Matthew Gray Gubler fans will have to wait longer for Criminal Minds star’s return to CBS. His new comedic drama procedural Einstein, originally picked up to series last week for the 2025-26 season, is now being held for 2026-27.
The move is not entirely surprising. Under the network’s longterm development strategy, CBS last May picked up Fire Country spinoff Sheriff Country for the 2025-26 season, so, given the network’s tight shelf space, it was considered likely that CBS again could pick up a new show now for 2026-27, giving it a long production runway and launch promo campaign that can kickoff during March Madness 2026, something CBS has previously done with shows like Tracker and Sheriff Country.
Still, it is intriguing that the decision to hold Einstein came a week after the show had been originally ordered to series. It is unclear whether the move is just based on scheduling — CBS brass are now in the midst of setting the network’s 2025-26 schedule, which will be unveiled May 7 — or whether there is a last-minute piece added for next season that has pushed Einstein off the board.
CBS is yet to make a renewal decision on drama Equalizer, has Robert King and Michelle King’s Silicon Valley-set legal one-hour Cupertino on a slower development track, with a wild card in the mix — the potential Yellowstone spinoff starring Luke Grimes, which could be fast-tracked at any point.
EINSTEIN – Drama
EP/W: Andy Breckman
EP/D: Randy Zisk
NW/EP: Tariq Jalil; Rose Hughes, Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia and Laura Beetz (Seven One Studios International)
STUDIO: CBS Studios
The series is a drama with comedic undertones.
LOGLINE: Brilliant but directionless, the great grandson of Albert Einstein spends his days as a comfortably tenured professor until his bad boy antics land him in trouble with the law and he is pressed into service helping a local police detective solve her most puzzling cases.
Starring: Matthew Gray Gubler, Rosa Salazar
