THURSDAY:
CRAIG: 8:00 Grey’s Anatomy; 9:00 Scandal; 10:00 How To Get Away with Murder
SHILO: 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: …and Thursday is a time where I WHOLLY expect ABC to keep things as is. No complaints here. Have fun winning the female demos, ABC.
SHILO: This is an instance where ABC’s conservative scheduling worked for me. This lineup is a synergy goldmine, a very smart way to counteract Thursday Night Football and something that fully and completely embodies the ABC drama brand. Plus, with Scandal having a ratings stumble in the latter part of the 2014-2015 season, hammocking it between two fellow Shonda shows should allow it to recover, thereby helping one of ABC’s most valuable dramas leg out a lengthy run. We don’t talk about midseason much in these articles, but look for ABC to utilize The Catch here following the Oscars, given that off-brand American Crime couldn’t find an audience and the desire to continue the Thursday brand.
FRIDAY
CRAIG: 8:00 Last Man Standing; 8:30 Chevy; 9:00 Shark Tank; 10:00 20/20
SHILO: 8:00 Last Man Standing; 8:30 Delores & Jermaine; 9:00 Shark Tank; 10:00 20/20
ACTUAL SCHEDULE: 8:00 Last Man Standing; 8:30 Dr. Ken; 9:00 Shark Tank; 10:00 20/20
CRAIG: The real mystery for this spot was “which sitcom will ABC throw to the wolves and cancel after one year on Fridays at 8:30?” The winner here is Dr. Ken.
SHILO: At some point, ABC will have to pick a Friday comedy and stick with it. I know that 8:30 comedies are “supposed” to build from their lead-in since more people are watching TV at 8:30 than 8:00, but that’s an unreasonable expectation to hold, especially since ABC is determined to give Last Man Standing incompatible lead-outs. I don’t see anything in Dr. Ken that makes me think this is the solution to Last Man’s inability to be a productive lead-in or that it’ll perform any better than what Cristela did this past season; it’ll probably do well enough to get at least a partial back order, but that extension will be more out of necessity (e.g. ABC not picking up a second multi-cam) than renewal promise. Most interestingly, were this to be Last Man Standing’s final season, could ABC get out of the multi-cam business for good?
Next: Superlatives!
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).