ABC Unveils Its Schedule For The Fall

ABC unveiled their fall schedule and it sees a few fan favorites on new nights and a genre push on Fridays, which was typically reserved for their comedies.

The broad strokes of the new ABC schedule are largely the same. A new drama (The Good Doctor) will air after Dancing With the Stars on Monday; Tuesday and Wednesday will continue to be home to two-hour comedy blocks; and Thursday remains home to Shonda Rhimes’ “TGIT” trio of Grey’s Anatomy, the final season of Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder. But two days are seeing some substantial changes, as Shark Tank moves from its longtime Friday home to anchor Sunday nights with game show, To Tell the Truth — ceding Friday to genre drama. It’s a move that’s worked, with varying degrees of success, for NBC and Fox in recent years.

Friday will now start with the full 22-episode retooled Once Upon a Time, leading into new Marvel entry Inhumans. The Friday slot puts considerably less pressure on the Disney love child. Even in success, linear expectations are not high at the start of the weekend. (20/20 will remain at 10 p.m.) Several years of middling returns for Sunday dramas may change with the addition of alternative programming. After all, ABC’s biggest Sunday draw is still 7 o’clock’s America’s Funniest Home Videos. It’s not all reality, though. Ten Days in the Valley is getting the 10 o’clock slot.

Tuesday’s comedy block is being heavily tweaked. The Middle, still anchoring the night, will now lead directly into Fresh Off the Boat. Nine o’clock sees a new night for Black-ish, which is being paired with freshman The Mayor. The night will end with dramedy The Gospel of Kevin. Wednesday remains intact, with the exception of American Housewife moving into the old Black-ish slot.

What’s on deck for midseason is substantial — and that’s before considering the still-undated return of American Idol. Holding are newcomers The Crossing, Deception, For the People, Alex, Inc. and Splitting Up Together, as well as recently announced spinoffs The Bachelor Winter Games and Dancing With the Stars Junior.

Agents of SHIELD will take over the Fridays at 8 p.m. slot after fellow Marvel drama Inhumans wraps its eight-episode run. (SHIELD also will return with a full 22-episode season.) The freshly ordered Roseanne revival is also slated for midseason, as is Quantico, which scored an eleventh-hour 13-episode renewal.


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About Gaius Bolling 3795 Articles
At the age of five, I knew I wanted to write movies and about them. I've set out to make those dreams come true. As an alumni of the Los Angeles Film Academy, I participated in their Screenwriting program, while building up my expertise in film criticism. I write reviews that relate to the average moviegoer by educating my readers and keeping it fun. My job is to let you know the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world of cinema, so you can have your best moviegoing experience. You can find more of my writing on Instagram @g_reelz.