Eternally Yours Has The Potential To Be CBS's Worthy Ghosts Replacement | Review

Published Oct 8, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

Shealyn Scott is a Senior Writer at Screen Rant. She has been writing for the site since 2024, focused on network, reality, streaming, and classic television.
A creative writer, journalist, and lover of the written word in all its forms, Shealyn enjoys deconstructing scenes from her favorite shows, using context clues and historical precedent to predict major plot points (which, due to her successful track record, has sparked rumors of clairvoyance).
As an award-winning student journalist, Shealyn spent her college years advocating for the humanities while studying English Literature. Her love of storytelling propelled her to expand her degree with minors in Writing and History, believing life to be a mere collection of stories that can be framed in as many ways as a movie scene.
As a Senior member of the TV Team, Shealyn treats the series she covers like books, analyzing every line, camera angle, and lighting choice. Thankfully, her personal mission statement lines up perfectly with Screen Rant: every creative work deserves just as much thought from the viewer as it received from its creator.

One of the most highly anticipated new releases of 2026 is finally here, and it may become CBS's next big hit. When news broke that Eternally Yours, a sitcom centered around a family of vampires, would join the CBS lineup for the fall 2026 network TV season, it seemed like a perfect fit on paper. Far more lighthearted than the days of True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, Eternally Yours promised all the best parts of a vampire story with the levity of a classic family sitcom. With the pilot episode officially under its belt, however, growing pains seem imminent.

Eternally Yours is already fighting an uphill battle, as many CBS viewers seem prepared to write it off as nothing more than a companion series to Ghosts. The American adaptation of the British fantasy series has become ubiquitous in the past five years, cementing it as one of the best shows currently airing on network television. Nevertheless, Eternally Yours deserves a chance to solidify its own sense of self without having to live up to its spiritual predecessor. As such, despite the first episode being far from perfect, it sowed the seeds for what could be a new fall favorite.

Eternally Yours Episode 1 Is A Promising Start

Eternally Yours starts with a classic bait-and-switch: after introducing the supposedly everlasting love between Liz (Allegra Edwards) and Charles (Ed Weeks), we cut to 500 years in the future and discover that the pair are now stuck in a stagnant marriage. As conveniently explained by coven member Jesse (Parker Young) in a bit of egregious exposition, Liz and Charles are unable to divorce because the vampiric Council of Elders forbids it. In fact, divorce is punishable by death via a stake through the heart (and Charles briefly muses that impalement would at least free him of his marital vows).

As strained as the main couple's love life is, however, there's one thing they agree on: they both adore their adoptive daughter, Emma (Helen J. Shen). Unbeknownst to them, however, Emma has fallen in love with a human— namely, a social security worker named Max (Jaren Lewison). Rounding out the central household is a secondary family unit helmed by vampire Jesse, human Phyllis (Rose Adboo), and twin sons Henry (Shylo Molina) and Mort (Tristan Michael Brown). Though it's unclear how Jesse's family is connected to Liz, Charles, and Emma, they form a sweet— if not doubly unconventional— ensemble.

Eternally Yours can truly sink its teeth in starting with episode 2...

Without question, the palpable chemistry between the main cast is the best part of Eternally Yours' first episode. The tension between Liz and Charles runs as an undercurrent throughout the entire story, but it remains understated, as if their grievances had really been brewing, ebbing, and flowing for half a millennium. Jesse struggling to parent Henry and Mort is a nice, subdued subplot that cuts through the father's caricature-esque personality. Even the romance between Emma and Max that is dropped in our laps is adorable, regardless of the fact that we only see them interact a handful of times.

Furthermore, the show paces itself well, even if you walk away from the first episode feeling like not much has happened. Considering Eternally Yours has been in development for 11 years, it's fair to say the CBS sitcom has a clear vision for itself, and the pilot is merely laying the groundwork. Now that introductions and conflict set-ups are complete— Max was bitten to save his life, Mort is eager to unlock his half-vampire powers, and Liz and Charles are struggling yet willing to find their spark— Eternally Yours can truly sink its teeth in starting with episode 2.

Eternally Yours Attempting To Be Palatable Wastes Its Potential

Paramount Press Express

Given the show has such a unique premise, it makes it all the more dispiriting when Eternally Yours tries to have universal appeal. Admittedly, network sitcoms are meant to be easily digestible on a grand scale, but such a subversive, almost Gothic series should embrace being an acquired taste. Instead, Eternally Yours reaches for the low-hanging fruit first, joking about the stereotype of garlic aversion and the lack of sun in Seattle. Of course, the vampire genre basically relies on clichés, but any series hoping to breathe new life into it should be prepared to push the boundaries.

To Eternally Yours' credit, there are efforts to modernize vampire tropes that are amusing, if not completely groundbreaking. Due to Liz's moral objection to feeding on humans, the family outsources their blood supply from deranged strangers on Craigslist. The main couple attend counseling in 1888, and Sigmund Freud (Ellis Arch) accuses Charles of having an Oedipus complex. Most astoundingly, the patriarch openly believes women don't belong in the workplace, a sentiment that is brushed off as him being from a "different time."

To that end, there's a vaguely political tone to the disconnect between Charles and Emma, but the sitcom clearly doesn't plan on diving deep enough for it to count as a full-fledged allegory. Regardless, Eternally Yours landed on countless TV lovers' radar as one of the most exciting sitcoms of the year, and it hasn't done anything to make that distinction feel unwarranted yet. Truthfully, the series is brimming with potential, and— like many other beloved sitcoms that came before it— the pilot episode is likely just the starting point that the rest of the season will vastly outperform.

Eternally Yours Has The Potential For Some Scarily Good Fun

Even at its weakest, Eternally Yours has a delightfully camp vibe that captivates the viewer. That inexplicable draw, combined with some stellar camerawork and a fantastic score, indicate that the CBS sitcom will surely be a worthwhile watch in the long run. With Eternally Yours season 1 slated to have 20 bite-sized episodes, the true test will come in Spring 2027. If the new sitcom can retain its audience after a mid-season break, it will bode extremely well for its future.

Plus, there is simply no better place for Eternally Yours to be than on CBS. Well-made supernatural comedy shows are few and far between, but the network is obviously investing in the vampire sitcom—as it should. Undoubtedly, for every stumble the pilot had, there were twice as many moments oozing with charm. Consequently, sister series Ghosts should offer a built-in fandom, but it could also prove to be a double-edged sword and eclipse the new show on the block.

As acclaimed as Ghosts is, however, competition is what breeds ingenuity, and once the vampiric comedy works out its kinks, it'll be a true contender. Hopefully, Eternally Yours will be able to hone its identity in the coming months and become a CBS staple, but whether it'd be Ghosts' best friend or biggest rival remains to be seen— which may be the most exciting part of all.

Eternally Yours airs every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.