Finally, here are my midseason suggestions for ABC! I recently also made suggestions for FOX, NBC, and CBS.
It has been an OK fall for ABC. None of their new shows are setting the world on fire though Dr. Ken has been quite consistent and Quantico had a strong start but has fizzled a bit. Some of their much older shows including Grey's Anatomy, Last Man Standing, and The Middle have been among the most impressive. The biggest problems are at 10pm where Castle and Nashville are dying, Wicked City was an instant bomb, and How to Get Away with Murder is on a troubling sophomore slide. ABC has several shows, new and returning, in the hopper and they had some tentative plans but I think they need to make some adjustments to the original plans.
MONDAYS
(Jan)
8:00 The Bachelor
10:00 Secrets and Lies
(Mar)
8:00 Dancing with the Stars
10:00 American Crime
We all know that The Bachelor will bridge the two Dancing with the Stars seasons as always. But it's time for Castle to leave this slot. It has stayed here years longer than it should have and the wheels have come off recently. It's time for it to go. I don't see any new midseason drama that would jump out to me as a replacement so I'd go with season two of Secrets and Lies for midseason and the critically acclaimed American Crime once Dancing returns. Both are anthologies so it'd almost be like launching new shows but with a name we already know. I think this would be a great spot for Secrets since it kept rising last season, albeit slowly. And American Crime has to go somewhere, why not here? I can't imagine it doing much worse than Castle already is.
TUESDAYS
(Jan)
8:00 The Muppets
8:30 Fresh Off the Boat
9:00 Marvel's Agent Carter
10:00 Castle
(Mar)
8:00 Fresh Off the Boat
8:30 The Real O'Neals
9:00 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
10:00 Castle
I think I'd stick with the original comedy plan at 8pm... see if Fresh Off the Boat can do better at 8pm after a year than it did last spring and launch The Real O'Neals when The Muppets ends its 16 episode season. Marvel's Agent Carter can fill in for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. again. As for 10pm, cancel Wicked City before Christmas and bring Castle to this night. Nothing works at 10pm and Castle isn't working on Mondays. At least give new or newer shows a chance to succeed. Don't stick something else in this slot.
WEDNESDAYS
8:00 The Middle
8:30 The Goldbergs
9:00 Modern Family
9:30 Black-ish
10:00 (Jan) Beyond the Tank/(Mar) Nashville
I think it'll be time to break up this lineup and launch new comedy blocks elsewhere next season but I'd leave it in tact for the rest of this season. I'd have Beyond the Tank bridge the gap for Nashville.
THURSDAYS
8:00 Grey's Anatomy
9:00 Scandal
10:00 (Jan) How to Get Away with Murder/(Feb) The Catch
TGIT needs to have a stronger spring and that may be accomplished with The Catch, another Shonda show. With How to Get Away with Murder having a hard time this fall, I'd try to end it slightly earlier than last year. Maybe double pumping it a couple times to save Scandal to help launch The Catch?
FRIDAYS
8:00 Last Man Standing
8:30 Dr. Ken
9:00 Shark Tank
10:00 20/20
The Friday comedy hour is working well so I'd leave it alone and save Uncle Buck for summer or perhaps very late spring. Shark Tank is slipping but it's still Friday's top draw in the demo.
SUNDAYS
(Jan)
7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos
8:00 Galavant
8:30 Galavant
9:00 Of Kings and Prophets
10:00 Of Kings and Prophets
(Mar)
7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos
8:00 Once Upon a Time
9:00 The Family
10:00 Quantico
I'm not really sure what to do with Sundays. January and February are such a problem because of competing against awards seasons and major sports events. So I'd use that time to get through Galavant and Of Kings and Prophets. Then after the Oscars, I would bring back Once Upon a Time and Quantico and bridge them with the promising The Family.
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