Welcome back: What’s returning to prime time

The major networks and popular cable channels are banking on established hits to get them through the fall and winter, much to the delight of fans who haven’t been able to enjoy new content for a while due to the industrywide shutdown caused by COVID19. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, along with cablers such as HBO, AMC and FX, have announced a range of offerings that include comedy, drama, reality TV, horror and more.

Even with all the resources the networks and cable giants have, the fall season will be a challenge. Industry pundit and former Fox and NBC executive Preston Beckman was quoted in a May washingtonpost.com article as saying: “It will be an opportunity to redefine a lot of television.”

Stability is the name of the game at NBC. With only one new series, the spinoff “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” starring Christopher Meloni (“Oz”) as Elliot Stabler, the network’s fall schedule is banking on its predecessor, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” starring Mariska Hargitay (“ER”). For 22 seasons, Hargitay has played Olivia Benson, who’s now the commanding officer of an elite squad of detectives who investigate crimes such as sexual assault and child abuse. The show is one of the longest-running prime-time dramas ever and is the longestrunning U.S. live-action series currently on television.

In July, NBC released its new lineup, which optimistically includes“thevoice,”“this Is Us,” “Brooklyn Nine-nine” and the Chicago franchise: “Chicago Med,” “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago

Fire,” though it’s unclear whether some of these might be pushed to midseason premieres.

ABC has been forced to break with tradition and bring “The Bachelorette” to the fall schedule. For the past several seasons, the reality TV romance series aired in the summer, but the coronavirus shutdown forced production to be delayed, pushing the series to a fall premiere.