UPDATE ON THE MONDAY, FRIDAY, AND SATURDAY SCHEDULES.

*Since pilot season is most likely ruined, I have NO new shows on the schedule. (Except Miss/Guided)

Heres My Schedule:
Sunday:
7:00 - America's Funniest Home Videos
8:00 - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 - Desperate Housewives
10:00 - Brothers & Sisters

Monday:
8:00 - Dancing with the Stars
9:00 (When DWTS Goes to 1 Hour) - Miss/Guided
9:30 - Samantha Who?
10:00 - Private Practice

Tuesday:
8:00 - Wife Swap
9:00 - Dancing with the Stars - The Results
10:00 - Boston Legal

Wednesday:
8:00 - Lost
9:00 - Pushing Daisies
10:00 - Eli Stone

Thursday:
8:00 - Ugly Betty
9:00 - Grey's Anatomy
10:00 - Supernanny

Friday:
8:00 - Miss/Guided or According to Jim
8:30 - According to Jim
9:00 - Women's Murder Club
10:00 - 20/20

Saturday:
8:00 - College Football

Cancel: Carpoolers, Men in Trees, Cavemen

I just read where ABC ordered up 13 episodes of a new animated series from the makers of King of the Hill. The new series, called 'The Goode Family' will center around a do-gooder. Hmmm, an animated version of Eli Stone? Maybe someone high up at ABC passed around a memo that ordered people to find something to air that wasn't just about bed hopping.

I'm updating my 2008-09 schedule slightly, based on information on which series will have more episodes this Spring, which will wait until next season, and info on LOST completing as many of its remaining episodes this Spring (and perhaps early Summer) and not pushing back any episodes into Fall. Additionally, I added the new animated show The Goode Family from Mike Judge, creator of King of the Hill, Beavis and Butthead, and one of my all-time favorite movies Office Space. Goode already has a 13-episode order from ABC.

Then I added the most promising pilots/scripts of the upcoming development season, though there are a lot of uncertainties with that process (even more so than usual). Still, I think pilots Life on Mars, Literary Superstar, Section 8, Leap, Boundaries, and Cedric the Entertainer's untitled comedy stand a good chance to be picked up, as should the scripts for Cupid and Damon Wayans' untitled comedy. I also like Limelight, a modern-day Fame about students at a performing-arts school. Its subject matter makes it a natural lead-out of Dancing with the Stars, but with Fall jam-packed with this year's leftovers and other promising pilots, I see Limelight getting a shot following the Spring 09 run of DWTS as a midseason replacement.

So, with that in mind, here's my proposed Fall lineup:

Mondays (Sep - Nov, Mar-May):
8:00 DWTS(90 minutes)
9:30 Samantha Who?
10:00 Private Practice new day/time (would keep Dancing and SW's viewers and strong demo)

Mondays (in Jan - mid-Mar):
8:00 The Bachelor
9:00 Samantha Who?
9:30 Literary Superstar new show
10:00 Private Practice

Tuesdays (Sep - Nov, Mar-May):
8:00 DWTS results
9:00 Women’s Murder Club / Limelight (mid-Mar – May, perfect lead out for DWTS)
10:00 Brothers & Sisters

Tuesdays (in Jan - mid-Mar):
8:00 Dance War/Dance Machine
9:00 Women’s Murder Club
10:00 Brothers & Sisters

Wednesday (Sep –Dec):
8:00 Pushing Daisies
9:00 Life on Mars new show (if you've seen the BBC version you know this is a great show, and it should be a great companion to LOST come January)
10:00 Eli Stone

Wednesday (Jan-May):
8:00 Life on Mars new show (move it up an hour after LOST returns in January)
9:00 LOST (back to its original day and most successful time, allows ABC to anchor another night -- should have 16-18 new episodes for 2009
10:00 Section 8 (my favorite new show/pilot, even though it easily deserves a Fall slot, it can be best launched following LOST in late January)

