Fox was the first to announce its fall schedule on May 11, 2020,[1] followed by
The CW on May 14,[2]CBS on May 19,[3]NBC on June 16,[4] and
ABC on June 17, 2020.[5]
PBS is not included at all, as member television stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
Ion Television and
MyNetworkTV are also not included because both network schedules comprise syndicated reruns. This is the last season that The CW did not program primetime on Saturday evenings (however it does offer network programming on Saturdays in the
following season).
Each of the major television networks in the United States had initially planned for their
upfront presentations to be made to the public in mid-May, a tradition going back to the
Golden Age of Television. Due to concerns caused by
COVID-19, most major networks and cable network groups canceled their public upfront events due to both public health concerns, and
stay-at-home orders which effectively prevented them from going forward. It was expected most of the upfront announcements would be either
press releases or virtual video events via
videotelephony, and could be delayed due to
pilots being unable to be produced, along with an overall decline in advertising.[7] NBC carried traditional upfront content on July 16, 2020, blended in as a part of 30 Rock: A One-Time Special, though a majority of the network's affiliates pre-empted the event (it aired the next day as a special airing across all of NBCUniversal's cable networks at the same time in primetime).
On May 1, the
Television Critics Association cancelled its summer 2020 press tour, originally scheduled for July 28 through August 13 (during the now-rescheduled
2020 Summer Olympics), as the organization was unsure it could occur at all due to public gathering restrictions and an anticipated lack of any scripted programming output, even in pilot form, to promote by that time period.[8] The TCA cancellation complicated any plans by the networks to build
buzz about their upcoming schedules, while the move of the 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021 nullified any plans NBC had to use the Games to lead into their new television season.
Delays in production as a result of the pandemic resulted in many shows being pushed over from their intended Summer 2020 premieres. CBS was the first network to push the
thirty-second season premiere of The Amazing Race as a part of its contingency plan to preserve programming for fall.[9] The same day, ABC announced that it had delayed the
sixteenth season of its summer staple series The Bachelorette to a tentative fall launch, while sister-series Bachelor in Paradise had been postponed indefinitely.[10] The following month, Fox and The CW followed suit by announcing that both the networks would be delaying most of their original scripted premieres to a cycle beginning in January 2021, and their fall lineup would consist primarily of acquisitions and delayed summer series.[1][2]
In light of further delays in production, CBS moved up S.W.A.T. to a fall premiere to replace Survivor, while the latter had been postponed its production of the
forty-first season to spring 2021 and was replaced by aforementioned The Amazing Race.[11][12] On August 26, 2020, the network further modified its schedule by deciding to push the premieres of all scripted programming to November and air acquired and encore programming in early fall instead.[13] Similarly, NBC altered its schedule on August 12, 2020, by replacing The Voice with American Ninja Warrior on Monday nights.[14]
On September 16, 2020, ABC announced that the network would not be moving forward with the second season of Stumptown, a decision that came in reversal to its May 2020 renewal. COVID-related production delays that would not have allowed the series to be ready for telecast before April 2021 (the end of the broadcast season) were cited as the primary reason behind the cancellation.[15]
In spite of the fact that an effective vaccine for the COVID-19 virus was not available until the first few months of 2021, most scripted shows were able to resume production in the autumn of 2020. This was accomplished by having all cast and crew members take daily COVID-19 tests during production to ensure no transmission of the virus, not having fans in the audience during tapings, and often writing scenes to reduce the total number of people on set at a given time. The 2020-21 season saw a diffused approach to COVID-19; some series acknowledged the pandemic and had storylines that addressed the issues from it, while others did not reference it at all.
Chuck Lorre said publicly that his CBS shows would not take place in a setting where COVID-19 existed, something that he's stuck with going into 2023.
Legend
Light blue indicates local programming.
Gray indicates encore programming.
Blue-gray indicates news programming.
Light green indicates sporting events.
Light purple indicates movies.
Red indicates series being
burned off and other irregularly scheduled programs, including specials.
Yellow indicates the top-10 most watched programs of the season.
Cyan indicates the top-20 most watched programs of the season.
Magenta indicates the top-30 most watched programs of the season.
