ABC announced its 2011-2012 schedule on Tuesday (May 17) morning, shortly before its upfronts presentation to advertisers.
The busy new schedule includes four new dramas — “Missing,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Pan Am” and “Once Upon a Time” — for fall, plus three new comedies, including a pair — “Last Man Standing” and “Man Up” — in a new Tuesday “Man” hour of comedy.
As befits a network with a wide assortment of programming holes, plus a new executive at the helm in Paul Lee, ABC’s full fall and spring schedule for the season actually includes a whopping 13 new shows and several returning shows — “Cougar Town” and “The Bachelor” in particular — that aren’t on the initial September premiere schedule.
“We”re thrilled to be launching a really diverse and ambitious schedule that balances the strength and stability of our returning hits with a slew of bold new shows,” states ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee.
ABC’s schedule starts with a stable Monday, the week’s only totally untouched night, with “Dancing with the Stars” leading into “Castle.”
Tuesday will kick off with the Tim Allen comedy “Last Man Standing,” leading into the ensemble “Man Up.” “Dancing with the Stars” results and “Body of Proof.” ABC will pair “Cougar Town” and the new comedy “Apartment 23” in a 9 p.m. comedy block when “Dancing” completes its season.
With “Better with You” canceled and “Cougar Town” held for midseason, ABC is keeping “The Middle” and “Modern Family” steady as hour-starters and the new comedy “Suburgatory” and the returning midseason offering “Happy Endings” sliding into the vacant half-hour slots. The “Count of Monte Cristo”-tweaking drama “Revenge” will air at 10 p.m.
ABC has struggled with the Thursday 8 p.m. hour and actually found some stability this spring with “Wipeout.” The network is trying scripted again in the fall with its reboot of “Charlie’s Angels.” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” remain unmoved, because why would ABC attempt to use the waning years of “Grey’s Anatomy” to launch a new series?
In a rare big shift of an established show, ABC is moving “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to Fridays at 8 p.m. leading into “Shark Tank” and “20/20.”
And after years of familiar Sunday scheduling, ABC has shaken things up with the new dramas “Once Upon a Time” and “Pan Am” taking the 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. hours between “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “Desperate Housewives.”
Then stay tuned for midseason, where ABC has dramas including “Missing,” “The River,” “Missing,” “Good Christian Belles,” “Work It” and the aforementioned “Apartment 23.”
ABC”s fall primetime schedule is as follows (all times listed are Eastern); new shows are in bold:
MONDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
10:00 p.m. “Castle”
TUESDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Last Man Standing”
8:30 p.m. “Man Up”
9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”
10:00 p.m. “Body of Proof”
WEDNESDAY:
8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “Suburgatory”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Happy Endings”
10:00 p.m. “Revenge”
THURSDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Charlie”s Angels”
9:00 p.m. “Grey”s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Private Practice”
FRIDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
10:00 p.m. “20/20”
SATURDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night College Football”
SUNDAY:
7:00 p.m. “America”s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “Once Upon a Time”
9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”
10:00 p.m. “Pan Am”