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ABC's `A Million Little Things` stars Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Stephanie Szostak as Delilah Dixon, James Roday as Gary Mendez, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Grace Park as Katherine Saville and David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville. (ABC photo by Robert Trachtenberg)
ABC's "A Million Little Things" stars Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Stephanie Szostak as Delilah Dixon, James Roday as Gary Mendez, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Grace Park as Katherine Saville and David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville. (ABC photo by Robert Trachtenberg)

ABC orders David E. Kelley drama 'Big Sky' & Kari Lizer comedy 'Call Your Mother' straight to series; renews 19 shows

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Fri, May 22nd 2020 01:25 pm

Having just solidified its position as the No. 1 network in entertainment among adults 18-49 for the first time in four years, ABC announced its 2020-21 programming slate on Thursday, which includes renewals for 19 series and two straight-to-series orders from its current crop of pilots – David E. Kelley’s thriller “Big Sky” and the comedy “Call Your Mother” (formerly “My Village”) from Kari Lizer (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) – as well as the previously announced alternative series “Supermarket Sweep” with Leslie Jones.

“At a time when we are physically apart and shared experiences matter more than ever, these shows will build on the strategy that has made us No. 1 this season – bringing people together, creating cultural moments, and making content that entertains and inspires across generations and demographics,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment. “Our top priority now is to work with our studio partners to ensure a safe return to production so that we can build on the strong momentum of a winning lineup with measured bets on new series that will invigorate our air and continue to deliver the quality programming that our viewers have come to expect and love.”

Returning shows include “American Housewife,” “The Bachelor,” “black-ish,” “The Conners,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Goldbergs,” “A Million Little Things,” “mixed-ish,” “The Rookie,” “Shark Tank,” “Stumptown,” “20/20” and “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” They join already announced shows “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “American Idol,” “The Bachelorette,” “The Good Doctor,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Station 19” and “Supermarket Sweep.”

 

New Series

“Big Sky”: From visionary storyteller David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies”) comes “Big Sky,” a thriller created by Kelley, who will write multiple episodes and serve as showrunner in its premiere season. Private detectives Cassie Dewell and Cody Hoyt join forces with his estranged wife and ex-cop, Jenny Hoyt, to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken.

The cast features Katheryn Winnick as Jenny Hoyt, Kylie Bunbury as Cassie Dewell, Brian Geraghty as Ronald Pergman, Dedee Pfeiffer as Denise Brisbane, Natalie Alyn Lind as Danielle Sullivan, Jesse James Keitel as Jerrie, with John Carroll Lynch as Rick Legarski and Ryan Phillippe as Cody Hoyt.

“Call Your Mother”: From Kari Lizer, this multicamera comedy follows an empty-nester mom who wonders how she ended up alone while her children live their best lives thousands of miles away. She decides her place is with her family and as she reinserts herself into their lives, her kids realize they might actually need her more than they thought.

The cast features Kyra Sedgwick as Jean Raines, Rachel Sennott as Jackie Raines, Joey Bragg as Freddie Raines, Patrick Brammall as Danny, Emma Caymares as Celia and Austin Crute as Lane.

Schedule to be announced at a later date.

ABC programming can also be viewed on demand and on Hulu.

Among the network’s ratings highlights this season:

•Excluding sports programming, ABC ranks as the No. 1 entertainment network of the season among adults 18-49 (1.1/6), tying FOX (1.1/5) and NBC (1.1/5). Based on adult 18-49 viewers (1.452 million), ABC moves ahead of FOX (1.443 million) and NBC (1.368 million) to rank as the season’s No. 1 entertainment network outright. In fact, this season marks the first time ABC has ranked No. 1 outright in four years – since the 2015-16 season.

•ABC ranked or tied as the No. 1 entertainment network in 16 of the 34 weeks of the season to date in adults 18-49, up from its eight weekly wins last season. In fact, ABC delivered the longest winning streak of the season, ranking or tying for No. 1 on 10 consecutive weeks – from week of Feb. 3 through week of April 6.

