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ABC
Sunday
7:00 - America's Funniest Home Videos
8:00 - Once Upon a Time
9:00 - Quantico
10:00 - Conviction
Monday
8:00 - Dancing with the Stars
10:00 - Designated Survivor
Tuesday
8:00 - Blackish
8:30 - Imaginary Friend
9:00 - Marvel's Most Wanted
10:00 - Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Wednesday
8:00 - The Middle
8:30 - The Goldbergs
9:00 - Modern Family
9:30 - Family Show
10:00 - Murder Town
Thursday
8:00 - Grey's Anatomy
9:00 - Scandal
10:00 - How to Get Away with Murder
Friday
8:00 - Last Man Standing
8:30 - Dr. Ken
9:00 - Shark Tank
10:00 - 20/20
Analysis-
While Once Upon A Time is no longer doing outstanding numbers, it's locked for at least one more season in its current slot. If Quantico moves up an hour to fill the 9pm void left by a trail of flops, the new legal drama Conviction (from Quantico's production company) can take the 10pm slot.
Castle seems to be out of fuel and ABC really needs new blood to take advantage of Dancing with the Stars' lead-in on Mondays. The new Kiefer Sutherland project, Designated Survivor seems like it could be buzzy and appealing to a wide demographic.
The Middle and The Goldbergs are too dynamic to be messed with at the moment. Blackish is the one noticeable weak link of the Wednesday comedy block. As such, I think it moves to Tuesday to help establish a comedy hour that ABC is really trying to make happen. Imaginary Friend comes from the creators of The Goldbergs, a comedy that's doing very well for the network, and being a live action/CGI breed could lead well into a proposed 9-11 block of Marvel's Most Wanted and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I think AoS won't act as a lead-in to the spinoff because it isn't strong enough to be a launching pad. We have seen with NBC's Chicago Med/Chicago Fire duo that launching a new show before its mothership can work. Even though the Marvel shows wouldn't have a comparable The Voice lead-in, if the comedy block can average mid 1s, I think this would work fine.
On the new Wednesdays, I think Family Show premieres post-Modern Family. One of Modern Family's executive producers, Danny Zuker, is heading the project. The show is a fictional look behind the scenes of a family sitcom. It being a singlecam and from someone within the Modern Family mindset makes me think it would have a good chance of thriving at 9:30. At 10, I think Nashville is out and a new drama makes its way in. I assume it will be something soapy to follow suit with the trend in that slot. I think Murder Town, starring Jada Pinkett-Smith would be perfect. Jada plays the first African American District Attorney of Wilmington, Delaware. There's murder, racially-charged cases, and a complicated protagonist in Pinkett-Smith's character. It's totally in ABC's wheelhouse, especially with the network's focus on diversity and strong female characters.
Thursdays obviously work wonders for ABC, and the Friday line-up is doing OK. I'm suspicious about the idea of Dr. Ken's longevity, but that's a concern for another day.
CBS
Sunday
7:00 - 60 Minutes
8:00 - Madam Secretary
9:00 - Doubt
10:00 - Elementary
Monday
8:00 - 2 Broke Girls
8:30 - Mom
9:00 - Scorpion
10:00 - NCIS: Los Angeles
Tuesday
8:00 - NCIS
9:00 - NCIS: New Orleans
10:00 - Limitless
Wednesday
8:00 - Survivor
9:00 - Criminal Minds
10:00 - Section 13
Thursday
8:00 - The Big Bang Theory
8:30 - Talk Nerdy to Me
9:00 - Untitled Kevin James Comedy
9:30 - Life In Pieces
10:00 - Training Day
Friday
8:00 - The Amazing Race
9:00 - Hawaii Five-0
10:00 - Blue Bloods
Analysis-
CBS could make a lot of changes to improve their schedule, but I'm unsure of how many they will make in one season. I think Tuesdays and Fridays remain the same for some consistency.
Sundays can lose The Good Wife and CSI: Cyber, and in doing so, I think Elementary will retire to to the 10pm slot for another season or two and a new drama will premiere at 9 behind Madam Secretary. The legal drama Doubt seems like a solid contender with Katherine Heigl attached to star. On Mondays, I think The Big Bang Theory and the Untitled Kevin James Comedy air for a few weeks from 8-9 before moving to Thursdays. Then, 2 Broke Girls and Mom move in to lead into Scorpion and NCIS: Los Angeles. If Angel From Hell does surprisingly well this season, then an alternative would be to air Mom at 8 and Angel from Hell at 8:30, with 2 Broke Girls on the midseason bench (13 episodes) or cancelled in May 2016.
