This week we begin our annual three part look at the new programs slated for the six major broadcast networks this fall.
Two big trends are immediately evident for the upcoming season. 1) So-called reality shows are down from 21 series to 14 and 2) the success of Lost and Desperate Housewives helped fuel the return of scripted programming, many with a supernatural bent.
We start with the network that made the biggest improvement in the ratings, ABC. We conclude part one with a look at the fall schedule for the number one network in broadcast television - CBS.
Shows returning to ABC next season are: ABC Movie of the Week, According to Jim, Alias, The Bachelor, Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, George Lopez, Grey's Anatomy, Hope & Faith, Jake in Progress, Lost, Monday Night Football, Prime Time Live, Rodney, Super Nanny, 20/20 and Wife Swap.
Coming to ABC this fall are:
Commander-in-Chief (one-hour drama, Tuesday, 9:00 p.m., ET) -- Mackenzie Allen has a lot on her plate... She has twin teenagers and a six-year-old at home, an ambitious husband at the office, and she is about to become the first female President of the United States.
Before that happens, however, Mackenzie, who serves as Vice President, has to decide whether or not to go against the dying wishes of the current President, who has asked her to step down and let someone "more appropriate" fill his shoes in the Oval Office. Not only does the President want her to resign, so does the entire party that elected her in the first place.
But when the moment of truth arrives, Mackenzie isn't willing to be a mere footnote in history. Instead of allowing her detractors to keep her down, she decides to trust her instincts and accept the most powerful job in the world.
Commander-in-Chief stars Academy Award®-winner Geena Davis and comes from Rod Lurie, acclaimed writer/director of the Oscar-nominated film, The Contender, and creator of the critically acclaimed ABC series, Line of Fire.
Freddie (half-hour comedy, Wednesday, 8:30 p.m., ET) -- Four women to every man are great odds when you're a single guy out on the town, but not ideal when it comes to your living situation. Freddie is a young, successful chef with his own restaurant, a stylish bachelor pad and a trust fund baby for a best friend. The world should be Freddie's oyster at this stage in life, but bachelorhood isn't working out exactly as he envisioned.
