Survivor shows us an unlikely victory and an inevitable fall. by Jeremy Fogelman
The latest episode of Survivor is called “Get That Money, Baby” after Jesse’s quote from the letter from his kid -- he repeats it twice at the tribal council to explain his vote, which ought to have been a warning sign. The final voting total had Noelle voting for Sami while Sami and Owen voted for Karla -- the rest (Cassidy, Gabler, Karla, Jesse, Cody) targeted Noelle, leaving both Sami and Owen in the dark.
This is a first for Sami, who has always been on the right side of the votes until now -- and sadly a typical situation for Owen. Both were mentioned as potential targets this episode too -- obviously Noelle voted for Sami but it was noted by Gabler too that Sami is a flipper. Cassidy brings up Owen as a potential target, and Gabler notes that by voting against Noelle he’d be burning those two. It’s not particularly looking great for either of those now, but Sami has certainly proved himself capable before.
Noelle showed herself as an absolutely inspirational challenge warrior with her astounding come-from-behind reward challenge win -- and it’s not even the first time she’s been impressive this season. But as Jesse notes, she’s also been pretty good socially, able to survive many dire situations so far. With her idea last episode to trick James, she’s pretty good strategically too -- but she got voted out mainly because someone really wanted her out and was smart enough to pull it off.
The episode got pretty cute by following along with Jesse’s blindside checklist, which was a fairly well thought three point plan of (1) Have a Cover Story, (2) Throw the Fall Guy Under the Bus -- Sami, (3) Have a Backup Plan -- Gabler. Sami being the fall guy made him a target from Noelle and she identified Owen as too close an ally to him to bother with her blindside plan against Sami.
It’s interesting how Jesse was able to identify how he was emotionally biased by Noelle giving him the letters from home, he’s certainly a capable player -- but did he accidentally misread things with Gabler? Gabler very savvily realizes that Jesse is highly strategic, and with a classic ironic juxtaposition after Cody and Jesse cheer their steering the ship, tells Karla that something needs to be done about that dangerous duo.
It was a good potential misdirect that maybe they’d suddenly blindside Jesse or Cody, but instead I suppose they’re waiting for later. You could see on Karla’s face that perhaps she was deciding in the last minute whether or not to play her idol -- she correctly saves it for later, but the episode did a good enough job at the misdirects that it wasn’t 100% clear on what exactly what was going to happen in the final moments.
I’m a little bummed to see Noelle voted out, but then again, there’s a lot of great players left I’d feel bad about too -- this episode was actually pretty fun and had some interesting editing choices. The show has been playing with the text on screen stuff a bit more, which I approve of -- you need to keep things interesting or the show gets stale.
It’s a lot of big personalities left and still some game left to play -- we’ve got that emotional part done so everyone is more likely than ever to start betraying each other.
Next time on Survivor, Gabler is hiding in plain sight, there’s mail, and a race to win.
Survivor doubles down with a double boot that reveals the new big players.. by Jeremy Fogelman
Apparently Survivor has been noticing the slower pace of recent episodes so it included that well-known post-merge twist of the temporary team split. We’ve seen this particular twist before, which is a good way to shake things up and potentially weed out some of the less interesting players by having a double vote out in one episode.
The immunity challenge was a fast one, with the first team getting Karla her first immunity win and the second team getting Cody his first win. At this point the immunities have been pretty well distributed, kinda unusually -- but it makes things more precarious going forward. In the challenge Ryan demonstrated a lot of capability, as to be expected, which is likely one of the main reasons behind his being voted out.
Why did Ryan get voted out? As Jesse noted, he’s a physical threat but perhaps not so much a strategic one, especially compared to Cassidy. But it’s also about his loyalty or lack of it -- Jesse and Cody are already a supremely tight duo, but is it one that will take them to the end or detonate because of it? They easily bring in Gabler, who has also seemingly fallen under Sami’s leadership -- but who will the “loyalty first” dude really stay loyal to if they’re at odds?
Although Cody and Jesse discuss contingency plans about who gets voted out from the other tribe, they don’t actually seem to change their plans at all. So we get a straightforward, if boring, blindside on Ryan, who isn’t really connected or aware enough to see it coming. Sadly it was easy to see coming -- although he was very unlikely to win at the final tribal council, he could easily block someone else from staying safe which is a danger all itself.
The far more interesting tribal council is the other team, which is set aflame at first by Owen and James yelling at each other. We’ve heard James oddly mention Owen as untrustworthy already, but here he clarifies further that it’s because Owen already put his name down twice. However he’s misremembering things, because Owen only did that once at the Elie blindside vote because he was completely out of the loop. It felt like James simply didn’t want to work with Owen in the first place.
In contrast, Sami is setting himself up as a player making risky but effective moves -- he both wants to retain an alliance with Owen while solidifying one with Karla. When Noelle comes up with the brilliant move to fake Steal-a-Vote from Owen but still vote with him, Sami decides to bring Karla on board instead of leaving her in the dark. It’s potentially very dangerous for him and their blindside, because she could tell James to use his Knowledge is Power or even spare an idol if needed.
Instead though Sami convinces Karla with apparently decent logic that Owen isn’t a real threat but this is the perfect opportunity to get out the more connected and advantage-having James -- hard to say he’s wrong. So Karla has to decide between wrecking the plan because James is allied with her or remove a potential threat before it’s too late. Of course she could also be wrong about the threat and it’s making her seem more dangerous, but we can’t know about that yet.
Either way, I was glad to see some interesting gameplay between Sami and Noelle here, with a tribal that felt like it could’ve actually gone either way, unlike the Ryan blindside. So it’s half of an interesting episode, and thankfully we still have quite a few of my faves left in the game.
Next time on Survivor, the game is relentless and the targets keep changing.
Survivor delivers a straightforward vote-out in a season that’s becoming less interesting. by Jeremy Fogelman
Normally I really get into the entire strategic nonsense of Survivor and the possible reasons why people get voted out. Unfortunately we’ve reached a weird sort of stasis point in this season where the big moves are too dangerous and the most savvy players seem to be still playing it safe. Which means that the easy votes are the normal votes after the merge -- Elie, Dwight, and now Jeanine, all the people with the fewest allies.
