Revealing what is being dubbed the ‘most strike-proof’ slate of the three announced by broadcast networks during the upfronts, U.S. broadcast network ABC is betting heavily on unscripted fare for its TV schedule for the back half of this calendar year.
The result is a slate populated almost entirely by either dating competition or game shows, which aren’t impacted by the writer’s strike. In fact, the ONLY scripted fare on this Fall will be reruns of “Abbott Elementary” and a “Wonderful World of Disney” movie on Sunday nights.
Monday sees “Dancing With the Stars” return for a two-hour block, followed by “The Bachelor” spin-off series “The Golden Bachelor”, which involves contestants in their retirement years.
Tuesdays it’s “Celebrity Jeopardy!” and the younger-skewing “Bachelor in Paradise”. Wednesdays have court reality show “Judge Steve Harvey” and hidden camera series “What Would You Do?” alongside the aforementioned ‘Abbott’ repeats.
Thursday is a game show line-up with “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” “Press Your Luck,” and “The $100,000 Pyramid”. Friday, its long-running business competition series “Shark Tank” and news show “20/20”. Weekends remain the same as usual, with College Football on Saturdays and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on Sundays.
It’s expected ABC’s scripted shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” new “Abbott Elementary,” “The Conners,” and the recently acquired from FOX “911” will launch midseason.
The slate comes as FOX won’t reveal its line-up, CBS stuck to one that will proceed as usual, whilst NBC is mixing already filmed scripted series along with some unscripted titles.
Source: THR
