ABC announces fall schedule, 'Ugly Betty' moves to Fridays

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Photo: Grammer: Landov; Heaton: Fitzroy Barrett/Landov; Arquette: Fitzroy Barrett/Landov

ABC will launch three new dramas and four comedies in

the fall, including an entirely new — and risky — lineup of shows on

Wednesday.

New comedies starring Kelsey Grammer (Hank) and

Patricia Heaton (The Middle) will lead off Wednesday, followed by

laughers featuring Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) and Courteney Cox (Cougar

Town) starting at 9 p.m. ET. The new drama Eastwick — a new take on the John

Updike tome The Witches of Eastwick — will air in the 10 p.m. slot. “We

really wanted to get back to family comedies,” explains Stephen

McPherson, ABC’s entertainment president, of the 2-hour comedy block.

“We needed the next generation.”

The new crime drama Forgotten airs at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays

behind Dancing With the Stars. Ugly Betty moves to Fridays at 9 p.m., behind

Supernanny, and the new Flash Forward — a high-concept drama about the

aftermath of a 2-minute blackout — leads off Thursdays. A reality show

from Mark Burnett called Shark Tank bows on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (though it’ll

get an early launch this summer after the 10th anniversary of Who Wants

to Be a Millionaire). Scrubs and the sophomore show Better Off Ted

will air on Tuesdays after Dancing With the Stars completes its fall run

in November.

Gone is In the Motherhood, The Unusuals, According to Jim, Cupid,

and Samantha Who?. “I feel really responsible for that show,” concedes

McPherson of the fledging sophomore laugher. “Christina Applegate is a

giant TV star. It was really frustrating. It launched well but ran out

of steam.”

Midseason dramas include legal series The Deep End

and V, a re-imagining of the miniseries about the world’s encounter

with aliens. As for the new comedies, Hank‘s about a powerful

CEO-cum-family man who loses his job; The Middle is about a blue-collar

family in the midwest; Cougar Town is about a divorced mom living with

her teenager; and Modern Family focuses on several crazy clans.

Shark Tank gives would-be entrepreneurs a chance to turn their inventions into reality.

ABC’s fall primetime schedule:

MONDAY

8:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars
10:00 p.m. Castle

TUESDAY

8:00 p.m. Shark Tank
9:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars the Results Show
10:00 p.m. The Forgotten

WEDNESDAY

8:00 p.m. Hank

8:30 p.m. The Middle
9:00 p.m. Modern Family
9:30 p.m. Cougar Town
10:00 p.m. Eastwick

THURSDAY

8:00 p.m. Flash Forward
9:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy
10:00 p.m. Private Practice

FRIDAY:

8:00 p.m. Supernanny
9:00 p.m. Ugly Betty
10:00 p.m. 20/20

SATURDAY

8:00 p.m. Saturday Night College Football

SUNDAY

7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos
8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives
10:00 p.m. Brothers & Sisters

The Bachelor will air Monday nights from 8:00-10:00 p.m. following the run of Dancing With the Stars, and Scrubs and Better Off Ted will air at 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., respectively, following the run of Dancing with the Stars The Results Show.

More TV news:

Fox announces fall schedule, acknowledges Whedon fans

The Ausiello Files

Ausiello’s Fall TV cheat sheet

CBS picks up four new dramas, new Jenna Elfman comedy

Gallery: Inside the ‘NCIS’ spinoff

Q&A: Catching up with Alex O’Loughlin

addCredit(“Grammer: Landov; Heaton: Fitzroy Barrett/Landov; Arquette: Fitzroy Barrett/Landov”)

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