diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index ceae1956..03efbb5f 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-### 3.26.0 (2023-01-12 02:00:00 UTC)
+### 3.26.1 (2023-01-25 01:45:00 UTC)
+
+* Change forced show updates process during startup to prevent webUI blocking
+
+
+### 3.26.0 (2023-01-12 02:00:00 UTC)
 
 * Change bump to major version 3.xx to signal that this branch supports Python3+ only
 * Update Tornado Web Server 6.1.0 (2047e7a) to 6.2.0 (a4f08a3)
diff --git a/sickgear.py b/sickgear.py
index db9f97fe..0f4d1774 100755
--- a/sickgear.py
+++ b/sickgear.py
@@ -628,7 +628,9 @@ class SickGear(object):
         # Start an update if we're supposed to
         if not switching and (self.force_update or sickgear.UPDATE_SHOWS_ON_START):
             sickgear.classes.loading_msg.message = 'Starting a forced show update'
-            sickgear.show_update_scheduler.action.run()
+            background_start_forced_show_update = threading.Thread(name='STARTUP-FORCE-SHOW-UPDATE',
+                                                                   target=sickgear.show_update_scheduler.action.run)
+            background_start_forced_show_update.start()
 
         sickgear.classes.loading_msg.message = 'Switching to default web server'
         time.sleep(2)