CBS is pulling this week’s new episodes of Blue Bloods, MacGyver, and Magnum P.I., it has been announced.
The network on Tuesday revealed that the previously scheduled episodes set for March 12 have been delayed by one week.
Instead, an encore of Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special will air in the 8:00-10:00 PM Friday slot.
It will be followed by an encore of the new thriller, Clarice.
The news is somewhat surprising, especially when you consider that the highly-publicized special is available on CBS’ on-demand platforms, sans Paramount+.
The special was ominously missing from the rebranded CBS All Access, which is said to be down to a contract made with the production company that made the special.
Oprah’s bombshell interview with Meghan and Harry drew 17.8 million viewers across two-hours on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see whether many people tune in again with it already being available elsewhere for almost a week.
A silver lining in all of this is that when the regularly scheduled CBS dramas return, it will mean one less week of encores.
Like many scripted shows, the CBS offerings have aired on a sporadic schedule due to COVID-19 related delays.
Have a look at what CBS had to say about the change:
OPRAH WITH MEGHAN AND HARRY: A CBS PRIMETIME SPECIAL will be rebroadcast Friday, March 12 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.
The special originally aired Sunday, March 7, garnering 17.8 million viewers, the largest primetime audience for any entertainment special during the current 2020-2021 season, and for any entertainment special since the Academy Awards on Feb. 9, 2020, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings.
In addition, through Monday, the special has been seen by more than 49.1 million viewers worldwide and growing.
Friday, March 12 8:00-10:00 PM OPRAH WITH MEGHAN AND HARRY: A CBS PRIMETIME SPECIAL (rebroadcast) 10:00-11:00 PM CLARICE (rebroadcast)
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.