Fall 2008
For Laurel’s TV Picks for tonight, check out our main page. Laurel Krahn has been posting TV Picks here regularly since March 1999; she’s been posting Fall schedule grids since May 1999.
| Know the drill? Jump to the Grid: Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Midseason | Not Returning
Each Spring, the networks announce their Fall schedules at an event known as the Upfronts; they present information about new and returning series to advertisers in order to sell ads for the coming TV season. Since at least 1999, I’ve put together the new Fall Schedule in Grid format as the networks make their announcements at the Upfronts. NBC: Press Release Midseason series are listed after the schedule grids; I also list which shows from last season are not returning further on down this page. If you don’t see a show on the grid, don’t panic– they may be holding it for midseason (a.k.a. January) as, for instance, ABC is doing with Lost. By default, the time is set for the Central timezone, but you can use the gizmo in the sidebar on the right to change the timezone to Eastern (which is what most people are used to). You’ll need to have Javascript enabled for the script to work. When you see “(info)” after the name of a new show, you can click on “info” to go to an official page on the network website about the show; I imagine some of these links break as time goes on, if you spot one let me know. Premiere dates are listed in parenthesis after the name of the show. The focus of this grid is primetime broadcast network programming, but (since so many of you asked for it) I will be adding some cable programming to the grid. Keep in mind that most cable series air in shorter seasons that don’t really coincide with the seasons that air on the broadcast networks– so lots of cable shows aren’t listed here because they don’t debut in the fall, but aired during the summer or will air in the winter. The networks usually make some changes to the schedule before the season actually starts. I’ll be updating the grid with any changes during the summer and also document what changes were made after the original announcements. |
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| Key | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| New series | Returning series in new timeslot | Returning Series in same timeslot | |
| Mon | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Dancing with the Stars (9/22) | Samantha Who? (10/6) | Boston Legal (9/22) | |||
| CBS | The Big Bang Theory (9/22) | How I Met Your Mother (9/22) | Two and a Half Men (9/22) | Worst Week (info) (9/22) | CSI: Miami (9/22) | |
| NBC | Chuck (9/29) | Heroes (9/22) | My Own Worst Enemy (info) (10/13) | |||
| FOX | Sarah Connor Chronicles (9/8) | Prison Break (9/1) | Local Programming | |||
| CW | Gossip Girl (9/1) | One Tree Hill (9/1) | ||||
| ESPN | Monday Night Football (9/8) | |||||
| TNT | The Closer (7/14) | Raising the Bar (9/1) | ||||
| Notes: | Note that the Prison Break premiere on September 1st will air from 7pm ’til 9pm.
After The Closer finishes its season on 9/15, Raising the Bar will move from 9pm to the 8pm timeslot (formerly occupied by The Closer) starting on 9/22. ABC: After Dancing with the Stars finishes their season, the untitled project from Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks (info) will take over the 7pm – 8:30pm timeslot. ABC says that this will be the final season for Boston Legal; after Boston Legal finishes a 13 episode season, The Bachelor will take over that timeslot. FOX: At midseason, Dollhouse (info) will take over the 7pm timeslot from Sarah Connor Chronicles; 24 will take over the 8pm timeslot from Prison Break. NBC plans to put the new show The Philanthropist (info) on at 9pm (taking over the timeslot from My Own Worst Enemy) starting sometime during the winter. |
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| Tue | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Opportunity Knocks (info) (9/23) | Dancing with the Stars (Results Show) (9/23) | Eli Stone (10/14) | |||
| CBS | NCIS (9/23) | The Mentalist (info) (9/23) | Without A Trace (9/23) | |||
| NBC | The Biggest Loser (9/16) | Law & Order: SVU (9/23) | ||||
| FOX | House (9/16) | Fringe (info) (9/9) | Local Programming | |||
| CW | 90210 (info) (9/02) | Privileged (info) (9/9) | ||||
| Fam | Lincoln Heights (9/16) | Greek (8/26) | ||||
| FX | The Shield (9/2) | |||||
| Notes: | The Fringe series premiere will air on 9/9 from 7pm ’til 9pm.
Privileged was originally titled Surviving the Filthy Rich . Kath and Kim was originally announced as airing at 8:30pm on Tuesdays after a ninety minute edition of The Biggest Loser, but during the summer NBC updated their schedule and moved the show to Thursdays at 7:30pm after My Name Is Earl. ABC: After Dancing with the Stars finishes their Fall season, Scrubs will move into the 8pm timeslot and new series The Goode Family (info) will air at 8:30pm. FOX: At Midseason/Winter, American Idol will take over the 7pm timeslot from House. |
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| Wed | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Pushing Daisies (10/1) | Private Practice (10/1) | Dirty Sexy Money (10/1) | |||
| CBS | New Adventures of Old Christine (9/24) | Gary Unmarried (info) (9/24) | Criminal Minds (9/24) | CSI: NY (9/24) | ||
| NBC | Knight Rider (info) (9/24) | Deal or No Deal | Lipstick Jungle (9/24) | |||
| FOX | Bones (9/3) | ‘Til Death (9/10) | Do Not Disturb (info) (9/10) | Local Programming | ||
| CW | America’s Next Top Model (9/3) | Stylista (info) (10/22) | ||||
| FX | Sons of Anarchy (9/3) | |||||
| Notes: | Gary Unmarried was originally titled Project Gary.
