Survivor’s premiere and Big Brother’s finale break up

CBS announced its fall premiere dates today, including its new Wednesday night block of reality TV competitions: Survivor 43, Amazing Race 34, and The Real Love Boat.

Not on the fall schedule: Tough As Nails season 4, which was filmed late last year.

The big news with the fall schedule seems to me to be about the conclusion of a summer show, Big Brother.

The competition will again conclude with a two-hour finale—but it won’t be on a Wednesday night, as usual, where it’s been paired with fall Survivor premieres for years. (2020 was an exception for both shows.)

Instead, BB24’s finale will air five days later, on a Sunday, Sept. 25, the second official week of fall TV.

CBS’s fall 2022 reality TV schedule

While the fall season starts the week of Sept. 18, all three of CBS’s fall reality shows won’t air on the same night for another two weeks.

But the two shows that have never before aired in the same night.

That’s because both Survivor 43 will start with a two-hour premiere on Sept. 21, and be followed by a one-hour Amazing Race premiere. (Here’s where TAR 34 will travel during the season.)

Because both Survivor and Amazing Race will have 90-minute second episodes on Sept. 28, Amazing Race’s start time will shift that week to 9:30.

Finally, on Oct. 5, both shows will be in their regular timeslots, along with the night’s third reality competition:

• Survivor 43, Wednesdays at 8
• The Real Love Boat, Wednesdays at 9
• The Amazing Race 34, Wednesdays at 10

I’m a little disappointed that Amazing Race won’t immediately follow Survivor, but is instead being held for 10 p.m., with a new romance-themed show sandwiched between them.

The Real Love Boat seems interesting, and while it’s a competition for cash like Love Island, it’s not the same kind of competition as the other two.

Of course, the strategy might be drawing viewers with Survivor and hoping they’ll stick around for Amazing Race, watching a new show in-between. Or, maybe people will record Amazing Race because 10 to 11 p.m. is bedtime because I am old.