Not to be outdone by CBS, ABC has announced the first of its plans for this summer, as comedy Downward Dog will premiere Wednesday, May 17th at 9:30 following the season finale of Modern Family. The usual occupant of that time slot, black-ish, will air its finale the week prior. However, it’s not all good news for Downward Dog, which will have to self-start after shifting to Tuesdays at 8:00 beginning May 23rd and airing two episodes a week.
Last summer, ABC had a leftover comedy in Mike Epps’s Uncle Buck, which ended up airing double episodes on Tuesdays after a major push during the NBA Finals. Despite okay ratings, the series was cancelled after one season, so Downward Dog, which had been rumored to be scheduled following The Bachelorette, doesn’t have precedent on its side. Its main hope going forward will be to generate positive enough critical/award buzz to become ABC’s passion project, something they carry across multiple seasons despite ratings that would’ve ended it otherwise. However, given that it was passed over for the network’s lone comedy opening for Imaginary Mary, that might be asking a lot, especially with current ABC critical darling American Crime still an awards power and ABC openly touting its desire to go for broader programming that appeals to conservative viewers.
Based on the web series of the same name and adapted for television by Michael Killen (Just Shoot Me!) and Samm Hodges (Footnote), Downward Dog tells the story of Nan (Allison Tolman), an overworked millennial struggling to balance a tumultuous personal life with the demands of an unfulfilling job where she’s not appreciated, and her lonely, often philosophical dog Martin (voiced by Hodges). The series features narration from Martin about life, love, and his evolving relationship with Nan.
In addition to Tolman, Downward Dog stars Lucas Neff (Raising Hope), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (A Dog’s Purpose), and Barry Rothbart (The Wolf of Wall Street).
You can check out a trailer for Downward Dog, which recently premiered at Sundance, below.
