ABC's Fall Schedule: The Same But Different

Eight new series are set to debut on ABC next fall—four comedies, three dramas, and a reality show. In an almost alarming show of restraint, the Alphabet has kept much of its current schedule intact, with changes being made on only four nights.

Mondays will remain the same, with two hours of Dancing with the Stars leading into the returning Castle. The network is wise to keep Castle, which has shown some promising consistency in the ratings, protected behind Dancing for now. Tuesdays have the Dancing results show coming out of Shark Tank, a new reality program from Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) about people who have to convince millionaires to provide them with the funds to start their own business enterprise. And at 10pm is The Forgotten, a Jerry Bruckheimer drama revolving around a group of amateur sleuths who try to solve cases that have been abandoned by the police. Given ABC’s troubles in the 8pm slot, Shark Tank, which gets a late summer head start on the competition, will likely go the way of last year’s Opportunity Knocks, while The Forgotten is another attempt by the serial-heavy net to come up with a hit crime drama. Having Dancing as a lead-in certainly can’t hurt, but so far we haven’t really seen it help, either (whither Eli Stone and Cupid?).

Perhaps the riskiest maneuver is that the network is once again starting from scratch on Wednesdays. Just like they did two years with Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, and Dirty Sexy Money, ABC has an entire night of unproven shows, this time comprised of a two-hour comedy block and a fantasy drama. After starring together in Fox’s Back to You, Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton find their latest entries airing back-to-back. Both shows use the country's current economic hardships as their jumping off points with Grammer starring in Hank as a laid-off corporate big shot who attempts to put his life back in order, and Heaton as the matriarch of the Hecks, a middle class family, in the appropriately titled The Middle. Next up is Modern Family, a mockumentary from Steven Levitan (Just Shoot Me) and Christopher Lloyd (Frasier) that puts a comedic slant on how difficult life is these days. And Cougar Town has Courteney Cox as a MILF exploring her options. Judging by viewers’ tepid response to Scrubs and Better Off Ted (both of which will return at midseason) on the night, the net certainly has its work cut out for it in terms of both promotion and execution. Hank, The Middle, and Modern Family sound too much like the same show, and Cougar Town has already been done as a reality show on TV Land. (On a side note, when this show fails, can we agree never to use the word “cougar” again unless we’re talking about an actual cougar?) As for the 10pm drama, Eastwick is based on the John Updike novel and movie The Witches of Eastwick. Rebecca Romijn (Ugly Betty), Lindsay Price (Lipstick Jungle), and Paul Gross (Due South) head the cast of what could represent the network’s best chance at a breakout hit.

Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice will continue to air consecutively on Thursdays from 9-11pm, with new drama Flash Forward (already promoted during last week’s Lost season finale) taking the 8pm slot. Flash Forward, which tells the story of what people do after a two-minute blackout provides glimpses into their futures, is likely to be ABC’s most buzzed-about new series, but it doesn’t feel like an 8pm show. With Grey’s starting to show its age a bit (like most shows, it’s down compared to a year ago), the network is taking a risk by placing one of its hottest new properties in an uncertain time period on an extremely important night.

Fridays start with Supernanny being bumped up an hour, Ugly Betty moving from Thursdays, and perennial 20/20 staying at 10pm. With Betty’s audience already on a dangerous downhill slide, burying the show on Fridays certainly won’t do it any favors. Saturdays continue to be the home of college football, and Sundays are untouched. There had been speculation that ABC might try out a new show after Desperate Housewives, but they obviously feel that Brothers & Sisters is still not strong enough to support itself on another night.

I’m not sure that this schedule puts ABC in a position to improve on its current performance, which means another season spent lingering in third place. But there are worse places to be, and if they can get at least one of their new shows to take off, it could have a halo effect on the rest of the lineup.

ABC's fall primetime schedule is as follows (all times listed are Eastern):

MONDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Dancing with the Stars" (two-hours)
10:00 p.m. "Castle"

TUESDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Shark Tank"
9:00 p.m. "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show"
10:00 p.m. "The Forgotten"

WEDNESDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Hank"
8:30 p.m. "The Middle"
9:00 p.m. "Modern Family"
9:30 p.m. "Cougar Town"
10:00 p.m. "Eastwick"

THURSDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Flash Forward"
9:00 p.m. "Grey's Anatomy"
10:00 p.m. "Private Practice"

FRIDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Supernanny"
9:00 p.m. "Ugly Betty"
10:00 p.m. "20/20"

SATURDAY:
8:00 p.m. "Saturday Night College Football"

SUNDAY:
7:00 p.m. "America's Funniest Home Videos"
8:00 p.m. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
9:00 p.m. "Desperate Housewives"
10:00 p.m. "Brothers & Sisters"