Jimmy Kimmel was a hit with advertisers at ABC‘s upfront May 17, 2011, but the day was all about the business of selling the new 2011-2012 primetime slate. ABC came armed with 13 new series starring the likes of Christina Ricci, Ashley Judd, Ginnifer Goodwin, Minka Kelly, James Van Der Beek and Jeremy Sisto, along with returning performers like Dancing With the Stars, Modern Family, Castle, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice.
ABC had to dig deep to create their new season, thanks to the holes left in their schedule by the cancelations of Off the Map, The Whole Truth, My Generation, V, Brothers & Sisters, Mr. Sunshine, No Ordinary Family, Detroit 1-8-7 and Better with You. The result was 13 new shows for the ABC 2011-2012 calendar, with eight set to join the fall 2011 slate.
SheKnows has the ABC fall 2011 schedule below, as well as a breakdown of what’s new and returning. A handful of returning faves are joined by dishy soaps, dreamy dramas, thrilling adventures and some 1960s sex in the skies, but no new “Alternative” series.
While the alphabet net does have some hot new summer reality coming with Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss and Expedition Impossible, there’s nothing new on the 2011-2012 slate. ABC’s returning “Alternative” series include Dancing With the Stars, The Bachelor (midseason 2012), America’s Funniest Home Videos, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Secret Millionaire and Shark Tank, as well as Saturday Night College Football.
ABC 2011-2012 Drama
In the drama department, Body of Proof, Castle, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice are sticking around. New additions include the revamped Charlie’s Angels (Rachael Taylor, Minka Kelly, Annie Ilonzeh), Christina Ricci’s sexy ’60s period drama Pan Am, the fairytale meets reality fantasy Once Upon a Time (Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle) and the dark Hamptons drama Revenge (Emily Van Camp, Madeleine Stowe).
Midseason 2012 will see a new drama from Shonda Rhimes, who leaves the medical scene with Scandal (Kerry Washington, Henry Ian Cusick); as well as the premieres of the Dallas-based wicked soap Good Christian Belles and globetrotting thrillers Missing (Ashley Judd) and The River (Bruce Greenwood, Joe Anderson).
ABC 2011-2012 Comedy
Modern Family, Happy Endings, The Middle and Cougar Townare all still in the comedy game, but ABC’s Wednesday night of laughs gets a bit of a shakeup for fall 2011. Cougar Town has been booted from its plum spot to return midseason on Tuesdays, with the 10:00 hour going back to drama. The Middle, Modern Family and Happy Endings stay in the Wednesday game, with new family sitcom Suburgatory (Jeremy Sisto, Jane Levy, Cheryl Hines) closing out the laughs. Then it’s time for Revenge.
ABC’s other two new fall 2011 comedies seem to be for the guys. Tuesdays will see Tim Allen’s return to the sitcom scene with Last Man Standing (Nancy Travis, Hector Elizondo), followed by Man Up (Christopher Moynihan, Dan Fogler, Teri Polo). Cougar Town will get in on the Tuesday night fun once Dancing With the Stars 13 wraps.
ABC also has two new midseason 2012 comedies in the works. Apartment 23 is a Manhattan tale that sees a female odd couple (Dreama Walker, Krysten Ritter) hanging out with James Van Der Beek, who plays himself; while Work It (Ben Koldyke, Amaury Nolasco) looks like a modern take on Bosom Buddies.
ABC’s 2011-2012 Primetime Schedule at a glance:
Monday:
8:00 pm Dancing With the Stars
10:00 pm Castle
Tuesday:
8:00 pm Last Man Standing
8:30 pm Man Up
9:00 pm Dancing With the Stars the Results Show
10:00 pm Body of Proof
Wednesday:
8:00 pm The Middle
8:30 pm Suburgatory
9:00 pm Modern Family
9:30 pm Happy Endings
10:00 pm Revenge
Thursday:
8:00 pm Charlie’s Angels
9:00 pm Grey’s Anatomy
10:00 pm Private Practice
Friday:
8:00 pm Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 pm Shark Tank
10:00 pm 20/20
Saturday:
8:00 pm Saturday Night College Football
Sunday:
7:00 pm America’s Funniest Home Videos
8:00 pm Once Upon a Time
9:00 pm Desperate Housewives
10:00 pm Pan Am
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