A Non-Scripted Slate In Response To The Writers Strike

Given the uncertainty of how long the current Writers Guild of America strike will last, ABC in primetime this fall will consist of non-scripted programs (and Saturday night band-aid College Football). There will only be one new series introduced, The Golden Bachelor, and it will air Monday at 10 p.m. ET out of the return of Dancing With the Stars from streaming service Disney+ to ABC.

According to the official description for The Golden Bachelor, “one hopeless romantic is given a second chance at love in the search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life.”

The only scripted occupant on ABC is back-to-back encore telecasts of the critically-acclaimed sitcom Abbott Elementary in the Tuesday 9p ET hour.

“We are proud to be home to beloved series and meaningful narratives that audiences continue to embrace, and we’re fortunate that our solid, stable roster continues to leverage the enormous success of our established hits, with originals airing every night of the week,” said Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group, in a statement.

Of course, the return of Dancing With the Stars to the linear platform signals that it certainly did not do as well as the network had anticipated on its streaming service. Rule of thumb: Don’t necessarily believe the past hype.

Tuesday on ABC will open with Celebrity Jeopardy! into two hours of Bachelor in Paradise. Wednesday kicks-off with Judge Steve Harvey into the two episode encore double-pop of Abbott Elementary from 9-10 p.m. The evening caps off with the return of the former summer staple What Would You Do? from ABC News.

Thursday is a night of game shows: Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck and The $100,000 Pyramid. Friday is intact care of Shark Tank and veteran newsmagazine 20/20. And granddaddy America’s Funniest Home Videos leads into three hours of The Wonderful World of Disney (featuring movies) on Sunday.

There is no word from ABC at press time where the roster of scripted programs will be scheduled after the writers strike is settled. They are comedies Abbott Elementary, The Conners and Not Dead Yet; and dramas 9-1-1, The Good Doctor, Grey’s Anatomy, The Rookie, Station 19, Will Trent and newbie High Performance. Based on the French detective series HIP (High Intellectual Potential). High Performance follows a single mom with an exceptional mind (Kaitlin Olson), whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective (Daniel Sunjata).

What follows is the ABC fall schedule (with the one new show in bold):

MONDAY

8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars (two hours)

10:00 p.m. The Golden Bachelor

TUESDAY

8:00 p.m. Celebrity Jeopardy!

9:00 p.m. Bachelor in Paradise

WEDNESDAY

8:00 p.m. Judge Steve Harvey

9:00 p.m. Abbott Elementary (R)

9:30 p.m. Abbott Elementary (R)

10:00 p.m. What Would You Do?

THURSDAY

8:00 p.m. Celebrity Wheel of Fortune

9:00 p.m. Press Your Luck

10:00 p.m. The $100,000 Pyramid

FRIDAY

8:00 p.m. Shark Tank

9:00 p.m. 20/20 (two hours)

SATURDAY

8:00 p.m. College Football

SUNDAY

7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos

8:00 p.m. The Wonderful World of Disney (three hours)