ABC Plans Only 2 New Fall Shows

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ABC will introduce only two new series in the fall, one of them scripted, in a schedule the network admits was severely affected by the 100-day TV writers strike, the Associated Press reports.


The new David E. Kelley-produced drama, “Life on Mars,” is about a police detective transported back to 1973. ABC gave it a plum Thursday time slot following “Grey’s Anatomy.” The second new series, “Opportunity Knocks,” is a game where producers show up at a home with a truckload of prizes and quiz family members on what they know about each other.


ABC, which is part of Walt Disney Co., is also picking up the NBC comedy “Scrubs” for midseason. ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson, who has feuded with his NBC counterpart Ben Silverman, noted Tuesday that the comedy had 17 different time slots at NBC and received little promotion.


Mr. McPherson has been bold in the past in bringing forward new shows: ABC had eight last fall. But the strike impaired development. ABC has 17 series in development for midseason or beyond, but Mr. McPherson said he wasn’t comfortable committing to new series unless pilots had been filmed.


“If you needed a ton of development for the fall schedule, the strike would have been a really bad bet,” he said. “You’d have to rush it or put stuff on before you knew what it was.”


Read the full Associated Press story

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