Monday Night FootballβRenewed for a second season on March 18, 2021; deal will last into a thirteenth season in 2033.[218]
NHL on ABCβIt was announced on March 10, 2021, that ABC's sister network
ESPN regained the rights to air
National Hockey League games (including 25 games slated to air on ESPN and ABC) for seven years through the 2027β28 season.[219]
SEAL TeamβRenewed for a fifth season on May 18, 2021, which will air its first four episodes on CBS, before moving to
Paramount+ for the remainder of its run.[79]
All RiseβCanceled on May 15, 2021, after two seasons.[276] On September 29, 2021, it was announced that
Oprah Winfrey Network would pick up the series for another season.[277]
ClariceβIt was announced on June 10, 2021, that a possible move to
Paramount+ became unlikely to happen, rendering it as a de facto cancellation.[278] The series concluded on June 24, 2021.
MacGyverβIt was announced on April 7, 2021, that season five would be the final season.[279] The series concluded on April 30, 2021.
Manhunt: Deadly GamesβThe anthology series was meant to run for one season only; it concluded on November 7, 2020.[280]
MomβIt was announced on February 17, 2021, that season eight would be the final season.[281] The series concluded on May 13, 2021.
NCIS: New OrleansβIt was announced on February 17, 2021, that season seven would be the final season.[282] The series concluded on May 23, 2021.
Burden of TruthβIt was announced on March 18, 2021, that season four would be the final season.[288] The series concluded on September 17, 2021.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the LifeβThe miniseries was meant to run for one season only by creator
Netflix, the miniseries was aired as a four-night event beginning from November 23 through November 26, 2020.[96]
The OutpostβCanceled on September 15, 2021, after four seasons.[289] The series concluded on October 7, 2021.
PandoraβCanceled on May 17, 2021, after two seasons.[290]
Last Man StandingβIt was announced on October 14, 2020, that season nine would be the final season.[302] The series concluded on May 20, 2021.
The MoodysβPulled from the schedule after five episodes in the second season on April 16, 2021; Fox announced that the series would move from Thursdays to a burn off run of three episodes on Sundays.[303][304] The series was later canceled on June 17, 2021, after two seasons.[305] The series concluded on June 20, 2021.
NextβCanceled on October 30, 2020, marking the first cancellation of the season.[299] The series concluded on December 22, 2020.
Prodigal SonβCanceled on May 10, 2021, after two seasons.[306] The series concluded on May 18, 2021.
NBC
Brooklyn Nine-NineβIt was announced on February 11, 2021, that season eight would be the final season.[307][308] The series concluded on September 16, 2021.
ConnectingβCanceled on November 2, 2020. The remaining unaired episodes were made available on NBC's website and
Peacock.[309] The series concluded on November 16, 2020.
Good GirlsβCanceled on June 25, 2021, after four seasons.[312] The series concluded on July 22, 2021.
ManifestβCanceled on June 14, 2021, after three seasons.[313] On August 28, 2021, it was announced that
Netflix would pick up the series for another season.[314]
NHL on NBCβIt was announced on April 26, 2021, that NBC had backed out of negotiations for the partial contractual rights of the remainder of the
National Hockey League games (including the
New Year's DayWinter Classic) and awarded the rights to
Turner Sports beginning with the 2021β22 season and lasted through 2027β28 season.[315]
^First primetime weekly version; last aired weekdays on
PAX TV and previously aired in that format on ABC.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere of season 4; previously aired on
Pop and
TV Land.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; a
Charter Spectrum original series.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; a
CBS All Access original series.
^The series was scheduled to end in May 2020 but seven episodes remain unaired in its current
fifteenth season due to suspensions in production and post-production, pushing the series finale to Fall 2020.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; a
Netflix original series.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; full series previously released on
DC Universe.
^Series revival, previously aired by
Lifetime in 2012; originated on
Fox where it last aired in 2011.
^Series revival; first aired on NBC and CBS in the 1950s, before going into first-run syndication till 1985.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; full series previously aired on
National Geographic.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere of Season 1; a
Charter Spectrum original series.
^Series revival; first aired on CBS and NBC from 1959β70.
^Second primetime weekly version; previously aired on NBC from 2001β02.