Jeanine really only had one theoretical ally in Noelle and even more theoretical in Owen as the potential other low on the totem pole players, but both voted against Jeanine in a 9-2 landslide vote out. The only other one that voted with her to vote against Ryan was Cassidy, and I suppose she did that maybe because like she said to Karla, she was sick of all the women being voted out?
I’m not sure, but at this point the numbers are pretty skewed with only three women left and seven guys in the game. But not all positions are equal, and some perspectives I still don’t entirely understand because the show isn’t really showing us everything that would be helpful. James is oddly against Owen this episode for the reason that he doesn’t trust him -- but is that really the only reason?
If there’s something specific that happened, we don’t know about it, and if there isn’t, it feels like James is being unreasonable. I didn’t really hear anyone else specifically target Owen, but he did say later when approached by Sami that he was thankful he was still in the game. So perhaps there’s more that we haven’t seen, which is another ding against the editing of the season.
Ryan was the potential other target mentioned, as he was a strong dude who wasn’t really involved much in strategizing -- more of the classic old school immunity threat that has been more deprioritized over time in favor of strategic threats. Thus why most winners of late have been of the “middle” threat variety, either intentionally or unintentionally not appearing that dangerous. It’s a very difficult line to balance on, but a lot of the current players are basically trying to do just that.
Like the immunity challenge “give up immunity for rice” play -- Cassidy, Sami, James, Karla, and Jesse all volunteer to sit out, which either means they feel comfortable or want everyone else to think they feel comfortable. It’s another balancing act thing, because being too arrogant runs the risk of becoming a visible target, but being noticed as a hard player is also dangerous.
That sort of post-modern high level strategy is an interesting part of modern Survivor, but the problem is that the season hasn’t really been showing us the thought processes behind all potential vote outs. The last episode with Dwight’s vote out felt more logical, and it did lead to a fun moment this time where Jesse revealed he actually had it. One of the few memorable moments of an otherwise fairly forgettable episode.
I still think many people in the cast are interesting to watch, but there’s a lot of uninteresting stuff we’ve been shown so it’s made it difficult to really care about each vote off other than feeling bad about poor Jeanine and her inevitable fall. Skip these boring “final seven” bits and bring on the “turn on each other already” part of the season.
Next time on Survivor, James isn’t the godfather and there are two immunity necklaces.
Survivor switches up the game as the immunity challenge finally gives us something new. by Jeremy Fogelman
The latest episode of Survivor ends with a fairly unusual ending, with a few back and forth moments to make us question the situation, but the outcome was fairly well set up. We see that Jesse initially wants to vote out Noelle because she’s simply too capable and inspiring, which I’m sure would be cold comfort if she got voted out. But he “gives agency” (quite smartly) to Cody to raise his alternate vote out idea of Dwight instead, which would still weaken Noelle’s position in the game.
Cody tells us that the idea is a decent one but he worries it’d be too early to make such a “big” move instead of the safer one against James and his Knowledge is Power advantage situation. James still hasn’t broken the Knowledge is Power curse, but at least he hasn’t misplayed it... yet. I was certainly concerned when he told several people about his advantage, including Cody who visibly looked alarmed at the idea.
I still don’t think it was a great idea for James to tell anyone that wasn’t his closest ally, and even then it’s a huge risk. I think he really just got lucky this time around because Dwight was in the crosshairs and it was easy to bring together a coalition since he had very few allies. One of the issues that the season has had so far is a failure to really give us insight into some of these players -- Dwight was sadly one of them. We never really got any significant idea of his game or even really his personality.
So this vote out (although shown why it happened in this episode) also feels anti-climactic. Last season at this point I felt like there was perhaps just one person I didn’t know, but now there are several -- Dwight, James, Ryan, Cassidy -- that’s four out of twelve. At least I do have a sense for everyone else.
The advantage switcheroo situation was fun enough and it made things more complicated in a slightly confusing way -- I didn’t quite remember what idol or advantage he had when he got voted out, only that it was one of them. Sadly it was poor Jeanine, who was effectively blindsided herself and lost her vote and her ally. A dangerous situation for her, but she’s a fun player to watch certainly.
The new immunity challenge was a fun little change up too, with a set of random pairs leading into a single player final segment so there was immediacy to their alliance situations. We got both the somewhat maudlin but nice moment where everyone helps Noelle, but then the melodramatic and weirdly humorous segment where Gabler goes on and on yet also talks about supporting veterans with PTSD. I suppose it’s one of the odd things about Gabler as a player, he’s a hard competitor with a lot of old school loyalty but not really adept at the strategic dynamics.
I was lucky enough to be at a live show watching this episode, and it’s certainly a trip to watch with a big crowd clapping or gasping at different moments. Certainly enhances a lot of the scenes, making things more entertaining when people applaud for players that are actually in the room (even if maybe they would never be applauding for them otherwise). But sadly their season is still going on so we couldn’t ask for secrets we haven’t seen -- or at least I didn’t ask.
It was still entertaining even considering my enhanced viewing of the episode, with a new interesting immunity twist and some chaotic strategic gameplay -- that’s always fun, even when it targets players you like. At this point Jesse and Karla are the clear strategic narrators, but they may be a hint at what’s to come or a chance to foreshadow a twist that won’t come at all. Either way there are enough interesting players left to keep me invested.
Survivor makes it obvious despite a very chaotic rush in the merge episode. by Jeremy Fogelman
Ah, the Survivor merge -- or the half safe/half “Mergatory”, as Cassidy cleverly coins, is always a time of great chaos. It’s always the perfect time to shake things up in a tribe that’s on the brink of collapse or the best time for a strong alliance to become even stronger. In this case we had a take on the pre-merge challenge which was a new idea in Seasons 41 and 42 and a pretty interesting new idea.
One temporary team of seven has immunity while the other team does not but they all vote -- it’s a good idea, one that was muddied within the last two seasons with that Hourglass twist. Although I liked Erika winning her season, it always felt a bit tainted because of her clear gains from the Hourglass twist when she was certainly a target.
Sadly this time around we say farewell to Elie, which the episode gives us the doom foreshadowing by Elie saying that she’s “way better at this game” than she thought after noticing Cody has the bead immunity too. She’s perceptive in some ways, certainly, but where she’s always had a blind spot in this game is her perception of her own social standing and how people perceive her.
