Why So Help Me Todd is not new tonight, April 4

By Michael Balderston
published

We're going on three weeks without a new episode of So Help Me Todd.

Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin in So Help Me Todd
Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin in So Help Me Todd (Image credit: Michael Courtney/CBS)

CBS's Thursday night lineup is starting to return to normal after being disrupted by the NCAA men's college basketball tournament (aka March Madness) the last two weeks. Young Sheldon season 7 and Ghosts season 3 are back at their usual times, while new series Elsbeth is returning with new episodes for the first time since its premiere on February 29. However, So Help Me Todd is not going to be new on Thursday, April 4, marking the third week that the Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin series is not on TV.

With basketball no longer to blame, why are viewers now going three weeks without a new episode of So Help Me Todd season 2? This latest scheduling quirk is actually being caused by its fellow CBS Thursday night series, Elsbeth.

With Elsbeth not having aired since February 29, CBS is going to give fans a double dose of the series, with back-to-back new episodes airing at 9 pm and 10 pm ET/PT. With 9 pm usually being when So Help Me Todd airs, the show is not going to air an episode at all.

While that's the specific reason So Help Me Todd is not airing a new episode on April 4, this all likely links back to the shortened TV seasons shows have after the 2023 Hollywood strikes. With CBS wanting to have its primetime dramas make it through the end of May (the traditional end of the TV season), they've had to space out episodes for most shows a bit more frequently. However, in the case of Elsbeth, after airing only one episode (and that was a month ago), it actually needs to play a little catch-up.

Moving forward, a normal Thursday CBS lineup will include all four shows, with So Help Me Todd again airing at 9 pm ET/PT and Elsbeth at its regular time of 10 pm ET/PT.

If you're eager to find out what is happening next on So Help Me Todd, CBS has released the official synopsis for the next episode. Titled "End on a High Note," the episode sees Margaret and Todd defend international opera star, and Lyle's mother, Jaqueline, who is being played by guest star Jenifer Lewis (Black-ish, Sister Act).

You can catch up with So Help Me Todd if you subscribe to Paramount Plus, where all episodes of the series are available to watch on-demand.

Michael Balderston
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.