Creates male and young-demo oriented night that should garner 14-16 million and a 5.0 demo for the night

Thursday:
8:00 Ugly Betty
9:00 Grey's Anatomy
10:00 Cupid (if this is as strong as the Jeremy Piven original, it will succeed here)

Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer new sitcom
8:30 Damon Wayans new sitcom
9:00 The Goode Family animated series
9:30 new comedy (not sure which comedy best fits with animated Goode – I recommend Barry Sonnenfeld’s Buddies, but there may be a better choice. ideally, they should look for a 2nd animated series to pair it up to already committed Goode Family)
10:00 20/20

Create new TGIF comedy block, with traditional family sitcoms at 8pm, and edgier in the 9pm hour.

Saturdays:
College Football, other sports

Sundays:
7:00 AFV
8:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 Oprah’s Big Give/a few 2-hr EM:HE episodes
10:00 Supernanny (always does well in the demo, and with Oprah and EM:HE as lead-ins, this feel-good reality will flourish here, keeping the timeslot warm in the Fall)

The huge success of EM:HE this Winter, especially opposite the Grammys, shows that it can anchor the night for a few months. Oprah’s Big Give will also prove to be a strong success this March, allowing DH to take a breather until January and run straight through till May with no reruns ala LOST, keeping its ratings consistently high and avoiding low rated repeats altogether)

Sundays:
7:00 AFV
8:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 Desperate Housewives (22 consecutive episodes, including a 2-hr premiere and finale)
10:00 Leap (premiere this Goldie Hawn vehicle after DH and run it straight through to May with no reruns)


Therefore, key additional midseason replacement shows would include: Dirty Sexy Money, Boston Legal, Eli Stone, Wife Swap, Boundaries, and game show Wipeout.

By the way, if you want to review ABC's choices of pilots and scripts for the upcoming season, go here: ABC series currently in development for 2008-09 season

Yes, because the ratings on that were so good on Cupid the first time it aired.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Thursday:
10:00 Cupid (if this is as strong as the Jeremy Piven original, it will succeed here)

I'm sure Boston Legal would easily out rate Cupid.

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
Yes, because the ratings on that were so good on Cupid the first time it aired.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Thursday:
10:00 Cupid (if this is as strong as the Jeremy Piven original, it will succeed here)

I'm sure Boston Legal would easily out rate Cupid.

Cupid aired on Saturdays @ 10pm the last time it aired, and ABC was a distant third as a network, with no compatible shows to promote it. If ABC didn't feel it could work this time, they wouldn't have ordered the script -- in fact, in an interview I read they specifically discussed how much they liked the show and that the ABC landscape this time is much more suited for it. But a lot of it will depend on the two leads. I'm not biased against BL by any means, in fact I think I'm being rather objective.

And I'm not biased against Cupid either, because I liked it (and i believe it aired on a weeknight prior to Sat - I think it was Thursday though - which in those days, was equally tough.)

It's just a bit premature to dump Boston Legal at this point since it still is capable of good numbers given the right lead-in. Why dump a sure thing and trade it in for a long shot as all new shows are.

I think they should try Cupid out as a one episode TV Movie and see if it attracts any audience and then commit to something more long term if the audience is there.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
Yes, because the ratings on that were so good on Cupid the first time it aired.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Thursday:
10:00 Cupid (if this is as strong as the Jeremy Piven original, it will succeed here)

I'm sure Boston Legal would easily out rate Cupid.

Cupid aired on Saturdays @ 10pm the last time it aired, and ABC was a distant third as a network, with no compatible shows to promote it. If ABC didn't feel it could work this time, they wouldn't have ordered the script -- in fact, in an interview I read they specifically discussed how much they liked the show and that the ABC landscape this time is much more suited for it. But a lot of it will depend on the two leads. I'm not biased against BL by any means, in fact I think I'm being rather objective.

I agree. I believe ABC shouldn't have to launch more than 2 or 3 new dramas this fall and 2 or 3 comedies.

