ABC joins the no-new-shows trend

TV networks are shedding one of their grandest traditions — the debut of big-deal shows each fall.
Today (May 12), ABC announced a schedule with zero new shows. That comes a day after Fox did the same.
Add in CBS and NBC (three apiece) and you still have only six new shows this fall. In the old days, there would be 20-plus.
The flip side is that current shows keep surviving. ABC says this is the first time in its history that it has renewed all of its scripted shows. That includes “R.J. Decker” (shown here) that debuted in March.
To do that, it has many wait for mid-season. That includes a comedy (Tim Allen’s “Shifting Gears”) and three dramas (“High Potential,” “Will Trent” and “The Rookie”), plus “The Bachelor” and “Bachelor in Paradise.”
Also waiting will be the only new show scheduled. That’s “The Rookie North,” which moves the “Rookie” concept to less-populous turf.
In the aftershocks of Covid and two strikes, ABC began shifting. It took back two of its previous shows — “Monday Night Football” and “Dancing With the Stars,” now sharing them with ESPN and Disney+, respectively. And it made Sundays a movie night, sometimes called “Wonderful World of Disney.”
By mid-season, however, football and “Dancing” disappear, opening five hours of its schedule. This is the second straight year that “Will Trent” and “The Rookie” must wait.
(Last season, “High Potential” got the hour behind “Dancing With the Stars.” This year, that goes to “R.J. Decker,” a private-eye show that debuted in March.)
The outlook for new shows mid-season is also light. Fox and NBC each announced three such shows; CBS has one, with the possibility of a second.
ABC’s only one is from the “Rookie” producer, taking the same concept — a middle-age man, unhappy with his life, faces a crisis that propels him toward police work.
The original series has Nathan Fillion, now 55, and the Los Angeles Police Department. The new one stars Jay Ellis, 44, formerly of “Insecure” and lately of two streaming shows — “Running Point” and “All Her Fault.” He’s policing a county that ranges from the urban coast to lonely, wooded areas. Janet Montgomery (“New Amsterdam”) co-stars. The schedule:
— Mondays: Pro football.
— Tuesdays: “Dancing With the Stars,.” 8 p.m.; “R.J. Decker,” 10.
— Wednesdays: “Scrubs,” 8 p.m.; “Abbott Elementary,” 8:30; “Celebrity Jeopardy, 9; “Shark Tank,” 10.
— Thursdays: “9-1-1,” 8 p.m.; “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.; “Wonderful World of Disney” movies (starting with “Inside Out 2”), 8.