I'm Shocked That Three More CBS Shows Are Getting Shortened Seasons Like Matlock

From left to right: Austin Stowell as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS: Origins, Olivia Swann as NCIS Special Agent Captain Michelle Mackey in NCIS: Sydney, Kathy Bates as “Madeline Matlock” in Matlock and Max Thieriot as Bode Leone in Fire Country. — (Image credit: From left to right: Erik Voake/CBS, Daniel Asher Smith/Paramount+, Michael Yarish/CBS and Sergei Bachlakov/CBS)

Well, it turns out Matlock isn’t the only CBS series that will be getting shorter as we look to the latter half of the 2026 TV schedule and beyond. That’s right, as it was revealed that Season 3 of the Kathy Bates-led drama wouldn’t be returning until the mid-season, we learned that three other projects from the Eye Network would be coming back with fewer episodes than we’ve come to expect.

So, the three shows in question are: Fire Country, NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney, with the fire drama being the biggest surprise here. According to Deadline, while the Friday night lineup will stay as Sheriff Country, Fire Country and Boston Blue in the fall, the Max Thieriot-led show will bow out early, because it got a 13-episode order for Season 5.

Max Thieriot as Bode Leone holding his right arm up next to his shoulder. — (Image credit: Eike Schroter/CBS)

Now, this comes as a shock because Fire Country has been running with full seasons since its premiere. However, the other two shows that air alongside it, Sheriff Country and Boston Blue (both of which were renewed early), overshadowed it this season. Also, while this isn’t cited as a reason why this is happening, it’s worth noting that the fire show is also facing a big behind-the-scenes change as Tia Napolitano, who has been the showrunner since day one, is set to depart at the end of Season 4.

Article continues below

At the moment, it’s unclear what will take its spot at 9 p.m. on Fridays in the spring. However, Matlock’s return and the premiere of Einstein don’t have a home on the schedule yet, so maybe they could go there.

Gibbs, Mike Franks and Ducky looking at the skeletal remains in the trunk of Doc Tango's car in NCIS: Origins — (Image credit: CBS)

Moving over to NCIS’s two programs, when CBS announced its ‘26-’27 schedule, we learned that the LL Cool J-led spinoff NCIS: New York will premiere in the fall. Meanwhile, NCIS: Origins will get a reduced season, and so will NCIS: Sydney. That means, they can both air in the 10 p.m. timeslot on Tuesday, with Origins running its ten episodes through the first half of the television season, and Sydney taking over for it in the spring.

Therefore, overall, like Matlock, these three programs will be cut in half when they return for new seasons.

I do want to note that Matlock’s choice to return at the midseason was a creative one, since Season 2 wrapped up the show’s overarching mystery, and they needed to plan for what’s next. Meanwhile, the reasoning behind Fire Country, NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney isn’t as clear.

There are multiple new shows coming to the network, and there needs to be room for them. While DMV and Watson were canceled, CBS renewed the majority of its programming, and it has plans to launch Cupertino, NCIS: New York and the comedy Eternally Yours this fall, with Einstein set to premiere in the spring. There’s only so much room in primetime, and it would seem that the network is trying to make space for everything (even if it means shortening seasons).

Another notable change to CBS’s schedule is in regard to Ghosts, as it won’t premiere until the midseason. However, unlike Matlock, Fire Country and the NCIS spinoffs, it has a full season order.

So, all around, there’s a lot of moving and shaking going on at CBS, and next season will look a bit different. However, thankfully, Fire Country, NCIS: Sydney and NCIS: Origins are coming back, and they'll still air on CBS and for those with a Paramount+ subscription, it’s just for a little bit less time than we expected.

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.