ABC Schedule for 2009
By fred | May 13, 2008
The new schedule for ABC is now official, and truth be told it looks very much like the old one, that that’s by design. As McPherson said, “We’re returning our dominant core group of shows from last fall. The few openings we had we’ve filled with the kind of quality programming viewers have come to expect from ABC, and we have a very strong bench.”
Full schedule, recap and reactions after the jump!
Mondays
8.00 - Dancing With The Stars (Midseason: the yet untitled Tyra Banks/Ashton Kutcher reality series)
9.30 - Samantha Who?
10.00 - Boston Legal (Midseason: The Bachelor)
Tuesdays
8.00 - Opportunity Knocks
9.00 - Dancing With The Stars Results Show (Midseason: Scrubs followed by The Goode Family)
10.00 - Eli Stone
Wednesdays
8.00 - Pushing Daisies
9.00 - Private Practice
10.00 - Dirty Sexy Money
Thursdays
8.00 - Ugly Betty
9.00 - Grey’s Anatomy
10.00 - Life On Mars (Midseason: Possibly Lost, it’s uncertain for now)
Fridays
8.00 - Wife Swap
9.00 - Supernanny
10.00 - 20/20
Saturdays
Saturday Night College Football
Sundays
8.00 - Extreme Makeover:
9.00 - Desperate Housewives
10.00 - Brothers & Sisters
New Series
- Life On Mars
- Scrubs (from NBC, only one final season)
- The Goode Family (midseason)
Canceled Series
- Big Shots
- Carpoolers
- Cashmere Mafia
- Cavemen
- Miss/Guided
- Notes From The Underbelly
- October Road
- Oprah’s Big Give
- Women’s Murder Club
Renewed Series
- According To Jim (midseason)
- Boston Legal
- Brothers & Sisters
- Desperate Housewives
- Dirty Sexy Money
- Eli Stone
- Grey’s Anatomy
- Lost (midseason)
- Private Practice
- Pushing Daisies
- Samantha Who?
- Ugly Betty
More
Well, that was about what was expected. I have to say that I like it, quite a few things feel right about this schedule. I’m pretty happy that shows like Pushing Daisies or Eli Stone were renewed for a new season, I welcome Scrubs for the final season NBC didn’t want to give the show and its fans, and I honestly won’t really miss any of the ones on the Canceled list, so the only question I would have would be : According To Jim, really ?
I’m curious about how Life On Mars will turn out. ABC really wanted the show, since David E. Kelley could pressure them to bring back Boston Legal for it, but why would the creators of October Road be a “natural fit” for this metaphysical time-travel cop series? One thing for sure, said like that it makes sense to put it in the same slot as Lost, the other metaphysical time-travel ABC series…
Anyways, a few comments from McPherson :
- About the arrival of Scrubs : “Given the fact that it’s been moved 17 times and still doing better than any NBC comedy on Thursday other than The Office… We think it’s really a great addition for us.”
- On Eli Stone being renewed : “In comparison to the big shows we have it’s not particularly expensive. And we just felt like it had a very tough launch amidst the strike without our original programming to really launch it. And creatively we felt like it grew from the beginning to the end of the first 13, so we really feel like it’s got a big up side… We also think we have a better lead-in for it with Dancing With The Stars.” Seeing how that lead-in helped ratings for others in the past like Samantha Who? - named “new #1 sitcom” thanks to its lead-in, I think it’s fair to assume Eli Stone will benefit from this move. If it can grow, and with the “not expensive” comment, there could be more seasons to come…
- On Lost timeslot for next season : ““At this point we still like this 10.00 on Thursday and we could move Life On Mars at that point. But it’s also been a great 9.00 performer and 8.00 performer, so I think some of that quite honestly we have to see how the fall plays out.” Yep, I think the show could do better a bit earlier, too.
Posted in News
Shows: According To Jim, Big Shots, Boston Legal, Brothers & Sisters, Carpoolers, Cashmere Mafia, Cavemen, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Grey's Anatomy, Life On Mars, Lost, Miss Guided, Notes From The Underbelly, October Road, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Scrubs, The Goode Family, Ugly Betty, Women's Murder Club
How can you cancel Women’s Murder Club when it is one of the best written, acted, produced show on TV? You have not given it a chance and you have done nothing to help promote the show or give it some “preview” status. Not everyone wants to see Dancing with the Stars, the bitchy women, sex, et al.