ABC Announces 2007-08 Primetime Schedule

[disneytim]

ABC this morning announced its upcoming primetime lineup for 2007-08.

Returning series include “Brothers & Sisters,” “MEN IN TREES,” “Ugly Betty,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Boston Legal,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “The Bachelor,” “Supernanny,” “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “Wife Swap.” Also returning for their second seasons are “October Road” and “Notes from the Underbelly."

New to the Fall schedule are the comedies "Sam I Am," "Caveman" and "Carpoolers." Debuting dramas include “Pushing Daisies,” “Private Practice'” “Dirty Sexy Money'” “Big Shots” and “Women’s Murder Club.”

Source: ABC Medianet

[Sam]

what did they cancel?

[disneytim]

Descriptions of the new series, courtesy ABC:

“Big Shots”
This is the story of four friends at the top of their game...until the women in their lives enter the room. Lines between boardroom and bedroom blur when these competitive but dysfunctional CEOs take refuge in their friendship, discussing business, confiding secrets, seeking advice and supporting each other through life’s surprising twists and turns. Michael Vartan ("Alias") and Dylan McDermott ("The Practice") star.

“Cashmere Mafia”
Four ambitious and sexy women, who’ve been best friends since business school, try to balance their glamorous and demanding careers with their complex personal lives in the city that never sleeps. They’ve created their own “boys club” to protect each other and discuss their ups and downs as they try to have it all. What good is it to break the glass ceiling without girlfriends to share in your success? Stars Lucy Liu ("Ally McBeal").

“Dirty Sexy Money”
Some people say money is the root of all evil. They may be right. Nick George’s ("Six Feet Under's" Peter Krause) whole life has been lived in the shadow of the Darling family, but as an adult he’s leading the perfect life as an idealistic lawyer, until his father’s suspicious death. The absurdly wealthy Darlings of New York have asked him to take over his father’s job as their personal lawyer, but the money that will allow him the freedom to be an altruistic do-gooder is only part of the picture. That same money pulls him into the dubious doings of the Darling clan. Power, privilege and family money are a volatile cocktail.

“Eli Stone”
Many lawyers consider themselves prophets, but Eli Stone (Jonny Lee Miller) may be the real deal. Eli has built a successful career at a top law firm in San Francisco representing only the biggest and richest corporations that make a habit of screwing over the little guy. But after experiencing a series of odd hallucinations, Eli seeks to find a deeper meaning to life while trying not to lose his job and destroy his relationship with the bosses’ daughter. When Eli discovers an aneurysm in his brain, he wonders if his condition is truly medical or if perhaps he now has a higher calling.

“Private Practice”
From Shonda Rhimes, the Golden Globe-winning creator of “Grey’s Anatomy,” comes a story about new beginnings and old friends. Addison Forbes Montgomery is a renowned neonatal surgeon, respected by her friends and colleagues at Seattle Grace Hospital. Deciding she can no longer healthily co-exist with her ex-husband, McDreamy, and her ex-lover, McSteamy, Addison heads to Los Angeles for sunnier weather and happier possibilities. Reunited with her once-married, newly divorced medical school friends, Naomi and Sam, Addison joins their chic private practice. Featuring an all-star cast including Kate Walsh, Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly and Taye Diggs, “Private Practice” tells the story of a woman unafraid of change and willing to begin a new life.

“Pushing Daisies”
From Bryan Fuller (“Heroes”) and Barry Sonnenfeld (“Men in Black”) comes an unprecedented blend of romance, crime procedural and high-concept fantasy in a forensic fairytale about a young man with a very special gift. Once upon a time, a mild-mannered boy named Ned realized he could touch dead things and bring them back to life. Grown-up Ned puts his ability to good use, not only touching dead fruit and making it ripe with everlasting flavor, but working with an investigator to crack murder cases by asking the deceased to name their killers. But the tale gets complicated, as all tales do, when Ned brings his childhood sweetheart, Chuck, back from the dead and keeps her alive. Chuck encourages him to use his power to help others, instead of merely solving mysteries and collecting the rewards. Life would be perfect for Ned and Chuck, except for one cruel twist: If he ever touches her again, she’ll go back to being dead, this time for good.

