FALL PREVIEW 2018: Monday

Here is my Fall Preview for Monday, a night with a major overhaul on CBS and smaller changes on every other network except ABC.

ABC
8:00 Dancing with the Stars (27th edition)
10:00 The Good Doctor (2nd season)

For years, it was Dancing with the Stars and Castle on this night. When they finally cancelled Castle, they misfired with Conviction two years ago. But last year, ABC struck gold with The Good Doctor. The medical drama was hot out of the gate and gave ABC a desperately needed solid new procedural drama. This lineup remains in tact for 2018-19. Dancing with the Stars will give way to The Bachelor and then presumably American Idol since it is down to just one cycle per year now. The Good Doctor only makes 18 episodes a year so they will try something else at some point in the spring and hope it goes better than last year's The Crossing.

CBS
8:00 THE NEIGHBORHOOD
8:30 HAPPY TOGETHER
9:00 MAGNUM P.I.
10:00 Bull (3rd season)

CBS Mondays was a growing disaster last year so they have completely revamped the night with three new shows and a transplant from Tuesdays. The centerpiece to the night is the new Magnum P.I. The reboot of the classic 1980s show is in the 9pm slot and getting the most fall promotion from the Eye network this side of Murphy Brown. It will likely need to be somewhat of a self starter because the lead-ins are gambles. Two new comedies take the 8pm hour: The Neighborhood and Happy Together. I guess they can't really do much worse than the comedy lineup was doing towards the end of last season, but it's still a tall order for two new sitcoms to start off a night. CBS is waiting a week to launch them to give Magnum a lead-in from special episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon. At 10pm is Bull, moving over to Mondays after two years at 9pm Tuesdays. This seems like a quick downgrade for a show that was holding its own in a difficult slot. CBS must be hoping it has a transition to this slot more like NCIS: Los Angeles and less like Scorpion.

NBC
8:00 The Voice (15th edition)
10:00 MANIFEST

Another year, another new drama that follows The Voice. This time, it is Manifest, a show that has gotten tons of promotion from NBC but can't seem to escape the inevitable comparisons to Lost. Airing after The Voice used to pretty much guarantee some level of success but recent shows like Timeless and especially The Brave have not been as successful. So, Manifest is a crapshoot at best. I think best case scenario is like Blindspot: hot out of the gate but then cooling down. Worst case scenario is it's another The Brave. As for The Voice, it is past its point of being a major powerhouse but it can still get eyeballs, especially for the early episodes.

FOX
8:00 The Resident (2nd season)
9:00 9-1-1 (2nd season)

FOX is going with two of their four sophomore dramas on Monday nights. This is not a bad lineup, but I don't understand why it's not the other way around. 9-1-1 was a surprise hit last year and should be leading the night off to help The Resident. The Resident wasn't a big hit, but showed some promise and could probably benefit from returning to its same slot with a better lead-in. But instead, new FOX has The Resident leading things off and heading into 9-1-1. 9-1-1 should fine, but it's a tall order for The Resident.

CW
8:00 Arrow (7th season)
9:00 DC's Legends of Tomorrow (4th season)

The CW is consolidating its superhero shows a bit with Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow both on Mondays now. Originally, the timeslots were switched when CW announced its fall schedule but they have since decided to put Arrow at 8pm and Legends at 9pm. Arrow seems to be fading quickly after being a hit for the CW for years. It might be the first DC show to go if the trend continues. Legends has been a steadier show but could be hurt from a weak Arrow as a lead-in.

New Monday Show Survival Chances
The Neighborhood (CBS) - Fair. I think CBS is going to give these Monday comedies a chance and this one seems a little more broadly appealing. I think it might do enough by low Monday standards.

Happy Together (CBS) - Poor. I'm a little more down on this show than The Neighborhood because I think CBS might have a quicker hook with this one if they feel it's hurting Magnum P.I.

Magnum P.I. (CBS) - Good. I don't think this is a game changer for CBS but I do think it's the next show to join the CBS syndication factory, perhaps it will be on Fridays in a few years.

Manifest (NBC) - Fair. This is one of the tougher shows to predict this fall for me. I could see it being an improvement over The Brave, but I could also see it rejected by viewers who just see it as another Lost.