ABC reveals fall premiere dates

US terrestrial ABC has set its fall premiere dates, revealing its strategy for generating hype around a schedule that includes only two new series, thanks mainly to the Hollywood writers’ strike.

The first of those new series, Ashton Kutcher-produced quizshow Opportunity Knocks, will premiere at the beginning of the season in a family-friendly Tuesday 20.00 slot, while the second, the US version of UK drama Life on Mars, will arrive several weeks later in a post-watershed Thursday 22.00 slot.

Other than that, the emphasis is on ABC’s returning series and specials. Its big-money franchise Dancing With the Stars will generate three specials during the first week of the fall season, while established returning series such as Grey’s Anatomy and Extreme Makeover receive feature-length season premiere timeslots in the same week.

After that, ABC settles into its previously announced 2008/09 schedule, with Wednesday night given over to sophomore series – some of which, like Pushing Daisies, banked episodes rather than return after the writers’ strike, meaning that they can have a longer run this season.

Casting stories, both good and bad, have buzzed around ABC in the run-up to its premiere announcement at this week’s TV Critics Association (TCA) press tour.

On the good side, Katie Holmes has been named as a special guest star on new legal drama Eli Stone. On the bad, Scrubs star Zach Braff has announced that the upcoming season of the hit comedy will be his last.

That’s a blow to ABC, which wrestled the series away from rival NBC earlier this year. At that time, the next season looked to be the show’s last, but both ABC entertainment head Steve McPherson and Scrubs showrunner Bill Lawrence are now making suggestions to the contrary.

“You can’t kill this show,” Lawrence told press at the TCA tour.

Of Scrubs, McPherson said: “I think there’s a great amount of growth there. We do think that it will not hopefully be a one-season situation.”

Another negative casting rumour chasing ABC revolves around its other hospital show, drama Grey’s Anatomy. At the premiere announcement, McPherson allayed reports that star Katherine Heigl would leave the show after voicing frustration over her character’s story arc last year.

“She’s absolutely staying with the show,” McPherson said. “There’s an unbelievable storyline for her central to everything going on this season.

“It’s unfortunate when there’s any kind of turmoil on a show.”

In other ABC news, the group’s cablenet ABC Family will launch a new original online series for ABCfamily.com on Wednesday July 30.

Meet Me in California will comprise five-minute webisodes, with a new instalment streamed every Wednesday through October. It will follow pop band Plain White T’s – who broke onto the music scene when featured as the Kappa Tau fraternity brand on ABC Family’s series Greek – as they record their second major label album in Malibu.

ABC’s fall premiere dates are as follows (new series in bold):

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

22.00 20/20

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22

20.00 Dancing with the Stars (special two-hour performance show premiere)

22.00 Boston Legal

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 23

20.00 Opportunity Knocks

21.00 Dancing with the Stars (special performance show)

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 24

22.00 Dancing with the Stars Results Show Special (special day and time)

21.00 David Blaine special

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 25

20.00 Ugly Betty

21.00 Grey’s Anatomy (special two-hour season premiere)

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 28

19.00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (two-hour season premiere)

21.00 Desperate Housewives

22.00 Brothers & Sisters

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 30

21.00 Dancing with the Stars Result Show (regular slot premiere)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 1

20.00 Pushing Daisies

21.00 Private Practice

22.00 Dirty Sexy Money

FRIDAY OCTOBER 3

20.00 Wife Swap

21.00 Supernanny

SUNDAY OCTOBER 5

19.00 America’s Funniest Home Videos

20.00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (regular slot premiere)

MONDAY OCTOBER 6

21.30 Samantha Who?

THURSDAY OCTOBER 9

21.00 Grey’s Anatomy (regular slot premiere)

22.00 Life on Mars

TUESDAY OCTOBER 14

22.00 Eli Stone