•ABC claimed two of the season’s top five entertainment programs with adults 18-49 – more than any other network: “The Bachelor” (2.4/12) – No. 4 and “Grey’s Anatomy” (2.3/12) – No. 5 (tie).

•ABC has three of the top four comedies of the season in adults 18-49, including the No. 1 comedy: “Modern Family” (1.6/8) – No. 1 (tie), “The Conners” (1.5/8) – No. 3 and “The Goldbergs” (1.3/6) – No. 4 (tie).

•Among adults 18-49, ABC delivers the season’s No. 1 entertainment program on Monday with “The Bachelor” (2.4/12); the top two entertainment programs on Thursday with “Grey’s Anatomy” (2.3/12) and “A Million Little Things” (1.6/8-tie), respectively; and the top two entertainment broadcast programs on Sunday with “American Idol” (1.5/7) and “The Rookie” (1.2/6-tie), respectively.

•“The Good Doctor” ranked as the No. 1 entertainment program in the Monday 10 p.m. hour this season with adults 18-49 (1.6/8). With 9.8 million viewers this season, “The Good Doctor” stood as the No. 1 show in the hour in total viewers.

•ABC ranks as the No. 1 entertainment network on three of seven nights of the week this season among adults 18-49: Monday (1.4/7-tie), Thursday (1.5/7) and Sunday (1.1/5).

•ABC holds eight of the season’s top 10 highest-rated entertainment specials in adults 18-49: “The Oscars” (5.5/25), “The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!” (3.4/16), “The Disney Family Singalong” (3.4/16), “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020: Part Two” (3.3/17), “JEOPARDY! The Greatest of All Time”- Night 1 (2.8/13), “JEOPARDY! The Greatest of All Time” – Night 2 (2.8/14), “JEOPARDY! The Greatest of All Time” – Night 3 (2.6/13) and “The 53rd Annual CMA Awards” (2.3/11).

•After 35 days of delayed viewing on linear and digital platforms, ABC has eight shows that average at least 10 million total viewers this season: “Grey’s Anatomy” (15.7 million), “The Good Doctor” (15.2 million), “The Bachelor” (11.6 million), “Station 19” (11.2 million), “American Idol” (11.0 million), “The Rookie” (10.8 million), “A Million Little Things” (10.2 million) and “Modern Family” (10.0 million).

•Among adults 18-49, ABC has four programs that average at least a 3.0 rating this season after 35 days of multiplatform viewing: “Grey’s Anatomy” (5.91 rating), “The Bachelor” (4.57 rating), “The Good Doctor” (3.79 rating) and “Modern Family” (3.53 rating).

•“American Idol” (plus 22%) and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (15%) are improving by double digits over their year-ago averages after 35 days of multiplatform viewing among adults 18-49, with “Station 19” (8%), “The Bachelor” (8%) and “20/20” (6%) also growing year over year. In fact, “The Bachelor” delivered its highest-rated season in three years with adults 18-49 in multiplatform delayed viewing (4.57 rating).

•Since April 13, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is up over the comparable weeks last year by 25% in total viewers and by 12% in adults 18-49.

ABC is the most social network of the season with over 164 million total social interactions (164,554,872), leading runner-up NBC by 88% (87,729,908), while more than doubling FOX (by 137% – 69,374,742) and more than tripling CBS (by 226% – 50,480,831).

Source: The Nielsen Company, National Most Current program ratings for 2019/2020 Season=9/23/19-5/19/20 and National Live+7 Day program ratings for previous seasons, excludes sports programming, sustainers and programs < 5 minutes. Series rankings based on regularly scheduled programming. ABC multiplatform ratings, 9/23/19-4/5/20. Nielsen social content, 9/23/19-5/18/20, excludes sports programming.

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