It’s that time of the year again. No, not baseball season. Not summer. Not even Cannes – although it is all of those. It’s upfront season – the time of the year when all of the TV networks go to New York to unveil their fall lineups. While TV critics are obviously present, the upfronts exist mainly to woo ad buyers to the networks new shows. The concept being to sell TV advertising “up front” before the seasons even start. If a show can create a lot of buzz at upfronts, it will generate a lot of revenue for the network…guaranteed months before the general public sees the pilot episode. The presentations themselves are not just powerpoint seminars, but lively shows – with actors in hit shows and new shows showing up to sing and dance on stage, and organizers making every effort to put people in a good mood – a buying mood.
Without any further ado, here are the lineups. New shows are in bold.
ABC
Monday
8:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars
9:30 p.m. Sam I Am
10:00 p.m. The Bachelor
Tuesday
8:00 p.m. Cavemen
8:30 p.m. Carpoolers
9:00 p.m. Dancing With the Stars (results show)
10:00 p.m. Boston Legal
Wednesday
8:00 p.m. Pushing Daisies
9:00 p.m. Private Practice
10:00 p.m. Dirty Sexy Money
Thursday
8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty
9:00 p.m. Grey's Anatomy
10:00 p.m. Big Shots
Friday
8:00 p.m. Men in Trees
9:00 p.m. Women’s Murder Club
10:00 p.m. 20/20
Saturday
8:00 p.m. Saturday Night College Football
Sunday
7:00 p.m. America's Funniest Home Videos
8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives
10:00 p.m. Brothers & Sisters
NBC
Monday
8:00 p.m. Deal or No Deal
9:00 p.m. Heroes/Heroes: Origins
10:00 p.m. Journeyman
Tuesday
8:00 p.m. The Biggest Loser
9:00 p.m. Chuck
10:00 p.m. Law & Order SVU
Wednesday
8:00 p.m. Deal or No Deal
9:00 p.m. Bionic Woman
10:00 p.m. Life
Thursday
8:00 p.m. My Name is Earl
8:30 p.m. Rock
9:00 p.m. The Office
9:30 p.m. Scrubs
10:00 p.m. ER
Friday
8:00 p.m. 1 vs. 100//The Singing Bee (rotating)
9:00 p.m. Las Vegas
10:00 p.m. Friday Night Lights
Saturday
8:00 p.m. Dateline
9:00 p.m. Drama repeats
Sunday (Post-NFL schedule)
7:00 p.m. Dateline
8:00 p.m. Law & Order
9:00 p.m. Medium
10:00 p.m. Lipstick Jungle
CW
Monday
8:00 p.m. Everybody Hates Chris
8:30 p.m. Aliens in America
9:00 p.m. Girlfriends
9:30 p.m. The Game
Tuesday
8:00 p.m. Beauty and the Geek
9:00 p.m. Reaper
Wednesday
8:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model
9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl
Thursday
8:00 p.m. Smallville
9:00 p.m. Supernatural
Friday
8:00 p.m. Friday Night Smackdown!
Sunday
7:00 p.m. Online Nation
7:30 p.m. CW Now
8:00 p.m. Life is Wild
9:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model (repeats)
Fox
Monday
8:00 p.m. Prison Break
9:00 p.m. K-Ville
Tuesday
8:00 p.m. New Amsterdam
9:00 p.m. House
Wednesday
8:00 p.m. Back to You
8:30 p.m. ‘Til Death
9:00 p.m. Bones
Thursday
8:00 p.m. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader
9:00 p.m. Kitchen Nightmares
Friday
8:00 p.m. The Search for the Next Great American Band
9:00 p.m. Nashville
Saturday
8:00 p.m. Cops
8:30 p.m. Cops
9:00 p.m. America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
Sunday
7:00 p.m. The Lot
8:00 p.m. The Simpsons
8:30 p.m. King of the Hill
9:00 p.m. Family Guy
9:30 p.m. American Dad
CBS
Mondays
8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
8:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory
9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men
9:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement
10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami
Tuesdays
8:00 p.m. NCIS
9:00 p.m. The Unit
10:00 p.m. Cane
Wednesdays
8:00 p.m. Kid Nation
9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds
10:00 p.m. CSI: NY
Thursdays
8:00 p.m. Survivor: China
9:00 p.m. CSI
10:00 p.m. Without a Trace
Fridays
8:00 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9:00 p.m. Moonlight
10:00 p.m. Numb3rs
Saturdays
8:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
9:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery
Sundays
7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes
8:00 p.m. Viva Laughlin
9:00 p.m. Cold Case
10:00 p.m. Shark
This season didn’t bring too many surprises, but it is clear that again, reality is here to stay. Indeed many networks schedules seemed reliant upon reality shows like Dancing With The Stars and Deal or No Deal. Indeed, NBC, although sticking with its strong 4-sitcom lineup on Thursdays, is not bringing one new sitcom to the table. Hour-long serial dramas and reality shows seem to be the hot item of the past few years – a fact that for me, is a little sad. I think perhaps cable is becoming the proprietary home for comedy – what do you think about the new schedules?
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Comments: 12
thanks again
rayandjudy
I try not to love a show in case my schedule changes.
I love to know what's coming though... thanks.
I will be DVRing:
the bachelor
ER
House
I'm not sure about any of the new shows yet - I'll have to head over to the networks and see what they are about - some of the titles do sound interesting :)