If you were hoping to enjoy a brand new episode of The Rookie, Will Trent, Accused or CBS' FBI franchise on Tuesday, February 7, you're going to be out of luck. All of those shows, and more, are taking the night off because of President Biden's 2023 State of the Union address, which is set to air on the four major US TV networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC), in addition to all of the cable news channels.
The State of the Union address is the annual speech from the president where they speak directly to a joint session of Congress to provide an update on a varying number of topics impacting the country. The speech is scheduled to begin at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT, with most networks planning about two hours of coverage.
Because of this, ABC and CBS have opted not to air any new episodes of their Tuesday night lineups. For ABC that includes the new drama Will Trent, The Rookie season 5 and its spinoff, The Rookie: Feds. For CBS that means there is not going to be any new episode of its FBI franchise, which consists of FBI, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International.
However, there are still going to be some TV shows airing new episodes ahead of President Biden's speech. NBC is going to air the latest episodes of Night Court and American Auto, while Fox has an all-new episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star set to air. The rest of those network's Tuesday night programming — La Brea on NBC and Accused on Fox — are not airing new episodes.
If you're curious about the staples of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, both of those shows are expected to air new episodes in their usual time slots in all markets.
While the big four broadcast networks are all taking the time to cover the State of the Union, many cable networks are sticking with their usual lineups. That includes the Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 making its season premiere on Bravo at 9 pm ET/PT, as well as plenty of sports, including college basketball airing on ESPN and Fox Sports, NBA on TNT and WWE wrestling on USA.
If you do happen to be a political junkie and not only want to watch President Biden's State of the Union address but coverage before and after the speech, most of the broadcast networks are going to have some reaction from their main news teams, while cable news networks like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are dedicating their night to State of the Union pre and post-speech coverage.
All of the shows not airing on Tuesday, February 7, because of the State of the Union are slated to return with new episodes at their usual time on February 14.