Fox was the first to announce its fall schedule on May 11, 2020,[1] followed by
The CW on May 14,[2]CBS on May 19,[3]NBC on June 16,[4] and
ABC on June 17, 2020.[5]
PBS is not included at all, as member television stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
Ion Television and
MyNetworkTV are also not included because both network schedules comprise syndicated reruns. This is the last season that The CW did not program primetime on Saturday evenings (however it does offer network programming on Saturdays in the
following season).
Each of the major television networks in the United States had initially planned for their
upfront presentations to be made to the public in mid-May, a tradition going back to the
Golden Age of Television. Due to concerns caused by
COVID-19, most major networks and cable network groups canceled their public upfront events due to both public health concerns, and
stay-at-home orders which effectively prevented them from going forward. It was expected most of the upfront announcements would be either
press releases or virtual video events via
videotelephony, and could be delayed due to
pilots being unable to be produced, along with an overall decline in advertising.[7] NBC carried traditional upfront content on July 16, 2020, blended in as a part of 30 Rock: A One-Time Special, though a majority of the network's affiliates pre-empted the event (it aired the next day as a special airing across all of NBCUniversal's cable networks at the same time in primetime).
On May 1, the
Television Critics Association cancelled its summer 2020 press tour, originally scheduled for July 28 through August 13 (during the now-rescheduled
2020 Summer Olympics), as the organization was unsure it could occur at all due to public gathering restrictions and an anticipated lack of any scripted programming output, even in pilot form, to promote by that time period.[8] The TCA cancellation complicated any plans by the networks to build
buzz about their upcoming schedules, while the move of the 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021 nullified any plans NBC had to use the Games to lead into their new television season.
Delays in production as a result of the pandemic resulted in many shows being pushed over from their intended Summer 2020 premieres. CBS was the first network to push the
thirty-second season premiere of The Amazing Race as a part of its contingency plan to preserve programming for fall.[9] The same day, ABC announced that it had delayed the
sixteenth season of its summer staple series The Bachelorette to a tentative fall launch, while sister-series Bachelor in Paradise had been postponed indefinitely.[10] The following month, Fox and The CW followed suit by announcing that both the networks would be delaying most of their original scripted premieres to a cycle beginning in January 2021, and their fall lineup would consist primarily of acquisitions and delayed summer series.[1][2]
In light of further delays in production, CBS moved up S.W.A.T. to a fall premiere to replace Survivor, while the latter had been postponed its production of the
forty-first season to spring 2021 and was replaced by aforementioned The Amazing Race.[11][12] On August 26, 2020, the network further modified its schedule by deciding to push the premieres of all scripted programming to November and air acquired and encore programming in early fall instead.[13] Similarly, NBC altered its schedule on August 12, 2020, by replacing The Voice with American Ninja Warrior on Monday nights.[14]
On September 16, 2020, ABC announced that the network would not be moving forward with the second season of Stumptown, a decision that came in reversal to its May 2020 renewal. COVID-related production delays that would not have allowed the series to be ready for telecast before April 2021 (the end of the broadcast season) were cited as the primary reason behind the cancellation.[15]
In spite of the fact that an effective vaccine for the COVID-19 virus was not available until the first few months of 2021, most scripted shows were able to resume production in the autumn of 2020. This was accomplished by having all cast and crew members take daily COVID-19 tests during production to ensure no transmission of the virus, not having fans in the audience during tapings, and often writing scenes to reduce the total number of people on set at a given time. The 2020-21 season saw a diffused approach to COVID-19; some series acknowledged the pandemic and had storylines that addressed the issues from it, while others did not reference it at all.
Chuck Lorre said publicly that his CBS shows would not take place in a setting where COVID-19 existed, something that he's stuck with going into 2023.
Legend
Light blue indicates local programming.
Gray indicates encore programming.
Blue-gray indicates news programming.
Light green indicates sporting events.
Light purple indicates movies.
Red indicates series being
burned off and other irregularly scheduled programs, including specials.
Yellow indicates the top-10 most watched programs of the season.
Cyan indicates the top-20 most watched programs of the season.
Magenta indicates the top-30 most watched programs of the season.
