ABC is doubling down with Ryan Murphy on Thursday nights. The Alphabet network revealed a fall 2024 schedule on Tuesday that features the Murphy’s “9-1-1” and newcomer “Doctor Odyssey” on Thursday nights.
The move now turns the night — long the home for Shonda Rhimes’ hit “TGIT” franchises, into a bit of a “TGIM” — “Thank God It’s Murphy” — and shifts “Grey’s Anatomy” to 10 p.m.
Also, the network revealed that it is going with an “Abbott Elementary” island on Wednesdays, sandwiched between a 90-minute format for “The Golden Bachelorette” and then the unexpected, previously unannounced true crime ABC News docuseries “Scamanda.”
But don’t fret for “Abbott,” says Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich. He tells PvNew that after the success of “The Golden Bachelor” earlier this year, lead-in from “The Golden Bachelorette” will “position it to continue to garner both audience as well as the critical claim that it so deserves.”
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Meanwhile, with sports on Mondays and Fridays, and the decision to keep “Wonderful World of Disney” movies on Sundays, the network is holding some of its key players for midseason.
That means hits “The Rookie” and “Will Trent” won’t be back until the start of the year, nor will the final season of “The Conners.” Erwich says the pushes are meant to take advantage of the “tremendous promotional opportunity” of college football throughout the fall and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” in January, while also allowing the dramas more uninterrupted runs — “The Rookie” and “Will Trent” are both looking at 18-episode seasons.
Besides “Doctor Odyssey,” ABC’s only new series is “High Potential,” starring Kaitlin Olson, which will air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. behind “Dancing with the Stars.”
Also returning midseason are “American Idol,” “The Bachelor,” “Celebrity Jeopardy!,” “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” and “What Would You Do?” and premiering then is a new version of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” from executive producer Reese Witherspoon and hosted by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin of The Home Edit.
See ABC’s full fall schedule below, followed by PvNew‘s full Q&A with Erwich.
MONDAY
8:00 p.m. “Monday Night Football” on select weeks, TBA programming
TUESDAY
8:00 p.m. “Dancing With the Stars”
10 p.m. “High Potential” (NEW SERIES)
WEDNESDAY
8:00 p.m. “The Golden Bachelorette” (NEW SERIES)
9:30 p.m. “Abbott Elementary
10:00 p.m. “Scamanda”
THURSDAY
8:00 p.m. “9-1-1”
9:00 p.m. “Doctor Odyssey” (NEW SERIES)
10:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy
FRIDAY
8:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
9:00 p.m. “20/20” (two hours)
SATURDAY
7:30 p.m. College Football
SUNDAY
7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “The Wonderful World of Disney
ABC also announced during its upfront that for the fifth year in a row, the network is the top-rated in entertainment programming (not inclusive of sports and news) among adults 18-49, averaging a 0.47 measured across seven days. Some of that success is due to “9-1-1,” tied as the No. 1 rated broadcast drama with a 0.86, and “The Golden Bachelor,” tied as the No. 1 new alternative series with a 0.8. For Erwich’s thoughts on the future of those franchises and more, read on.
“Abbott Elementary” sits as the sole scripted comedy sandwiched between unscripted titles “The Golden Bachelorette” and “Scamanda” on Wednesday nights. Do you worry that might hurt it?
Not at all. “The Golden Bachelor” was obviously one of the biggest television events of last season. I believe “The Golden Bachelorette” will be the same, and it will provide an incredibly strong lead-in for “Abbott Elementary,” which will position it to continue to garner both audience as well as the critical claim that it so deserves. So we’re very excited about this opportunity for “Abbott Elementary.” “Abbott” remains a huge priority for us. It’s been one of the breakout comedies of the decade. It’s a show we’re extraordinarily proud of and this was specifically designed to continue to invest in growing that show.
“Scamanda” was a surprise. Where did that come from? And why not try out a drama in that timeslot?
“We’ve had tremendous success with news programming at 10:00 p.m. The ratings for shows like “Bad Romance” and “What Would You Do?” last year were true points of pride for us. And we know that at 10:00, you see a lot of pre-tune-in of people who are getting ready to watch their local news at 11:00. So the news-into-news strategy is something that both benefits the primetime lineup as well as the schedules of our affiliate partners who are very near and dear to us.
“The Rookie” and “Will Trent” are strong titles for ABC — why push them to midseason?
At the top of January, we have “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which is one of the big live events of the broadcast season and provides tremendous promotional opportunity, so we’re going to use that for “The Rookie” and “Will Trent,” both shows which continue to grow and are true darlings of both ABC and the audience. We have a lot of college sports and holiday programs on during December, so that adds to the megaphone that we can use to to shout out about “Will Trent” and “The Rookie” being back on. And additionally, and as importantly, having them come ion in January will allow them to have uninterrupted runs where they can continue to gather momentum and with a huge swatch of original episodes.
“9-1-1” has been a success since moving from Fox to ABC. Are you in talks at all with 20th Television to bring “9-1-1: Lone Star” to ABC as well?
Right now, we’re really focused on continuing the success of “9-1-1.” If you look at what Ryan and Tim did this year in terms of the three-part event, it’s a masterclass in how to eventize a network television show, especially in subsequent seasons. And it’s going to be an amazing lead-in for “Dr. Odyssey,” which is a high-octane medical drama, but this one’s got a lot of wish fulfillment to it, which I think is perfect for ABC.
When you say focusing on the success of “9-1-1,” does that mean sticking with what you’ve got instead of looking at the spinoff?
We’re always in talks with Ryan about how to expand any of his franchises as well as accommodate any of his new ideas. He has a lot of amazing ideas and we’re thrilled to be in business with him.
What were your takeaways from the “9-1-1” crossover with “The Bachelor” this year? Might you try that again?
You take two of our signature shows, “Bachelor” and “9-1-1,” and you put them together — you’re just creating reasons and events for the audience to tune in. That’s what network television does so well. That’s what network television has always done. It’s become a little bit of a lost art, but I think Ryan and Tim really understand how week in and week out, you create significant events in the lives of your characters, and it works.
“The Wonderful World of Disney” was a solid strike contingency schedule choice this past year. But why keep it on Sunday nights again this year instead of programming something original in that spot?
Disney movies have long had a home and a very successful place on ABC. We know that on Sunday nights, families love to come together to watch television together. It’s one of the reasons “American Idol” is so successful on Sunday nights. And one of the advantages of being part of the Disney Television Group is that we have access to some of the greatest family movies of all time. It’s a great service to provide our viewers on a weekly basis.
Since “The Conners” is ending next spring, are you considering reboots of any other IP sitcoms?
Right now we’re in production on two pilots with truly beloved television talent in Tim Allen and Ty Burrell. We’re really, really excited about both of those. So Comedy will continue to be a priority. We want to keep the momentum we have going with “Abbott Elementary” and the final season “The Conners.” ABC has been a place that has, decade over decade, redefined what a family comedy is, and we’ll continue to do so.
