Not Dead Yet has lived up to its title: ABC has renewed Gina Rodriguez’ rookie sitcom for a second season. The network, as expected, also picked up The Conners for a sixth season, while punting a decision on remaining bubble shows Home Economics and The Rookie: Feds until “a later date.” On the unscripted side, ABC on Tuesday renewed America’s Funniest Home Videos (for Season 34), American Idol (for Season 7 on ABC and a 22nd season overall), The Bachelor (for Season 28), Bachelor in Paradise (for Season 9), Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (for Season 4), Celebrity Jeopardy! (for Season 2) and Shark Tank (for Season 15).
ABC’s breakout comedy Abbott Elementary will move to a new night — and a prime location on the network’s schedule — in the fall. The show will anchor the network’s Wednesday comedy block, moving into the 9 p.m. slot. ABC’s lineup to start the 2022-23 season will feature a pair of new dramas in The Rookie: Feds and the Hilary Swank-led Alaska, along with a Celebrity Jeopardy game show on Sunday nights. The network is also making a big bet on Bachelor in Paradise, which will air on both Monday and Tuesday nights — replacing the Disney+-bound Dancing With the Stars on Mondays.
NBC is opting for a pretty stable on-air schedule heading into the 2022-23 season — while also emphasizing the cross-platform availability of its programming. The most notable change is the addition of a one-hour comedy block on Friday nights featuring the new multi-camera Lopez vs. Lopez (above).
Fox Entertainment CEO Charles Collier said that the network was trying a “new approach” and giving equal weight to its Tubi streaming service by not outlining where its shows will air in the fall. By not announcing a schedule Monday, the kickoff to the week where broadcast networks unveil their plans in flashy New York presentations, Fox has the flexibility to adjust its schedule depending upon what its competitors do. Above: Michael Chiklis as Dr. Scott Corbett in a scene from the new crime anthology series Accused.
NBC has set fall premiere dates for some of it scripted series, with This Is Us and all three Chicago series to return in November. NBC, like many of the other broadcast networks, will kick off its fall season with an unscripted- and import-heavy schedule next month as scripted series begin get back into production after delays caused by the pandemic. Though previously announced for a fall premiere, the Christopher Meloni-led SVU spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime will be held until 2021
CBS has reshuffled its early fall schedule with a mix of acquisitions, scripted series from other areas of the company and non-scripted programming as it deals with the ongoing impact of COVID-19. he broadcast network is adding Star Trek: Discovery, One Day At A Time and Spectrum’s Manhunt: Deadly Games as well as a documentary spin-off of FBI to the schedule in September and October.
Exclusives
The CW has unveiled its fall schedule, which consists mostly of acquired shows alongside the end of its longest-running original series.
PBS shared its programming plans for the upcoming months as part of a virtual Television Critics Association presentation. Paula Kerger, PBS president and CEO, noted that PBS turns 50 in October. She called it a “wrenching time” in our nation. “We are committed to leveraging the unique strengths of public television to enable meaningful change,” Kerger said.
Black-ish has been moved back up for a fall premiere, taking the place of the new Kari Lizer comedy Call Your Mother. Black-ish will now air at 8:30 p.m. following The Goldbergs, with American Housewife moving to 9:30 p.m. The Conners and Stumptown remain at 9 and 10 p.m., respectively.
In what is perhaps television’s most COVID-19-proof schedule for 2020-21, Fox’s MyNetworkTV is welcoming back an array of off-net staples and adding even more Dateline and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Unlike its corporate siblings at the Fox broadcast network, which is contending with coronavirus on the live sports and primetime fronts, MyNetworkTV has long been rooted in off-net syndicated fare. Seven of its 10 primetime hours a week are derived from uber-producer Dick Wolf, himself a rock of stability in an otherwise fragmenting broadcast landscape.
