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you all come this fall
Fourth night added to primetime schedule
By Kevin Downey
ABC is presenting its fall primetime schedule to advertisers today, and the message is: You haven't seen anything yet.
The network is expanding "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" to four nights a week, including a new hour on Wednesday, as rumored. Anyone thinking that ABC might shy away from over-exposing the game show has got it dead wrong.
In another significant change, it is dropping its long-drooping "TGIF" block of Friday shows.
It is adding only four new series to its lineup.
The network's continued reliance on "Millionaire" should come as no big surprise.
The game show is responsible for turning ABC into the No. 1 network, pulling it up from last year’s third place, and is even credited with slowing cable’s erosion of network TV viewing.
ABC has used "Millionaire" strategically to pump up ratings, particularly during sweep periods. This May is no exception as the program demonstrated remarkable resilience to audience burnout when its celebrity episodes achieved its largest audiences ever with about 36 million viewers.
The blockade of "Millionaire" is especially noteworthy on Thursdays as it will go up against challenger NBC’s strongest night, just as NBC has moved to strengthen its Thursday schedule.
The ending of TGIF should also come as no surprise.
The once successful family-friendly block of shows has hit a ratings decline recently. The net showed disinterest in keeping up the franchise when it let "Sabrina, Teenage Witch" go over to The WB and let "Boy Meets World" finish out its series run this year.
New shows added to the schedule include "Geena," a sitcom starring Geena Davis that will replace the canceled "Sports Night" following "Dharma & Greg" on Tuesdays in the hour after "Millionaire."
Also on the schedule is "Gideon’s Crossing," a medical drama about a doctor who imparts his wisdom on a group of interns. The show is replacing "20/20" on Wednedays at 10:00.
Schedule changes include the second season of "Once and Again" running in "NYPD Blue's" Tuesday slot until January.
"Two Guys and a Girl" and "Norm," both back for a second season, move from Wednesday to what has been ABC’s "TGIF" Fridays. Other shows on the schedule for Friday include "Madigan Men" with Gabriel Byrne and the comedy "People Who Fear People."
Absent from the line-up is "Making the Band," with no word yet from ABC whether it will be back on the air as a midseason replacement.
Here is ABC’s primetime schedule for the fall:
Monday
8 p.m. – "20 /20"
9 p.m. - "Monday Night
Football"
Tuesday
8 p.m. - "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"
9 p.m. - "Dharma &
Greg"
9:30 p.m. – "Geena"
10 p.m. - "Once and Again"/"NYPD Blue"
Wednesday
8 p.m. – "Who
Wants to be a Millionaire?"
9 p.m. – "Drew Carey"
9:30 p.m. - "Spin City"
10 p.m. - "Gideon's
Crossing"
Thursday
8 p.m. - "Whose Line is It Anyway?"
8:30 p.m. – "Whose Line is It Anyway?"
9 p.m. - "Who Wants to be a
Millionaire?"
10 p.m. - "Primetime Thursday"
Friday
8 p.m. - "Two
Guys and a Girl"
8:30 pm.-"People Who Fear People"
9 p.m. - "Norm"
9:30 p.m. - "Madigan Men"
10 p.m. - "20/20"
Saturday
8 p.m. - "The Big Picture Show"
Sunday
7 p.m. - "Wonderful World of Disney"
9 p.m. - "Who Wants to be a
Millionaire?"
10 p.m. - "The
Practice"
