Tag / Shonda Rhimes

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ABC Upfronts

ABC is shaking up their lineup this fall, with changes on every night save Thursday.  The week gets off to a familiar start with Dancing With The Stars, followed by The Good Doctor, a new medical drama about an autistic country doctor who moves to the big city.  Seriously.  The Tuesday night comedies get switched around somewhat, with black-ish moving over from Wednesdays, followed by The Mayor, about a young wrapper looking for his big break.  The night ends with The Gospel of Kevin, starring Jason Ritter, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, and J. August Richards.

Wednesday stays mostly the same, with American Housewife moving over from Tuesdays to take black-ish‘s place.  Thursdays stay exactly the same, with the three Shondaland shows remaining in place.  A revamped Friday kicks off with Once Upon A Time, which will be losing most of its main cast, followed by Marvel’s Inhumans, the most recent attempt to make the Inhumans happen.  Sunday goes mostly reality, with To Tell The Truth and Shark Tank moving over.  The night ends with Ten Days In The Valley, a new drama about a producer whose daughter goes missing.

Agents of SHIELD will take over for The Inhumans on Fridays after 8 weeks and Quantico will return at some point for an abbreviated 3rd season.  Also on the bench for mid-season are The Crossing, a drama about war refugees from America, Deception, about a magician who turns to the FBI which is in no way similar to The Mentalist, and For The People, about a set of new lawyers trying to find their way.  Comedies include Alex Inc, based on a podcast, and Splitting Up Together, starring Jenna Fischer.

Cancelled shows never to be seen again are The Real O’Neals, Imaginary Mary, The Catch, Dr. Ken, Last Man Standing, American Crime, Secrets and Lies, Time After Time, Notorious, and Conviction.

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ABC Upfronts

agents_of_shield_bannerLots of changes coming this fall on ABC, as the network announced their upcoming schedule this week.  4 shows that I’ve been watching, Castle, The Muppets, Agent Carter, and the summer series Rookie Blue, were given the heave ho, leaving lots of holes in their, and my, schedule.

Conviction, a new legal drama starring Agent Carter star Hayley Atwell, moves in to the post-Dancing With The Stars slot on Monday vacated by Castle.  Tuesday sees the network expand their comedy block to two hours, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. moving back to the 9pm hour.  Minnie Driver stars in the new comedy Speechless, airing before Modern Family on Wednesday.  Following Black-ish comes Designated Survivor, a new drama starring Kiefer Sutherland as the new President after a devastating attack on Washington DC.

Thursday gets some new blood, thanks to Scandal star Kerry Washington’s pregnancy, in the form of Notorious, a sexy legal drama starring Piper Perabo and breaking Shonda Rhimes stranglehold on the night, at least until the spring.  Friday nights stay exactly the same, as do Sundays.  Saturday is still left for college football.

The mid-season slate, aside from the returning Scandal, looks uneventful.

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ABC Upfronts

agentcarterThe biggest surprise about ABC’s schedule for this fall’s television season is how stable it is from this spring.  4 out of the 7 nights remain untouched, and only one returning show is moving to a new time slot.  In case you are wondering, this is relatively unheard of here in the 20th century.

Monday remains the same as it has been for years, with Castle following the latest installment of Dancing With The Stars.  Tuesdays start off with the return of the Muppets starring in The Muppets.  Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD returns at its current time slot, followed by the new FBI drama Quantico.

Wednesday nights also remain unchanged, with Modern Family continuing to anchor the night.  Thursdays will continue to belong to Shonda Rhimes, thanks to Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder.  Former Community and The Hangover star Ken Jeong gets his own sitcom, Dr. Ken, which will air on Fridays.  Sundays will air 2 new dramas following the returning Once Upon A Time.

Agent Carter will return at mid-season, once again filling in for her present day SHIELD contemporaries.

Obviously, The Muppets are the most exciting of the new shows.  I’m also likely to give Dr. Ken a shot.  Beyond that, nothing here seems too spectacular.

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2014 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 11th season with a move to an earlier timeslot.  There are cast changes aplenty this year, so hopefully the show can continue its recent quality upswing.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in late October, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

Bones – The show moves back to Thursdays for its 10th season.  Beyond that, there’s not much to say about the show that hasn’t already been said.

8:00

Gracepoint – FOX hopes that taking a successful British mystery, Broadchurch, and remaking it for an American audience while keeping the same star, David Tennant, will make lightning hit twice.

8:30

A to Z – The pilot didn’t exactly reach out and grab me, but star Cristin Milloti, fresh from her turn as the titular mother in the final season of How I Met Your Mother, is exceedingly charming, so I will give this a longer chance to impress.

9:00

Elementary – Sherlock and Watson return for a third season of helping the NYPD solve their cases. Continue reading →