What’s on CBS tonight? Here is the full CBS schedule for Saturday, October 31, 2026, with times in Eastern Time (ET).

CBS ignores Halloween and runs a straight three-hour crime block

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

While almost every other channel is leaning into Halloween, CBS has scheduled the opposite: FBI at 8pm, CIA at 9pm and 48 Hours at 10pm, all ET, all an hour long. It is a solid evening for anyone who wants procedural television rather than a horror marathon, and the FBI hour is where I would start.

The 8pm anchor

FBI airs as “Long Shot”, listed as season 8, episode 21, at 8pm ET/PT (7pm Central). It is the longest and first of the three primetime slots, and it is the one with the clearest competition: the World Series is on FOX at the same moment, along with Halloween films and baking shows on cable. That is a real choice, not a scheduling footnote. A viewer who cares about baseball has an easy decision. Everyone else gets a drama that has been running on CBS since 2018 and has 158 episodes to its name, which is a sign of how settled the franchise is. Four stars, and the pick of the night.

The 9pm slot

CIA follows at 9pm ET/PT (8pm Central). It is a one-word title, and that is about all the billing says, so I can only rate it on its place in the lineup. It sits between two stronger-looking hours and benefits from the lead-in. It runs against a Halloween film on several channels, which is where the real competition is for this slot. Three stars.

10pm: the stronger finish

48 Hours closes primetime with “Closing the Cold Case of Robin Lawrence”, season 39, episode 5. It is a news magazine with 991 episodes behind it across 29 seasons, which is the kind of longevity that earns the benefit of the doubt. At 10pm ET/PT (9pm Central) it is up against a set of Halloween-themed cable specials, and it is the more serious alternative. I rate it four stars alongside FBI, because a documentary hour with a specific case named in the title is a clearer proposition than most of what is on at that time.

The daytime: football and Serie A

Outside primetime, the day is all sport. A Serie A pre-show, CBS Sports Golazo Matchday, comes on at 12:30pm ET, followed by Serie A itself at 1pm ET for two hours (live, 10am PT). Then State Farm College Football Today runs at 3pm ET, with a college football game at 3:30pm ET (12:30pm PT) for 210 minutes. The US Army Postgame Show follows at 7pm ET, and the night turns over to local programming at 7:30pm ET before FBI.

Both live blocks get three stars. Neither has a matchup named, so the rating reflects the slot and the length, not the teams.

The morning

CBS Saturday Morning takes the 7am to 9am ET block and it is the main news slot of the weekend. The rest of the morning is a run of half-hour shows from 9am ET: Lucky Dog: Paws with Purpose, Lucky Dog: Down Under, Hope in the Wild, The Visioneers with Zay Harding, Dr. Chris Pet Vet and The Open Road with Dr. Chris. They sit in the same slots a week earlier, so they are a block you can leave on rather than plan around.

Overnight

Comics Unleashed comes on at 12:05am ET, followed by two Funny You Should Ask half-hours. After that, local stations take the early hours and the 11pm slot after 48 Hours.

The plan

If you want a quiet, undemanding Halloween night, watch FBI at 8pm ET, stay for CIA if you like, and finish with 48 Hours. If you want baseball, CBS is not the channel.


Also on TV tonight at 8pm ET

  • ABC: College Football (from 7:37pm ET)
  • NBC: College Football (from 7:30pm ET)
  • FOX: 2026 World Series
  • PBS: Secrets of the Dead
  • The CW: WWE NXT (from 7pm ET)
  • ION: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
  • TCM: Dracula
  • AMC: Halloween (from 7pm ET)
  • FX: Ghostbusters: Afterlife
  • Freeform: Hocus Pocus (from 7:20pm ET)

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


Frequently asked questions

What’s on CBS tonight?

On Saturday, October 31, 2026, CBS shows FBI at 8pm ET, CIA at 9pm ET and 48 Hours at 10pm ET.

Is there a movie on CBS tonight?

No. CBS has no movies in its evening schedule on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

What’s on CBS late tonight?

After 11pm ET, CBS has Local Programs at 11pm ET.

What time does CBS’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with The US Army Postgame Show at 7pm ET.