Is 20/20 New Tonight? This Week's 20/20 Schedule and the Season 49 Premiere
Bottom line — 20/20 is a Friday show, so nothing airs Saturday through Thursday. The latest one aired Friday, Oct. 16, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC: "The Suitcase Murders," which ABC News describes as human remains found abandoned in two suitcases, with a dating profile on a BDSM site and DNA evidence helping police solve the case. The Friday before, Oct. 9, was "Born to Kill," on the 2016 killing of Cati Blauvelt, 22, in Simpsonville, South Carolina, listed for 9–11 p.m. Her estranged husband, former Army recruiter John Blauvelt, left the state with a 17-year-old, was arrested in Oregon in July 2022 and was convicted of murder in September 2024; he is serving life without parole. The Friday before, Oct. 2, was “Home Alone,” two hours on the 2015 killing of Allison Feldman in Scottsdale, Arizona. The two-hour season 49 premiere from Sept. 25, "The Salem Strangler," is on Hulu. ABC said "Home Alone" would stream on Disney+ and Hulu from Oct. 3. The next Friday slot is Oct. 23; as of Tuesday, Oct. 20, ABC News' 20/20 page carries a trailer, posted Oct. 19, saying “Help Dale Find Dee” airs that night, and TVmaze had not listed an Oct. 23 episode yet.
| Night (ET) | 20/20 on ABC |
|---|---|
| Fri., Sept. 18 | "Mr. & Mrs. Murder," 9–11 p.m., new (now on Hulu) |
| Fri., Sept. 25 | Season 49 premiere, 9–11 p.m. — "The Salem Strangler" (Claire Gravel case); on Hulu now |
| Sat., Sept. 26–Thu., Oct. 1 | Not scheduled (Friday show) |
| Fri., Oct. 2 | 9–11 p.m., after the Celebrity Wheel of Fortune season premiere at 8; “Home Alone,” two hours on the 2015 Allison Feldman case |
| Fri., Oct. 9 | 9–11 p.m., "Born to Kill" — the 2016 Cati Blauvelt case in Simpsonville, South Carolina |
| Fri., Oct. 16 | 9 p.m. slot — "The Suitcase Murders," per ABC News |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | “Help Dale Find Dee,” per an ABC News trailer posted Oct. 19; not yet in TVmaze |
Key takeaways
- Season 49 opened Friday, Sept. 25, with two hours on "The Salem Strangler." John Carey was convicted in March 2026 and is serving life without parole; the full file is in our Claire Gravel case update.
- Before the premiere, the last new 20/20 was "Mr. & Mrs. Murder" on Sept. 18, two hours on the 2000 disappearance of Mike Williams in Florida. Before that came the Lindsay Clancy special on Sept. 4, added late after a mistrial that day.
- From Oct. 2 the show follows Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, so Friday nights become an 8–9 game show, 9 p.m. newsmagazine block.
What case was on the 20/20 premiere?
The 1986 killing of Claire Gravel, a 20-year-old Salem State sophomore found along Route 128 in Beverly, Massachusetts. The case sat unsolved for decades until DNA from a 2007 attack in nearby Hamilton pointed to John Carey.
ABC says the two hours include Gravel's family, the woman who survived the 2007 attack, and the investigators who closed the case. A jury convicted Carey of first-degree murder on March 3, 2026, and he was sentenced to life without parole on April 9. Our Claire Gravel case update lays out the 40-year timeline and his appeal.
From Oct. 2, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune leads into the 9 p.m. hour, so the Friday block becomes game show first, newsmagazine second.
The premiere ran head to head with NBC: Dateline opened season 35 at 9 p.m. the same night, in a two-hour block, with the Matt Restelli case. Both networks staked the Friday true-crime audience on the same date. Our Sept. 21–27 breakdown has that week night by night, and the running listings live on the True Crime TV This Week page.
What was the last new 20/20?
"The Suitcase Murders," Friday, Oct. 16, at 9 p.m. ET, which ABC News describes as human remains found abandoned in two suitcases, with a dating profile on a BDSM site and DNA evidence helping police solve the case. The Friday before, Oct. 9, came "Born to Kill," on the 2016 killing of Cati Blauvelt, 22, in Simpsonville, South Carolina, at 9 p.m. ET. She was found stabbed in the basement of an abandoned house in October 2016. Her estranged husband, former Army recruiter John Blauvelt, left the state with a 17-year-old, was arrested in Oregon in July 2022 and was convicted of murder in September 2024; he is serving life without parole, and he has appealed. A week before that came “Home Alone,” Friday, Oct. 2, on the 2015 killing of Allison Feldman in Scottsdale, Arizona. Before that came the season 49 premiere, "The Salem Strangler," on Friday, Sept. 25 (above). Before it came "Mr. & Mrs. Murder," Friday, Sept. 18, 9–11 p.m. ET — two Tallahassee couples and the 17 years it took to show that Mike Williams was shot rather than drowned. Denise Williams is serving 30 years; the whole trail is in our Mike Williams case file.
Two weeks earlier came "The Trial of Lindsay Clancy – Special Edition of 20/20," Sept. 4. ABC pulled a scheduled repeat late that day and put the special on instead, hours after a judge declared a mistrial in the Massachusetts case.
