FALL PREVIEW 2013: Sunday

Here is the last day for my Fall Preview - Sunday! Check back later this afternoon for a summary heading into the season! Sunday has the least change of any network which should mean more of the same for the networks.

Past Sunday Previews: 2012   2011   2010

ABC
7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos (25th season)
8:00 Once Upon a Time (3rd season)
9:00 Revenge (3rd season)
10:00 BETRAYAL

ABC is keeping things mostly in tact on Sundays despite troubling spring drops. At 7pm is the always reliable America's Funniest Home Videos amazingly in its 25th season. At 8pm and 9pm are two dramas that were a hot combo last fall but then a duo that experienced troubling drops during the season. Once Upon a Time and Revenge are two of the most important returning shows to ABC and they need them to avoid more slumping. To help, they are two of the many shows that will have an uninterrupted fall run followed by a break and then an uninterrupted spring run after awards season. Once may be able to recover but I think it may be past the point of no return for Revenge. Last year 10pm had two failures: 666 Park Avenue and Red Widow. Many (including me) thought Revenge should move to 10pm and a new drama should launch at 9pm but instead ABC will launch the seductive Betrayal at 10pm. This drama seems to have very little traction going into the season though and it's hard to imagine it doing what 666 and Widow couldn't.

CBS
7:00 60 Minutes (46th season)
8:00 The Amazing Race (23rd edition)
9:00 The Good Wife (5th season)
10:00 The Mentalist (6th season)
CBS is keeping the status quo on Sundays which seems a little surprising since the dramas haven't been able to do much on this night. At the same time, it's incredibly hard to launch a new show on Sundays in the fall with the NFL overruns affecting CBS every other week. So it will be more of the same with 60 Minutes and The Amazing Race likely to be positively impacted by the NFL in the fall. I'm not sure when CBS will decide to shake up this lineup but something tells me this might be the last year in its current form.

NBC
7:00 Football Night in America (8th season)
8:30 Sunday Night Football

It's football again on Sunday night and the results seem to be as good as ever. The plan for now is for new dramas Crisis and Believe to arrive on this night in the spring but I'll believe it when I see it because NBC seems to change its midseason Sunday plans every year (remember it was supposed to be Do No Harm last year).

FOX
7:00 NFL Overrun/The OT/Animated Encores
8:00 The Simpsons (25th season)
8:30 Bob's Burgers (4th season)
9:00 Family Guy (13th season)
9:30 American Dad! (9th season)
FOX has its animated lineup back without the cancelled The Cleveland Show. It is also the final FOX year for American Dad! which will move to TBS next year. Also, The Simpsons is up for another renewal which probably means more contract negotiations with its voice talent. And FOX has animated show Murder Police on deck. All that is to say that this lineup will probably look different at least next year if not before. It will be boosted by the NFL in the fall as usual but it had some troubling numbers in the spring and that may continue. I think it might be time for FOX to rethink this lineup a little bit.

New Sunday Show Survival Chances
Betrayal (ABC) - Poor. I just don't see this show working after a decimated Revenge when 666 Park Avenue and Red Widow couldn't last year. It seems like a swing and a miss for ABC.