EVERYTHING’S COMING UP ROSEANNE
ABC’s slate for 2018-19 includes revived sitcom and eight new series
Expect Roseanne to cool it on politics and concentrate on family stories when it returns for the second season of its revival next year.
That was the word this week from ABC Entertainment chief Channing Dungey as she introduced the network’s plans for 2018-19. The show’s return exceeded all expectations this spring, with the support of Roseanne Barr’s character for U.S. President Donald Trump attracting attention. Dungey noted that as the first season went on, the focus shifted from politics to family.
“I think they’re going to continue on the path that they were on toward the latter part of this season, which is away from politics and more focused on family,” she said.
MAKE ’EM LAUGH
Jimmy Kimmel punctuated ABC’s presentation of its fall schedule to advertisers with the scathing humour that’s become a staple of the annual event. He spread the punchlines around, with his home network among the targets. Noting the cancellation of Marvel’s Inhumans, Kimmel said that ABC “did something remarkable ... we managed to have the only unsuccessful project with the word ‘Marvel’ in the title.” Lamenting hit-making producer Shonda Rhimes’s decision to move from ABC to Netflix, Kimmel graciously lauded her as “an amazing talent and person who changed the face of this network” with dramas including Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal.
And on behalf of everyone at ABC, he added, “We hope she rots in hell.”
SO WHAT’S NEW?
A whopping total of eight new series will roll out on ABC’s schedule next fall and midseason, including five dramas and three comedies. One of the hour-long shows, A Million Little Things, is about a group of friends who get a “wakeup call” to embrace life after one of them dies. It sounds on paper like an interconnected-lives show akin to NBC’s new drama The Village, about residents in a New York apartment building. And that seems to echo NBC’s hit This Is Us. Must be a coincidence.
One new show stars a familiar ABC face: Nathan Fillion, formerly of Castle. This time around, he plays a small-town, middle-aged man with a dream of becoming a Los Angeles police officer in The Rookie.
Another ex-ABC star, Eva Longoria of Desperate Housewives, is producing, not acting, for Grand Hotel, about a luxurious, family-owned hotel in Miami Beach. Mexican film star and Oscar nominee Demián Bichir leads the ensemble cast. Two distinctly different nonscripted shows will debut this fall: Dancing With the Stars: Juniors, which will pair celebrity kids with young ballroom dance professionals, and The Alec Baldwin Show, a talk show featuring the actor and Trump impersonator.
CUE THE PROTESTS
A slew of shows got the axe from ABC, which will undoubtedly prompt fans to call for another network or streaming service to give them a second chance at life. Brooklyn Nine-Nine quickly found that at NBC after Fox cancelled it, and Last Man Standing was resurrected — could any of the following be as well?
ABC’s dearly departed are Marvel’s Inhumans, Ten Days in the Valley, Designated Survivor, Quantico, Deception, The Crossing, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, The Mayor and Alex, Inc.
The Kiefer Sutherland political thriller Designated Survivor attracted a lot of attention when it debuted a year ago. Ratings plummeted for its second season. Still, it was a little surprising that ABC gave up on it so quickly.
Backstage turmoil among the show ’s creative team played a part, Dungey said.
“We were less confident about the creative path forward as we were about the other shows” on the schedule, she said.