Fall 2011 Fantasy Schedule - ABC

Mondays

8:00 - Dancing with the Stars
10:00 - Castle

This combination has worked very well for ABC, especially lately when Castle has beaten CBS's freshman hit Hawaii Five-0 routinely to win the timeslot. It's big for a show in its third season to build on its audience, so I don't see them changing it up here.

Tuesdays

8:00 - Missing (NEW)
9:00 - Dancing with the Stars Results
10:00 - Grace (NEW)

They really could launch any drama pilot at 8:00; it's been one of their most difficult timeslots, so I can see them just throwing Missing there. It got a blind 10-episode commitment and was intended for summer, until Ashley Judd signed on to star. So it needs to be somewhere on the schedule, and that seems like as good a place as any. Grace shares the dance element with DWTS, and it has the grittiness of a 10:00 show.

Wednesdays

8:00 - The Middle
8:30 - Cougar Town
9:00 - Modern Family
9:30 - Suburgatory (NEW)
10:00 - Body of Proof

ABC needs to use the Modern Family lead-in to launch a new comedy, and I think Suburgatory sounds like the most promising (plus it shares the family element of all the other sitcoms on this night). The network has said they'd be interested in looking into another hour comedy block, but thus far they have failed with trying out Happy Endings at 10:00. So they'll either need to try it on another night, at midseason, or not at all. I can see Body of Proof moving without much ado, and it'll be solid competition for Law & Order: SVU.

Thursdays

8:00 - The River (NEW)
9:00 - Grey's Anatomy
10:00 - Private Practice

It doesn't really fit thematically with the night, but Thursdays at 8:00 are just as dire for ABC as Tuesdays at 8:00. They need to do something new and exciting, and The River is the closest thing they have in development to that.

Fridays

Reality/News

Sundays

8:00 - Extreme Makeover
9:00 - Desperate Housewives
10:00 - Good Christian Bitches (NEW)

I really think Brothers & Sisters is on its last legs and will be gone at the end of this season. ABC can justify its cancellation by renewing Body of Proof (so as to save face by not getting rid of every new drama debuted this season), in which case I think it will be canned. It's an old show, rising in cost, and it does not pull in strong enough ratings to warrant a renewal. Good Christian Bitches shares a lot, plot-wise and theme-wise, with Desperate Housewives and could possibly work nicely alongside it.

Midseason

I think V, even with its low ratings, could still receive another 10 episode order. Its second season did better than the debut seasons of every freshman drama. I can also see ABC ordering another two for midseason, possibly Pan Am and the reboot of Charlie's Angels. On the sitcom front, it seems likely they'll pick up two (so they can maybe try that second night of comedy in place of a failed drama). My predictions would be Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt 23, which has tested very well, and The Last Days of Man, which stars Tim Allen.

Bottom Line Predictions
Canceled - Better with You, Brothers & Sisters, Detroit 187, Happy Endings, Mr. Sunshine, No Ordinary Family, Off the Map
New Drama Series - Charlie's Angels (midseason), Good Christian Bitches, Grace, Missing, Pan Am (midseason), The River
New Comedy Series - Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt 23 (midseason), The Last Days of Man (midseason), Suburgatory

Comments

  1. ABC will renew Happy Endings because they really want a new Friends (what with Mr. Sunshine and hyping Cougar Town every time one of Courtney Cox's ex-costars shows up) and Happy Endings has drawn a lot of comparisons.

    The Alphabet Network will put Last Days of Man and Work It (it has a quirky premise) on Tuesdays at 8 which means Missing will go on Thursdays at 8.

    Either Good Christian Bitches (with a name change) or Hallelujah (ABC seems to like supernatural shows) Sundays at 10.

    For midseason, Identity, Charlie's Angels, Poe, and Once Upon a Time (the last will premiere later). I seriously doubt a period drama about 60s airplanes will interest anyone. For midseason comedies, Smothered (it stars Adam Arkin and Dr. Cox from Scrubs), Lost & Found (like a single parent Family Ties) and I guess Apt 23.

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