We already knew Elie thought that Sami and Owen were close allies with her, but only Owen really was an ally -- having decided to try and trust them and be trusted in turn (perhaps a bad move since he did vote with them this time). But Sami has been playing against Elie for a while, so it’s no real surprise he used the opportunity of Gabler playing poorly to target the more capable Elie.
Gabler threw out Elie’s name entirely as a revenge thing, but then he also discussed Jeanine’s idol in front of Ryan! No wonder Sami thought that perhaps they could manage Gabler and his issues instead of the potential strategic capability from Elie. Elie never picked up on Sami’s turn on her and she also didn’t really handle the post-Gabler bus throw part that well either -- really basically yelling at him.
Although it felt inevitable she’d be voted out, it’s also kind of annoying -- you have essentially unknown games from some of the other people, so they feel like pointless people in the game. At this point it’s a bit skewed in terms of the men/women divide, with eight men and four women -- that’s twice as many of the fellas. It’s a weird post-modern game where the obvious physical targets are no longer the threats and neither are the obvious goats (like Gabler).
Instead the threats are still the “playing too hard” players, which sadly Elie was a member of. There have been a few others like that, but sometimes an easy vote is an easy vote. All that said, we did get some interesting stuff -- like Karla wisely noting that the merge treemail doesn’t mean anything yet but also hurting her hand. The back and forth scrambling was entertaining for what it was, even if it ultimately ended in a straightforward manner.
The most fun part of the episode was actually when Owen comments on the chyron itself wishing it told him the secrets of the game -- and then it amusingly follows along with a list of everything he knows for sure and one possible guess. Although he doesn’t know about the bead immunity idol that multiple people have. Otherwise I’m more invested in seeing what chaos might come next.
Next time on Survivor, is Noelle a target, and Gabler is still at it.
Survivor offers some repeated beats but showcases a fitting blindside. by Jeremy Fogelman
The latest episode of Survivor is called “Stop with All the Niceness” and gives us that delightful showcase of “pride cometh before the fall”. Sometimes on Survivor it’s a direct line from someone’s arrogance to their getting voted out, and sometimes it’s about someone’s arrogance getting their ally voted out. This episode we got both at once.
Geo has been delighting in his theoretical majority alliance for a little while, with him being the obvious unknowing target last week until Lindsay tanked herself. He and Ryan are a very strong pair, but they also both think of Karla and James as being part of their alliance instead of another strong duo associated with their duo. Last week this wasn’t an issue as their interests aligned in voting out Lindsay, but both Geo and Ryan remained in the dark about their so-called allies' true goals and plans.
The episode gives us a little tease about Cassidy potentially spiraling like Lindsay, but this was just a bit of misdirection, as the ball was firmly in Karla’s court, with her ally James by her side. The “loose lips sink ships” had two instances this episode, one being Geo gleefully telling Karla about his lie to the tribe and actually getting an advantage, while the other was Elie on Baka foolishly telling Sami about Jeanine’s idol for no reason I could detect.
If it hadn’t been for both Geo’s luck in getting his advantage (the third failure of Knowledge is Power, as it wasn’t even used) and his inability to keep it to himself, he might not have triggered Karla’s warning senses enough to be a target. So Geo, in a way, voted himself out through his own hubris and the episode was glad to show us his arrogance in interviews juxtaposed with his actual situation.
The other stupid game decision was Ryan “throwing” his challenge (although it’s unclear how much he was doing) to get a chance to vote out Cassidy. Intentional tribals are almost always a bad idea, with the one possible exception of feeling the need to get rid of a toxic, chaotic person who’s not helping in challenges and will screw things up when they merge. Cassidy was neither of those, and Ryan’s glee at thinking he fooled everyone was another clear note by the episode to foreshadow his potential downfall.
Cassidy correctly picked up on his poor acting, but only Karla was shown making the game-changing decision -- despite James being on her team. As it often happens when big tribes finally lose, Coco was only a little bit away from completely destroying itself -- and this sort of unknowing back and forth is always fun to watch. Nothing though from new champions Vesi, who have certainly been dominating lately.
But the real chaos was on our Baka tribe, as per usual, even though they didn’t lose. Jeanine and Elie (another very tight duo) go searching for idols and we see another use of the Bead Beware Advantage. This time they tell Owen about the advantage because he accidentally runs into them while she has it out -- and he seems to be pretty smart about telling us he’s hedging his bets because Gabler is unpredictable and he wants to be shown as trusting the two ladies.
In contrast, Elie (who I suppose incorrectly still thinks of Sami as her ally) tells the secret of Jeanine’s idol, while Owen kept it to himself! So too late, Sami tells Gabler they just gave Jeanine an idol -- I suppose Elie telling Sami did back him into a corner, because if he didn’t participate with the bead thing, they’d have been screwed. But instead now the whole tribe knows about it, and that can’t be a good thing.
Similarly, Jeanine revealed her loss of the Risk It challenge, which means that now everyone also knows she has no vote. And with the merge coming up soon, she’s in jeopardy. It was a pretty fun episode, with a lot of great personality conflicts and people not seeing their own weaknesses. It’s setting the season up to be a pretty chaotic post-merge situation.
Next time on Survivor, the Merge is coming and there’s some sort of twist.
Survivor has a fun episode with an inspired new twist and a tragicomic self-immolation. by Jeremy Fogelman
Ah, poor Lindsay, sometimes it can be a bit tricky to figure out why people get voted out of Survivor, even on this episode which is called “Show No Mercy” -- and she certainly didn’t get any. The problem is that Lindsay had her mental wires crossed and became increasingly paranoid, yet didn’t do anything about that paranoia except make her allies worried about her reliability.
In fairness to them, if someone is suddenly saying they can’t trust anyone and that you’re lying to them, it’s hard to accept that they’ll be a safe ally in the future. James really wanted to keep Lindsay and calm her down while Karla (shown to be the savvy one at times) just wanted to flip on her ally to save their future.
Amusingly at the same time Geo was planting the seeds for his own voteout, being too obvious in his strategizing and being arrogant enough that other people totally picked up on it. His mention to us that he’s controlling things was a classic ironic interview moment. It felt likely he was doomed until Lindsay essentially self-eliminated -- the truth sadly is that if she really felt paranoid, the absolute worst response was to show that paranoia to anyone, especially her allies!
