The 2026 TV schedule kicks off this week for several of the major TV networks, but fans of CBS' hottest shows will be left waiting a while longer for winter premieres. That's not to say that spring will come before new episodes of FBI, NCIS, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, or any of the network's other big hits, but viewers may want to look ahead to track how much longer to wait.
For FBI, the winter premiere will follow up on the fall finale that delivered what Jeremy Sisto described to CinemaBlend as a "nightmare scenario" in a two-hour event.
When FBI Will Be Back
While the wait for FBI to return is a long one, the drama will actually be one of the first CBS shows to return in 2026. Fans can plan on seeing the winter premiere of Season 8 on Monday, February 23 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, and/or stream the episode next day with a Paramount+ subscription.
The long wait is likely due to the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics, which will take place in Milan and Cortina in Italy and kick off with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 6. The games will run through to the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, February 22.
Coverage will air on NBC as usual, but the other major networks generally air reruns rather than new episodes during the weeks of winter or summer Olympics. So, preceded only by sitcoms The Neighborhood and DMV on February 23, FBI will actually be the first of CBS' big dramas to return in 2026.
FBI's Nightmarish Fall Finale
The fall finale of FBI's eighth season fortunately didn't end on a cliffhanger with a major character's life in danger like how Season 7 wrapped with Isobel's fate in question, but the two-parter did put Jubal through the wringer shortly after he'd learned he wouldn't be promoted. A terrorist group struck at the heart of Manhattan, nearly killing Jubal's son and devastating parts of New York City.
While the agents stopped the terrorist group before they could complete their ultimate plan for NYC, the explosion that injured Tyler was on a scale so massive that FBI had to build an elaborate set to pull it off. Speaking with CinemaBlend in December, Jeremy Sisto described it:
They built that rubble, that whole street of rubble and stuff. I was very surprised at how far they went with it, and it was really moving. We have such great creative teams, our set decorator, art director, just everyone who's involved in building that. They really went above and beyond to create an environment that was scarily reminiscent of some 9/11 imagery we've seen. Running towards the explosion where people are running away, covered in ash and running into the smoke. I mean, it's a very nightmare scenario-ish.
The scale of the explosion's aftermath was such that I'd initially thought FBI must have redressed a New York City street, but the show managed to create it on a set. In fact, the disaster was so complete in the episode that it was hard to imagine how Jubal's son could possibly survive, although Tyler did ultimately pull through. Jeremy Sisto went on:
It was definitely moving to show up on set and see how far they [went] and how painstaking the process was of recreating this kind of situation. It was beautiful.
While there are currently no details available about the case that will kick off FBI's back half of Season 8 in 2026, I'm comfortable guessing that the scale won't be nearly as large as the two-hour crisis that served as the fall finale. There will be at least one change for viewers starting this February, though.
What's Changing In The New Year
Although not much is changing for FBI to kick off 2026 since Season 8 didn't kill any other main cast members in the fall finale, CBS' Monday night schedule will be different. Medical drama Watson will be returning to Sunday nights, while CIA's long-awaited first season will air directly behind FBI. This is worth noting since CIA will be the new entry in Dick Wolf's TV universe on CBS after the network axed FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, but it remains to be seen if the new show will overlap with FBI at all.
The original showrunner, David Hudgins, had stated back in the spring that "is its own show" rather than closely tied to FBI, but there have been multiple showrunner and cast changes since then, with FBI boss Mike Weiss said to be heavily involved now. Find out what FBI and CIA are like paired in primetime on Monday, February 23 starting with the Season 8 winter premiere at 9 p.m. ET.
