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As a kid, I was quite addicted to TV. Whenever August would come to an end, I not only anticipated a new school year, but I also anticipated all the new shows and old favorites that I would soon get to watch on TV. I am not much different now, and so every year at this time I like to check out what’s going to be on the schedule in the new TV season. Below I highlight all the mysteries/crime dramas we can look forward to in Fall 2020.
As of August 31st, due to filming delays as a result of the pandemic, many of the networks have yet to announce exactly when their new season will premiere. I have noted below whenever the premiere date is already known, and will update this post with information as it becomes available.
Mondays
CBS is bringing back a couple of legal/courtroom dramas (though not necessarily mysteries) for their Monday schedule. All Rise, which premiered last year, follows the lives of judges, prosecutors and public defenders in a Los Angeles courthouse. The show will air at 9pm. Bull, which returns for its fifth season, is about a psychologist and trial science expert. That show will air at 10pm. Although the premiere date of these two shows has not yet been revealed, CBS did announce that in the meantime they will be airing a true crime documentary series Manhunt: Deadly Games (the sequel to Manhunt: UNABOMBER) at 10pm starting on September 21st.
Fox, on the other hand, has acquired the broadcast rights to the first season of L.A.’s Finest, which initially premiered on Spectrum Originals. The series is based on the Bad Boys franchise/universe and stars Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba as two LAPD partners. The show will air at 8pm starting on September 21st.
Tuesdays
CBS returns with a full crime-themed line-up on Tuesdays. NCIS comes back for its 18th season at 8pm; FBI comes back for its 3rd season at 9pm. The network will be airing reruns of those shows starting on September 22nd until new episodes are ready to air in late fall. At 10pm, starting on October 13th, the network will be airing a documentary series The FBI Declassified. This is to replace the 2nd season of FBI: Most Wanted, which had to have its premiere date delayed.
One new mystery TV series to keep an eye out for on Tuesdays is Big Sky on ABC. The series is based on the book The Highway by C. J. Box. It follows a pair of private detectives who are searching for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. The series is scheduled to air at 10pm, although ABC has not yet confirmed the premiere date.
Wednesdays
There’s something mystery-related on almost every major network on Wednesdays, although for the most part the premiere dates are not yet known.
Following its debut last year, Stumptown is returning for a second season on ABC. The series stars Cobie Smulders (from How I Met Your Mother) as a military veteran who becomes a private investigator in Portland, Oregon. The series is scheduled to air at 10pm.
If you’re into more drama than mystery, you can tune in to CBS for season 4 of both SEAL Team and S.W.A.T. at 9pm and 10pm, respectively.
If you’re more into the Chicago franchise, then tune in to NBC for Chicago Med (season 6), Chicago Fire (season 9), and Chicago PD (season 8), at 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm, respectively. New episodes of these shows are scheduled to premiere on November 11th.
The CW has also acquired some mystery-related shows to air on Wednesdays. The Italian-produced financial thriller Devils is scheduled to air at 8pm; and the Canadian-produced Coroner is scheduled to air at 9pm. Both shows will be making their premiere on October 7th.
Thursdays
NBC is continuing with season 22 of Law & Order: SVU at 9pm. The new season is scheduled to premiere on November 12th. At 10pm, you can will be able to watch reruns of the show, too. This is a temporary replacement for Law & Order: Organized Crime, a new series in the same franchise which was initially scheduled for the 10pm time slot but which had to have its premiere date delayed, likely until the new year.
Over on CBS, the drama Evil has been renewed for a second season. The series is about a mystery solving trio: a psychologist, a priest, and a contractor. The series is scheduled to air at 10pm.
Fridays
If you’re a fan of crime tv, two of the major networks have you covered on Friday night.
CBS has the trifecta of season 11 of Hawaii Five-0 at 8pm, season 3 of Magnum P.I. at 9pm, and season 11 of Blue Bloods at 10pm (starring the original Magnum, P.I. Tom Selleck).
On NBC, you can watch season 8 of The Blacklist at 8pm, and follow that up with true-crime news-show Dateline, which is currently airing at 9pm. New episodes of both will be premiering on November 13th.
Saturdays
Saturday night gives you some options with Crimetime Saturday on CBS from 8pm-10pm, during which time they’ll be rerunning their more popular shows from earlier in the week. Whereas NBC has Dateline Saturday Mystery 8pm-10pm for the true-crime fans.
Sundays
CBS has a new series on the schedule for Sunday night. The Equalizer stars Queen Latifah and is a reboot of the 1980s drama of the same name. (The series was also re-imagined into a 2014 movie and its 2018 sequel starring Denzel Washington.) The series is scheduled to air at 8pm. This will be followed by the 11th season of NCIS: Los Angeles at 9pm, and the 7th season of NCIS: New Orleans at 10pm.
Alternatively, you can switch to ABC and end your evening by watching season 3 of The Rookie starring Nathan Fillion at 10pm.
Murder, She Watched 