So the little last minute scheme where Noelle from Vesi tells Elie from Baka how to solve the immunity puzzle served very well to take down Coco. All of those potential allegiances and personalities collided and detonated. We can at least note that James and Karla are still quite solid -- Karla also had a great moment post the Cody stealing scene, which was a great twist idea.
The Vesi tribe is concerned about Cody offending the tribe and “going for the jugular” and the episode plays a fun trick on us, making us think that Cody was indeed going to go too far with scorched earth tactics and steal their machete. But instead it’s all part of his plan, getting the Coco tribe to agree happily to give what Vesi wanted in the first place.
All well and good, but then Karla realizes that perhaps they’ve been played -- quite a good episode for Karla, despite her tribe losing this time. As for Baka, there’s some fun stuff where Gabler and Elie have a personality clash, with a very silly moment of him putting a palm frond on other people in the middle of the night in lieu of a blanket. He’s certainly an interesting character.
In terms of the steal-an-item twist, I thought it was a good idea -- doing it in broad daylight and allowing the tribes to negotiate with each other down to the wire gave a lot more room for interesting gameplay and character interactions. Sadly we’re now getting to that point in the season where I basically like most people, so any vote-out is going to be rough -- but that’s all thanks to the new, great recruiting efforts the show has made.
Since we don’t have that stupid Hourglass twist to worry about, I’m pretty excited about the potential episodes to come -- there’s even more ways everyone can implode and plenty of people to root for, which is what I prefer.
Next time on Survivor, revenge is coming, Owen thinks he can screw things up and things are about to blow up.
Survivor takes a step down with a fairly straightforward and well-meaning episode. by Jeremy Fogelman
After all of the sparks that have flown in the first two episodes of the season, this episode teases us with a so-called divorce of “island married” Jesse and Dwight but ultimately has everyone performing a very normal and expected blindside. The gang on Vesi loses immunity again this week, which will send their numbers down to four -- and the tribal lines are already pretty stark, with Noelle and Dwight sticking together in secret, Jesse theoretically still friends with Dwight, and Jesse and Cody very tightly allied.
Last time Nneka and Jesse ensured that Cody got his idol and didn’t lose his vote, although that part also helped their moves out too. This episode got a brand new backstory from Nneka, talking about her plans with a mission team for displaced children in Nigeria. We also get an emotional speech from Jesse about how voting out Nneka would feel like voting out his mom -- but I guess we have a new Ciera Eastin (she famously voted out her mom and Jeff kept bringing it up again even on later seasons)!
But at this point Nneka was unfortunately in the “challenge weak link” category and was unable to get her alliance to keep her in the game to prioritize loyalty over theoretically a better chance at winning. It’s hard to argue that she wasn’t doing as well as she could at the puzzle when she admits it both to us and out loud to her tribe. Sadly it didn’t seem too likely we’d keep Noelle and Nneka, because even if Noelle had been the target and used a steal-a-vote, she likely would’ve voted for Nneka too.
Her blindside was about as nice as you could get, with the whole tribe playing pretty nice despite everything -- we even get a cute moment where Jesse asks for the team to perform their survey of confidence in a better way. Similarly on Mysterious Island, Owen and James (who I guess don’t feel the risk is worth the reward, but James has barely been in the show so far while Owen technically got a vote already) agree to overtly not risk their vote so that Noelle can get an advantage. It’s the sort of thing that could potentially be a real allying moment between the three of them or maybe nothing at all.
On Baka and Coco, things get a little interesting in different ways. On Baka, a game is played where Gabler is used as a tool to trick the ladies, and he totally doesn’t realize it. Ellie, Jeanine, and Sami discuss trying to trick Gabler into revealing whether or not he knows his idol is still good, but Sami wants to play his own 19-going-on-22-year-old game (he gives a side-eye of sorts when Elie says that she’s closer to Gabler than he is, which doesn’t seem true).
Sami just flat out asks Gabler, who says he knows his idol is still good -- and Sami drop the bombshell that the ladies went through his bag. And then most amusingly, Gabler tells this bombshell to Owen, who pretends he didn’t already know about it! So Gabler ends up telling the ladies a lie, that he thinks his idol is defunct, and they buy it! Not a great look for those two ladies, but a great look for Sami and Owen.
On Coco, the only thing of note is that Karla initially doesn’t open a Beware Advantage, but then changes her mind and goes back to get it after all. Sadly it’s the same old bead thing, which is a shame for originality, but Karla’s approach is completely different from Cody’s.
Cody was able to use his connection with Jesse and Nneka to get both a plan to get beads and help to do it, while Karla uses social skills to barter for beads by creating jewelry for people. It’s interesting because both use social capability but in different ways, but it does make the episode a bit less interesting in terms of the nature of the advantage. The post-tribal stuff wasn’t as interesting this time around, but there’s a lot of really interesting potential coming with this cast, which is already great.
Next time on Survivor, revenge is on people’s minds and there’s a war coming.
#1 Broadcast Series NCIS and #1 New Drama NCIS: HAWAI'I Premiere Monday, Sept. 19
All-FBI Tuesday Debuts Sept. 20
SURVIVOR Returns with Two-Hour Debut Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 8:00 PM, Followed by THE AMAZING RACE in Its New Time Period at 10:00 PM
The New Reality Romance Adventure THE REAL LOVE BOAT Sets Sail on All-Reality Wednesday, Oct. 5, in Its New Time Period at 9:00 PM
Television's Most-Watched Comedy Block Premieres Thursday, Sept. 29 with #1 Comedy YOUNG SHELDON at 8:00 PM, #1 New Comedy GHOSTS at 8:30 PM, the Witty New Drama SO HELP ME TODD at 9:00 PM and CSI: VEGAS at 10:00 PM
Edgy New Drama EAST NEW YORK Premieres Sunday, Oct. 2 at 9:30 PM*
Friday's Heart-Pounding New Drama FIRE COUNTRY Debuts Oct. 7 at 9:00 PM
CBS announced the premiere dates for its 2022-2023 fall season that begins Monday, Sept. 19. The Network will roll out the strategic launches of four new shows and 18 returning series over a few weeks.
