This week on “Sunday Morning” (Sept. 27), CBS’s Emmy Award-winning Sunday news magazine kicks off its Fall 2026 season with a light, scattered mix of cultural previews. The show covers new movies, albums, books, TV, streaming, theater, and art, anchored by a profile of Sylvester Stallone and a look back at Keith Haring. It is a pleasant, magazine-style roundup rather than journalism with stakes, and that is exactly what it seems designed to be.
CBS airs the episode Sundays at 9:00 a.m. ET, with a live stream beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET via the CBS News app. The show keeps its standard format, combining a host-led lineup of features and profiles with correspondent reports from across culture, set against a backdrop of archival clips.
Cover Story: A New Generation of Movie Makers
A new generation of filmmakers is being profiled by Luke Burbank, who reports on it for the show. That coverage sits within the program’s larger “New Season” structure, which spans the fall and covers separate sections devoted to movies, music, books, TV, streaming, theater, and tech.
A preview section for upcoming releases is part of the movie portion. It also brings back Keith Haring, whose work shows up in a major museum exhibition.
Almanac: September 27
The show’s calendar series includes entries like “Sunday Morning”, which recall historical events on this date. These segments deliver short recaps of anniversaries and milestones connected to the day.
Arts: Keith Haring in Three Dimensions
This season, Jane Pauley turns her eye toward the newest art exhibits at museums around the nation. Among the standouts is a bright, cheerful exhibition of three-dimensional works by Keith Haring at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The show is on view until Jan. 25, 2027. According to Pauley’s account, it connects to wider museum programs.
- “RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Oct. 3, 2026-Feb. 7, 2027)
- “Lee Miller: Fearless” at the Art Institute of Chicago (through Dec. 7)
- “Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (Oct. 4, 2026-Jan. 31, 2027)
- “Roy Lichtenstein: Like New” at the Whitney Museum of American Art (Oct. 11, 2026-May 10, 2027)
- “The Bayeux Tapestry” at the British Museum, London (through July 11, 2027)
From the Archives: Keith Haring
CBS News’ Charles Osgood followed graffiti artist Keith Haring as he took over the New York City subway system, plastering his drawings across the walls of hundreds of stations. The report is a look back at the artist’s rise to prominence, with Haring using the city’s trains as his canvas.
Music: Raye Talks Independence
Raye, a British singer-songwriter who has been writing songs about relationships, hardship, and personal struggles since she was a teen, says that labor has brought her enormous success, including her smash hit “Where Is My Husband!”.
Seth Doane speaks with Raye regarding her departure from her record label and her transition into working independently as an artist. The conversation covers both the hazards and the benefits of operating on her own. She also details how her most recent album, “This Music May Contain Hope,” came together with significant contributions from her family.
Tech: Will AI Really Kill Us All?
AI experts Daniel Kokotajlo and Geoffrey Hinton spoke with correspondent David Pogue on the subject of AI systems learning to become more intelligent on their own, a development that has raised concerns about AI bots going rogue.
Pogue also talks with Andrew Ng, cofounder of Google’s AI program, about whether recent declarations of threats to humanity are to be taken seriously. The segment is part of the show’s tech coverage, which also includes a preview of new books and TV shows.
True Crime: Cold Cases Are Hot Again
The public’s current hunger for true crime is at an all-time high. Fans of the genre devote themselves to solving crimes. Luke Burbank, correspondent, attends the yearly CrimeCon convention and speaks with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, hosts of the “My Favorite Murder” podcast.
The conversation with professor Jean Murley explores how crime works as entertainment, and it forms part of the program’s media coverage, alongside previews for upcoming TV and streaming shows.
Books: Fall Reads
“Sunday Morning” checks out some of the most highly anticipated new fiction and non-fiction titles. The segment is part of the show’s “New Season” framework, which runs through the fall.
Theater: Fall Stage Productions
“Sunday Morning” checks out some of the most highly anticipated new stage productions, in New York and nationwide. The segment is part of the show’s “New Season” framework, which runs through the fall.
Live Events at 92nd Street Y
CBS Sunday Morning has announced a new partnership that starts on Sept. 28, bringing its interviews with major figures across the arts, politics, and culture to the stage for live audiences and streaming viewers alike. The network’s #1 Sunday morning news program will host these conversations, which it describes as featuring “the biggest newsmakers in the arts, politics, and culture.”
The opening entry in the series stars Sylvester Stallone, and tickets for it can be purchased at www.92ny.org.
A Profile Worth Watching
The centerpiece of the episode is Sylvester Stallone. He talks with correspondent Tracy Smith about his new memoir, “The Steps,” that recounts his rocky road to fame before and after “Rocky.”
A starving actor built his own path to success by crafting the ideal script for himself. He would not part with it unless he also secured the lead. The memoir recounts that journey, tracing the hardship that preceded the renown that came after.
The episode also includes a preview clip of Stallone joking about one of his first jobs: “That’s a rough one.” The memoir is available in Hardcover, Large Print Trade paperback, eBook, and Audio formats, via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org.
“I Play Rocky” opens in theaters Nov. 19. Thanks to Carbone Restaurant, New York City.
“That’s a rough one.”
The Bottom Line
This week on “Sunday Morning” is a solid, unremarkable edition of a reliable program. It is not a landmark episode, but it is a competent one.
The show’s formula is simple: cover the week’s biggest stories, add a profile, sprinkle in some culture, and call it a day. That formula has worked for decades, and it still works.
Stallone’s profile stands out as the strongest part of the package. The live events series represents a promising new direction for the show. It serves as a digest of what matters this week, wrapped in celebrity interviews and museum reviews. Nothing here is wrong, but nothing is especially ambitious either.
Source material: “This week on "Sunday Morning" (Sept. 27),” CBS News.
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