New ABC boss wants to win back women
PASADENA, Calif. — ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke has been on the job only for a few months, but as a late ’80s college grad — and professed fan of ABC series “The Wonder Years,” “Moonlighting” and “China Beach” — she wants to get the network back to what she sees as that heyday.
She’s particularly keen to woo back women, a demographic ABC ceded to NBC last season in part due to the success of “This Is Us.” To that end, ABC has three femaleskewing drama series debuting in the months ahead and more that it is developing for next fall.
Actor Scott Foley (“Scandal”) said he was drawn to ABC’s “Whiskey Cavalier” (after the Oscars at 11:35 p.m. Feb. 24; then 10 p.m. Feb. 27) by a light tone that pairs him, as an FBI agent codenamed Whiskey Cavalier, with a CIA agent (Lauren Cohan, “The Walking Dead”) codenamed Fiery Tribune.
“I wanted to do a show that reminded me of the shows I grew up watching: ‘Remington Steele,’ ‘Hart to Hart,’ ‘Simon and Simon,’” Mr. Foley said during an ABC press conference at the Television Critics Association winter 2019 press tour. “I miss those.”
Filmed primarily in Prague and a few other European cities, “Whiskey Cavalier” introduces Mr. Foley’s sensitive spy character as he’s getting over a breakup with a girlfriend.
“I have a very strong belief that it’s time to reinvent that trope of the leading man in action series,” he said. “This is something I think is modern and more interesting and, to me at least, more relatable to have a character like this than to have someone who is sort of stoic instead.”
Robin Tunney (“The Mentalist”) stars in “The Fix” (10 p.m. March 18), executive-produced by former Los Angeles prosecutor Marcia Clark, as an attorney who loses a major criminal case, retreats to the country and then returns when the same suspect is suspected of another murder.
Ms. Clark, who failed to secure a guilty verdict in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, joked that the series is her revenge fantasy.
“We’re not in the courtroom,” she said. “We really did do a law show not about the law. This is about the personal stories of everyone behind the scenes.”
Come summer, ABC introduces “Grand Hotel” (10 p.m. June 17), which executive producer Eva Longoria, who guest stars in four episodes, describes as a contemporary adaptation of a Spanish series
that takes an “Upstairs Downstairs” approach to the lives of staff and owners of a Miami hotel.
She and executive producer Brian Tanen emphasized the “upstairs” family is Hispanic and the cast boasts nine people of color.
“Grand Hotel” is filled with a cast of beautiful people — Roselyn Sanchez, Demian Bichir, Anne Winters, Lincoln Younes, Feliz Ramirez, Bryan Craig — and is designed to be bright, light and soapy with a running mystery introduced in the premiere.
“The intention of the show was to make you feel like you’re going on vacation,” Mr. Tanen said. “The show feels like a tonic, an escape at the beach to the most beautiful hotel you’ve ever seen.”
Oscars mess
ABC’s Ms. Burke confirmed the Oscars will not have a single host this year, and she’s unconcerned about the hoopla and uncertainty around the Oscars telecast, which she said will be kept to “a brisk three hours.”
“I found the lack of clarity around the Oscars has kept the Oscars in the conversation, and the mystery has been really compelling,” she said. “People really care. I think it’s fascinating.”
Steeler on ‘S.W.A.T.’
In an effort to get more bang for its Super Bowl LIII buck, CBS hired three former NFL players to guest star in an episode of “S.W.A.T.” (10 p.m. Thursday, KDKA-TV) this week.
In “The B-Team,” former Steelers linebacker James Harrison guest stars alongside former NFL players Willie McGinest and Eric Dickerson, playing members of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Specifically, Mr. Harrison plays LAFD social media manager Marcus King.
Meet Kenda’s family
Investigation Discovery’s “Homicide Hunter” (9 p.m. Wednesday) offers a fan service episode this week, “Married to the Job.”
Retired Colorado Springs, Colo., police detective Lt. Joe Kenda, who grew up near Irwin, introduces his wife, Kathy, and his children, Kris and Dan, who share what life was like in the Kenda household when Mr. Kenda was on the job. That includes Kathy receiving threatening phone calls and emergencies that arise when you’re married to a homicide hunter.
Kept/canceled/rebooted
AMC renewed “The Walking Dead” for season 10.
ABC renewed “Modern Family” (its 11th and final season), “The Good Doctor,” “A Million Little Things,” “Shark Tank,” “Dancing With the Stars” and “Bachelor in Paradise” for the 2019-20 TV season.
Freeform ordered its “Party of Five” reboot to series.
ABC will air a sneak preview episode of “Videos After Dark” (10 p.m. March 12), an “America’s Funniest Home Videos” spinoff hosted by Bob Saget that features edgier home videos.
ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke said she would “very much” like to see a “Lost” reboot although at this point it’s just something she dreams about when falling asleep at night.
Channel surfing
Ratings for Super Bowl LIII were not so super. Sure, it drew an average audience of 98.2 million viewers on TV, but that ranked it No. 11 among all Super Bowl telecasts. … HBO debuts “Song of Parkland” (7 p.m. Thursday), a half-hour documentary about staging a high school musical in the wake of the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. … NBC has scrapped its plans for a live “Hair” musical that was to air in May opposite the “Game of Thrones” finale. The decision also follows the departure of NBC Entertainment executive Robert Greenblatt, who restarted live TV musicals and championed their continuation.