What’s on CBS tonight? Here is the full CBS schedule for Tuesday, October 27, 2026, with times in Eastern Time (ET).

CBS runs three NCIS hours in a row, and the first one is the strongest

See also: What's on tonight across all channels | Wednesday's TV guide

CBS has built Tuesday primetime like a marathon: NCIS at 8pm ET/PT (7pm Central), NCIS: New York at 9pm and NCIS: Origins at 10pm. Three hours, one franchise, no variety. It is a confident piece of scheduling for a night when ABC has the dance floor and Fox has the World Series, and it works because a viewer who likes one hour will sit through the next.

The one to watch is the opener. NCIS is a police procedural with 507 episodes behind it and a long-standing place at the center of the CBS lineup, and tonight’s installment is titled Like and Subscribe. Four stars, and it is the pick of the CBS night. It is also the hour under the most pressure: it opens against Dancing with the Stars on ABC, the World Series on Fox and The Real Housewives of New York City on Bravo, so it needs the loyalty of its audience to hold.

NCIS: Origins comes at 10pm ET/PT (9pm Central) with Shimmy Shimmy Ya, the fourth episode of its third season. Origins is the newest member of the family, built on the original series, and it has 46 episodes to date. It is the hour with the most to prove, since it faces RJ Decker on ABC at the same time, and it earns three stars from us: a solid closer, not a reason to stay up. The middle hour is NCIS: New York. We have no episode details for it, but the slot is clear, and with Scott Caan and LL Cool J in its cast it is a sensible bridge between the two ends. Three stars, because a bridge that nobody has told you anything about is hard to rate higher.

Outside primetime the night is the familiar CBS stack. CBS Mornings runs two hours from 7am ET and CBS Mornings Plus follows at 9am ET. The Price Is Right arrives at 11am ET, then The Young and the Restless at 12:30pm, The Bold and the Beautiful at 1:30pm, Beyond the Gates at 2pm and Let’s Make a Deal at 3pm ET. The CBS Evening News is at 6:30pm ET.

After the local news at 11pm ET, the late slot goes to Comics Unleashed at 11:35pm ET, and Funny You Should Ask turns up twice in the small hours, at 12:35am and 1:05am ET. They are fixtures, there every day in the window, so treat them as filler for the sleepless, not as destinations. Two stars for Comics Unleashed, mostly because the competition at that hour is Kimmel and Fallon.

The short version: if you are choosing CBS, start at 8pm ET and see how the night feels. If the first hour works, the next two will too.


Also on TV tonight at 8pm ET

  • ABC: Dancing with the Stars
  • NBC: NBA Basketball
  • FOX: 2026 World Series
  • PBS: Finding Your Roots
  • The CW: WWE NXT
  • ION: Chicago Fire
  • TCM: Arsenic and Old Lace
  • AMC: A Nightmare on Elm Street (from 7pm ET)
  • FX: Independence Day (from 6pm ET)
  • Freeform: Addams Family Values (from 7pm ET)

Every channel tonight, side by side · Movies on TV this week · Tomorrow’s TV


Frequently asked questions

What’s on CBS tonight?

On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, CBS shows NCIS at 8pm ET, NCIS: New York at 9pm ET and NCIS: Origins at 10pm ET.

Is there a movie on CBS tonight?

No. CBS has no movies in its evening schedule on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

What’s on CBS late tonight?

After 11pm ET, CBS has Local Programs at 11pm ET and Comics Unleashed at 11:35pm ET.

What time does CBS’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with CBS Evening News at 6:30pm ET.

The broadcast network that still believes in daytime

CBS is the one network whose daytime is still made of entertainment rather than news and talk. From 11am to 4pm ET on weekdays it runs two game shows and three soaps, and that block is why drama, comedy and game shows top its all-day genre mix rather than news. In primetime it is the most procedural-heavy of the big networks, with whole nights given over to a single crime franchise.

It is a channel of fixed habits. Across the two weeks we tracked, every weekday network show sat in exactly the same slot every day, and 77% of all airtime went to titles that returned on three or more days.

What a day on CBS looks like

Overnight, CBS News Roundup runs at 2am and CBS News Mornings at 5am. CBS Mornings, the main morning show, starts at 7am, with CBS Mornings Plus at 9am. Then the schedule changes character:

  • 11am: The Price Is Right
  • 12:30pm: The Young and the Restless
  • 1:30pm: The Bold and the Beautiful
  • 2pm: Beyond the Gates
  • 3pm: Let’s Make a Deal

Local stations take the late afternoon, CBS Evening News arrives at 6:30pm, and the 7pm hour goes back to your local station.