The case has moved since: Clancy's lawyer asked a judge on Sept. 29 to end it without a retrial. The judge did not rule that day, prosecutors have not said whether they will try her again, and the next hearing is Nov. 2. We cover the special in our recap of that hour and the legal fight in the Lindsay Clancy case file.
Before that, the summer's only fresh 20/20 was "Dolly Parton: An American Original," a special edition on Aug. 25 that repeated the following Sunday. Regular case hours had paused after "Where Are You Jacob?" on July 17.
Why has 20/20 been in repeats?
Nothing has gone wrong with the show. ABC parks it in encores through late summer and restarts with the rest of the fall lineup. Network listings for those Fridays carried the (R) marker with older original air dates — an Aug. 28 hour from 2019, Aug. 21 from 2023, Aug. 14 from 2025.
The most recent of those repeats was "The Hungryland Homicide" on Sept. 4, which was itself replaced by the Clancy special before air. It is still worth knowing, because the episode is in the Hulu library.
What is the Tricia Todd case?
Tricia Todd was a 30-year-old hospice nurse and Air Force veteran, last seen around 2 a.m. on April 27, 2016, leaving a rental property in Hobe Sound, Florida, where her ex-husband, Steven Williams, was staying with their 2-year-old daughter. She did not show up for work, and the Martin County Sheriff's Office opened a missing-person investigation that drew national attention.
Detectives looked at three men. A local pastor who had twice crossed paths with Todd on her evening beach walks was cleared by footage showing him watching sea-turtle nesting that night. A ventriloquist she had been interested in romantically was also cleared. That left Williams, cooperative at first, whose polygraph came back inconclusive.
He was initially charged with child neglect for leaving the toddler alone. He later told investigators he had killed Todd, describing it as accidental, and was charged with second-degree murder. Prosecutors took the death penalty off the table in exchange for the location of her remains; he took 35 years.
👉 The detail that stayed with viewers: her remains were found in the Hungryland preserve, buried in a plastic tote with acid — which investigators described as evidence of premeditation.
Where are they now?
- Steven Williams is serving the 35-year sentence he accepted in the plea agreement.
- Tricia's daughter was adopted by Todd's brother Jonathan and his family.
- The Air Force declined federal prosecution, citing civilian jurisdiction.
How do I watch 20/20?
- Eastern: 9 p.m. Fridays on ABC
- Central: 8 p.m.
- Mountain: 8 p.m. — affiliates vary, check your local station
- Pacific: 9 p.m.
Episodes stream the next day on Hulu and in the ABC app. Antenna, live-TV and back-catalog options are in our viewing guide.
Where else can you follow these cases here?
Each show has its own section with previews and follow-ups: the Dateline section, the 20/20 section and the 48 Hours section. Long-running cases get their own trail in Case Updates. Two 20/20 cases moved in September: the parole board advanced the Menendez hearing to March 2027, and a judge moved Alex Murdaugh's retrial to Sumter County. The Larry Millete sentencing, once set for Sept. 29, is now Nov. 2.
FAQ
Is 20/20 new tonight? Only on Fridays. The latest new episode was "The Suitcase Murders" on Friday, Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. ET; before it came "Born to Kill," on the Cati Blauvelt case, on Oct. 9. The next Friday slot is Oct. 23, and as of Oct. 20 an ABC News trailer names "Help Dale Find Dee" for it.
When did 20/20 season 49 start? Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, with a two-hour episode.
What case was on the premiere? The Claire Gravel murder, in "The Salem Strangler," with Deborah Roberts reporting.
What time is 20/20 on? 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT on Fridays, usually as a two-hour edition.
Where is Steven Williams now? In prison, serving the 35-year sentence he accepted in a plea deal, according to ABC News.
Listings data via TVmaze and ABC's published schedule. Case facts as reported by ABC News and court proceedings covered there; this page does not add details beyond that reporting.
Sources
- ABC News — trailer: 20/20 ‘Help Dale Find Dee’ airs Oct. 23, posted Oct. 19; read Tuesday, Oct. 20.
- ABC News — trailer: 20/20 "The Suitcase Murders" airs Oct. 16
- ABC press release — fall 2026 premiere dates, 20/20 on Sept. 25 at 9 p.m.
- TV Insider — ABC's fall 2026 schedule and the Friday lineup
- ABC — fall 2026 premiere dates and primetime schedule
- ABC News — Inside the "Hungryland Homicide"
- Air Force Office of Special Investigations — Steven Williams sentenced to 35 years
- CBS News — remains found in the Hungryland preserve
- ABC News press release — "Mr. & Mrs. Murder," Sept. 18
- ABC episode description via Laughing Place — "The Salem Strangler," Sept. 25
- ABC News — How police solved the 1986 Salem State murder
- ABC News — 20/20 page, trailer for "Born to Kill," Friday, Oct. 9
- WRDW — John Blauvelt convicted and sentenced to life (Sept. 2024)
- Fox Carolina — Blauvelt appeals his conviction (Feb. 2025)
- The Futon Critic — 20/20 network listings (season premiere 9/25/26)