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
And I'm not biased against Cupid either, because I liked it (and i believe it aired on a weeknight prior to Sat - I think it was Thursday though - which in those days, was equally tough.)

It's just a bit premature to dump Boston Legal at this point since it still is capable of good numbers given the right lead-in. Why dump a sure thing and trade it in for a long shot as all new shows are.

I think they should try Cupid out as a one episode TV Movie and see if it attracts any audience and then commit to something more long term if the audience is there.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
Yes, because the ratings on that were so good on Cupid the first time it aired.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Thursday:
10:00 Cupid (if this is as strong as the Jeremy Piven original, it will succeed here)

I'm sure Boston Legal would easily out rate Cupid.

Cupid aired on Saturdays @ 10pm the last time it aired, and ABC was a distant third as a network, with no compatible shows to promote it. If ABC didn't feel it could work this time, they wouldn't have ordered the script -- in fact, in an interview I read they specifically discussed how much they liked the show and that the ABC landscape this time is much more suited for it. But a lot of it will depend on the two leads. I'm not biased against BL by any means, in fact I think I'm being rather objective.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer new sitcom
8:30 Damon Wayans new sitcom
9:00 The Goode Family animated series
9:30 new comedy (not sure which comedy best fits with animated Goode – I recommend Barry Sonnenfeld’s Buddies, but there may be a better choice. ideally, they should look for a 2nd animated series to pair it up to already committed Goode Family)
10:00 20/20

Create new TGIF comedy block, with traditional family sitcoms at 8pm, and edgier in the 9pm hour.

ABC already tried to get this night going 3 or 4 years ago with comedies that were probably better than these (GLo, Life with Bonnie, Hope and Faith, 8 Simple Rules, Less than Perfect). Better off renewing Women's Murder Club and finding a procedural for 8pm to pair with it.

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer new sitcom
8:30 Damon Wayans new sitcom
9:00 The Goode Family animated series
9:30 new comedy (not sure which comedy best fits with animated Goode – I recommend Barry Sonnenfeld’s Buddies, but there may be a better choice. ideally, they should look for a 2nd animated series to pair it up to already committed Goode Family)
10:00 20/20

Create new TGIF comedy block, with traditional family sitcoms at 8pm, and edgier in the 9pm hour.

ABC already tried to get this night going 3 or 4 years ago with comedies that were probably better than these (GLo, Life with Bonnie, Hope and Faith, 8 Simple Rules, Less than Perfect). Better off renewing Women's Murder Club and finding a procedural for 8pm to pair with it.

You know what, I agree -- I was actually going to come in and change this Friday lineup yesterday but didn't have time. I think launching 4 brand new comedies is going to be difficult if not impossible without an established hit sitcom or two, and ABC currently doesn't have any. I still believe they need to find room for the 2 family sitcoms and the animated series, which they've already picked up for 13 episodes.

But for Friday, I agree about keeping WMC at 9pm, although I'd love to see it tried out after DWTS: Results at some point (perhaps when/if it comes back this Spring).

So perhaps the compromise is my original Friday lineup:

Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer
8:30 Damon Wayans
9:00 Women's Murder Club
10:00 20/20

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer new sitcom
8:30 Damon Wayans new sitcom
9:00 The Goode Family animated series
9:30 new comedy (not sure which comedy best fits with animated Goode – I recommend Barry Sonnenfeld’s Buddies, but there may be a better choice. ideally, they should look for a 2nd animated series to pair it up to already committed Goode Family)
10:00 20/20

Create new TGIF comedy block, with traditional family sitcoms at 8pm, and edgier in the 9pm hour.

ABC already tried to get this night going 3 or 4 years ago with comedies that were probably better than these (GLo, Life with Bonnie, Hope and Faith, 8 Simple Rules, Less than Perfect). Better off renewing Women's Murder Club and finding a procedural for 8pm to pair with it.

