Why This Matters: Even in a world of on-demand TV, viewers still mark their calendars for TV's new fall season.The Fall Season is nearly here. Fall means football on TV, and on a field near you school back in session and fresh seasons for the television graybeards, among them ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW.
The fall TV season may seem archaic in the age of subscription video-on-demand, where series launch year round, and amidst broadcasters' own talk of premiering series in all corners of the calendar. Yet broadcast's reach remains massive, and a robust fall premiere not only gives a show a good shot to make it on the network, but a chance to land large in the streaming aftermarket.
Linear launch is the starting line, NBC Entertainment president of program planning, strategy and research Jeff Bader said. There is no finish line anymore.
As much as the modern viewer likes watching a series whenever the heck they want, many tune in because a network tells them when the show is on, and plan their schedules Tuesdays at 9 p.m.! accordingly.
Here's a peek at each of the Big Five networks how they're addressing the new season, which nights are commanding their focus, and which rookie shows have the best chance to pop.
ABCs "The Conners"
ABC: Start Week With Unscripted Sundays
BIG SWINGS: The Conners, The Kids Are Alright
STRATEGY: Build a 10 p.m. hit, launch no-script Sundays, bring back comedic Fridays.
The Conners commences Oct. 16, and all eyes are on it to see if it can post Roseanne-esque ratings. To be fair, the show was only announced in late June, without, of course, its namesake star, who was done in by a racist tweet and a no-excuses network.
The Conners does have John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert. ABC is optimistic about the show, Andy Kubitz, executive VP, programming strategy, ABC Entertainment, said. We wouldn't put it on the schedule if we didn't think it would be great.
Other debutant shows include dramas The Rookie, with Nathan Fillion as an older police trainee in Los Angeles; A Million Little Things, about a group of friends coming to terms with an unexpected death; and comedies The Kids Are Alright, about an Irish-Catholic family in the '70s, and Single Parents, about a group of adults who lean on each other as they raise their children. Kubitz calls Single Parents the closest thing to Modern Family.
It's a good amount of new stuff, but ABC can hatch a rookie smash it launched The Good Doctor a year ago.
The network's Sunday strategy is unique, with an unscripted block that includes Dancing with the Stars: Juniors, Shark Tank and The Alec Baldwin Show. The last sees Baldwin sit with some of the more intriguing personalities around the globe.
He's got a very unique and interesting interview style, Kubitz said. It's the information age, and people want to get to know and learn about and understand people.
Before we get to unscripted Sundays, there is TGIF the return of ABC's branded Friday funnies block. It premieres Oct. 5 and features Fresh Off the Boat, Speechless and Child Support. Fridays are time for families to plop down and watch some television together, Kubitz said.
CBSs "Murphy Brown"
CBS: What's Old Is New Again
BIG SWINGS: Murphy Brown, Magnum P.I.
STRATEGY: Refashion vintage shows for a contemporary audience
Most networks are betting on rebooted shows to bring back at least some of their former magic, but few are betting bigger than CBS. Magnum P.I., with Jay Hernandez as the intrepid private eye, still driving a Ferrari but this time with no moustache, starts Sept. 24. Murphy Brown, with Candice Bergen reprising her news anchor role, premieres Sept. 27.
CBS has long taken pride in a stable schedule, and the rebooted shows offer I.P. that viewers know and mostly like.
In terms of truly new programs, Dick Wolf's FBI, about investigators in the bureau's New York office, starts Sept. 25; and comedies The Neighborhood, with Cedric the Entertainer as a Los Angeles resident who's not enamored of his friendly (and white) new neighbor, and Happy Together, with Damon Wayans Jr. as a nerdy accountant who has a pop star move in with him and his wife, roll in Oct. 1.
Stepping off the stage at the end of the season is the long-serving audience favorite The Big Bang Theory. That may bring a bump in ratings for season 12. We expect some excitement, probably more so at the beginning, and ramping up to the last episode, Kelly Kahl, CBS Entertainment president, said. But it's the No. 1 comedy I don't know that there is a ton of room to go up.
Sept. 24 has the season premieres of Big Bang and Young Sheldon. The Magnum P.I. and Bull debuts follow. Monday is a key focus for CBS. Monday wasn't getting us where we need to be, said Kahl of last season.
The buildup for the high-profile reboots has been good, according to Kahl. He said of Magnum: I expect interest early on to be high. If the show delivers, I expect people to stick around.
The CWs "Charmed"
The CW: Taking Back Sundays
BIG SWINGS: Charmed, All American
STRATEGY: Stick its flag on Sundays with Super-girl and Charmed
The CW's six-days-a-week schedule starts in October, as the network takes over Sunday nights, nine years after it gave them to its affiliates. The CW is looking to make a Sunday splash, offering one of its most established shows, Supergirl, and a buzzy newbie, Charmed, on that day, starting Oct. 14.
CW president Mark Pedowitz said the new Charmed, debuting a dozen years after the original went off the air, mixes elements of the earlier show while offering a contemporary view of today's world. The show, about three sisters who are witches, offers a multicultural cast. I believe that, if fans of the old Charmed give this one a chance, Pedowitz
