CBS to Air Season One of The Good Fight on Television

CBS announced plans yesterday to air one of its All Access flagship shows on network television.

In a press release, CBS Television Network said, “THE GOOD FIGHT is coming to Sundays on CBS. The network will offer a special event broadcast run of season one of the acclaimed CBS All Access series, beginning Sunday, June 16 on the CBS Television Network. The drama, from Robert and Michelle King, follows character favorites from “The Good Wife” and was CBS All Access’ first original drama series. THE GOOD FIGHT just aired its third season on the digital streaming service and was recently renewed for a fourth.”

Part of the reason for the push is cited as giving the show extra exposure during Emmy season. The first four episodes will air on Sunday, June 16th and Sunday, June 23rd, just before voting for Emmy nominations ends on June 24th. After that, the remaining episodes in the season will move to a permanent 10pm Sunday slot. According to the release, “The special limited summer network presentation will be edited for broadcast television.”

Star Trek fans might be inclined to leap to conclusions with this news. After all, it shows a willingness on behalf of CBS All Access to syndicate its flagship shows to other broadcast channels - without a paywall. Additionally, we have heard repeatedly in the past that one of CBS’s biggest profit drivers is its portfolio of shows that it sells to other networks. Could Star Trek: Discovery be next on the list for broadcast television?

It’s worth pointing out that in this press release, season one of The Good Fight is repeatedly referred to as a “special event broadcast run”, specifically planned to boost the visibility of the show in Emmy season. The likelihood is, even if we were to hear of a similar move for Star Trek: Discovery, we probably won’t hear about it until next year’s Emmy season, in 2020.