ABC introduced a new fall schedule on Tuesday that, like those unveiled by the network’s competitors, was heavily dependent on new series — 13 in all, in ABC’s case.
The network will open the fall season with eight of these series on its prime-time schedule, five of which are comedies as ABC tries again to make Tuesday a second comedy night.
ABC’s current comedy night is Wednesday, where its biggest hit, “Modern Family,” resides at 9 p.m. ABC will hand the 9:30 slot on that night to “Super Fun Night,” a comedy about female friends starring a stand-up comedian, Rebel Wilson.
The network is also adding a new comedy in front of “Modern Family,” this one called “Back in the Game,” which stars James Caan as a grandfather and one-time would-be ballplayer who takes over as coach of his grandson’s inept Little League team.
ABC will introduce a whole new night of series on Tuesday, after jettisoning the “Dancing with the Stars” results show (results of the dance competition will now be included in the program’s Monday show). The new Tuesday schedule will be led off with by the network’s highest-profile drama, “Super Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” a comic book-based adventure from Joss Whedon (“Buffy”).
ABC will also add a drama at 10, “Lucky 7,” about a group of co-workers at a gas station who share a winning lottery ticket.
The rest of the night is new comedy: a quirky family comedy set in the 1980s called “The Goldbergs,” and another odd family mix in “Trophy Wife,” about a man on his third wife who retains relationships with the first two. It stars Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing”).
ABC will try a spinoff of “Once Upon a Time,” its Sunday night fairy tale drama, in “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,” at 8 on Thursdays, a take on the Alice in Wonderland tale with John Lithgow as the White Rabbit.
Having moved its densely plotted soap “Revenge” to Sundays, ABC will try to follow it with another soapy saga, “Betrayal,” about a married woman having an affair with a defense lawyer who happens to oppose her husband, a prosecutor in a big murder trial. ABC says it will be a limited series, running only in fall.
ABC will save the remainder of its new shows for later in the season, including a new reality show called “The Quest,” which takes real people on a “Lord of the Rings” sort of adventure.
ABC said it would run its serialized shows in 12-episode arcs, which will take breaks filled with other original shows.
One of its holdover comedies, “Suburgatory,” will be held off until midseason.
The ABC fall schedule:
DAY TIME SERIES
MONDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
10:00 p.m. “Castle”
TUESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
9:00 p.m. “The Goldbergs”
9:30 p.m. “Trophy Wife”
10:00 p.m. “Lucky 7”
WEDNESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “Back in the Game”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Super Fun Night”
10:00 p.m. “Nashville”
THURSDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland”
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Scandal”
FRIDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Last Man Standing”
8:30 p.m. “The Neighbors”
9:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
10:00 p.m. “20/20”
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. “Revenge”
10:00 p.m. “Betrayal”
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/business/media/abc-unveils-a-fall-schedule-with-13-new-series.html?partner=rss&emc=rss