Of note, the new romance adventure competition THE REAL LOVE BOAT will now air at 9:00 PM on Wednesdays, leading into THE AMAZING RACE in its new time period at 10:00 PM. New shows are marked in bold.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 17
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS (35th season premiere)
SUNDAY, SEPT. 18 (Football Doubleheader)*
7:30-8:30 PM 60 MINUTES (55th season premiere)
MONDAY, SEPT. 19
8:00-8:30 PM THE NEIGHBORHOOD (fifth season premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM BOB ♥ ABISHOLA (fourth season premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM NCIS (20th season premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: HAWAI'I (second season premiere)
TUESDAY, SEPT. 20
8:00-9:00 PM FBI (fifth season premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM FBI: INTERNATIONAL (second season premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM FBI: MOST WANTED (fourth season premiere)
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21
8:00-10:00 PM SURVIVOR (two-hour 43rd season premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE (34th season premiere, NTP)
SUNDAY, SEPT. 25
8:00-10:00 PM BIG BROTHER (24th season finale)
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28
8:00-9:30 PM SURVIVOR (90-minute episode)
9:30-11:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE (90-minute episode)
THURSDAY, SEPT. 29
8:00-8:30 PM YOUNG SHELDON (sixth season premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM GHOSTS (second season premiere, NTP)
9:00-10:00 PM SO HELP ME TODD (SERIES DEBUT)
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: VEGAS (second season premiere, NTP)
SUNDAY, OCT. 2 (Football Doubleheader)*
7:30-8:30 PM 60 MINUTES
8:30-9:30 PM THE EQUALIZER (third season premiere)
9:30-10:30 PM EAST NEW YORK (SERIES DEBUT)
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5
8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR (RTP)
9:00-10:00 PM THE REAL LOVE BOAT (SERIES DEBUT, NTP)
10:00-11:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE
FRIDAY, OCT. 7
8:00-9:00 PM S.W.A.T. (sixth season premiere, NTP)
9:00-10:00 PM FIRE COUNTRY (SERIES DEBUT)
10:00-11:00 PM BLUE BLOODS (13th season premiere)
SUNDAY, OCT. 9
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM THE EQUALIZER (RTP)
9:00-10:00 PM EAST NEW YORK (RTP)
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES (14th season premiere, NTP)
Collaborating with Brands Like Coolhaus and Funko, the Iconic Media Franchise Will Be Honoring This Momentous Occasion by Bringing Custom Sweets, a Khan-Inspired Collectible, Screenings of the Film, a Curated Khan-Centric Selection of Episodes and Movies on Paramount+, and More to “Star Trek” Fans
Paramount’s “Star Trek” Franchise Group presents a Summer of Sweet Revenge, in celebration of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”’s 40th anniversary on Saturday, June 4, to fans across the country and beyond. They are teaming up with various brands to commemorate the film’s birthday with a suite of activities that include pop-ups in New York City, Los Angeles and at San Diego Comic Con, as well as screenings of the film and activations in select cities. Fans are also able to find out how they can join in on the celebration by visiting WrathOfPKhan.com, a specially curated online hub with details on the activations, digital engagements and more.
Throughout the years, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” has continued to be a compelling and iconic film, so much so that it has been referenced in many popular titles such as “Seinfeld,” SOUTH PARK, “Saturday Night Live” and “The Big Bang Theory,” to name a few. The portrayal of the film’s antagonist Khan Noonien Singh by Ricardo Montalbán inspired the most infamous moment: William Shatner’s scream of the name “KHAAAN!”
“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”’s 40th anniversary Summer of Sweet Revenge will include collaborations with household name brands like Funko, Coolhaus and more. Additional details on each of these activations can be found below.
SUMMER OF SWEET REVENGE ON PARAMOUNT+
Bringing the celebration to viewers at home, Paramount+ is curating a special selection of Khan-centric and “revenge”-themed “Star Trek” episodes and movies to incorporate even more fans into the fun.
The episodes and movies will be featured in special carousels on Paramount+ on June 4 and the curated list will also be shared on “Star Trek’s” official social channels (@StarTrek and @StarTrekOnPPlus).
To learn more about the 40th anniversary celebration, please visit WrathOfPKhan.com or “Star Trek’s” official social channels, and stream your favorite “Star Trek” episodes and movies on Paramount+, the home of the “Star Trek” Universe.
WRATH OF KHAN FUNKO
In collaboration with collectibles brand Funko, the media franchise will be incorporating fans into the celebration by having them pick their favorite design of a Funko inspired by Khan on the official “Star Trek” shop (shop.startrek.com). From May 31 to June 3, “Star Trek” lovers around the world will be able to vote on whether the Funko should exhibit “Battle Ready Khan” or “Post-Battle Khan.” The winning design will then be announced to all participants on June 4, the film’s anniversary, and the Khan Funko will be available for pre-order on June 6.
WRATH OF P’KHAN COOLHAUS ICE CREAM TRUCK
To further celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film, women-owned ice cream brand Coolhaus will be bringing consumers in New York City limited-edition Wrath of P’Khan ice cream sandwiches via a branded truck. The film-inspired wrapped truck will be visiting fans in SoHo at Prince Street and Green Street on June 4.
Ringing in National Ice Cream Day on July 17, the Coolhaus vehicle will make its way to Los Angeles’ busiest spot, Santa Monica at 2nd Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, in the peak of summer to bring the celebration and custom ice cream to “Star Trek” lovers in the City of Angels.
The ice cream truck will also be heading to San Diego Comic Con this year with streaming service Paramount+. They will be handing out Wrath of P’Khan ice cream sandwiches and celebrating the anniversary with fans of the franchise at the largest convention of its kind in the world.
“WRATH OF KHAN” FATHOM FILM SCREENINGS
To provide added honor on the momentous occasion, Paramount Home Entertainment and Fathom Events are partnering to bring “The Wrath of Khan” to the big screen during the TCM Big Screen Classics series on Sept. 4, 5 and 8. This will include over 2,500 screenings of the film across the three-day event.
