ABC, Fox resume new programming
ABC and Fox have announced their schedule plans for the rest of the television season now that the Hollywood writers’ strike is settled.
First up on ABC is the comedy “Samantha Who?,” which will return for six episodes on April 7. “Boston Legal” airs the first of six new shows the following night.
Also returning are “Brothers & Sisters” on April 20 and “Ugly Betty” on April 24. “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Lost,” which will move from 9 to 10 p.m., also come back on the 24th; all three Thursday shows will have five new episodes.
“Lost” fans will have to wait about a month between the final pre-strike episode and the debut of the new installments.
“Desperate Housewives” will squeeze in seven new hours of shooting, including a two-hour season finale. Its first episode back is scheduled for April 13.
The pre-strike Wednesday lineup of “Pushing Daisies,” “Private Practice” and “Dirty Sexy Money” won’t be back this spring, but ABC has picked up all three series for the 2008-09 season.
Fox has added original episodes of “Bones,” Back to You,” ” ‘Til Death” and “House” to a spring schedule already loaded with fresh series premieres.
“House” moves to Mondays at 9 p.m., debuting there April 21 with an encore episode followed by the first of an unspecified number of original post-strike episodes premiering the following week.
It will be paired with “Bones,” which was already set to take the Monday 8 p.m. slot starting April 14.
The comedies “Back to You” and ” ‘Til Death” also will stagger back onto the air.
Original episodes of “Back to You” already were slated to air Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:30 p.m., after “American Idol.” The series will then vanish until it begins a run of new episodes April 16 at 8:30 p.m.
April 16 will also be the premiere for ” ‘Til Death” in its new 8 p.m. slot. One new episode will air before that, on March 25 at 9:30 p.m.
The return of “House” means that Fox is moving up the premiere of “Canterbury’s Law,” which will debut March 10 at 8 p.m.
In addition, Fox will launch “Unhitched” (March 2), “New Amsterdam” (March 10) and “The Return of Jezebel James” (March 14).