Friday, March 29, 2024

ABC Moves “The Conners” Back to 8PM After Wrecking Their Ratings, Puts Two Time Oscar Winner Hilary Swank in Harm’s Way

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I love network TV programmers. Remember when Garry Marshall ran the fictional network on “Murphy Brown”? That show caught the whole insanity of how those people operate.

So: after two or three years of destroying “The Conners” with a 9pm time slot, ABC is moving the comedy back to 8pm. When it was on at 8pm, Tuesdays, “The Conners” had terrific ratings. Then it was sacrificed on Wednesdays at 9 and lost more than a million viewers. For no reason.

Now it’s the of “Abbott Elementary.” The Tuesday night hit is already on at 9pm, out of the reach of elementary school kids and their parents, who probably go to sleep by then. “AE” may get Emmy nominations, it’s certainly the surprise comedy success of 2022. So ABC figures, let’s tamper with that, move it to Wednesdays, keep it at 9pm, and pray someone watches.

ABC is also moving “Big Sky,” which no one watches at 10pm on Thursdays, to Wednesdays at 10pm, where Dick Wolf’s NBC Chicago triptych will it for good. ABC is sending double Oscar winner Hilary Swank into the 10pm Thursday slot with a new show called “Alaska,” which will be beaten by Wolf’s night of “Law & Order.” I hope Hilary’s show is good, she deserves a hit. But this won’t be easy!

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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