ABC Fall line-up: See the premiere date, time for new shows and your favorites
NEW YORK -- A talk show hosted by Alec Baldwin and a "Dancing with the Stars" spinoff are among the many programs joining the ABC fall prime-time lineup.
The network unveiled a total of eight new series for the 2018-19 season at the Upfronts in May, including five one-hour dramas -- "A Million Little Things," "The Fix," "Grand Hotel," "The Rookie" and "Whiskey Cavalier" -- and three half-hour comedies, "The Kids Are Alright," "Schooled" and "Single Parents."
ABC is also introducing "The Alec Baldwin Show," which the network says "will showcase Baldwin's in-depth conversations with compelling personalities." It fills the 10 p.m. hour on Sundays, while "Dancing with the Stars: Junior," a version of the original competition show that features much younger celebrities, will air at 8 p.m. Sundays.
Fan favorites like "The Good Doctor," "black-ish," "How to Get Away with Murder" and more are scheduled to return.
There's no lack of momentum on the prime-time schedule.
"We have the #1 new drama," Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and the President of Disney-ABC Television Group Ben Sherwood said.
He was referring, of course, to "The Good Doctor."
"Sean always tries to see the good in people," star Freddie Highmore said. "At a time when there is so much negativity, I think someone like Sean is refreshing."
And he gives another reason for the show's success -- an appeal to "underdogs" everywhere.
The serious business of selling billions of dollars of advertising also has a lighter side, provided each year by Jimmy Kimmel.
"I just want to make advertisers laugh, because everybody's hard selling them all week long," he said. "So it's an opportunity to put a pin in the bubble."
Here's just one of his jokes: "Everyone who says Hollywood is out of new ideas, we're not. It's just that one of our new ideas is to Google: 'What were our old ideas?'"
In general, the mood at the presentation and the party afterwards is festive, because it comes just a couple of days after dozens of performers learn they have jobs. Afton Williamson is starring opposite Nathan Fillion in "The Rookie."
"I didn't even know how to feel," Williamson said. "You cry. You jump around. You're excited. It's probably the coolest. It is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me."
Premieres begin Monday, Sept. 24 with "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Good Doctor."
Here's ABC's full prime-time schedule for the fall followed by their premiere dates (new series in bold):
Monday
8 p.m. - "Dancing with the Stars" (Sept. 24)
10 p.m. - "The Good Doctor" (Sept. 24)
Tuesday
8 p.m. - "The Conners" (Oct. 16)
8:30 p.m. - "The Kids Are Alright" (Oct. 16)
9 p.m. - "black-ish" (Oct. 16)
9:30 p.m. - "Splitting Up Together" (Oct. 16)
10 p.m. - "The Rookie" (Oct. 16)
Wednesday
8 p.m. - "The Goldbergs" (Sept. 26)
8:30 - "American Housewife" (Sept. 26)
9 p.m. - "Modern Family" (Sept. 26)
9:30 p.m. - "Single Parents" (Sept. 26)
10 p.m. - "A Million Little Things" (Sept. 26)
Thursday
8 p.m. - "Grey's Anatomy" (Sept. 27)
9 p.m. - "Station 19" (Oct. 4)
10 p.m. - "How to Get Away with Murder" (Sept. 27)
Friday
8 p.m. - "Fresh Off the Boat" (Oct. 5)
8:30 p.m. - "Speechless" (Oct. 5)
9 p.m. - "Child Support" (Oct. 5)
10 p.m. - "20-20"
Saturday
8 p.m. - "Saturday Night Football"
Sunday
7 p.m. - "America's Funniest Home Videos" (Sept. 30)
8 p.m. - "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors" (Oct. 7)
9 p.m. - "Shark Tank" (Oct. 7)
10 p.m. - "The Alec Baldwin Show" (Oct. 14)
