SHILO:
SHILO: Although I understand the move to get American Housewife out of the 9:00 hour, as it exhibited more strength at 8:30 and could conceivably bolster the 9:00 show, I think the Wednesday arrangement leaves something to be desired. For ABC Wednesdays, 8:30 is the stronger :30 slot and Modern Family, though still solid, isn’t the behemoth that it used to be, so you’re kind of sandbagging the 9:30 comedy here. Despite an offbeat voice and focus on parents vs. children, Single Parents feels on-brand-ish and better suited for 9:30 vs. 8:30, but it’ll be tough to thrive with so little Same Day viewing time. And having a new comedy leading into A Million Little Things, one of ABC’s biggest drama bets for next season, is asking for an underperformance from both. The drama already has it tough airing at 10:00, an hour that has become tough for broadcast to crack, so not giving it something established as a lead-in puts a lot more pressure on something with no IP familiarity and a concept that’s not a slam dunk.
With the trailer garnering some buzz, I do think A Million Little Things will do well despite an unnecessarily risky scheduling situation. And it should be helped by facing two procedurals in Chicago PD and Criminal Minds. I just think that ABC could’ve protected it more, at least in its opening weeks.
CRAIG: I understand this because American Housewife really needs to be big as ABC prepares for a post-Modern Family world. I do agree it would be a better lead-in for a new series like A Million Little Things. But again, as with some other choices by ABC this season, I’ve seen worse. Hopefully A Million Little This Is Us gets the traction that ABC wants; jokes aside, I think it’s good that we’re getting more dramas about people and families, and not just doctors or politicians or fairy tale characters or something.
