CBS's Ghosts, NCIS, Young Sheldon return to TV in February but there's a key detail you need to know

Devon Chandler Long and Sheila Carrasco smile in Ghosts
Devon Chandler Long and Sheila Carrasco smile in Ghosts (Image credit: Bertrand Calmeau/CBS)

CBS has wasted little time in announcing when many of its most popular shows would be returning now that the actors' strike has officially ended and Hollywood can get back to work. Ghosts season 3, NCIS season 21, Blue Bloods season 14, Young Sheldon season 7 and more hit series are returning starting in February 2024 to fill the back half of the 2023-2024 TV season.

After a fall schedule that saw CBS rely on reality shows like Big Brother season 25, Survivor season 45 and The Amazing Race season 35, reruns of popular shows like NCIS or broadcast TV debuts of hit cable shows (Yellowstone seasons 1 & 2) and international shows (UK Ghosts), things are going back to normal for the network. In fact, the schedule is going to nearly identical to the CBS primetime schedule that the network announced back in May, save for a couple of small changes.

However, as great as it is to have these shows back, there is a little hiccup that viewers need to know about: most of the scripted shows are going to have abbreviated seasons. Instead of the usual 20 or so episodes that NCIS, Ghosts and others have, that number is going to come down to 10-13 as a result of the late starts. But, most of the shows should return to their normal lengths in the 2024-2025 TV season.

Here is a look at the winter/spring 2024 CBS TV schedule, which kicks into high gear following Super Bowl LVIII:

Sunday, February 11

  • Tracker series premiere (following the conclusion of Super Bowl LVIII) 

Monday, February 12

  • The Neighborhood season 6, 8 pm ET/PT
  • Bob Hearts Abishola season 5, 8:30 pm ET/PT
  • NCIS season 21, 9 pm ET/PT
  • NCIS: Hawai'i season 3, 10 pm ET/PT

Tuesday, February 13

Thursday, February 15 

  • Young Sheldon season 7, 8 pm ET/PT
  • Ghosts season 3, 8:30 pm ET/PT
  • So Help Me Todd season 2, 9 pm ET/PT
  • Tracker (premiere episode encore), 10 pm ET/PT

Friday, February 16

Sunday, February 18

Thursday, February 22

  • Young Sheldon season 7, 8 pm ET/PT
  • Ghosts season 3, 8:30 pm ET/PT
  • So Help Me Todd season 2, 9 pm ET/PT
  • Tracker (episode 2 encore), 10 pm ET/PT

Wednesday, February 28

  • Survivor season 46, 8 pm ET/PT (two-hour premiere) 

Thursday, February 29

  • Young Sheldon season 7, 8 pm ET/PT
  • Ghosts season 3, 8:30 pm ET/PT
  • So Help Me Todd season 2, 9 pm ET/PT
  • Elsbeth series premiere, 10 pm ET/PT 

Wednesday, March 6

  • Survivor season 46, 8 pm ET/PT (two-hour episode) 

Wednesday, March 13

  • Survivor season 46, 8 pm ET/PT (90-minute episode)
  • The Amazing Race season 36, 9:30 pm ET/PT

Watch a promo for CBS's 2024 slate right here:

Also, in case you are wondering where previously announced CBS new shows Matlock starring Kathy Bates and Poppa's House with Damon Wayans are, CBS has opted to hold them until the 2024-2025 TV season.

As always with CBS shows, anyone with a traditional pay-TV subscription or a TV antenna that can receive over-the-air signals automatically gets their local CBS station. Meanwhile, live TV streaming services Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV offer CBS as part of their channel lineup. Also, Paramount Plus with Showtime allows subscribers to watch CBS programming live, while any Paramount Plus subscriber can watch the shows on-demand.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.