“Women’s Murder Club”
Based on James Patterson’s bestselling novels,The Women’s Murder Club, four working women in San Francisco - a detective, a district attorney, a medical examiner and a reporter - use their expertise and unique talents to solve murder cases. Each woman is successful in her own field, but because of their unique friendship, they realize that pooling their resources during investigations leads to undiscovered clues and answers in both work and their personal lives.

“Carpoolers”
Less about saving the environment than male bonding, four guys from very different backgrounds relish their daily commute as they commiserate about their lives, jobs and families in the carpool lane. There’s Laird, the recently divorced playboy; Aubrey, the timid homemaker and breadwinner; the conservative and traditional Gracen; and eager newlywed Dougie. Together, between the pressures of home and work, these men find time to be themselves while driving to and from the office.

“Cavemen”
Cavemen is a unique buddy comedy that offers a clever twist on stereotypes and turns race relations on their head. Inspired by the popular Geico Insurance commercials, the series looks at life through the eyes of the ultimate outsiders - three modern cavemen - as they struggle to find their place in the world. Joel, his cynical best friend, Nick, and easy-going little brother, Jamie, are contemporary cavemen who live in the suburban south and simply want to be treated like ordinary thirty-something guys. Despite their attempts at assimilation, Nick doesn’t believe mainstream society will ever completely accept them, Jamie seems to take it all in stride and Joel straddles the middle, torn between his friends, his more traditional values and his loving fiancée.

“Miss/Guided”
Having navigated the awkward and sometimes traumatic world of high school, Rebecca Freely returns to her alma mater as a guidance counselor, free of the insecurities and orthodontia of her school days. Amidst student behavioral problems and the persistent romantic advances of the male nurse, Gary, Rebecca is certain of one thing -- she is interested in the hot auto-shop-turned-Spanish-teacher, Tim. However, much as in high school days of unexpected teenage angst, Lisa, a former cheerleader and nemesis of Rebecca’s, returns as the new English teacher determined to make Rebecca relive her unpopular past, setting sights on Tim as well.

“Sam I Am”
When a terrible accident leaves Samantha “Sam” Newly (Christina Applegate) in a coma for eight days, she wakes up with no recollection of any past experiences, memories or events. Faced with amnesia, Sam must start over. To her dismay she discovers that she wasn’t a particularly honest, good-hearted or loving person. In fact she was self-involved, narcissistic and devoid of real relationships - essentially a bitch. Sam must now struggle with her desire to be good and her temptation to be...not so good. Finding the line between good and evil is never easy.

[Experiment626]

what did they cancel?

Oh, just the only successful show ever with a Mexican cast "The George Lopez Show". I'm pissed. This was a very funny show. How the hell does a show about CAVEMEN get on the air but this show gets cancelled??? ABC got it wrong this time...REALLY WRONG!!! F'in ridiculous.

[LuvsLilo]

Oh, just the only successful show ever with a Mexican cast "The George Lopez Show". I'm pissed. This was a very funny show. How the hell does a show about CAVEMEN get on the air but this show gets cancelled??? ABC got it wrong this time...REALLY WRONG!!! F'in ridiculous.

George Lopez feels the same way.

I get kicked out for a...caveman and shows that I out-performed because I’m not owned by [ABC Television Studios]...So a...Chicano can't be on TV but a...caveman can?" Lopez said. "And a Chicano with an audience already? You know when you get in this that shows do not last forever, but this was an important show and to go unceremoniously like this hurts. One hundred seventy people lost their jobs.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/show...05/post_1.html

Stupid ABC. They made a mistake.

[Experiment626]

George Lopez feels the same way.



http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/show...05/post_1.html

Stupid ABC. They made a mistake.

