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FRIDAY
SHILO: I’d lead the night with The Neighbors, which proved to be a fairly decent performer in its Wednesday slot this season, generally staying within a 0.5 point range and earning notice for its improved quality. With its rather young skew that might have been too young for Wednesdays, the show could make for a solid anchor in the Friday 8:00 hour, especially considering that each of the other three shows has a similar concept. Being that the show is produced by ABC, it only needs another three seasons of syndication and there are different avenues that the network could use to promote (i.e. another Disney marathon) the suburban alien comedy. The only problem would be that The Neighbors is the only one of the four that’s single-camera, which could mess with the tone of the night and turn off viewers.
At 8:30, an hour that sees a bump in viewership from 8:00, I’d place the only new show of the night, King John. The show would make for an easier transition into the other two multi-cams, could benefit from increased tune-in at the half hour, and seems to be the only multi-cam that could realistically be paired with The Neighbors without the tone being too jarring. There’s talk of pairing it with Last Man Standing, but I think that viewers of the Tim Allen comedy might be too conservative to embrace a comedy like King John. Also, ABC has shown that they love creator Jon Leguiazamo, seeing as this is his third pilot in two seasons, so if King John is anything close to presentable, I think they stick it on the air and hope that his charisma and supporting cast prove to be enough to carry the show.
Last Man Standing actually ended its second season up over its first season finale, thanks in part to a controversial retool that found the family comedy going more political, so it’s strong enough to assume the 9:00 hour from Shark Tank and allow ABC to craft a 2013 TGIF lineup. Tim Allen is still a draw and the show is closing in on syndication, a known booster for comedies, so repromoting it alongside the resurrection of TGIF could bring more eyeballs to the show, with hopefully more than a few sticking.
For 9:30, I’d place Malibu Country. The only reason I would bring Malibu Country back is for how well it paired with Last Man Standing. In the absolute numbers, I don’t think you renew the show, but with the showrunner change and the possibility of expanding Friday comedy, it could make for a decent player until they figure out if this much comedy on Friday is feasible. The promotion (with Reba and Tim Allen) writes itself, while a creative retool could help the show be able to stand on its own, should the first season compatibility it showed with Last Man doesn’t carry over to a new time. Right now, I don’t think it could survive alongside The Neighbors or King John and if ABC wants this lineup to flourish, they’re either going to have to strengthen Malibu Country or let it go. Given Reba’s star power, I don’t think you let it go just yet.
With so much movement on Fridays already, the newsmagazine 20/20 should stay put at 10:00. Granted, they could do the occasional special here (i.e. Jimmy Kimmel’s Matt Damon episode), but 20/20 is an esteemed program that can put up a certain number for them every week and they’ll be keeping it going for the time being. If their schedule turns out to be stronger than they anticipated, they could conceivably want to try a drama here; the chances of that happening, though, are rather slim, though.
CRAIG: With three established comedies and a new addition, I agree that such a plan would and could possibly bring ABC back to a strong, TGIF-like night. My only deviation from what you suggested is wondering if something along the lines of Super Fun Night might sub in for the Malibu Country/Reba slot.
I agree with keeping 20/20 where it is.
SHILO’S SCHEDULE
SUNDAY
7PM America’s Funniest Videos
8PM Once Upon A Time
9PM Gothica
10PM Revenge
MONDAY (With Dancing)
8PM Dancing With The Stars
10PM Castle
MONDAY (Without Dancing)
8PM Mixology
8:30 Super Fun Night
9PM Castle
10PM Doubt
TUESDAY (With Dancing)
8PM Dancing Results
9PM Agents of SHIELD
10PM Murder In Manhattan
TUESDAY (Without Dancing)
8PM Shark Tank
9PM Agents of SHIELD
10PM Murder In Manhattan
WEDNESDAY
8PM The Middle
8:30 Suburgatory
9PM Modern Family
9:30 How To Live…
10PM Nashville
THURSDAY
8PM Shark Tank (if no Dancing on Tuesday, then Unscripted Filler e.g. Wipeout, Secret Millionaire, Wife Swap, etc.)
9PM Grey’s Anatomy
10PM Scandal
FRIDAY
8PM The Neighbors
8:30 King John
9PM Last Man Standing
9:30 Malibu Country
10PM 20/20
CRAIG’S SCHEDULE
SUNDAY
7PM America’s Funniest Videos
8PM Once Upon A Time
9PM Gothica
10PM Revenge
MONDAY (With Dancing)
8PM Dancing With The Stars
10PM Castle
MONDAY (Without Dancing)
8PM Big Thunder
9PM The Goldbergs
9:30 Back In The Game
10PM Doubt
TUESDAY (With Dancing)
8PM Agents of SHIELD
9PM Dancing Results
10PM Murder In Manhattan
TUESDAY (Without Dancing)
8PM Agents of SHIELD
9PM Murder In Manhattan
10PM Castle
WEDNESDAY
8PM The Middle
8:30 Suburgatory
9PM Modern Family
9:30 How To Live…
10PM Nashville
THURSDAY
8PM Shark Tank
9PM Grey’s Anatomy
10PM Scandal
FRIDAY
8PM The Neighbors
8:30 King John
9PM Last Man Standing
9:30 Malibu Country
10PM 20/20
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