ABC is sticking to a fairly traditional fall rollout, announcing premiere-week returns on Tuesday for top shows like “Modern Family,” “Scandal” and “Once Upon a Time” while kicking off “Dancing With the Stars” a bit early and giving new drama “Forever” a special Monday launch.
“Dancing” kicks off the Alphabet’s fall with a Sept. 15 bow (one week before the start of the season) that will enable it to avoid going head-to-head with the premieres of CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” NBC’s “The Voice” and Fox’s “Gotham.”
One week later, “Dancing With the Stars” is followed by a special sneak preview episode of new drama “Forever,” starring Ioan Gruffudd as an immortal crime-solver. It will go up against the season premiere of NBC’s “The Blacklist” and the season finale of CBS’ “Under the Dome.” “Castle” makes its return on Sept. 29.
“Forever” then bows in its regular Tuesday 10 o’clock the next night. That same Tuesday will also see the second-season premiere of “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” at 9 p.m., where its competition will include the series premiere of “NCIS: New Orleans.”
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ABC won’t premiere new Tuesday comedies “Selfie” and “Manhattan Love Story” until the third week of the season (Sept. 30), instead airing special “Dancing With the Stars” results show in the 8 o’clock hour.
The net’s Wednesday and Thursday lineups, including new comedy “Blackish” and drama “How to Get Away With Murder,” roll out during premiere week with regular-duration episode. ABC has aired expanded episodes of some of its top series on these nights in recent years, but is playing it straight this time around.
Also bowing intact during premiere week is the Sunday drama lineup, with “America’s Funniest Home Videos” returning the following week (Oct. 5).
On Fridays, “Shark Tank” and “20/20” premiere on Sept. 26, with the former opening with a two-hour episode. “Last Man Standing” follows a week later with a one-hour season premiere, and newbie “Cristela” comes aboard on Oct. 10.
ABC FALL PREMIERE DATES
Monday, September 15
8:00-10:00 p.m. “Dancing With the Stars”
Monday, September, 22
10:00-11:00 p.m. “Forever” (Special Sneak Preview)
Tuesday, September 23
9:00-10:00 p.m. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “Forever” (Regular Time Period Premiere)
Wednesday, September 24
8:00-8:30 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30-9:00 p.m. “The Goldbergs”
9:00-9:30 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30-10:00 p.m. “black-ish”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “Nashville”
Thursday, September 25
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
9:00-10:00 p.m. “Scandal”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “How to Get Away With Murder”
Friday, September 26
8:00-10:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “20/20”
Sunday, September 28
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Once Upon a Time”
9:00-10:00 p.m. “Resurrection”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “Revenge”
Monday, September 29
10:00-11:00 p.m. “Castle”
Tuesday, September 30
8:00-8:30 p.m. “Selfie”
8:30-9:00 p.m. “Manhattan Love Story”
Friday, October 3
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Last Man Standing”
9:00-10:00 p.m. “Shark Tank” (Regular Time Period Premiere)
Sunday, October 5
7:00-8:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
Friday, October 10
8:30-9:00 p.m. “Cristela”