Thanks for the quote. I wonder if another network could pick them up? It was filmed at Warner Bros. maybe they could do it on the CW? It's very true about all the people losing their jobs. I know a guy who's an Executive Director on the show. He's a great guy. Started off as a camera man on Roseanne and Home Improvement and has worked his way up behind the scenes. I really hope he will get another job ASAP as well as everyone else on the show from the crew to even the cast. I got to see a taping last year for my birthday and they were just awesome there. They should do a petition or something. Where's Sandra Bullock when George needs her to keep this show on the air???

[cellarhound]

Hmmm... If you where an ABC executive and had a choice to have lunch with George Lopez or Warren Buffet, who would you choose?

I don't know, but I think Lopez is gonna have to take a second seat to pandering to Berkshire Hathaway (the owner of Geico) for their advertising dollars...

Lopez really should be angrier other shows in the lineup...

[disneytim]

I think it's a shame that George Lopez has to play the race card because he didn't get his way. TV shows get cancelled every day, some with white casts, some not. So suddenly Lopez's show gets cancelled, and it's because he's Chicano?

Could it be that his show wasn't very funny and it was getting creamed in the ratings?

[demento57]

George Lopez had a show? Wow, a whole 30 mins a week to not be funny.

[Imagineer1985]

After reading several quotes from Lopez it is clear he has ZERO Class.

[Coheteboy]

George Lopez had a show? Wow, a whole 30 mins a week to not be funny.

LOL, I didn't realize his show was still on either. But then again... I don't really watch ABC at all either. (don't take it personally, I just never got on the LOST, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy bandwagons).

[cellarhound]

Could it be that his show wasn't very funny and it was getting creamed in the ratings?

When dealing with Cavemen... I am sure it is about Advertising $$$... How much do you think Geico is willing fork over to support that show independant of the ratings?

[Experiment626]

I think it's a shame that George Lopez has to play the race card because he didn't get his way. TV shows get cancelled every day, some with white casts, some not. So suddenly Lopez's show gets cancelled, and it's because he's Chicano?

Could it be that his show wasn't very funny and it was getting creamed in the ratings?

Pretty interesting that you say that when he didn't mention in that article that it was because he was Mexican-American. Sounded like he blamed it on the fact that Warner Bros. owns the show and not ABC and that's why ABC canned it. But also the fact that they keep putting his show up against American Idol and they renewed other new shows that had lower ratings and canned his. I tried watching "Knights of Prosperity" (one of the shows getting renewed) and that was not funny. I honestly tried to watch it because the premise of the show sounded interesting. It also baffles me that this show in particular only aired a few times then got took off the air (I figured they cancelled the thing) then they renew it? They honestly should have given him one more season to finish the show properly.

As for the whole caveman show issue. Honestly, those Geico commercials were ridiculously stupid and NOT FUNNY!!! I know for sure that I won't watch that crap and hope it gets cancelled after 5 episodes. Seriously...a comedy show about CAVEMEN???? C'mon!

[HiddenMickey]

“Cavemen”
Cavemen is a unique buddy comedy that offers a clever twist on stereotypes and turns race relations on their head. Inspired by the popular Geico Insurance commercials, the series looks at life through the eyes of the ultimate outsiders - three modern cavemen - as they struggle to find their place in the world. Joel, his cynical best friend, Nick, and easy-going little brother, Jamie, are contemporary cavemen who live in the suburban south and simply want to be treated like ordinary thirty-something guys. Despite their attempts at assimilation, Nick doesn’t believe mainstream society will ever completely accept them, Jamie seems to take it all in stride and Joel straddles the middle, torn between his friends, his more traditional values and his loving fiancée.

WTF- serious.... Is the "Not the Mama" baby from Dinosaurs gonna have a cameo in this show?

[disneytim]

When dealing with Cavemen... I am sure it is about Advertising $$$... How much do you think Geico is willing fork over to support that show independant of the ratings?

I agree with you, but I don't think George Lopez getting cancelled and "Cavemen" getting greenlit have much to do with one another.

Before everyone gets all cynical about this blending of consumerism and entertainment, don't forget that Walt Disney's first TV show, "Disneyland," was basically selling a product.

It will be interesting to see how "Cavemen" is received and how it performs. It may even surprise us and be a good show--although I'm not holding out much hope.