ABC Schedule Thoughts

ABC released their schedule for Fall 2011 and I must say I'm proud I got two of their schedules correct with my own 'fantasy schedule" :D Anyway, here's their schedule and of my thoughts night by night:

MONDAY

8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”

10:00 p.m. “Castle”

Slightly disappointed they didn’t move Castle to pave way for a new drama but I get that they need a night they don’t need to worry especially with major changes they have on other nights. I have a feeling though by midseason one of the midseason dramas will take the 10pm slot.

TUESDAY

8:00 p.m. “Last Man Standing”

8:30 p.m. “Man Up”

9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”

10:00 p.m. “Body of Proof”

I do think Tim Allen is known enough to gain an audience for his sitcom and be the anchor for the night, if it can manage to have Middle-like ratings or at least not have a downward trend it will be fine. DWTS still needs to be at 9 to help nurture Body of Proof to be a stable show.

WEDNESDAY

8:00 p.m. “The Middle”

8:30 p.m. “Suburgatory”

9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”

9:30 p.m. “Happy Endings”

10:00 p.m. “Revenge”

I like Cougar Town but I understand the fact that they have to put it on hiatus and premiere it midseason, it really loses a lot of its huge Modern Family lead in so it just makes sense to ABC to try something new. I expected "Apt 23" to get the slot but apparently ABC has other plans (they'all air in Tuesdays with Cougar Town in between seasons for DWTS). Anyway, good for Happy Endings to have this chance to air after Modern Family, I mean ABC picked this up over better rated (although still low) Better With You so might as well give it the best shot possible. Worried for “Revenge”, it has soap elements though but it will depend if Happy Endings gets good ratings to have a realistic shot for survival. The Wednesday 10pm track record is not good so can Revenge buck the trend? For Emily Vancamp’s sake I hope it does well

THURSDAY

8:00 p.m. “Charlie’s Angels”

9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”

10:00 p.m. “Private Practice”

Expected move for Charlie’s Angels, I hope it could hold its own, it will start well that’s a guarantee given the brand. Private Practice will stay because it could only survive with Grey’s support and with it going on its 5th season, ABC can’t risk the ratings of this veteran show even if it's mediocre it's still in the acceptable range. But I have a feeling Shonda Rhimes' Scandal will take over this slot by midseason with PP taking a hiatus.

FRIDAY

8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

9:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”

10:00 p.m. “20/20”

Good move to have EM:HE here, maybe it can score high 1s here which will be a win for ABC for Fridays and maybe it can warm up the slot for TGIF comedy block next season? Perhaps. I hope Shark Tank does well maybe 1.5 higher with it having a lead in now.

SATURDAY

8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night College Football”

SUNDAY

7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”

8:00 p.m. “Once Upon a Time”

9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”

10:00 p.m. “Pan Am”

I got this one exactly right! Yay! This is a good and aggressive line up since after being stagnant for years, ABC Sundays really needed a makeover I hope this works out well, I think “Once Upon A Time” has a shot, “Pan Am” will be a tough sell to do but I like this change I hope it works out well for ABC.

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I was surprised they held their buzzed pilots "Good Christian Belles" & "Apt. 23" for midseason but then again it’s a good move first they can think of better titles, second ABC tends to find more success with midseason dramas than the ones that started in the fall (Castle, Body of Proof) and lastly with a lot of new shows they have to launch I think it’s a good idea to separate the ones with the buzz for midseason since if they premiere it now the other shows will just be overshadowed. It’s a good marketing decision, they can now focus with the shows that will be tough to sell (Pan Am, Revenge, Tuesday comedies).

I’m happy they kept The River for midseason because it will be a heavily serialized show for sure so it needs to have an uninterrupted run

I’m also glad they kept Secret Millionaire for midseason, it will be a good show to fill holes just in case of horrible flops and could also serve as the “gap show”, maybe ABC can air this against the awards shows?

All in all, I'm satisfied with ABC's schedule, they took risks where it mattered (Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursday at 8pm) but has protected timeslots which is working for them so they can have stability while waiting for the results of the big changes they made. I really hope they find hit shows this time around with a better slate of freshmen offerings and well rounded schedule.