ABC's upcoming fall schedule includes an expanded Dancing With the Stars, a two-hour Wednesday night comedy block and the apocalyptic thriller Flash Forward being used as a lead-in for Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Thursdays will lead off with Flash Forward at 8 p.m., which was somewhat unexpected, followed by the return of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.
Asked if Grey's Anatomy stars Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight (George and Izzie) are signed up to return next season after Season Five's two-hour cliffhanger ending, ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said at the network's upfronts:
"They're both signed on; I can't say whether they will both be there."
The comment drew a laugh in the room. Make of it what you will, we guess, as the fate of the two stars - both left hanging on May 14 - remains a mystery.
On Mondays, Dancing with the Stars, expanded from its usual 90 minutes, will give a strong lead-in to the sophomore detective drama Castle, which showed more ratings heft when provided a direct boost from the reality show at the end of this season.
Tuesdays kick off with Mark Burnett's new reality competition, Shark Tank (with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire filling the slot in early fall. The Dancing results show remains at 9 p.m., followed by Jerry Bruckheimer's new crime drama, The Forgotten.
The headline is Wednesday nights, when ABC will become the third network to offer a two-hour comedy block. Hank, The Middle, Modern Family and Cougar Town compose the lineup. Eastwick, an update of the John Updike novel The Witches of Eastwick, will follow at 10 p.m.
Launching an entirely new night of television is something ABC has done before, when it premiered Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money on this night a few years back. However, having four comedies without a familiar title is a bold move.
Scrubs and Better Off Ted, while better known to viewers, were considered too male-skewing for the lineup. Both shows are planned for sometime in midseason, ABC says.
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30 Comments
May 25th, 2009 5:04 PM
"They're both signed on; I can't say whether they will both be there."
ugh enough already!!!
I wanna know what happens damn it.
;-)
May 25th, 2009 5:11 PM
Talk about a boring post, we could've read that in tv guide! Give us something useful u no, nd does any1 no hw far along ellen pompeo is??
May 25th, 2009 10:48 PM
Oh yeah, they are goners. He almost confirmed it.
@McHot, there is not a lot on GA this moment. Mostly is Emmy stuff coming around. Especially now that PD has been submitted as "Supporting".
And no one exactly knows how far along Ellen is. Rumor has it that she's probably along 5, almost 6 months along.
May 25th, 2009 10:58 PM
No mention of Ugly Betty which was usually before Grey's. Anyone know about that?
May 25th, 2009 11:26 PM
What a jerk. We Gizzie fans are freaking and he is making jokes.
They better both stay.
May 25th, 2009 11:30 PM
Whatever. KH is staying, i'm sure of it. I think she was all like i'm gonna leave because I have so much ahead of me, but then she realized that w/o Grey's she isn't THAT great, she decided to stay (good decision). I'm sure TR is leaving. and his future looks promising, but even so, it's a shame. His character is my favorite, and frankly speaking, when George dies, I will cry for like a week.
May 26th, 2009 1:27 AM
Although this whole Izzy dieing deal has been heart wrenching. I think that Miss Heigl should think hard and long about leaving Grey's. I'de not bite the hand that feeds me if I was her. There are 2 more seasons before they will renew contracts or decided that the show is over. You'de think that she would appreciate her job more than she does and keep quiet and work. There are alot of people out of work right now. And she isn't a big name so who will even know her in a few yrs if she leaves this show. Pretty blondes are a dime a dozen.
May 26th, 2009 7:17 AM
Bad news, I was hoping Izzie wouldn't return, she is too annoying. The character who thinks is the best person but actually she never helps her friends because she is always too busy thinking about herself. The character who married the man she has been using as a second plate during 5 seasons, and we are supposed to think it's love.
And then there is George. I wouldn't lik him to die, but with all the injuries he has, he will never be the same. So it would be like having a new character who will spend all season trying to recover... I don't know about you all, but I think it would be to sad to see a hlf burned George, with no arm... maybe it's better if he dies.
May 26th, 2009 10:29 AM
Bonnie Says:
I don't know about you all, but I think it would be to sad to see a hlf burned George, with no arm... maybe it's better if he dies.
I agree with that sentence.
I don't want a depressed, unreconizble George/ Or Izzie for thet matter. I want them, both ALIVE.
I totally see that they will live, or at least Izzie, but that the cancer isn;t gone or comes back again. I loved her season 5 storyline but I dont want her get surgeries every episode-she should be cancer-free.
LET THEM LIVE PLEASE.
May 26th, 2009 11:13 AM
So....greys is coming on an hour later than usual? Or when they said flash forward comes on at 8 were they meaning Eastern standard time as in instead of ugly betty its flash forward?