On Wednesday, I think Tom Welling could return to television with his CIA-centric drama, Section 13. It's possible Criminal Minds could move to 10 and a drama like Section 13 premieres at 9, but I sense CBS might be a bit conservative here.
I think the new Untitled Kevin James Comedy will act as a much-needed second staple for CBS Thursdays if his post-King of Queens show is embraced by audiences. Talk Nerdy to Me can work thematically post-The Big Bang Theory, and I think CBS tries to make Life In Pieces happen at 9:30, no longer with the TBBT lead-in it was lucky to have this season. 10pm needs a new drama, since Elementary has occupied that slot for the past four years to very low numbers. I'm giving it to Training Day, which is based on a hit movie and was competitively scooped up by CBS amidst plenty of interest.
FOX
Sunday
7:30 - Bob's Burgers
8:00 - The Simpsons
8:30 - Son of Zorn
9:00 - Family Guy
9:30 - Champion: The Jeff Beekman Story
Monday
8:00 - Gotham
9:00 - Through My Eyes
Tuesday
8:00 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine
8:30 - New Girl
9:00 - Scream Queens
Wednesday
8:00 - Think Like A Man
8:30 - My Friend 50
9:00 - Empire
Thursday
8:00 - Star
9:00 - Julianne Hough Dance Drama Project
Friday
8:00 - Masterchef Junior
9:00 - Rosewood
Analysis-
Oh, FOX, what a mess you are. The mess that they're in makes their situation the most difficult to try to fix. Therefore, this is the schedule I'm most up in the air about.
I think Brooklyn Nine-Nine is kicked from Sundays and the animated/live-action comedy Son of Zorn moves in, along with the baseball-themed Champion: The Jeff Beekman Story. I think FOX would be smart to keep a straightforward animated block from 7:30-9 and sandwich Son of Zorn in there, and Champion can air at the tail end with the Family Guy lead-in.
On Mondays, Through My Eyes could be a companion for Gotham. It's from the creator of Almost Human, is defined as a horror/thriller, and has supernatural elements. It seems like something FOX would want for its themed Monday nights, if they intend to keep that up after Almost Human, Sleepy Hollow, and Minority Report.
Since Brooklyn Nine-Nine is probably slightly stronger than New Girl at this point, which we'll officially see when they return, I think B99 will open up Tuesday nights with New Girl and Scream Queens following in the fall. Sadly, FOX doesn't have many options for what they bring back and Scream Queens, despite massively failing to meet the lofty expectations, is a legitimate contender for a pity renewal. FOX seems to defend it and Ryan Murphy, so I expect it back at least for 13-15 episodes.
My idea for Wednesdays is perhaps a long shot, but I think it would be interesting for FOX to try a comedy hour leading into Empire. My theory for this is that while Empire is classified as a drama and has serious storylines, it's also humorously soapy. As evidenced by social media activity, people seem to like it because of the outlandish characters (particularly, Taraji Henson's "Cookie") and the colorful, exaggerated circumstances. I don't think it's a reach for the Empire audience to enjoy comedies. As the Think Like a Man movies have been hits, I think the TV series adaptation in development, produced by Steve Harvey, Will Packer and Tim Story, could be a minor success for FOX if there's a fan base to be tapped into. 50 Cent and Will Packer's My Friend 50 comedy could follow, which centers on a girl who believes she must become part of 50 Cent's entourage in order to solve her problems. While 50 Cent supposedly would only recur, the talent behind the camera could have the influence needed to get FOX to make this happen. Also, it ties into Empire with a somewhat loose, music-related storyline.
Lee Daniels' anticipated Star drama is effectively happening. I think it takes the 8pm slot on Thursdays to act as a lead-in to the Julianne Hough Dance Drama Project. While it doesn't sound like Hough will star in the dance show, its proposed themes about the trials of taking on the dance world replicate what Daniels is trying to do with Star and the singing world.
NBC
Monday
8:00 - The Voice
10:00 - Taken
Tuesday
8:00 - The Voice
9:00 - The Good Place
9:30 - Untitled Tina Fey/Robert Carlock Comedy Project
10:00 - Chicago Med
Wednesday
8:00 - Shades of Blue
9:00 - Law & Order: SVU
10:00 - Chicago PD
Thursday
8:00 - The Blacklist
9:00 - Blindspot
10:00 - Chicago Fire
Friday
8:00 - Emerald City
9:00 - Grimm
10:00 - Dateline
Analysis-
I believe Blindspot should move to Thursdays. NBC hasn't been able to cultivate a solid Thursday line-up for some time, especially with comedies and new dramas, but I feel that they could with The Blacklist leading off the night at 8, Blindspot at 9, and Chicago Fire capping the night at 10. It would be a big move for both Blindspot and Chicago Fire, but NBC Thursdays can't expect to get much better otherwise.
