ABC 2017 Fall Schedule: Once Upon a Time season 7, Inhumans off to Fridays
The ABC 2017 Fall Schedule was released this morning, and there were some big surprises that were made apparent with it right away. Namely, the network is taking some big risks when it comes to its Friday programming and being a little bit more cagey when it comes to scripted programming on Sundays. There are some risky moves in here, so it should prove interesting to see how some of this fares.
Just like with every other fall schedule at the site, the goal here is to present not only the shows and the timeslots, but also offer some commentary in the process. All times mentioned are Eastern Standard.
Mondays
8:00 – Dancing with the Stars
10:00 – The Good Doctor (new series)
This is somewhat fun — The Good Doctor is the first show for Freddie Highmore since Bates Motel, and ironically it’s airing in the same timeslot that his old show used to air.
Tuesdays
8:00 – The Middle
8:30 – Fresh Off the Boat (new timeslot)
9:00 – black-ish (new timeslot)
9:30 – The Mayor (new timeslot)
10:00 – The Gospel of Kevin (new series)
The move for black-ish is super-smart, since this effectively ensures further that it helps another show. It’s critically-acclaimed enough at this point to deserve this spot on the schedule.
Fingers crossed that The Gospel of Kevin, a show that sounds hilariously like this season of The Leftovers in title alone, actually does manage to fare well in this super-tough timeslot.
Wednesdays
8:00 – The Goldbergs
8:30 – Speechless
9:00 – Modern Family
9:30 – American Housewife (new timeslot)
10:00 – Designated Survivor
All in all, everything is virtually unchanged other than American Housewife coming over and getting arguably an even better timeslot than it had previously.
Thursdays
8:00 – Grey’s Anatomy
9:00 – Scandal
10:00 – How to Get Away with Murder
There’s no holding off on the start of the seventh and officially final season of Scandal this time.
Fridays
8:00 – Once Upon a Time
9:00 – Inhumans (new series)
The Friday move for Once Upon a Time is something predicted here at the site a long time ago. Meanwhile, putting Inhumans here is a huge surprise given the hype surrounding the show and the IMAX move. This may be a sign that ABC isn’t expecting big live ratings, but that the show will make up for it elsewhere.
Sundays
8:00 – To Tell the Truth
9:00 – Shark Tank (new timeslot)
10:00 – Ten Days in the Valley (new series)
This is the oddest night of the week. It was clear that big changes needed to be made, but is this the best way to do it? Shark Tank is solid, so the network hope is clearly that it can bring some of its Friday performance to the night.