About the “Star Trek” Universe
In the 55+ years since the legendary creator Gene Roddenberry introduced the world to a “Star Trek” universe where “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations” remains its proud legacy, the series has continued to break barriers – inspiring generations of fans with a celebration of cultural diversity and inclusion, scientific exploration, and the pursuit of uncharted frontiers. Today, the “Star Trek” canon continues to thrive through film, television, animation, games, publishing, podcasts, experiences and most recently children’s programming. Available in over 190 countries worldwide, the “Star Trek” franchise of 11 TV series, 13 films and over 800 episodes has been a mainstay in generating stories that are both exciting and thought-provoking, as well as vastly contributing to the pop culture lexicon throughout the years. Phrases originating from “Star Trek” have been incorporated into popular vernacular such as “live long and prosper,” “set phasers to stun,” “beam me up, Scotty” and many more. Over its more than five decades, the media franchise has also influenced countless technologies including the first flip phones, as well as being the inspiration behind the name of the first U.S. space shuttle. Additionally, the famous Vulcan salute from the original “Star Trek” is a universal cultural symbol. The “Star Trek” series, including STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, STAR TREK: PICARD, STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS, and the animated series STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS and STAR TREK: PRODIGY on Paramount+ are produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman oversees the “Star Trek” universe across all platforms.
About Paramount+
Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service from Paramount Global, combines live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream Paramount Global Streaming’s other live channels: CBS News Streaming Network for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis, and ET Live for entertainment coverage. Subscribe below!
‘Survivor’ crowns a champion when it’s all down to the final council. by Jeremy Fogelman
Ah, the finale of Season 42 of Survivor has finally arrived, the magic number, and with one of the most engaging and fun casts in the show’s history. Maybe not #1, but this is a great set of players, and especially a great set of jury and final five players. Coming into the finale I predicted that Romeo had no shot while Mike did not necessarily have it over Maryanne, but the way things shook out really was affected by what he did in his last minutes in the game.
For the first vote out where we lost badass Lindsay, there was one of those new “solve a riddle to find a clue to the advantage” challenges, which was pretty amusingly edited -- the show was definitely priming us to root for Lindsay to win that one, with the music stings and big outline of the rock “foot”. But even more amusing was Maryanne intentionally sandbagging the challenge to make sure Lindsay would come back with the advantage.
And yet, when the time came to possibly save Lindsay, Maryanne kept her idol to herself, in what ultimately was clearly the right move because the way she showed it off at the final tribal council was the highlight of that council -- you could instantly see on the faces of Romeo and Mike that they knew which way it was now likely to go.
But as for poor Lindsay, it’s no surprise she was voted out, as like I said last week, she had a legitimate chance to do well at the final three, while I really don't think Jonathan did. Sure, Mike had his “I gave my word” business but that actually ultimately sunk him. The dude was hinting or outright promising to play his idol on three different people, and two of those people ended up on the jury. The challenge where she was literally one piece away from winning was incredibly tense, and she played a really impressive game -- definitely one of the most athletic female players in a long time.
Coming into the next one, it was the classic (now actually named “Simmotion”) twisty ball challenge, and perhaps one of the shortest we’ve ever seen? Mike lost at one ball, with Maryanne not far behind, and Jonathan really didn’t last that long when he was down to just him and Romeo. And suddenly Romeo had won a challenge, not that he needed it as the least likely person to win, but it was nice that he also had a real moment of something in the game after playing so long from the bottom of the pack.
That last firemaking challenge was an interesting one, mainly because the only thing Romeo was really doing was making it more or less likely that Maryanne would win. She might’ve won firemaking against Mike and easily crushed the other two, or lose to Mike who certainly would’ve won in that case. But it was certainly the most entertaining option to watch the two dudes both do well at the firemaking challenge, that’s always more fun to watch.
On the final day, we got a really great (new?) thing where we go back between the jury members talking to us about their thoughts on the final three while also hearing from them too. That plus the fun flashback stuff the show’s been introducing has really made the season one of the more compelling seasons -- see, you didn’t need all of those twists, the cast and editing made it great already!
In the final tribal council, I think that a lot of people wanted to get a different sort of answer from Mike about his game -- he started a bit too strong in the “integrity” perspective, but even he had to admit that yes, of course he lied to protect himself. He also suffered in that Maryanne was a demonstrably better speaker, someone who didn’t stumble once in any of her answers. I think that the jury liked both of them well enough, but needed that justification to really vote for Mike.
It was going in an iffy way for Mike already, but the true nail in the coffin was Maryanne’s reveal of her never played idol at the exact perfect moment. Calling it the “one secret in the game” -- hilarious because everyone was sharing their secrets constantly. I don’t think Mike would’ve been an undeserving winner, but there’s something really nice about someone winning with such a great, fun personality.
At the reunion Jeff is even really nice to Maryanne, calling her a really great winner (and embarrassing her) and hopefully helping to convince the viewers at home. Overall, I’m happy with the winner, even if my #1 winner picks had already been voted out (Omar, Hai, and Drea), Maryanne is a solid winner in my book. I really enjoyed the season, two stupid twists aside, and Survivor has really been killing it with the casting choices.
Next season on Survivor 43, a brand new cast of interesting and diverse people, with some fun new confessionals that are already getting me hyped. Can’t wait!
CBS has announced its 2022-2023 primetime programming lineup of CBS Originals, featuring four new dramas, one alternative series, special event programming and 18 returning series. For 2021-2022, the Network finished #1 for the 14th straight season, winning 19 of the past 20 seasons.
The four new series for fall are the dramas EAST NEW YORK, starring Amanda Warren as the newly promoted boss of the 74th Precinct located on the edge of Brooklyn; FIRE COUNTRY, from Jerry Bruckheimer and inspired by series star Max Thieriot's (SEAL TEAM) experiences growing up in Northern California fire country; humorous legal drama SO HELP ME TODD, starring Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden as a meticulous successful attorney and Skylar Astin as her aimless private detective son she hires to work for her law firm; and the reality romance adventure THE REAL LOVE BOAT, inspired by the classic hit scripted series "The Love Boat."
The fall schedule of CBS Original series also includes the return of #1 broadcast series NCIS, #1 comedy YOUNG SHELDON, #1 new series and comedy GHOSTS, #1 new drama NCIS: HAWAI'I and #1 news program 60 MINUTES.
