ABC New Fall TV Lineup: Network Will Air 'Scandal' at Different Time Slot, Followed by New Shonda Rhimes Drama 'How To Get Away With Murder'
ABC is looking to award-winning producer Shonda Rhimes to help boosts its Thursday night prime time ratings this fall.
The network has decided to air both of Rhime's stellar TV creations, "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal," on Thursday nights, followed by her new show "How to Get Away With Murder."
Beginning at the start of the fall 2014-15 season, "Scandal" will be bumped up an hour and air at 9 p.m. EST instead of 10 p.m. "Grey Anatomy" is also moving to the new time of 8 p.m. EST, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
ABC's decided to give powerhouse producer Shonda Rhimes ownership of Thursday night in order to help boost its rating among advertiser-favored young adults, Fox News reported.
"How to Get Away With Murder" stars a brilliant and mysterious criminal defense professor played by Viola Davis who becomes entangled in a murder plot that will shake her university. The sexy, suspenseful thriller is also about the professor's group of ambitious law students. Liza Weil, Billy Brown, Katie Findlay, Matt McGorry, Aja Naomi King, Jack Falahee, Alfred Enoch, Charlie Weber and Karla Souza will also star in the project, according to TVGuide.com. This comes as no surprise since Rhimes, who has great clout at ABC, is incredibly valuable to the network.
ABC also added a drama called "American Crime," which is executively produced and directed by "12 Years a Slave's" John Ridley. Anthony Anderson's comedy "Black-ish," which is loosely based on the life of showrunner Kenya Barris from "The Game," was also picked up. In the series, Anderson plays an upper-middle-class black man who struggles to raise his children with a sense of cultural identity in spite of constant contradictions from his family members, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
They're joined by alien drama "The Whispers" (previously known as "The Visitors") and Marvel's Captain America spinoff "Agent Carter," according to The Wire.
The network also added Jeff Lowell's musical fairy tale "Galavant" along with Emily Kapnek's new show "Selfie," which is about a woman who is famous on social media.