Primetime runs 8pm to 11pm ET and is built in franchise blocks:

  • Monday: FBI at 8pm and CIA at 9pm, then a 10pm drama.
  • Tuesday: a full NCIS night. NCIS at 8pm, NCIS: New York at 9pm and NCIS: Origins at 10pm.
  • Wednesday: reality. Survivor at 8pm for 90 minutes, then The Amazing Race at 9:30pm.
  • Thursday: comedy at 8pm and 8:30pm, with Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage and Eternally Yours, then Elsbeth at 9pm and Cupertino at 10pm.
  • Friday: Sheriff Country at 8pm, Fire Country at 9pm and Boston Blue at 10pm.
  • Sunday: 60 Minutes from 7pm, then Marshals, Tracker and Cupertino, starting later when NFL games run over.

Late night is not a talk show. Comics Unleashed takes 11:35pm on weeknights and the game show Funny You Should Ask follows at 12:35am, usually for two episodes.

The weekend breaks the pattern completely. Soaps and game shows disappear, and Saturdays bring CBS Saturday Morning, two Dr. Chris shows (Dr. Chris Pet Vet and The Open Road with Dr. Chris), PBR bull riding and college football. Sunday afternoons in the fall belong to the NFL from 1pm, and our NFL games on TV page lists each week’s broadcasts. Saturday night ends with 48 Hours, often in a double run from 9pm or 10pm.

Popular shows on CBS

NCIS is a military police procedural that first aired in 2003 and has run for 24 seasons. Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette and Sean Murray were among its cast. It opens Tuesday at 8pm and has two spin-offs following it: NCIS: New York, with Scott Caan and LL Cool J, and NCIS: Origins, which began in 2024.

Survivor is the American version of the reality competition and has been on CBS since 2000, now at 50 seasons. It runs 90 minutes on Wednesdays from 8pm, leading into The Amazing Race, an adventure reality game show that began in 2001.

FBI is a crime drama that started in 2018, with Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki and Jeremy Sisto among its cast, and leads off Monday at 8pm.

Fire Country began in 2022 with Max Thieriot and Billy Burke and anchors Friday at 9pm, between Sheriff Country, a drama with Morena Baccarin that began in 2025, and Boston Blue, a police procedural from 2025 starring Donnie Wahlberg and Sonequa Martin-Green.

48 Hours is a documentary and news magazine that has been on since 1988, with 29 seasons. It is the backbone of Saturday night.

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is a sitcom that began in 2024 with Montana Jordan and Emily Osment, and leads off Thursday’s comedy half-hour pair.

How to watch CBS

CBS is free over the air with an antenna through your local affiliate. Episodes stream on Paramount+ the next day, and the Paramount+ Premium tier includes your live local CBS station.

Live TV streaming services that carry CBS include YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and DirecTV Stream. There is also the CBS app.

Channels like CBS

  • NBC builds primetime the same way, with franchise nights for its Chicago and Law & Order dramas.
  • ION is where CBS procedurals such as NCIS and FBI turn up again in all-day marathons.
  • ABC is the other broadcast network still running a daytime soap, though it gives the rest of its day to news and talk.
  • Hallmark Mystery suits viewers who want gentler mysteries rather than federal agents.
  • USA Network is another crime-heavy schedule for procedural fans.

Who it’s for

CBS is for people who like their television in reliable shapes: a game show at 11am, the soaps after lunch, an NCIS on Tuesday and a Survivor on Wednesday. Crime procedurals fill most of primetime, so viewers looking for prestige drama or sharp comedy will find slim pickings. For daytime soap fans it is the only network that still runs three in a row.

What’s on CBS during the day?

Weekdays bring The Price Is Right at 11am, The Young and the Restless at 12:30pm, The Bold and the Beautiful at 1:30pm, Beyond the Gates at 2pm and Let’s Make a Deal at 3pm ET.

What night is NCIS on CBS?

Tuesday. NCIS airs at 8pm, NCIS: New York at 9pm and NCIS: Origins at 10pm ET.

How can I watch CBS without cable?

Use an antenna for the free local signal, a live TV streaming service such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo or DirecTV Stream, or Paramount+ Premium for your live local station.

What time is primetime on CBS?

CBS primetime runs from 8pm to 11pm ET. On Sundays, 60 Minutes starts at 7pm and the evening can shift later after NFL games.