ABC this fall: new doctor, few comedies

ABC will fix any doctor shortage this fall. Its comedy gap, however, keeps growing.
The network’s “The Good Doctor” wraps its seventh and final season next Tuesday (May 21). But “Doctor Odyssey” will arrive in the fall, sharing Thursdays with “Grey’s Anatomy” and “9-1-1.”
But comedies? “Abbott Elementary” (shown here) will be all alone, surrounded by non-fiction on Wednesdays. One comedy (“Not Dead Yet”) has been canceled; another (“The Conners”) will wait until mid-season for its final season.
Lots of other shows will be with it. “Will Trent” and “The Rookie” will have 18-episode seasons, but will be waiting with “The Conners” and several reality shows.
ABC will have two new scripted shows this fall: “High Potential,” from Drew Goddard (an Oscar-nominee for his “Martian” script) has Kaitlin Olson as a crime-solving mom. “Doctor Odyssey” (from “9-1-1” producer Ryan Murphy) has Joshua Jackson heading a small medical team on an ocean liner; Don Johnson also stars.
But its fall schedule also has several of the makeshift steps that ABC used during the pandemic and the strikes, when it plundered shows from ESPN, Disney+ and the Disney movies. Now it will again:
— Share “Dancing With the Stars” with Disney+. That will be 8-10 p.m. Tuesdays.
— Share some of the “Monday Night Football” games with ESPN. So far, there’s no word on how many … or what will be there on other nights.
— Return Sundays to being “Wonderful World of Disney.” That was already set to be a movie night this summer, letting game shows (usually on Sundays) move to weekdays.
For the fall, many games and reality shows will be in reserve. “American Idol” generally waits until late winter; others are “The Bachelor” and celebrity versions of “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,” plus “What Would You Do?” Also, Reese Witherspoon is producing (but not hosting) a new version of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
But two unscripted shows will debut in the fall, surrounding “Abbott” on Wednesdays.
“Scamanda,” from ABC News, is a documentary series about a popular blogger with a secret. “The Golden Bachelorette” has a senior citizen, not yet chosen, seeking love.
The latter is in the style of “Golden Bachelor,” which had big ratings, a marriage and then sudden jolts – discrepancies in the bachelor’s life story and then news that he had filed for divorce, just three months after marriage. The schedule:
— MONDAYS: Football (some weeks, with alternatives pending).
— TUESDAYS: “Dancing With the Stars,” 8 p.m.; “High Potential,” 10.
— WEDNESDAYS: “The Golden Bachelorette,” 8 p.m.; “Abbott Elementary,” 9:30; “Scamanda,” 10.
— THURSDAYS: “9-1-1,” 8 p.m.; “Doctor Odyssey,: 9; “Grey’s Anatomy,” 10.
— FRIDAYS: “Shark Tank,” 8 p.m.; “20/20,” 9-11.
— SATURDAYS: College football.
— SUNDAYS: “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” 7 p.m.; “Wonderful World of Disney” movies, 8.