ABC joins the creep away from scripted shows

ABC is joining a TV trend — gradually creeping away from scripted series.
Still, it’s doing it in moderation. On the scripted side, the fall schedule — announced today (May 13)– does include:
— One new show, “9-1-1: Nashville.”
— Only one major cancellation, “Doctor Odyssey.”
— And good slots for two successful rookies from this season, “High Potential” (shown here) and Tim Allen’s “Shifting Gears.”
But two other scripted shows, “Will Trent” and “The Rookie,” will wait until mid-season. This fall, only five of the 22 primetime hours will be scripted.
That trend grew in the aftermath of the pandemic and strikes. Scrambling to fill its time, ABC retrieved “Dancing With the Stars” from Disney+, shared some of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” games, added “The Golden Bachelor” and gave Sunday nights to Disney films (except during “Americans Idol” time).
Now those moves have become more permanent. For the first time in 20 year, ABC is listing “Monday Night Football” as an official part of its schedule.
It has “The Golden Bachelor” (even while the original “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” remain on pause) and it has Disney movies, including the network debuts of “Elemental,” “Wakanda Forever,” the third “Guardians of the Galaxy” film and “Avatar: The Way of the Water.”
Schedule shifts are also modest. “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” (now with Ryan Seacrest hosting) takes the 8 p.m. Friday slot, moving “Shark Tank” to 10 p.m. Wednesday. “9-1-1 Nashville” (starring Chris O’Donnell, Jessica Capshaw, LeAnn Rimes and Kimberly Williams-Paisley) will take the same slot (9 p.m. Thursdays) held by “Doctor Odyssey,” which is from the same producer. The schedule:
— MONDAYS: Pro football.
— TUESDAYS: “Dancing With the Stars,” 8 p.m.; “High Potential,” 10.
— WEDNESDAYS: “Shifting Gears,” 8; “Abbott Elementary,” 8:30; “The Golden Bachelor,” 9; “Shark Tank,” 10.
— THURSDAYS: “9-1-1,” 8; “9-1-1: Nashville,:” 9; “Grey’s Anatomy,” 10.
— FRIDAYS: “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” 8 p.m.; “20/20,” 9-11.
— SATURDAYS: College football.
— SUNDAYS: “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” 7 p.m.; Disney movies, 8.
— LATER: “Will Trent,” “The Rookie,” “American Idol,” “Celebrity Jeopardy.”