The new series debuting later in the season is the drama TRUE LIES, inspired by James Cameron's hit action/comedy film of the same name.
"CBS had another incredible season. In addition to repeating as America's most-watched network, we launched several breakout hits, not to mention winning and improving many time periods across our schedule," said Kelly Kahl, president of CBS Entertainment. "For the new season, we once again looked for ways to strengthen our position with new, compelling series, scheduling them strategically to guarantee sampling and maximize consistency and flow. We believe these great new shows, returning hits and our robust slate of event programming positions us for another winning year."
In addition to CBS' new and returning top series, its year-round schedule of original programming also features annual marquee events, including the GRAMMY Awards, the CMT Music Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, the Tony Awards, NFL playoffs in January and NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship in March, among other special event programming.
Upcoming previously announced alternative series include SUPERFAN, a musical spectacle disguised as a game show; LINGO, a word-twisting, fast-thinking game show executive-produced and hosted by Emmy Award winner RuPaul Charles; TOUGH AS NAILS; and SECRET CELEBRITY RENOVATION.
Also, CBS will ring in the holidays with three original movies: WHEN CHRISTMAS WAS YOUNG, executive-produced by award-winning musician Sheryl Crow; FIT FOR CHRISTMAS, starring THE TALK's Amanda Kloots, who will also executive-produce; and MUST LOVE CHRISTMAS, from prolific holiday film writer and producer Mark Amato.
CBS' new fall schedule features perennial strength and stability of returning hits, and all new series supported by established lead-ins. All new and returning series will stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
MONDAY - Monday's winning slate returns intact with TV's #2 comedy block of THE NEIGHBORHOOD and BOB ♥ ABISHOLA opening the night from 8:00-9:00 PM. At 9:00 PM, NCIS, the #1 broadcast series for the 12th time in 13 seasons, returns for season 20, leading into #1 new drama NCIS: HAWAI'I at 10:00 PM to close the night of top-rated programming.
TUESDAY - FBI Tuesday returns with the #1 lineup of the night! FBI, television's #2 drama, returns at 8:00 PM, flowing into #2 new drama and time-period winner FBI: INTERNATIONAL at 9:00 PM. Top 10 broadcast series FBI: MOST WANTED remains in its time-period-winning 10:00 PM slot, bookending a formidable night of compelling, heroic storytelling.
WEDNESDAY - Two iconic reality series lead into a new unscripted romance adventure competition inspired by "The Love Boat." The groundbreaking hit series SURVIVOR, hosted by Jeff Probst, kicks off the night at 8:00 PM. At 9:00 PM, the globe-trotting, Emmy Award-winning THE AMAZING RACE hosted by Phil Keoghan returns, leading into the new romance adventure competition THE REAL LOVE BOAT at 10:00 PM. Set aboard a luxury cruise ship in the Mediterranean, the show caps an exhilarating night of unscripted television.
THURSDAY - Thursday's #1 scripted schedule kicks off the night with a "power hour" of comedy and adds a humorous new drama, followed by CSI: VEGAS. YOUNG SHELDON, television's #1 comedy, again anchors the night at 8:00 PM, leading into the critically acclaimed, #1 new comedy/series and breakout hit GHOSTS, in its new time slot at 8:30 PM. These top comedies form a powerful launch pad for a witty new drama, SO HELP ME TODD, at 9:00 PM, starring Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin as an attorney and private detective team who are also mother and son. At 10:00 PM, the second season of CSI: VEGAS, the sequel to the Network's global hit "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," moves to its new night after improving its time period in viewers this season by double-digit percentage points, to cap the evening.
FRIDAY - CBS' most dominant night adds a "hot" new drama from Jerry Bruckheimer. Time period winner S.W.A.T. returns to its 8:00 PM slot, providing a seamless transition from crime fighters to firefighters at 9:00 PM with new heart-pounding drama FIRE COUNTRY, starring SEAL TEAM's Max Thieriot as a convict in a prison release firefighting program assigned to his hometown where his troubles began. At 10:00 PM, Friday's #1 program and time period winner for 12 years, BLUE BLOODS starring Tom Selleck, closes out one of television's strongest nights.
SATURDAY - CBS' Saturday night lineup features encore broadcasts of the Network's popular dramas at 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM, followed at 10:00 PM by the true crime docuseries 48 HOURS, Saturday's #1 non-sports primetime series for 16 consecutive seasons.
SUNDAY - A gritty new police drama debuts between two established crime-fighting hits. CBS' Sunday night has been #1 for the last 14 seasons with regularly scheduled non-sports programming. 60 MINUTES, television's acclaimed #1 news program, returns at 7:00 PM. At 8:00 PM, Sunday's #1 scripted series and television's top show among African American viewers, THE EQUALIZER starring Queen Latifah, returns, providing a dominant lead-in for the edgy, adrenaline-fueled new drama EAST NEW YORK at 9:00 PM, about the squad of the 74th Precinct who will not only serve their community, but also become part of it. At 10:00 PM, hit drama NCIS: LOS ANGELES moves into its new time period when it returns for its 14th season to cap the night.
