Networks are celebrating the scripted expansion as a strategic recalibration. CBS, NBC and Fox each posted net gains of 1.5 hours, while ABC achieved what SVP Ari Goldman called 'the first time in literally the history of ABC' by renewing every single scripted series on its roster.
Netflix's Bela Bajaria publicly mischaracterized broadcast strategy at her own upfront, claiming competitors were 'cutting back on scripted shows.' The statement came after all four broadcast networks had already unveiled expansions—leaving Netflix looking either out of touch or deliberately misleading the industry.
CBS is cutting episode orders: Fire Country drops from 20 to 13 episodes, NCIS: Origins from 18 to 10, and NCIS: Sydney from 20 to 10 for 2026-27. ABC's R.J. Decker renewal came at the '11th hour,' per Deadline reporting, with The Rookie: North series order announced earlier that same week.
More scripted hours doesn't mean more money per show—episode orders are shrinking across the board as networks balance their slates financially. But for writers, actors, and crews seeking stable employment and health insurance minimums, this reversal still signals real opportunity.
To paraphrase that famous musical title, a funny thing happened on the way to the upfronts this year. One by one, the four major broadcast networks announced their 2026-27 lineups, and each featured more scripted series than the current season—a complete reversal of industry naysaying that few saw coming. CBS is leading the charge with three new drama pickups—Cupertino, NCIS: New York, and Einstein—plus one new comedy, Eternally Yours.
The network canceled Watson (drama) along with The Neighborhood and DMV (comedies), resulting in a net gain of 1.5 hours of scripted programming. But here's the catch that nobody in marketing will tell you up front: CBS is simultaneously trimming episode orders on returning series to offset costs. Fire Country drops from 20 episodes to 13, NCIS: Origins from 18 down to 10, and NCIS: Sydney from 20 to just 10 for next season.
That's a lot of jobs not created. NBC posted an identical net gain of 1.5 scripted hours with additions including The Rockford Files and Line of Fire (drama), plus Sunset P.I. and Newlyweds (comedy). The network canceled Beautiful Minds and Stumble, one of each genre.
NBC faces unique scheduling pressure in 2026-27—it's absorbing an extra two-and-a-half weeks of primetime inventory that was previously occupied by Winter Olympics coverage this season. The network is filling some of that gap via its Major League Baseball deal with parent company NBCUniversal, but scripted still expanded. Fox added two dramas—Baywatch and The Interrogator—while canceling the comedy Going Dutch for another 1.5-hour net increase.
At Fox's upfront call on Sunday, CEO Rob Wade addressed the aftermath of Disney's 2019 acquisition of Fox assets including supplier 20th Television, which had been producing under a vertically integrated model that no longer served independent Fox. 'To go out and suddenly replace five or six scripted shows all in one go is foolhardy because you don't have the schedule, the marketing muscle,' Wade explained. 'The audience doesn't have the bandwidth to cope with that.' The solution?
A methodical five-to-six-year rebuild that's finally bearing fruit. And then there's ABC, which took an approach so unprecedented that SVP of Content Strategy and Scheduling Ari Goldman had to brag about it. The network picked up The Rookie: North without canceling a single scripted show—marking the first time in ABC's history that every returning scripted series was renewed.
'Not only are we growing our scripted slate but for the first time in, literally, the history of ABC, have renewed every one of our scripted series, and they're renewed because they're all performing well,' Goldman told Deadline after the 11th-hour renewal of Scott Speedman's R.J. Decker earlier that week. That said, Goldman acknowledged episode counts would face 'adjustment' across some returning shows to make room for both new dramas.
The real story beneath these headline numbers involves vertical integration—the business model where networks order programming from their sister studios to build libraries monetizable downstream on streaming and internationally. ABC, CBS and NBC leaned heavily into this approach at upfronts 2026, with every new series coming from sibling production arms except The Rookie: North, which ABC co-produces with Lionsgate. For Fox, the strategy involves owning scripted IP while maintaining 'disciplined' licensing fee structures.
It's less romantic than creative renaissance talk—but it's keeping people employed. More scripted hours means more writing jobs, acting roles, crew positions and auxiliary business across U.S. production hubs. Workers can support their families and meet those pesky health insurance coverage minimums that the guild contracts demand.
