FALL PREVIEW 2018: Thursday

Check below this post for my review of I Feel Bad!

Here is my Fall Preview for Thursday!

ABC
8:00 Grey's Anatomy (15th season)
9:00 Station 19 (2nd season)
10:00 How to Get Away with Murder (5th season)

Despite Shonda Rhimes' defection to Netflix, ABC is going with TGIT and all Shonda shows again on Thursday nights perhaps for the final time. Grey's Anatomy leads off the night as usual, entering its 15th season. It is followed by spinoff Station 19 which had a so-so run in the spring but will be given another chance to try to become the heir apparent to Grey's. It no longer has to deal with that other fire show on Thursday nights, but it's going to need to start to find its own audience. At 10pm is How to Get Away with Murder in the only slot it has ever known. The plan for now is for it to give way to For the People in the spring.

CBS
8:00 The Big Bang Theory (12th season)
8:30 Young Sheldon (2nd season)
9:00 Mom (6th season)
9:30 MURPHY BROWN
10:00 S.W.A.T. (2nd season)

CBS is keeping four of their five shows from last season in place on Thursday nights. The fifth show is one of the more anticipated shows: the revival of Murphy Brown. At 8pm is the final season of The Big Bang Theory. TV's top sitcom for years, it will leave a giant hole in the CBS lineup next year but they can enjoy it for one final ride and probably some very strong ratings as the finale nears. It is followed by spinoff Young Sheldon, which was the top rated new show of last season. It could be the successor to Big Bang as the Thursday lead-off if it has a good season. At 9pm is Mom, which was one of the few broadcast shows to go up in the ratings last season. The revival of Murphy Brown follows in the 9:30pm slot. This does not seem like it will set the world on fire like the Roseanne revival did in the spring and I don't think it will even reach the heights of the Will & Grace revival's early episodes last fall. But I am a little less down on it than I was a few months ago because the promotion has been relentless and there could be more curiosity than I originally believed. At 10pm is the second season of S.W.A.T. and it could benefit if Murphy surprises.

NBC
8:00 Superstore (4th season)
8:30 The Good Place (3rd season)
9:00 Will & Grace (2nd season)
9:30 I FEEL BAD
10:00 Law & Order: SVU (20th season)

NBC is sticking with comedies on Thursday night with 3/4 of the comedy block returning. Superstore and The Good Place return to the 8pm hour. Superstore always seems to do better in the fall but it's usually competing with football instead of The Big Bang Theory for several weeks. The Good Place has had a solid two seasons and is widely regarded as one of the best shows on broadcast TV. At 9pm is the Will & Grace revival, which is already renewed for next season. It was a big ratings success last fall but fell quite a bit as the season wore on. I don't know that it can recapture the magic. It leads into new comedy I Feel Bad, which got a preview after America's Got Talent last night. Already one of the more panned new shows, this sitcom will be a tough sell with what could be a weak lead-in. At 10pm is the record-tying 20th season of Law & Order: SVU, moving after many years on Wednesday nights. The veteran drama should be a self-starter in the 10pm hour and it might need to be. Unless it crashes and burns this season, it will break the record for longest running drama series in TV history.

FOX
8:00 Thursday Night Football
FOX won the bidding rights to Thursday Night Football with a five year deal. This is part of the network's general move towards sporting events, live events, and animation, which is being billed as "new FOX." Of course it will be the top performer on Thursday nights, but in general Thursday Night Football does not pull in the ratings that football can on Sundays. The plan for now is for season two of The Orville to take one of the hours in January.

CW
8:00 Supernatural (14th season)
9:00 LEGACIES

The CW is going with a supernatural theme on Thursday nights. Supernatural returns for its 14th season and it is still a centerpiece to the CW schedule. It has really had an impressive run that it doesn't always get credit for, probably because of its network. It has not succeeded in launching a spinoff despite two attempts however, including this past pilot season. So instead of a Supernatural spinoff, we get one from the universe of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. Those two shows have ended in recent years, but now we get a sequel. I just don't think this is necessary and I think people are kind of over the vampire era. It's not 2009 anymore.

New Thursday Show Survival Chances
Murphy Brown (CBS) - Good. I was more down on this show this spring. Maybe the hype is getting to me but I'm starting to believe people are more excited for Murphy Brown than I originally thought. I still think it will only be a modest performer but I think it will do enough to get a second season.

I Feel Bad (NBC) - Poor. I am very down on this show. I don't see it being any sort of upgrade on last year's 9:30pm entries: Great News and Champions. It might even be worse.

Legacies (CW) - Poor. I just don't see any desire for a new teen vampire show. I think Legacies will suffer from what it is about more than the quality of the show. I just don't think the CW will be able to find an audience for it.