It has come to this. ABC is embracing more diversity, especially making Shonda Rhimes “president of Thursday Night” and having people of color in various starring roles. That’s good. After watching the Communitys and Breaking Bads of the world, the upcoming ABC lineup is filled with pablum. Uh oh.
ABC’s big move is the Thursday night Rhimes-a-rama with Grey’s Anatomy at 8, Scandal at 9, and new drama How to Get Away with Murder at 10. The Alphabet is hoping uprooting the veteran shows won’t disrupt their audiences.
On the comedy front, Tuesday at eight will showcase two rom-coms, Selfie and Manhattan Love Story. I got the gist of what’s happening for both shows after watching their trailers. Selfie is a 2010s take on My Fair Lady starring Karen Gillan and John Cho while Manhattan Love Story rips an idea from the Mel Gibson movie, What Woman Want, but just applies the mind-reading abilities to the two main characters. Both shows would’ve much better off as movies. Either they’ll have excellent supporting casts or they could be a chore to sit through week after week.
Watch all the ABC 2014-15 trailers (Variety.com).
Nostalgia trip The Goldbergs will air after The Middle. Blackish, starring Anthony Anderson, has the plum post-Modern Family slot. I had so much trouble trying to process the show from their trailer. Featuring an upper middle class family, Blackish aims to reflect on the “new” Black experience, but it’s really only a slice.
Meanwhile, I don’t know whether Middle America will watch the hijinks of a Hispanic woman working in a law firm between a Tim Allen sitcom and the capitalist love-fest Shark Tank. Therefore, Cristela may be the second-most likely ABC sitcom to fail in Fall 2014.
Overall, I’m not that excited, but Thursday nights should boost ABC from the quagmire they’ve been in recently.
Grades:
* Dramas: B
* Comedies: C
* Schedule: B
ABC Fall 2014 Schedule:
MONDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
10:00 p.m. “Castle”
TUESDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Selfie”
8:30 p.m. “Manhattan Love Story”
9:00 p.m. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
10:00 p.m. “Forever”
WEDNESDAY:
8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “The Goldbergs”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Black-ish”
10:00 p.m. “Nashville”
THURSDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
9:00 p.m. “Scandal”
10:00 p.m. “How to Get Away with Murder”
FRIDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Last Man Standing”
8:30 p.m. “Cristela”
9:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
10:00 p.m. “20/20”
SATURDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night Football”
SUNDAY:
7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “Once Upon a Time”
9:00 p.m. “Resurrection”
10:00 p.m. “Revenge”