is matlock on tonight is the question many CBS viewers ask when the network shifts into March Madness coverage, a move that has already been confirmed to pull multiple Thursday and Friday programs off the schedule in late March (ET).
What Happens When March Madness Takes Over Thursday and Friday Nights?
CBS carries March Madness coverage, and the tournament’s early rounds and follow-up primetime windows can displace regularly scheduled entertainment. In the current late-March stretch, March Madness coverage is set for March 19 and March 20, with additional coverage the following week on March 26 and March 27 (all dates in ET).
That disruption is not limited to daytime. CBS soaps are being preempted nationally on Thursday, March 19, and Friday, March 20 for NCAA basketball coverage. The same period also affects primetime scheduling: Thursday and Friday night programs can be pulled to make room for the tournament.
What If Your Usual CBS Shows Suddenly Don’t Air?
In the same March Madness window, several CBS crime dramas are specifically listed as going on break. Elsbeth is slated to sign off after its March 12 episode and return on April 2 (ET). Sheriff Country and Boston Blue each air an episode on March 13 and return on April 3 (ET). During the two-week span tied to March Madness primetime coverage, there are no new episodes of Elsbeth, Sheriff Country, or Boston Blue.
Daytime viewers face a similar interruption. Young and Restless, Bold and Beautiful, and Beyond the Gates are preempted nationally for college basketball on March 19 and March 20, with no new episodes, including no new episodes available on CBS. com or Paramount+ in that window. The soaps resume on Monday, March 23, continuing directly from the end of Wednesday’s episodes so viewers can rejoin the story without missing intervening installments.
What If You’re Asking: Is Matlock On Tonight?
Within the information available here, Matlock scheduling details are not provided for a specific night, so a definitive yes-or-no answer for a particular evening cannot be confirmed from this context alone. What is clear is the broader pattern: March Madness forces CBS to pull Thursday and Friday programming to accommodate tournament coverage, and multiple scripted series and soaps have already been identified as impacted by these late-March windows (ET).
If you are asking is matlock on tonight, the most practical takeaway from the confirmed schedule impacts is to treat late-March Thursday and Friday nights as higher-risk for preemptions on CBS due to March Madness coverage, while other series named here have explicitly stated return dates in early April (ET).
