Why This MattersEven in an on-demand era, networks' fall schedules are important for getting viewers to seek out new shows.
In an age where more and more of the viewing public watches what they want when they want, one can't help but wonder about the concept of the broadcast premiere season, when the networks offer up a bunch of shows you've never heard of at specific times, on specific nights.
Andy Kubitz, ABC's executive VP of programming planning and scheduling, likens a network schedule to the Netflix screen suggesting shows you might like, based on what you've watched. Viewers come to ABC because they dig various series, so here are some other ones network brass has curated that watchers might also find to their liking. Our schedule is that tool for us, he said.
While linear viewing remains the ultimate goal, many network executives would be happy just to land a new show on a viewer's DVR in this too-much-TV era. The goal of the schedule these days is, get people to sit up and notice a show, CBS entertainment president Kelly Kahl said. Get them to sample it.
Fall may in fact be the worst time of the year to launch a bunch of new shows. It's hard for the rookies to stand out when the other broadcast networks are doing the same. And all are up against the NFL, which commands live viewing like no other TV property.
But that's how it's done on broadcast TV, and executives there still relish the autumnal scuffle. They're bets you made in late April and early May, and now you get to see how the strategy plays out, Kubitz said. It's exciting.
Our network-by-network fall forecast for the most promising shows follows.
ABC: The Doctor Is In
BIG SWINGS: The Good Doctor, The Mayor
STRATEGY: Shift established series, including Black-ish and Once Upon a Time, to anchor new nights.
While season six of Scandal didn't start until January, its new season kicks off Oct. 5. Airing Thursdays at 9 p.m., Olivia Pope will go head to head with NBC's Will & Grace, among others, in Scandal's final season.
It makes for a juicy battle, Andy Kubitz said. It seems like there are a lot of big players on Thursdays, he said. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
ABC is big-time bullish on The Good Doctor, from David Shore and Daniel Dae Kim and starring Freddie Highmore as an autistic young doctor. It kicks off Sept. 25. Kubitz said it is very much on brand - female-skewing, procedural, smart. It's the medical show we've been looking for for a long time, he said.
The network is laying down heavy promos for The Good Doctor, and its Dancing with the Stars lead-in gives the show a decent chance to pop. Kubitz likened picking the new series with the best chance to shine as choosing between my children, but he's keen on Good Doctor.
Tuesdays feature comedy, with newcomer The Mayor, about an aspiring rapper who ends up as mayor of his town, leading out of Blackish, shifted to Tuesdays to anchor the block.
Wednesdays also feature a comedy block, with American Housewife on a new day, getting Modern Family as a lead-in.
Thursdays are for Shonda Rhimes shows, including Scandal and Grey's Anatomy, which hits episode No. 300 in November. On Fridays, Once Upon a Time will lead into Marvel's Inhumans, the latter debuting Sept. 29, following a run on IMAX screens starting Sept. 1.
Besides its new night, Once Upon a Time has a fresh formula, new characters and a new setting in Seattle. They've come up with an entirely new way to tell the stories, which I think is fantastic, Channing Dungey, ABC Entertainment president, said during the TCA Summer Press Tour.
CBS: New Shows, New Entertainment Chief
BIG SWINGS: Young Sheldon, SEAL Team
STRATEGY: Capitalize on the rabid popularity of Big Bang Theory with a spinoff, land a military drama.
Kelly Kahl spent many a fall as CBS' scheduling wiz. This will be his first as the network's entertainment president, a title the former senior executive VP of primetime inherited when Glenn Geller stepped down in late May.
Kahl said he's paying a little more attention to the creative of each show in his new role. It's fun, he added. It's a new challenge.
60 Minutes starts off its 50th season on Sept. 24, and Young Sheldon, showing The Big Bang Theory's breakout character as a boy, starts up season one a day later, with Big Bang leading in. Comedy Me, Myself and I, starring SNL alumnus Bobby Moynihan, kicks off Sept. 25, too.
SEAL Team, about an elite unit of Navy SEALs, stars David Boreanaz and debuts Sept. 27.
When Thursday Night Football is on the schedule, Mondays will have Big Bang Theory and new comedy 9JKL, which starts Oct. 2. Kahl likens the latter, about a divorced man who finds an apartment between those of his doting parents and his brother, sister-in-law and their baby, to Everybody Loves Raymond.
CBS has the first half of the Thursday football package, and NBC the second. When its football run ends, CBS will have comedies Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Mom and Life in Pieces, then police drama S.W.A.T., on Thursdays. S.W.A.T. debuts Nov. 2.
With timely content and a strong lead-in, Kahl said several rookie shows have a chance to thrive. It's one of our strongest development seasons in a long time, he said.
The CW: Hoping Soaps Draw Female Viewers
BIG SWINGS: Dynasty, Valor
STRATEGY: Lure female viewers with Dynasty and Riverdale on Wednesdays.
The CW's schedule starts up Oct. 9. Mondays feature Supergirl and new drama Valor, about an elite corps of helicopter pilots. Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW, has had the armed forces on the brain for years. I've wanted to do a military drama since I came to the CW, Pedowitz, who came on board in 2011, said.
At The CW's TCA session in early August, Pedowitz
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Why This MattersEven in an on-demand era, networks' fall schedules are important for getting viewers to seek out new shows.
