January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Networks set to test ABC's prime-time health
Channel takes a gamble with decision to debut 10 series in the fall
Katie Couric might generate more headlines for her Sept. 5 debut on the CBS Evening News, but ABC's risk-taking will have a greater influence on the season. The many Disney employees will have reason to watch closely how Disney-owned ABC performs.
The television critics' summer press tour, which ended recently after 18 days, provided these snapshots: CBS and Fox look mighty sturdy. NBC seems ready to rebound, thanks to stronger new series and the addition of Sunday Night Football.
But ABC remains a puzzle. That network will offer the strongest new series: Ugly Betty, a delightful comedy with America Ferrera, elicited more positive buzz than any new series. ABC has another strong contender in The Nine, a haunting drama about hostage survivors with Scott Wolf, Chi McBride and Tim Daly.
ABC gave encouraging previews of more new series. Men in Trees, a romantic drama, follows a relationship coach (Anne Heche) who relocates to an Alaska town where men outnumber women 10 to 1. Series creator Jenny Bicks, who wrote for Sex And The City, made a forceful pitch for her new show.
U.S. critics haven't seen Brothers & Sisters, a drama with Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal, Rachel Griffiths of Six Feet Under and Patricia Wettig of thirtysomething. ABC didn't screen the show, which will follow Desperate Housewives on Sundays, because of casting and script changes. The biggest switch: Oscar winner Sally Field is coming aboard as the mother, replacing Broadway star Betty Buckley. But Canadian critics had seen the earlier version and raved about it.
One critic noted that ABC's decision to debut 10 series in the fall probably ensures that the network will have a rough season. Scheduling so many new series has never worked.
"Does that mean I don't have to do the press tour next year?" Steve McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment, shot back.
His gallows humour underscored the many risks that ABC faces. It will start Mondays without football.
It needs Desperate Housewives to rebound from a spotty second season. If it doesn't, viewers will have a strong alternative in CBS' Cold Case.
ABC hopes viewers will follow Grey's Anatomy to Thursdays, where it will face CSI. The network has to keep viewers hooked with the unusual, repeat-free scheduling of Lost: six or seven new episodes in the fall, with the balance airing next year. When Lost is off the schedule, ABC will start Day Break, a 13-week thriller with Taye Diggs. "We know it's an aggressive schedule," McPherson says. "We're rebuilding. We've got a lot of work to do."
No new ABC series from last fall - a crop that included Commander in Chief and Invasion - survived to a second season. With so many new series this season, ABC is almost certain to have more failures than its competition. Its new comedies seem the most vulnerable.
But by swinging for the fences, ABC also gives viewers the most reasons to hope. ABC took major chances two seasons ago, when Lost and Desperate Housewives debuted in the fall (and Grey's Anatomy followed in the spring). ABC needs a repeat of that success story.
The situation is certainly looking up at NBC, which has a roster of promising series. Chief among them are Friday Night Lights, a drama about a high-school football team in Texas, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a backstage drama about a troubled TV show. The latter comes from West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin.
"Our ratings will definitely be better," Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, promises. "I believe we have new series that will emerge as amongst the best on television."
The fall probably will bring more good news to ratings leaders CBS and Fox. CBS has the show that seems the surest bet to be a big hit: Shark, a drama with James Woods as a prosecutor, inherits the post-CSI slot.
Fox is offering Justice, a glossy drama about big-time defense attorneys. Justice will end each week by giving viewers a flashback containing the definitive answer as to whether the defendant committed the crime - a nifty twist on legal programmes.
Keep your eyes on ABC, though, because that's where the juiciest story about the new season will be.[[In-content Ad]]
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