The bold move is needed, as the network as a whole has limited bragging rights. Its previous Wednesday and Thursday winning nights are cooling with age. Good Morning America is taking regular assaults from NBC's improving Today Show. Its daytime lineup is taking a hit as The View, General Hospital and The Chew are being trounced for challenged by competing networks. And despite critical acclaim, Jimmy still sits in 3rd place behind Colbert and Fallon on CBS and NBC. Seeing 1st place again is unlikely as the network has been removed from the NFL rotation since 2006. But a respectable 3rd Place is a distinct possibility, or even 2nd place. Aside from Sundays, the network is sprucing up other problem evenings.
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
March 15 marks the season finale of How to Get Away With Murder. Convenient timing, as March 22 expands Shondaland with Grey's Anatomy's second spinoff, Station 19, which makes a hearty 2-hour premiere at 9:00. My the time episode 3 hits on March 29, it will resume Scandal's 9:00 timeslot, and Scandal will end its 7th and final season in the 10:00 timeslot, where it was housed from its 2012 inception to 2014.
SUNDAY
Shark Tank bowed out weeks ago and will return next season. Sunday, March 11 moves America's Funniest Home Videos back to 7:00 where it has delivered solid for majority of its run. 8:00 houses 2 hours of friendlier American Idol, and 10:00 launches new procedural drama Deception.
What Works And Doesn't
American Idol's revival has been met with praise and criticism on the flip of a dime. However, Sundays are deserted and viewers may enjoy a kinder version with queen of sweet, Katy Perry, and king of soul, Lionel Richie. Deception holds mixed reviews, yet the Sunday 10:00 timeslot has housed procedurals with fleeting success in the past. Ratings are unlikely to fire above the 3.0 mark but will mark gains for the network.
Roseanne is a heavily-hyped and well-promoted revival. It too is a surefire debut in strong territory. But look at Will & Grace. It debuted at 3.0 in September, settling between 1.7-2.0 for 2017's remaining schedule. Recent weeks have the series sliding down to a 1.0, tying fellow sitcom Superstore. Either way, it will register in a higher range on this site's Weekly Sitcom Scorecard. The same success may not be handed to critically-acclaimed Splitting Up Together, which is housed in the dreaded 9:30 timeslot with a weakened Blackish as its lead. The network has evidently not learned its lesson stacking the deck against new series by punishing them with this timeslot. Let's hope the star prowess of Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson reverses these trajectories, as both headlined top-10 sitcoms in the 2000's. It also helps it will debut away from NBC's powerhouse This is Us.
For the People unfortunately is predicted to be the network's spring dud. Another legal drama, this series stars Britt Robertson and sits in a timeslot ABC has failed to successfully colonize since they axed Boby of Proof in 2013. Let's hope Nielsen shows this series a little love, as Britt Robertson's prior vehicle Girlboss shows a visually appealing series is not a guarantee to renewal. Alex, Inc holds endless possibilities, especially as its lead in, The Goldbergs, has been regularly beating Modern Family and broke its 9-year unprecedented run as the network's leading sitcom. That indeed makes a desirable lead-in worthy of the talents of sitcom giant Zach Braff.
Grey is certainly a trendy color to decorate with in the 2010's, so how fitting ABC's highest-rated scripted drama is Grey's Anatomy. That can increase the odds for spinoff Station 19 to succeed. This design is brilliant, as the network needs a suitable replacement for Scandal.
Is ABC Following The Same Pattern from Its Victorious Spring 1988 Renaissance?
ABC appears to be doing the same to its roster this season, focusing on repairing ailing or damaged evenings. Tuesdays and Sundays need maintenance, and the network is looking at restructuring its sitcoms so the genre will live on into the 2020's. Can the network save face for the remainder of the season? Check out the Ratings History from 1987-88. The network was in 3rd place for the prior three seasons and managed to push CBS down to 3rd place for the first time ever by the conclusion of the season.