It’s that time of the year again, upfronts in New York City, where television executives announce their fall primetime schedules for advertisers. It looks like it’s Shonda Rhimes’ world, and we’re just living in it.
The prolific showrunner and series drama creator will be taking over the valuable Thursday night time slots on ABC starting next fall.
Rhimes’ three one-hour long dramas will run back-to-back-to-back, starting with Grey’s Anatomy moving up an hour to 8 pm then Scandal at 9 pm followed up by her newest show How to Get Away With Murder at 10 pm.
ABC president Paul Lee said of Rhimes, “I call her the Charles Dickens of the 21st century. If Charles Dickens was black and a woman.”
ABC has a lot of catching up to do and are clearly banking on Rhimes to come through on a premium and valuable night from an advertising stand point. The network is expected to finish in fourth place amongst the major networks this season with advertisers in that ever so important demo of 18 to 49.
Rhimes and the alphabet network are hoping that How to Get Away With Murder will anchor the Thursday night time slot. The crime drama starring Viola Davis is described as, “A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot and will shake the entire university and change the course of their lives.”
Here’s a list of ABC’s Complete Fall 2014-2015 Schedule:
Monday
8-10 p.m. — Dancing With the Stars
10-11 p.m. — Castle
Tuesday
8-8:30 p.m. — Selfie
8:30-9 p.m. — Manhattan Love Story
9-10 p.m. — Agents of SHIELD
10-11 p.m. — Forever
Wednesday
8-8:30 p.m. — The Middle
8:30-9 p.m. — The Goldbergs
9-9:30 p.m. — Modern Family
9:30-10 p.m. — Black-ish
10-11 p.m. — Nashville
Thursday
8-9 p.m. — Grey’s Anatomy
9-10 p.m. — Scandal
10-11 p.m. — How to Get Away With Murder
Friday
8-8:30 p.m. — Last Man Standing
8:30-9 p.m. — Cristela
9-10 p.m. — Shark Tank
10-11 p.m. — 20/20
Saturday
8-11 p.m. — Saturday Night Football
Sunday
7-8 p.m. — America’s Funniest Home Videos
8-9 p.m. — Once Upon a Time
9-9:30 p.m. — Resurrection
10-11 p.m. — Revenge
Image via Wikimedia Commons