Changes are abound for The Voice Season 26 ahead of Gwen Stefani's highly-anticipated return. The singing competition series is set to premiere its new season on Monday, Sept. 23, with the following week beginning the usual back-to-back nights with Monday and Tuesday. However, TV Insider reports instead of airing an episode on Oct. 1 like originally planned, only the episode on Sept. 30 will air that week.
Like many shows, The Voice will be preempted on Tuesday, Oct. 1, due to the vice presidential debate. The schedule will go back to Monday and Tuesday night airings the following week. There will not be a new episode on Tuesday, Nov. 5, because of election night, but other than that, fans can expect that The Voice will be airing on Mondays and Tuesdays during Season 26 except for the first two weeks and Election Night, which isn't all that bad.
The Voice Season 26 will be Reba McEntire's final season, at least for now, after joining as a coach in Season 24. Gwen Stefani is back after taking Season 25 off, joining new coaches Michael Bublé and Snoop Dogg. It's an interesting bunch of coaches, and the contestants will likely be even more interesting but it's what will make it all the more entertaining. With these new dynamics and range of genres, there's no telling how Season 26 will go.
The Voice is the latest series to fall victim to VP debate. Dancing With the Stars is being preempted, but there will be a two-night event on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 to make up for it. The Season 2 premiere of The Irrational is also being pushed back to Oct. 8, as is the second season premiere of Fox's Accused. Meanwhile, Fox's Murder in a Small Town will air its second episode an hour early and will be immediately followed by the debate. As for CBS, the network doesn't begin its week of premieres until Oct. 13 with Tracker, but just like The Voice, it may not be completely safe from Election Night.
There will still be a lot to look forward to with this new season of The Voice, even if the schedule will be a little wonky from time to time. It all begins on Monday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC's 2024 fall schedule. There will be no episode on Tuesday, Oct. 1 or Tuesday, Nov. 5, but other than that, it will be business as usual on Mondays and Tuesdays.