a grand declaration to Mary, only to see that she has started something with somebody else. Find out when the winter premiere airs on Sunday, March 1 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, or stream Watson next day on Paramount+.
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