In light of all the specials about the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, CBS has announced that they’re scaling back on the number of hours for their upcoming miniseries. According to Variety, instead of three episodes that were two hours each, CBS will now air two segments that are two hours each.
The first part of the miniseries, entitled The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey, will air on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 8:30 p.m. and the second part will air on Monday, Sept. 19 at 9 p.m.
Because of the change, producers and editors now have to edit the content down before the show premieres on Sunday. Production on the unscripted show wrapped earlier in the month. The show was originally given the greenlight back in April after the success of FX’s The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
In order to fill the space for the originally planned third hour, CBS has announced that NCIS: Los Angeles will premiere a week early and will be a two-hour episode. The original premiere date of NCIS: Los Angeles was originally Oct. 2, but will now be Sept. 25. The new episode will start at 8:30 p.m. for viewers on the East Coast and will start at 8 p.m. for viewers on the West Coast.
Madam Secretary and Elementary will premiere on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively, which is their original premiere dates that CBS announced back in June.
This is the first season that NCIS: Los Angeles will be airing on Sunday nights.
CBS announced the change in the amount of hours for the special just days after NBC’s Dateline aired a special that pulled a 1.2 in the ratings and was watched by 6.52 million people, according to TV by the Numbers.
But even if CBS decreased the amount of coverage for The Case of: JonBenet Ramsey, television viewers looking to get their fill of specials about the case will have an easy time to find shows about it. Discovery, Lifetime and A&E all have plans to air their own recounting of the cases at some point during the year, with A&E’s special, The Killing of JonBenet: The Truth Uncovered, having aired on Sept. 5.
As a way to try and increase viewership of the miniseries, CBS released a clip from the show where a man voluntarily tasers himself as a way to test a theory from the original case.
The case gained nationwide attention when the body of Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty pageant contestant, was discovered in her home the day after Christmas in 1996. Nearly 20 years later, no one has been charged with the crime and her family, who were considered suspects for a long time, have been cleared.
The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey premieres on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 8:30 p.m. and concludes the following night, Monday, Sept. 19, at 9 p.m.