Monday Night FootballβRenewed for a second season on March 18, 2021; deal will last into a thirteenth season in 2033.[218]
NHL on ABCβIt was announced on March 10, 2021, that ABC's sister network
ESPN regained the rights to air
National Hockey League games (including 25 games slated to air on ESPN and ABC) for seven years through the 2027β28 season.[219]
SEAL TeamβRenewed for a fifth season on May 18, 2021, which will air its first four episodes on CBS, before moving to
Paramount+ for the remainder of its run.[79]
All RiseβCanceled on May 15, 2021, after two seasons.[276] On September 29, 2021, it was announced that
Oprah Winfrey Network would pick up the series for another season.[277]
ClariceβIt was announced on June 10, 2021, that a possible move to
Paramount+ became unlikely to happen, rendering it as a de facto cancellation.[278] The series concluded on June 24, 2021.
MacGyverβIt was announced on April 7, 2021, that season five would be the final season.[279] The series concluded on April 30, 2021.
Manhunt: Deadly GamesβThe anthology series was meant to run for one season only; it concluded on November 7, 2020.[280]
MomβIt was announced on February 17, 2021, that season eight would be the final season.[281] The series concluded on May 13, 2021.
NCIS: New OrleansβIt was announced on February 17, 2021, that season seven would be the final season.[282] The series concluded on May 23, 2021.
Burden of TruthβIt was announced on March 18, 2021, that season four would be the final season.[288] The series concluded on September 17, 2021.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the LifeβThe miniseries was meant to run for one season only by creator
Netflix, the miniseries was aired as a four-night event beginning from November 23 through November 26, 2020.[96]
The OutpostβCanceled on September 15, 2021, after four seasons.[289] The series concluded on October 7, 2021.
PandoraβCanceled on May 17, 2021, after two seasons.[290]
Last Man StandingβIt was announced on October 14, 2020, that season nine would be the final season.[302] The series concluded on May 20, 2021.
The MoodysβPulled from the schedule after five episodes in the second season on April 16, 2021; Fox announced that the series would move from Thursdays to a burn off run of three episodes on Sundays.[303][304] The series was later canceled on June 17, 2021, after two seasons.[305] The series concluded on June 20, 2021.
NextβCanceled on October 30, 2020, marking the first cancellation of the season.[299] The series concluded on December 22, 2020.
Prodigal SonβCanceled on May 10, 2021, after two seasons.[306] The series concluded on May 18, 2021.
NBC
Brooklyn Nine-NineβIt was announced on February 11, 2021, that season eight would be the final season.[307][308] The series concluded on September 16, 2021.
ConnectingβCanceled on November 2, 2020. The remaining unaired episodes were made available on NBC's website and
Peacock.[309] The series concluded on November 16, 2020.
Good GirlsβCanceled on June 25, 2021, after four seasons.[312] The series concluded on July 22, 2021.
ManifestβCanceled on June 14, 2021, after three seasons.[313] On August 28, 2021, it was announced that
Netflix would pick up the series for another season.[314]
NHL on NBCβIt was announced on April 26, 2021, that NBC had backed out of negotiations for the partial contractual rights of the remainder of the
National Hockey League games (including the
New Year's DayWinter Classic) and awarded the rights to
Turner Sports beginning with the 2021β22 season and lasted through 2027β28 season.[315]
^First primetime weekly version; last aired weekdays on
PAX TV and previously aired in that format on ABC.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere of season 4; previously aired on
Pop and
TV Land.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; a
Charter Spectrum original series.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; a
CBS All Access original series.
^The series was scheduled to end in May 2020 but seven episodes remain unaired in its current
fifteenth season due to suspensions in production and post-production, pushing the series finale to Fall 2020.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; a
Netflix original series.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; full series previously released on
DC Universe.
^Series revival, previously aired by
Lifetime in 2012; originated on
Fox where it last aired in 2011.
^Series revival; first aired on NBC and CBS in the 1950s, before going into first-run syndication till 1985.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere; full series previously aired on
National Geographic.
^U.S. broadcast television premiere of Season 1; a
Charter Spectrum original series.
^Series revival; first aired on CBS and NBC from 1959β70.
^Second primetime weekly version; previously aired on NBC from 2001β02.