You know what, I agree -- I was actually going to come in and change this Friday lineup yesterday but didn't have time. I think launching 4 brand new comedies is going to be difficult if not impossible without an established hit sitcom or two, and ABC currently doesn't have any. I still believe they need to find room for the 2 family sitcoms and the animated series, which they've already picked up for 13 episodes.

But for Friday, I agree about keeping WMC at 9pm, although I'd love to see it tried out after DWTS: Results at some point (perhaps when/if it comes back this Spring).

So perhaps the compromise is my original Friday lineup:

Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer
8:30 Damon Wayans
9:00 Women's Murder Club
10:00 20/20

See I say Tuesdays at 9 for the 2 sitcoms with another procedural on Fridays at 8. Find something that can compete with Ghost Whisperer and that is maybe slightly more male skewing. I mean CSI was launched on this night so why wouldn't it work again?

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer new sitcom
8:30 Damon Wayans new sitcom
9:00 The Goode Family animated series
9:30 new comedy (not sure which comedy best fits with animated Goode – I recommend Barry Sonnenfeld’s Buddies, but there may be a better choice. ideally, they should look for a 2nd animated series to pair it up to already committed Goode Family)
10:00 20/20

Create new TGIF comedy block, with traditional family sitcoms at 8pm, and edgier in the 9pm hour.

ABC already tried to get this night going 3 or 4 years ago with comedies that were probably better than these (GLo, Life with Bonnie, Hope and Faith, 8 Simple Rules, Less than Perfect). Better off renewing Women's Murder Club and finding a procedural for 8pm to pair with it.

You know what, I agree -- I was actually going to come in and change this Friday lineup yesterday but didn't have time. I think launching 4 brand new comedies is going to be difficult if not impossible without an established hit sitcom or two, and ABC currently doesn't have any. I still believe they need to find room for the 2 family sitcoms and the animated series, which they've already picked up for 13 episodes.

But for Friday, I agree about keeping WMC at 9pm, although I'd love to see it tried out after DWTS: Results at some point (perhaps when/if it comes back this Spring).

So perhaps the compromise is my original Friday lineup:

Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer
8:30 Damon Wayans
9:00 Women's Murder Club
10:00 20/20

See I say Tuesdays at 9 for the 2 sitcoms with another procedural on Fridays at 8. Find something that can compete with Ghost Whisperer and that is maybe slightly more male skewing. I mean CSI was launched on this night so why wouldn't it work again?

I think those shows would work Tuesdays @ 9pm provided that they follow DWTS: Results. However, ABC is really thin on procedurals for the upcoming season, in either pilots or even scripts. The only one that remotely sounds like a procedural is an untitled drama from Rob Lowe and Alison Cross about an anti-stalking unit in the LA police dept. I don't know about you, but anti-stalking doesn't sound too exciting to me, or sustainable as a long-term series. And I'd hate for a show like that to be picked up when there's a ton of other better shows to chose from (many of which I mentioned above). The only other one that may be a procedural is JJ Abrams' Boundaries, about a cable-access psychologist who has to take a job as a "mobile notary" -- not even sure what a mobile notary is, but for some reason I'm envisioning a Monk-like show. If that's the case, then it could work, but I really have no idea if that's what Boundaries is right now.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:
Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer new sitcom
8:30 Damon Wayans new sitcom
9:00 The Goode Family animated series
9:30 new comedy (not sure which comedy best fits with animated Goode – I recommend Barry Sonnenfeld’s Buddies, but there may be a better choice. ideally, they should look for a 2nd animated series to pair it up to already committed Goode Family)
10:00 20/20

Create new TGIF comedy block, with traditional family sitcoms at 8pm, and edgier in the 9pm hour.

ABC already tried to get this night going 3 or 4 years ago with comedies that were probably better than these (GLo, Life with Bonnie, Hope and Faith, 8 Simple Rules, Less than Perfect). Better off renewing Women's Murder Club and finding a procedural for 8pm to pair with it.

