MONDAY
CRAIG: 8:00 Dancing with The Stars; 10:00 The Catch
SHILO: 8:00 Dancing with The Stars; 10:00 Castle
ACTUAL SCHEDULE: 8:00 Dancing With The Stars; 10:00 Castle
CRAIG: Silly, silly me. Shouldn’t I have learned by now that ABC is never changing their Monday lineup? I guess all I can say is this: I do hope ABC is thinking about their Castle-free future, because the show won’t be on forever. I do, however, understand the decision of keeping it there, especially since there’s nothing in the ABC arsenal at this point that’s really there to take its place.
SHILO: Yeah, I’m fine with ABC playing conservatively here. There’s no light, Castle-y procedural in this year’s development class, so it’s better to stay the course and hope that the new showrunner can give the show a boost than to make a move for movement’s sake. While ABC’s relative positioning on the night likely depends on Castle’s ability to rebound vs. its tough 2015 results, they’re probably okay with this show banking syndication episodes and keeping the time slot warm for whatever successor they develop in the near future. And if, say, Blindspot isn’t the sure thing that we’re thinking, ABC’s steadiness might end up winning the race after all.
TUESDAY
CRAIG: 8:00 The Middle; 8:30 Fresh Off the Boat; 9:00 SHIELD Spin-Off; 10:00 Castle
SHILO: 8:00 black-ish; 8:30 Fresh Off the Boat; 9:00 SHIELD Spin-Off; 10:00 Agents of SHIELD
ACTUAL SCHEDULE: 8:00 The Muppets, 8:30 Fresh Off the Boat; 9:00 Agents of SHIELD; 10:00 Beyond The Tank, then Wicked City
CRAIG: The Muppets! I think that’s a fun choice for the Tuesday 8PM spot, and it’s a way for ABC to stay competitive in an hour that also gives us NCIS, The Flash, and Voice results. I would say that The Middle or Black-ish should probably move there eventually to anchor a night, but for now, that’s good. Problematic is the Tuesday 10PM spot, which was smartly and originally meant to go to Quantico, and then plans changed and Quantico moved to Sunday. Now, after a Beyond the Tank mini-run, they’re putting on Wicked City, which as I mentioned before, would probably work better on Sunday…. in any event, Tuesday at 10 might remain a mess, and I’ll still miss Forever.
And, of course, we have now seen the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff is not happening, but the mothership is staying at 9.
SHILO: When Quantico was on at 10:00, I actually liked this lineup for ABC. A big self-starting comedy (The Muppets) into a promising sophomore with a male skew (Fresh Off the Boat) into their most male-leaning drama (Agents of SHIELD) into a twist-y drama that takes place at the FBI Academy (Quantico)? Not bad. Quantico looked like a pretty decent match for SHIELD, which would get compatible pieces around it for the first time, while The Muppets would be enough to vanquish the comedy competition in the hour. Would it be better if the comedies were at 9:00, an hour that doesn’t have any half-hours? Probably. But considering some of ABC’s other Tuesdays in recent years, this was heavenly in comparison. Instead, we get a placeholder in Beyond the Tank and yet another broadcast attempt at period drama in 80s-set Wicked City, which makes the schedule more disappointing than it really should have been.
Next: Wednesday!
1 Comment
Agree with most of what you guys are saying here. Quantico should be on Tuesdays, and Nashville on Sundays. Though I disagree about the Tuesday comedies working better at 9—both are seemingly very family-friendly that could benefit from airing at an earlier hour.
The Muppets was kind of like the Cristela of this year’s bunch—a pilot presentation pitched to ABC that tested through the roof, though there was little hype about them in development season amongst the public. I think everyone expects The Muppets to do good based on their brand, while also helping out Fresh Off The Boat. If that is indeed the case, and Fresh Off The Boat can hold decently mid-season, I think we are finally into the second ABC Comedy Wednesday era.
The Muppets is a mockumentary, as is Modern Family. If it’s as good as we all think it will be, or rates high at least, ABC has the next Modern Family-rated comedy on their hands. We saw the same exact thing happen to The Goldbergs this year, which now looks to be a suitable Middle replacement when it becomes time. And down the line, I foresee Blackish and Fresh Off The Boat being those much-needed second tier comedies, a la Suburgatory or Season 2 Cougar Town.
I think The Middle has two seasons left, and Modern Family three (maybe four if they really want to stretch out those storylines) before ABC can retire them. Here’s my reasoning: it always helps to have a couple of your first-run comedies in syndication. Whether or not tat syndication money is going to you or not, it still may help in first-run ratings. We know The Goldbergs is getting to syndication in two seasons, which can help retire The Middle. Modern Family will wait out another year or two for Blackish or Fresh Off The Boat (I have to imagine at least one will make it).