Entertainment
CBS Show Cancellations 2027: Every Show Not Returning
CBS cancelled Watson, DMV, The Neighborhood and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for 2027. Full story on why each show got axed and what replaces them.
Faiyyaz
June 7, 2026 · 9 min read
Table of contents
Quick Summary
CBS cancelled four shows ahead of the 2026-27 season: Watson (cancelled March 27, 2026, after two seasons), DMV (cancelled March 27, 2026, after one season), The Neighborhood (concluded after eight seasons, finale aired May 11, 2026), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (ended May 2026 after a decade with Colbert).
Watson: Record Premiere, Steady Collapse
Watson premiered January 26, 2025 after the AFC Championship Game and pulled 18.7 million viewers in multiplatform viewing over 35 days. Season one averaged 6.79 million. Season two, moved to Mondays after CIA, collapsed to 2.86 million per episode, a 44 percent drop from season one and a 57 percent fall in 18-49. Amy Reisenbach called Morris Chestnut one of the greatest No. 1s she had ever dealt with, but said the bar at CBS is high. The finale aired May 3, 2026 and left Sherlock's fate unresolved. Watson is now on Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
DMV: The Workplace Comedy That Never Caught On
DMV premiered October 13, 2025 with a cast that included Tim Meadows, Harriet Dyer, Molly Kearney, Tony Cavalero, Alex Tarrant, and Gigi Zumbado. It held a 65 percent Rotten Tomatoes critics score but multiplatform viewing declined steadily through its 20 episodes. CBS axed it on March 27, 2026, freeing slots for comedy pilots Eternally Yours and The Tillbrooks. The finale aired May 11, 2026.
The Neighborhood: A Proper Farewell
CBS announced in March 2025 that the Cedric the Entertainer sitcom would end with an eighth and final season. The series finale aired May 11, 2026. Eight seasons is practically a dynasty in the current TV landscape, and unlike Watson or DMV, the show got its proper send-off.
The Late Show: Cancellation Turned Political Firestorm
The Late Show was performing, regularly finishing first in late night. CBS killed it anyway. The sequence: Paramount Global was negotiating an $8 billion acquisition with Skydance needing FCC approval. Paramount reached a $16 million settlement with Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview. Colbert criticised the settlement on air. Three days later CBS announced his show was ending. Senators Sanders, Schiff and Warren publicly questioned the timing. CBS called the cancellation a 'purely financial decision' and retired the entire franchise rather than name a successor.
What CBS Is Putting in Their Place
The 2026-27 schedule leans on franchise stability: NCIS, NCIS: Origins, NCIS: Sydney, Tracker, Matlock, Elsbeth, Fire Country, FBI, Ghosts, Boston Blue. New additions include Cupertino (from the team behind The Good Wife) and Einstein (starring Matthew Gray Gubler). Survivor returns for seasons 49 and 50, and The Amazing Race gets season 38. The Colbert late-night slot is empty with no replacement announced.
Frequently asked
Why did CBS cancel Watson?+
Season two averaged 2.86 million viewers, a 44 percent drop from season one and a 57 percent collapse in 18-49. CBS said the bar at the network is high and tough decisions had to be made for new shows.
Why did CBS cancel DMV?+
DMV never built the viewership CBS needed. Audience numbers declined steadily across its 20 episodes and CBS used the slot for new comedy pilots.
Why was The Late Show with Stephen Colbert cancelled?+
CBS called it a purely financial decision. Critics and senators pointed to the timing, three days after Colbert criticised Paramount's $16 million settlement with Donald Trump.
Is The Neighborhood coming back?+
No. The show concluded after eight seasons with a planned farewell. The finale aired May 11, 2026.
Who is replacing Stephen Colbert?+
Nobody. CBS retired the franchise entirely and confirmed no replacement host is planned.
Faiyyaz
I write fast, casual explainers on the people, players and pop-culture moments the internet is searching right now.