THURSDAY
CRAIG’S PREDICTIONS: 8:00 Grey’s Anatomy; 9:00 Scandal; 10:00 How to Get Away with Murder
SHILO’S PREDICTIONS: 8:00 Grey’s Anatomy; 9:00 Scandal; 10:00 How to Get Away with Murder
ACTUAL SCHEDULE: 8:00 Grey’s Anatomy; 9:00 Scandal; 10:00 How to Get Away with Murder
CRAIG: Scandal is wrapping this season, and it seems to be the right time for that. Also, wisely, ABC is keeping TGIT intact for one last Fall; they’re going to need it with increased competition coming from the other networks. Never repeat the Notorious thing again, ok ABC?
SHILO: What a relief for ABC that they didn’t schedule new Shonda drama For the People on Thursdays this fall. Prior to upfronts week, I thought that since the Shonda drama was a lock for pickup, they should use the strongest part of the Grey’s season to launch a new TGIT drama and keep the brand in tact. However, with NBC moving female viewer magnet This Is Us to Thursdays, ABC did the right thing in keeping the original TGIT lineup together and saving For the People for midseason. Scandal is not only strong enough to deal with This Is Us, it’s going into a final season, so even if it takes a hit, it doesn’t necessarily matter in the long-term, whereas For the People‘s sampling would absolutely be hampered by airing up against the NBC ratings behemoth. This way, For the People gets to premiere following the This Is Us ratings peak and could, if they premiere it at 10:00 in replacement of Murder, get a boost from the final weeks of Scandal.