FOX: At midseason, House will take over the 7pm timeslot from Bones and American Idol will air at 8pm. NBC: Law & Order is scheduled to take over the 9pm timeslot from Lipstick Jungle at some point during the winter. |
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I’ve spent a lot of time putting together this grid and the many pages at TVPicks.net (including TV picks since March 1999 and Fall Grids since May 1999). If you find any of this stuff useful, please consider showing your gratitude with a donation or gift (emails are always appreciated as well). I’m not paid to put together this site and rely on your donations to make it possible. Thanks!
| Thu | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Ugly Betty (9/25) | Grey’s Anatomy (9/25) | Life on Mars (info) (10/9) | |||
| CBS | Survivor (9/25) | CSI (10/9) | Eleventh Hour (info) (10/9) | |||
| NBC | My Name Is Earl (9/25) | Kath & Kim (info) (10/9) | The Office (9/25) | SNL Thursday Night (10/9) | ER (9/25) | |
| FOX | Hole in the Wall (9/11) | Kitchen Nightmares (9/4) | Local Programming | |||
| CW | Smallville (9/18) | Supernatural (9/18) | ||||
| FX | Always Sunny in Philadelphia (9/18) | Testees (10/9) | ||||
| Notes: |
NBC has changed their plans for Thursday since they originally announced their schedule. Kath & Kim has been moved around a lot, will now air at 7:30pm after My Name Is Earl . 30 Rock moves from the 7:30pm timeslot where it was originally scheduled for this season back to 8:30pm, but doesn’t debut until October 30th. A special Thursday Night edition of Saturday Night Live will follow The Office at 8:30pm starting on October 9th. FOX has made some changes to their schedule. Originally The Moment of Truth was to air at 7pm on Thursdays, but now the new series Hole in the Wall will have that timeslot and The Moment of Truth won’t return ’til midseason. ABC: Lost will probably air on Thursday nights at 9pm when it returns at midseason, but ABC isn’t saying for sure where it’ll land, just that it will return in January. FOX:
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| Fri | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Wife Swap (10/3) | Supernanny (10/3) | 20/20 (9/19) | |||
| CBS | Ghost Whisperer (10/3) | The Ex List (info) (10/3) | Numb3rs (10/3) | |||
| NBC | Crusoe (info) (10/17) | Deal or No Deal | Life (10/3) | |||
| FOX | Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (9/5) | Don’t Forget the Lyrics! (9/12) | Local Programming | |||
| CW | Everybody Hates Chris (10/3) | The Game (10/3) | America’s Next Top Model (Encore) (10/3) | |||
| SciFi | Stargate Atlantis | Sanctuary (10/3) | ||||
| Starz | Crash (10/17) | |||||
| USA | The Starter Wife (10/10) | |||||
| Notes: | FOX: At midseason, Bones will move to the 7pm Friday timeslot; ‘Til Death will move to 8pm Fridays and Do Not Disturb (info) will move to 8:30pm Friday.
NBC: This winter, Deal or No Deal will move from 8pm back to 7pm (taking over the timeslot from Crusoe) and Friday Night Lights will air at 8pm. |
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| Sat | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Saturday Night College Football (8/30) | |||||
| CBS | Crimetime Saturday (Reruns of Crime shows) | Crimetime Saturday | 48 Hours Mystery (9/27) | |||
| NBC | Dateline NBC | Knight Rider (encore) | Law & Order: SVU (encore) | |||
| FOX | Cops (9/6) | Cops (Reruns) | America’s Most Wanted (9/6) | Local Programming | ||
| Notes: | FOX Late Night: Mad TV (10pm) and TALKSHOW with Spike Feresten (11pm) will continue.
NBC Late Night: Saturday Night Live will continue on in the same timeslot it’s had for years. |
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When you’re done checking out the grid, you might want to go check out my TV picks for tonight. I’ve been posting TV picks most days since March of 1999. Stop by daily if you like what you see or subscribe via feed or email. Or you can read the picks on your Livejournal Friends List or be notified of when I update the picks via Twitter.
| Sun | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (9/28) | Desperate Housewives (9/28) | Brothers & Sisters (9/28) | |||
| CBS | The Amazing Race (9/28) | Cold Case (9/28) | The Unit (9/28) | |||
| NBC | NBC Sunday Night Football (9/7) | |||||
| FOX | The Simpsons (9/28) | King of the Hill (9/28) | Family Guy (9/28) | American Dad (9/28) | Local Programming | |
| CW | Valentine, Inc. (9/21) | Easy Money (9/21) | ||||
| AMC | Mad Men (7/27) | |||||
| HBO | Entourage (9/7) | Little Britain (9/28) | ||||
| Sho | Californication (9/28) | |||||
| Notes: | FOX: At Midseason, the new show Sit Down, Shut Up (info) will take over the 7:30pm timeslot from King of the Hill. Another new show called The Cleveland Show (info) will take over the 8:30pm timeslot from American Dad.