With Blindspot removed from Mondays, the new Taken prequel series can get NBC's best light. It's based on a hit trilogy of movies, it hails from Universal Television, it's been given a straight-to-series order, and it has an executive producer of Showtime's Homeland set to write, produce, and act as showrunner. Following in the footsteps of similar action/investigative fare in The Blacklist and Blindspot, I think this would be a natural pick for NBC Mondays.
I can see NBC trying comedy again in the fall, even though they have had very little luck in recent outings. However, like the 2015 fall season, I see only two comedies airing. While it might seem unlikely for NBC to abandon all current comedies on the fall schedule (notably, Undateable and The Carmichael Show) in exchange for my proposed Tuesday 9-10 block of new singlecams, I think the option would still be open for NBC to order one or both of the previously mentioned multicams for midseason 2017 if they want. Frankly, Undateable, despite airing on Fridays, is in no place to carry a comedy block. I have some faith in The Carmichael Show, but I also have an overwhelming sense that it doesn't carry its weight in the spring either.
For those reasons, I think NBC tries The Good Place and the Untitled Tina Fey/Robert Carlock Comedy Project on Tuesdays after The Voice. This might be a disastrous plan, once again, since comedies have really been rejected in that timeslot, but these projects are high profile and, in my opinion, won't see Fridays unless they tank. The former is created by Michael Shur, a co-creator of Parks & Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and has been ordered straight-to-series with 13 episodes. NBC seemingly has a lot of confidence in it. The latter hails from the minds of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, who have obvious successes under the belt, most recently with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Since that one moved to Netflix and had critical and, supposedly, commercial success (it's hard to tell, but a second season was ordered anyway), I think NBC might make this next one happen directly on their network. One look at Schur and Fey/Carlock's work and it's evident that these two projects will likely be compatible.
I see Shades of Blue being at least a minor success. I see a premiere in the high 1s, and then it settles around 1.3-1.4. That might seem hopeful, but it has a high profile cast and, while The Blacklist isn't an incredible lead-in, it's decent and thematically consistent. If it's renewed, I think NBC should add it into its Women Crush Wednesdays line-up. It's too soon to tell if it's "too dark" for 8pm, but I think that's becoming less and less of a concern these days, as far as what you can find on television at 8:00. A line-up of Shades of Blue, Law & Order: SVU, and Chicago PD could be a decent fix for Wednesdays over previous 8pm opener The Mysteries of Laura.
Once upon a time, NBC ordered a show called Emerald City straight-to-series with 10 episodes. Then, it rescinded that order. Then, it decided to rescind the decision to rescind that order. While it has been widely expected to premiere in Spring 2016, it will now be pushed to Fall 2016. In place of the failed Friday comedy hour, I see Emerald City taking 8pm and leading into the final season of Grimm.
THE CW
Monday
8:00 - No Tomorrow
9:00 - Jane the Virgin
Tuesday
8:00 - The Flash
9:00 - Friday the 13th
Wednesday
8:00 - Arrow
9:00 - Supernatural
Thursday
8:00 - DC's Legends of Tomorrow
9:00 - Transylvania
Friday
8:00 - The Vampire Diaries
9:00 - The Originals
Analysis-
With little hope of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend squeezing out a second season renewal on The CW, I think No Tomorrow fills the 8pm slot leading into Jane the Virgin. It is an hourlong comedy (check), it is the brainchild of an exec. producer and co-exec. producer of Jane the Virgin (check), it's from CBS TV Studios (check), and it is a romantic comedy based on a Latin American format like Jane the Virgin (checkkk!). Seems like a winner (to get the slot, not necessarily ratings-wise).
Friday the 13th is also from CBS TV Studios, which is big for CBS because The CW has a lot of WB projects dominating the partnered-network. Clearly, the movie franchise upon which the show is based has been a goldmine with all its sequels churned out over the years. This seems like it could have the potential to yield the network's biggest lead-in, The Flash.
On Thursdays, I think DC's Legends of Tomorrow will provide a decent lead-in to the new series Transylvania. It comes from executive producers of CBS' successful summer series Zoo, which lends some probability to the chances of another project making its way to the screen. The show centers on monsters and villains and detectives, which seems up The CW's alley, currently.
Wednesdays and Fridays stay put.
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And, that's all. Let me know your thoughts! And, if you read all the way through to the end of this post, then: move over Jeff Beekman, [insert your name here] is the real champion.