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”(shwon here) and Tim Allen’s “Shifting Gears.” Read more…
1) “Grey’s Anatomy” season-finale, 10 p.m., ABC. It’s finale time everywhere, including all three ABC shows. There’s “9-1-1” at 8 p.m., “Doctor Odyssey” at 9 and “Grey’s,” wrapping its 21st season. After last week’s festive wedding (shown here), things seem cheerful The interns are ending their first year; then an emergency intervenes. Read more…
While some networks plan a summer snooze, the FX people will offer some counterpoint.
They’ll have major shows in June (“The Bear”), August (“Alien: Earth,” shown here) and September (Ethan Hawke in “The Lowdown”).
All three are produced by FX; two will be on FX and Hulu, with “The Bear” only on Hulu. Details are: Read more…
After decades of expansion, the TV world is throwing itself into reverse.
NBC is now the second network to announce a September schedule with no new scripted shows. Fox had done the same.
For NBC, at least, there are some redeeming steps:
— Two spots remain vacant. In November, they’ll apparently go to new comedies, nestled behind “St. Denis Medical” and “Happy’s Place” (shown here), on Mondays and Fridays.
— Seven scripted shows will return Fox only has two, except for cartoons. Read more…
Maybe it’s a sign of the times … or maybe just a weird year.
But this fall, scripted shows (except for cartoons) will virtually vanish from the Fox network.
Fox has unveiled a line-up with only two such shows — “Murder in a Small Town” (shown here with star Rossif Sutherland) and “Doc.” They’ll be huddled together on Tuesdays; the rest of the week will be awash in games, reality shows, sports and Sunday cartoons. Read more…
1) “Sullivan’s Crossing” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. Last season ended with jolts: Maggie and Cal (shown here) finally admitted they love each other … just as she found she was pregnant by her ex-fiance. Then the diner exploded, after her dad raced in for a rescue. Now — a week later than scheduled, due to a news special — a good episode views the aftershocks. Read more…
“Luckily,” Josh Holloway said, “I grew up poor.”
Well … maybe that’s just semi-lucky. And maybe he was just semi-poor. But it did help prepare him for “Duster” (shown here), the show — from “Lost” producer J.J. Abrams — that starts Thursday (May 15) on Max.
Hollywood has plenty of actors who can sort of fake being small-town, Southern and blue-collar. For Holloway, it should come naturally. Read more…
1) “Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute,” 10 p.m., NBC. Rivers (shown here) carefully catalogued 70,000 jokes on note cards. There were four on Hitler, 34 on Nixon, 866 on Elizabeth Taylor. There were also 218 on death. Now, 11 years after her death at 81, people read from those cards; some (especially Nikki Glaser) add clever bits of their own. Read more…
Can the droll charm of an English village be transformed into an American TV series?
We’ll find out next season, when Fox tries a new version of the “Doc Martin” series. Josh Charles (“The Good Wife,” “Sports Night”) will star as the displaced doctor.
This version will be produced by Ben Silverman, whose best success has been with U.S. versions of overseas hits. That has included “The Office,” “Ugly Betty” and “Jane the Virgin.”
In this case, he’s adapting a show (shown here) that had a thoroughly English flavor: Read more…
1) “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. Here’s a tribute to Gene Hackman, who died in February at 95. He had supporting roles in this film and “Hoosiers” (1986, midnight), both gems. He starred in the bracing “French Connection” (shown here, 1971, 10 p.m.), “Mississippi Burning” (1988, 2 a.m.) and “Night Moves” (1975, 4:15.). Read more…
Best-bets for March 26: sports surge, plus music 
Best-bets for March 25: End is here for “Fear,” near for “Singer” 
Best-bets fo March 24: Doc, Daredevil & 500th “NCIS” 