In the winter, once the NFL season is over, NBC will air the following shows on Sunday nights: Dateline NBC at 6pm, new series Merlin (info) at 7pm, fabulous returning drama Medium at 8pm, and the new series Kings (info) at 9pm. Grid for the 6pm hour and earlier times is below: |
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| Sun | 4:00 | 4:30 | 5:00 | 5:30 | 6:00 | 6:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | America’s Funniest Home Videos (10/5) | |||||
| CBS | 60 Minutes (9/28) | |||||
| NBC | Football Night in America (9/7) | |||||
| FOX | The O.T. (NFL games/coverage) | |||||
| CW | In Harm’s Way (9/21) | |||||
| Notes: | NBC: Once football season is over, Dateline NBC will take over the 6pm timeslot. | |||||
Didn’t see a show on the grid? It may be returning at midseason or may not be returning at all. Keep on reading for the lists of midseason shows and canceled series.
Returning or Premiering at Midseason
Some midseason series may never air, others may take to the airwaves early, others may not air ’til after what is traditionally considered midseason. “Midseason” has usually meant January or sometime around then. I’ve listed probable timeslots where known. It’s all very subject to change.
“Alternative Series” seems to be code for reality shows, game shows, and shows that involve competitions of some sort. Or pretty much anything that’s not a drama, comedy, or some mix of both.
If a show isn’t on the grid and isn’t listed as for midseason, it’s probably dead– scroll on down the page to find out.
| New Comedies: | The Cleveland Show (FOX) (info) (Sundays at 8:30pm) The Goode Family (ABC) (info) (Tuesdays at 8:30pm) Lie To Me (FOX) (info) Man of Your Dreams (NBC) (info) The Office Spin-Off (NBC) (info) Outnumbered (FOX) (info) Sit Down, Shut Up (FOX) (info) (Sundays at 7:30pm) Zip (NBC) (info) |
|---|---|
| New Drama: | Blue Blood (NBC) (info) Courtroom K (FOX) (info) Dollhouse (FOX) (info) (Mondays at 7pm) Harper’s Island (CBS) (info) Kings (NBC) (info) The Listener (NBC) (info) Merlin (NBC) (info) The Philanthropist (NBC) (info) |
| New Alternative: | America’s Toughest Jobs (NBC) (info) Chopping Block (NBC) (info) Salvage (NBC) (info) Secret Millionaire (FOX) (info) (Thursdays at 8pm) Shark Taggers (NBC) (info) Swords: Lives on the Line (NBC) (info) Top Gear (NBC) (info) Untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks Project (ABC) (info) (Mondays at 7pm) Who Do You Think You Are? (NBC) (info) |
| Returning Series: | 24 (FOX) (Mondays at 8pm) According to Jim (ABC) American Idol (FOX) (Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays at 8pm) The Bachelor (ABC) (Tuesdays at 9pm) The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC) Dance War (ABC) (might return, might not; ABC isn’t sure yet) Hell’s Kitchen (FOX) (Thursdays at 7pm) Here Come the Newlyweds (ABC) (might return) Heroes (NBC) Lost (ABC) (Thursdays at 9pm) Moment of Truth (FOX) Primetime: What Would You Do? (ABC) Reaper (the CW) Rules of Engagement (CBS) Scrubs (ABC) (used to air on NBC) (info) (Tuesdays at 8pm) |
ABC didn’t have a very long list of new shows at all for Fall or Midseason, but did name 20 shows that are in development so surely some of them will reach the airwaves during the season. I’ve listed those below.
| Comedies in Development: |
Bad Mother’s Handbook (ABC) Five Year Plan (ABC) Never Better (ABC) Roman’s Empire (ABC) This Might Hurt (ABC) FourPlay (ABC) Single with Parents (ABC) In the Motherhood (ABC) (info) |
|---|---|
| Dramas
in Development: |
Captain Cook’s Extraordinary Atlas (ABC) Castle (ABC) Cupid (ABC) Finnegan (ABC) Good Behavior (ABC) Prince of Motor City (ABC) Untitled David Hemingson Project (ABC) The Unusuals (ABC) Section 8 (ABC) |
Not Returning at All
These are shows which aren’t listed on the Fall schedule and aren’t scheduled to return at midseason or any other time. In some cases they were canceled or just came to an end, in other cases we only know of their demise because they aren’t mentioned in the announcements of the new schedules.
If you don’t see a show on the grid or on this list, it’s possible I overlooked it or that the show’s fate is otherwise yet To Be Determined.
