ABC is keeping things stable next fall, making only a handful of tweaks to a schedule that mostly looks similar to last year’s lineup. That means just one new series has been added to the mix so far — “9-1-1: Nashville,” which will easily slide into the Thursday 9 p.m. slot behind mother ship “9-1-1.”
“Our strategy over the past few years has to been really focused on launching just a few shows every year, and it’s borne out,” said Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group, pointing to the success last season of freshmen “High Potential” and “Shifting Gears,” and before that, “Will Trent.”
“We don’t want to make a lot of moves, because I think it can be confusing, and it really works against focus and stability. So we were able really platform a few shows. ‘9-1-1: Nashville’ obviously will be a big priority for us.”
“9-1-1: Nashville” will take the spot previously held by another Ryan Murphy series, “Doctor Odyssey.” But Erwich said that show hasn’t been officially canceled: “Ryan is, as you can imagine, very busy,” he said. “He’s got ‘9-1-1,’ ‘9-1-1: Nashville,’ ‘All’s Fair’ for us, so we’re just continuing to have creative conversations with him about what the next chapter might be.”
Among other key changes in the fall, longtime Friday staple “Shark Tank” is on the move to Wednesdays at 10 p.m., airing behind “The Golden Bachelor.” Erwich said the “Shark Tank” shift is meant to keep more year-round permanence in that slot. “Wednesdays at 10, we’ve had had a series of revolving shows, all of which worked and were great, but they were shorter orders,” he said. “By putting ‘Shark Tank’ there, we’re able to have one consistent message throughout the year.”
That means “Shark Tank” won’t be facing off on Fridays against NBC’s similarly business-oriented new entry “On Brand With Jimmy Fallon”; instead, “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” now with host Ryan Seacrest (replacing Pat Sajak) will move to Fridays at 8 p.m. There’s also some strategy there: On ABC’s owned stations, the syndicated “Jeopardy” at 7 p.m. and “Wheel of Fortune” at 7:30 p.m. continue to be a prime access juggernaut, making it a natural lead-in for the primetime “Wheel.”
“We have a chance to even upgrade from there on Fridays at 8, because coming out of our local stations, our prime access [7 p.m. to 8 p.m.] is the No. 1 lead-in on all of television,” Erwich said. “When we’re in the scheduling rooms, we’re really focused on 8 o’clock as an opportunity. That’s where we launched “Will Trent’ and ‘Shifting Gears’ out of. Those time slots have given us the opportunity to add permanent shows and building blocks to our schedule. It’s a massive competitive advantage that we have.”
And that’s about it for changes. On Mondays, ABC will continue to simulcast ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” on a more regular basis. That means “Dancing With the Stars” sticks to Tuesdays, followed by breakout smash “High Potential,” in its sophomore frame — repeating ABC’s Tuesday sked from last fall.
On Wednesdays, new Tim Allen comedy “Shifting Gears” has been paired with critical darling “Abbott Elementary” this spring, and that one-two punch will continue in the fall. At 9 p.m., “The Golden Bachelor” will be back, and maybe this guy will be more lucky: Mel Owens, a former NFL veteran-turned-lawyer. That will head into “Shark Tank,” as we mentioned.
“9-1-1,” now sans Peter Krause, will remain on Thursdays at 8 p.m., and viewers will have no choice but to stick around at 9 p.m. for spin-off “9-1-1: Nashville,” starring Chris O’Donnell. And first responders, we’re not done with you. At 10 p.m. is Season 647 of “Grey’s Anatomy.” OK, just kidding — it’s season 22, which still makes it the longest-running primetime medical drama in television history. (Sorry “General Hospital,” daytime doesn’t count, and are you even a medical drama still?)
“Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” will now lead into two-hour “20/20” segs on Friday, while “America’s Funniest Home Videos” remains on Sunday, leading into “Wonderful World of Disney” movies like “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3,” “Elemental,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Wakanda Forever.”
Continuing what appears to be a trend this season, ABC will only schedule five hours of scripted fare in the fall. On the bench for midseason are hit dramas “The Rookie” and “Will Trent,” as well as reality staples “American Idol,” “Celebrity Jeopardy!” A reboot of “Match Game,” this time hosted by Martin Short, has also been announced.
ABC just picked up the pilot “RJ Decker,” which could also be in play for midseason, and Erwich said the Alphabet net had more comedies in the development pipeline.
“‘RJ Decker’ will potentially fit really well into our schedule,” he said of that project, based on Carl Hiaasen’s 1987 novel “Double Whammy” about an unconventional PI in South Florida. “Our franchise has really become unique ways into procedurals through very unique and funny characters. Think about ‘The Rookie,’ ‘Will Trent,’ ‘High Potential.’ There’s a there’s something incredibly compelling about the leads of these shows. They’re entertaining in a time when I think people want to be entertained. We develop pilots year round and make pilots when the pilots are ready because of the opportunity to launch shows your year round.”
Another reason ABC is keeping things mostly stet: The network is touting its Nielsen multiplatform ratings (which include linear and streaming) with adults 18-49, starting with “High Potential,” starring Kaitlin Olson, wich is No. 1 for the year among broadcasters. Also in the demo, ABC boasts “Abbott Elementary” (No. 2), “The Rookie” (No. 3), “9-1-1” (No. 4) and “Shifting Gears” (No. 5). Others in the top 20 include “Will Trent” (No. 10), “Grey’s Anatomy” (No. 11), “Dancing with the Stars” (No. 14) and “The Bachelor” (No. 17).
“ABC dominated this season in multiplatform ratings, which are the most relevant metrics that reflect how audiences are consuming television today,” Erwich said in a statement. “We are meeting viewers where they are, and this achievement really highlights our strategic approach and commitment to creative excellence.”
Here’s ABC’s fall lineup:
ABC 2025 FALL PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
MONDAY
8 p.m. ESPN’s “Monday Night Football”
TUESDAY
8 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
10 p.m. “High Potential”
WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. “Shifting Gears”
8:30 p.m. “Abbott Elementary”
9 p.m. “The Golden Bachelor”
10 p.m. “Shark Tank”
THURSDAY
8 p.m. “9-1-1”
9 p.m. “9-1-1: Nashville”
10 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
FRIDAY
8 p.m. “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune”
9 p.m. “20/20” (two hours)
SATURDAY
7:30 p.m. College Football
SUNDAY
7 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8 p.m. “The Wonderful World of Disney”
MIDSEASON
“American Idol”
“Celebrity Jeopardy!”
“The Rookie”
“Will Trent”
