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!
