THURSDAY
CRAIG’S PREDICTIONS: 8:00 Grey’s Anatomy; 9:00 Notorious; 10:00 How to Get Away with Murder
SHILO’S PREDICTIONS: 8:00 Grey’s Anatomy; 9:00 Secrets & Lies; 10:00 How to Get Away with Murder
ACTUAL SCHEDULE: 8:00 Grey’s Anatomy; 9:00 Notorious; 10:00 How to Get Away with Murder
CRAIG: I think the only thing ABC has to worry about here is if audiences are ready for a non-Shonda show filling in for Scandal. On the bright side, at least it isn’t that Romeo and Juliet thing.
SHILO:Â Kudos to you for pegging Notorious as the drama that subs in for Scandal while it’s on the bench. In a vacuum, I think it’s a good choice, as the trailer made the show seem like a good match for Grey’s Anatomy (lighter than Scandal/How to Get Away with Murder, though its material about media manipulation and central couple reek of Scandal) and like something that wouldn’t detract from the TGIT brand. It should have some tough competition from the CBS comedies and Chicago Med, both of whom go after the same older female audience that has become ABC’s bread and butter, but ABC could have done a lot worse in the time slot and it’s worth taking a shot with a new show, if for no other reason than to ensure Notorious gets sampled.
But let’s say that Notorious does hit and establishes itself as a solid player at 9:00. What would/should ABC do with Scandal? Boot it to 10:00? Keep it at 9:00 and move Notorious to 10:00 once How to Get Away with Murder concludes its upcoming third season? Could Notorious have a capped order a’la How to Get Away with Murder? It’ll be an interesting game of scheduling Jenga for ABC on Thursday, as there are still two more Shonda dramas waiting in the wings in addition to Scandal; of course, at least one of those will have to air somewhere else simply due to a lack of space, but would they be willing to push both The Catch and Still Star-Crossed off of Thursdays if Notorious A) hits and B) gets 22 episodes? We shall see.
