Ratings-leader ABC will add five new sitcoms and three new dramas to its schedule this fall, completely revamping Thursday night and making smaller adjustments to its Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday lineups.
Former Utahn Marie Osmond returns to weekly TV for the first time since her variety show "Marie" failed in 1981 and more than 16 years after "Donny & Marie" went off the air.This time around, Osmond stars in "Maybe This Time" (Saturday, 7 p.m.), a sitcom in which she plays a divorcee whose live-in mother (Betty White) and young daughter try to persuade her to give romance and love another chance.
And despite a huge outpouring of fan support, the critically acclaimed but low-rated "My So-Called Life" did not survive. ABC, which has insisted for months it was still considering the series, canceled it.
ABC's new comedy series are:
- Hudson Street (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.): Tony Danza ("Who's the Boss?'`) returns as a cynical detective who begins a romance with an idealistic crime reporter, played by Lori Laughlin ("Full House").
- The Drew Carey Show (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.): Stand-up comedian Carey headlines this half hour about four friends "who struggle to stay financially and romantically afloat during the unpredictable '90s."
- Wilde Again (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m.): Tea Leoni stars as Nora Wilde, a recently divorced socialite who is forced to go to work as a photographer for a tabloid.
- Somewhere in America (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.): Stand-up comedian Jeff Foxworthy stars as "a happily married father of two whose down-home humor and common-sense perspective on life constantly amuse his friends and family."
ABC's new drama series are:
- Charlie Grace (Thursday, 7 p.m.): Mark Harmon stars as a "tough-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside" cop turned private eye.
- The Monroes (Thursday, 8 p.m.): Prime-time soap opera about a "large, wealthy, rambunctious and powerful family with political aspirations." William Devane ("Knots Landing") and Susan Sullivan ("Falcon Crest") head a large cast.
- Murder One (Thursday, 9 p.m.): Producer Steven Bochco ("NYPD Blue," "L.A. Law," "Hill Street Blues") is behind this legal drama that follows a single murder case through 22 episodes.
ABC will be bringing "America's Funniest Home Videos" back for another season on Sunday nights, but the show expands from 30 to 60 minutes.
Among the shows ABC canceled were "Day One," "On Our Own," "Sister, Sister," "Me and the Boys," "Thunder Alley," "All American Girl," "Matlock," "Extreme" and "The Commish."
ABC also announced three midseason replacement shows, all sitcoms: Champs stars Timothy Busfield as a husband and father who still hangs around with his former high-school basketball teammates; The Faculty stars Meredith Baxter as "an irreverent assistant principal"; and Buddies, the buddy comedy from the producers of "Home Improvement" that was yanked off the schedule just before it was supposed to debut last month.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ABC's fall schedule
New shows are in bold. An asterisk indicates a returning show in a new time slot.
SUNDAY Am. Funniest Videos 6 p.m.
Lois & Clark 7 p.m.
ABC Sunday Movie 8 p.m.
MONDAY Mon. Night Football 7 p.m.
TUESDAY Roseanne* 7 p.m.
Hudson Street 7:30 p.m.
Home Improvement 8 p.m.
Coach* 8:30 p.m.
NYPD Blue 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY Ellen* 7 p.m.
Drew Carey 7:30 p.m.
Grace Under Fire 8 p.m.
Wilde Again 8:30 p.m.
PrimeTime Live 9 p.m.
THURSDAY Charlie Grace 7 p.m.
The Monroes 8 p.m.
Murder One 9 p.m.
FRIDAY Family Matters 7 p.m.
Boy Meets World 7:30 p.m.
Step By Step 8 p.m.
Mr. Cooper 8:30 p.m.
20/20 9 p.m.
SATURDAY Maybe This Time 7 p.m.
Somewhere . . . 7:30 p.m.
ABC Family Movie* 8 p.m.