CBS TELEVISION NETWORK 2022-2023 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
(N=New, NTP=New Time Period)
All Times ET/PT
MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM THE NEIGHBORHOOD
8:30-9:00 PM BOB ♥ ABISHOLA
9:00-10:00 PM NCIS
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: HAWAI`I
TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM FBI
9:00-10:00 PM FBI: INTERNATIONAL
10:00-11:00 PM FBI: MOST WANTED
WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE
10:00-11:00 PM THE REAL LOVE BOAT (N)
THURSDAY
8:00-8:30 PM YOUNG SHELDON
8:30-9:00 PM GHOSTS (NTP)
9:00-10:00 PM SO HELP ME TODD (N)
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: VEGAS (NTP)
FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM S.W.A.T. (NTP)
9:00-10:00 PM FIRE COUNTRY (N)
10:00-11:00 PM BLUE BLOODS
SATURDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SATURDAY ENCORES
9:00-10:00 PM SATURDAY ENCORES
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS
SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM THE EQUALIZER
9:00-10:00 PM EAST NEW YORK (N)
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES (NTP)
THE NEW FALL DRAMAS:
SO HELP ME TODD (Thursday, 9:00-10:00 PM)
SO HELP ME TODD stars Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin as razor-sharp, meticulous attorney Margaret Wright (Harden) and Todd (Astin), her talented but scruffy, aimless son whom she hires as her law firm's in-house investigator. As the black sheep of the well-heeled Wright family, Todd is a laid-back, quick-thinking, excellent former private detective who fell on hard times after his flexible interpretation of the law got his license revoked. Margaret's penchant for excellence and strict adherence to the law is at complete odds with Todd's scrappy methods of finding his way through sticky situations: by the seat of his wrinkled pants. When Todd inadvertently teams with his mother on a case, she's surprised to find herself duly impressed by - and proud of - his crafty ability to sleuth out information with his charm and his wide-ranging tech savvy. At last, Margaret sees a way to put her son on a "suitable" path to living an adult, financially solvent life she approves of, and she asks him to join her firm. Todd agrees, since it means getting his license back and once again doing the job he excels at and loves. Mother and son working together is a big first step toward mending their fragile, dysfunctional relationship, and they may even come away with a better understanding of each other at this pivotal point in their lives. But whether Todd and Margaret will be able to accept each other for who they are is another case entirely.
SO HELP ME TODD stars Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret, Skylar Astin as Todd, Madeline Wise as Allison, Tristen J. Winger as Lyle, Inga Schlingmann as Susan, and Rosa Arredondo as Francey. The series is produced by CBS Studios.
FIRE COUNTRY (Friday, 9:00-10:00 PM)
FIRE COUNTRY stars Max Thieriot (SEAL TEAM) as Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining an unconventional prison release firefighting program in Northern California, where he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires across the region. It's a high-risk, high-reward assignment, and the heat is turned up when Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown, where he was once a golden all-American son until his troubles began. Five years ago, Bode burned down everything in his life, leaving town with a big secret. Now he's back, with the rap sheet of a criminal and the audacity to believe in a chance for redemption with Cal Fire. Inspired by series star Max Thieriot's experiences growing up in Northern California fire country.
FIRE COUNTRY stars Max Thieriot as Bode, Billy Burke as Vince, Kevin Alejandro as Manny, Diane Farr as Sharon, Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela, Jordan Calloway as Jake, and Jules Latimer as Eve. The series is produced by CBS Studios.
EAST NEW YORK (Sunday, 9:00-10:00 PM)
From executive producers of "NYPD Blue," EAST NEW YORK stars Amanda Warren as Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood, the newly promoted boss of the 74th Precinct, in East New York - a working-class neighborhood on the edge of Brooklyn in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification. With family ties to the area, Haywood is determined to deploy creative methods to protect her beloved community with the help of her officers and detectives. But first, she has the daunting task of getting them on board, as some are skeptical of her promotion, and others resist the changes she is desperate to make. Her team includes her mentor, shrewd veteran two-star Chief John Suarez (Emmy Award winner Jimmy Smits); Marvin Sandeford (Tony Award winner and current nominee Ruben Santiago-Hudson), a highly respected training officer and expert on the neighborhood; Tommy Killian (Kevin Rankin), a detective with some old-school approaches to policing; Capt. Stan Yenko (Richard Kind), Haywood's gregarious and efficient right hand; Crystal Morales (Elizabeth Rodriguez), an intuitive detective who can't be intimidated; Andre Bentley (Lavel Schley), a trainee from an upper middle-class background; and ambitious patrol officer Brandy Quinlan (Olivia Luccardi), the sole volunteer to live in a local housing project as part of Haywood's plan to bridge the gap between police and community. Regina Haywood has a vision: she and the squad of the 74th Precinct will not only serve their community - they'll also become part of it.
EAST NEW YORK stars Amanda Warren as Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood, Jimmy Smits as Chief John Suarez, Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Officer Marvin Sandeford, Kevin Rankin as Detective Tommy Killian, Richard Kind as Captain Stan Yenko, Elizabeth Rodriguez as Detective Crystal Morales, Olivia Luccardi as Officer Brandy Quinlan, and Lavel Schley as Officer Andre Bentley. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television.
NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES FOR FALL
THE REAL LOVE BOAT (Wednesday, 10:00-11:00 PM)
The new reality romance adventure THE REAL LOVE BOAT, inspired by the classic hit scripted series "The Love Boat," sets sail on Princess Cruises in 2022. THE REAL LOVE BOAT brings singles together to travel the Mediterranean on a luxury cruise ship while looking for love. Destination dates, challenges and surprise singles will test the couples' compatibility and chemistry. Like the beloved original scripted series, the indispensable crew members, including "captain" and "cruise director," who will be selected from actual Princess crew members, will play pivotal roles in the matchmaking and navigation of the romantic (and sometimes turbulent) waters ahead. After almost a month at sea, only one winning couple will make it to the final port and take home a cash prize plus a once-in-a-lifetime trip courtesy of Princess Cruises, the series' exclusive cruise line partner.
THE REAL LOVE BOAT is produced by Eureka Productions in association with Buster Productions
NEW DRAMA FOR MID-SEASON:
TRUE LIES
TRUE LIES, inspired by James Cameron's hit action/comedy film of the same name, follows Harry (Steve Howey), a first-class international spy for U.S. intelligence agency Omega Sector, and his wife, Helen (Ginger Gonzaga), a language professor bored with her daily routine, who makes the shocking discovery that her seemingly ordinary husband is leading an extraordinary double life. With the secret out, Omega recruits Helen, who impresses everyone with her formidable skills (thanks to Tae Bo and yoga), and she joins Harry and his team of top-notch operatives, embarking on covert missions around the globe and an exhilarating life of danger and adventure. The renewed bond between them adds much-needed sizzle to the Taskers' emotionally distant marriage and upends the top-secret world of Omega Sector. But, as Harry says, if you're going to save the world, you might as well do it for the ones you love.
TRUE LIES stars Steve Howey as Harry, Ginger Gonzaga as Helen, Erica Hernandez as Maria, Omar Miller as Gib, Mike O'Gorman as Luther, Annabella Didion as Dana, and Lucas Jaye as Jake. The series is produced by 20th Television.
Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on demand. Essential-tier subscribers will have access to on-demand the day after the episode airs.