You know what, I agree -- I was actually going to come in and change this Friday lineup yesterday but didn't have time. I think launching 4 brand new comedies is going to be difficult if not impossible without an established hit sitcom or two, and ABC currently doesn't have any. I still believe they need to find room for the 2 family sitcoms and the animated series, which they've already picked up for 13 episodes.

But for Friday, I agree about keeping WMC at 9pm, although I'd love to see it tried out after DWTS: Results at some point (perhaps when/if it comes back this Spring).

So perhaps the compromise is my original Friday lineup:

Fridays:
8:00 Cedric the Entertainer
8:30 Damon Wayans
9:00 Women's Murder Club
10:00 20/20

See I say Tuesdays at 9 for the 2 sitcoms with another procedural on Fridays at 8. Find something that can compete with Ghost Whisperer and that is maybe slightly more male skewing. I mean CSI was launched on this night so why wouldn't it work again?

I think those shows would work Tuesdays @ 9pm provided that they follow DWTS: Results. However, ABC is really thin on procedurals for the upcoming season, in either pilots or even scripts. The only one that remotely sounds like a procedural is an untitled drama from Rob Lowe and Alison Cross about an anti-stalking unit in the LA police dept. I don't know about you, but anti-stalking doesn't sound too exciting to me, or sustainable as a long-term series. And I'd hate for a show like that to be picked up when there's a ton of other better shows to chose from (many of which I mentioned above). The only other one that may be a procedural is JJ Abrams' Boundaries, about a cable-access psychologist who has to take a job as a "mobile notary" -- not even sure what a mobile notary is, but for some reason I'm envisioning a Monk-like show. If that's the case, then it could work, but I really have no idea if that's what Boundaries is right now.

What is that Life on Mars like? It sounds like a detective series that maybe would work on Fridays.

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

What is that Life on Mars like? It sounds like a detective series that maybe would work on Fridays.

It is a detective series, but it also has a sci-fi element to it, as the leading character somehow either traveled to the past in the 1970s, or is in some sort of coma after an accident or something to that effect. I think it's too strong of a show to land on Fridays, and I think pairing it with LOST would be much better.

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

What is that Life on Mars like? It sounds like a detective series that maybe would work on Fridays.

It is a detective series, but it also has a sci-fi element to it, as the leading character somehow either traveled to the past in the 1970s, or is in some sort of coma after an accident or something to that effect. I think it's too strong of a show to land on Fridays, and I think pairing it with LOST would be much better.

Well seeing how everything around Lost dies I'm not sure that's the best slot for it. Perhaps Tuesdays at 10 if BL gets shipped to Friday to die (a strong possibility). I could also see it going before Lost on Tuesdays at 9 or even getting paired with Pushing Daisies somehow. I don't see Lost returning til January next year. I hope ABC does pick up some of this stuff that will bring in different viewers for a change. A good strong procedural would do them a lot of good. Aren't the CSI's produced by ABC?

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

quote:

Originally posted by Chimera:

quote:

Originally posted by mushu_jj:

What is that Life on Mars like? It sounds like a detective series that maybe would work on Fridays.

It is a detective series, but it also has a sci-fi element to it, as the leading character somehow either traveled to the past in the 1970s, or is in some sort of coma after an accident or something to that effect. I think it's too strong of a show to land on Fridays, and I think pairing it with LOST would be much better.

Well seeing how everything around Lost dies I'm not sure that's the best slot for it. Perhaps Tuesdays at 10 if BL gets shipped to Friday to die (a strong possibility). I could also see it going before Lost on Tuesdays at 9 or even getting paired with Pushing Daisies somehow. I don't see Lost returning til January next year. I hope ABC does pick up some of this stuff that will bring in different viewers for a change. A good strong procedural would do them a lot of good. Aren't the CSI's produced by ABC?

I have it following Pushing Daisies on Wednesdays from Sep-Dec, then moving up to lead-off the night and make room for LOST to follow it in January.