Twice a year, the Television Critics Association (TCA) hosts a press event where channels and streamers present the latest programming news to the media, and this week ABC revealed details of some upcoming shows at the TCA Winter 2023 press tour.
The ABC TCA Winter 2023 presentation covered primetime series, daytime soaps, game shows, unscripted programming, and more.
Here’s a breakdown of what ABC has in store for its viewers:
Primetime
Abbott Elementary
On the heels of its three wins at the 2023 Golden Globe® Awards ceremony, and numerous other nominations this week, ABC has renewed the hit comedy series “Abbott Elementary” for a third season.
Smart move…not only is it a critical darline, the current second season has increased viewership 31% over the first season, and it’s ranking as ABC’s No. 1 series this season.
Quinta Brunson created and stars as Janine Teagues, and she serves as executive producer of the series alongside Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker of Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions, and Randall Einhorn.
In addition to Brunson, the cast includes Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie, Janelle James as Ava Coleman, Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti, Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill, William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson, and Emmy® Award winner Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard.
“Abbott Elementary” is a co-production with Warner Bros Television Group and 20th Television.
Grey’s Anatomy
It’s happening…Meredith is leaving the hospital on “Grey’s Anatomy,” which will have its winter return on Feb 23, 2023.
In the episode, entitled “I’ll Follow the Sun,” it’s last day for Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) at Grey Sloan Memorial, and the doctors plan a goodbye surprise, while Nick (Scott Speedman) confronts her about the future of their relationship.
Elsewhere, the interns compete to scrub in on Maggie and Winston’s groundbreaking partial heart transplant procedure, and Richard asks Teddy an important question.
“I’ll Follow the Sun” is written by Krista Vernoff, and directed by Debbie Allen.
“Grey’s Anatomy” was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. The series is produced by ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios.
Here is a promo for the milestone episode:
The Good Lawyer
First announced during this TCA Winter 2023 presentation, ABC has ordered an embedded pilot called “The Good Lawyer,” which is a spin-off of the network’s “The Good Doctor” series.
What this means is the characters from this new show will appear in the original show during a regular episode, and once introduced, will then spin off into their own series.
Kennedy McMann (“Nancy Drew”) will play Joni DeGroot, a “brilliant, funny and self-aware” lawyer who is relatively new to her prestigious law firm. Living with OCD, Joni has never wanted to be treated differently. While her symptoms take a toll on her personal and professional life, her attention to detail allows her to see cases through a different lens.
Emmy® Award-winning Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”) will play Janet Stewart, a highly regarded attorney and partner at the law firm Joni works at.
Both characters will be introduced in “The Good Doctor” episode airing March 6, where Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) seeks legal representation to help him win a case.
Janet has represented Murphy’s mentor Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) in several legal matters over the years, so he turns to her to represent his beloved protégé. But when Shaun declares that he wants Joni to represent him, Janet is forced to let Joni take lead on the case.
The series is from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Signature.
The Company You Keep
“The Company You Keep” is a new series starring Milo Ventimiglia (“This is Us”) and Catherine Haena Kim (“FBI”) that will debut Sunday, February 19.
The synopsis: A night of passion leads to love between con man Charlie (Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma (Kim), who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally.
While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in hand – forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences.
The series also stars William Fichtner as Leo, Tim Chiou as David, Freda Foh Shen as Grace, James Saito as Joseph, Sarah Wayne Callies as Birdie, Felisha Terrell as Daphne and Polly Draper as Fran.
It is based on the Korean Broadcasting System series entitled “My Fellow Citizens,” and is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios.
Here is the teaser they showed:
A Million Little Things
The upcoming fifth season of “A Million Little Things” is also the final season, and it will offer a big farewell to its audience with a parallel storyline to the first season, as the group begins to rally around a friend who is fighting for his life after a cancer diagnosis.
Executive producer DJ Nash, who also created the show, teased that audiences will see “cast they haven’t seen in a while” throughout Season 5.
A teaser promo was shown during the presentation that takes a look back at the previous four seasons before giving a glimpse of the final episodes of the series.
Here it is:
Not Dead Yet
Actress Gina Rodriguez stars in this new series that will debut with the first two episodes on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 8:30pm.
The comedy follows Nell Serrano (Rodriguez), a broke and newly single self-described disaster, working to restart the life and career she left behind five years ago.
When she lands the only job she can find ― writing obituaries ― Nell starts getting life advice from some unlikely sources, the dead people whose lives she’s writing about.
Co-starring are Hannah Simone as Sam, Lauren Ash as Lexi, Rick Glassman as Edward, Josh Banday as Dennis and Angela Gibbs as Cricket.
The series will also have a star-studded list of guest stars as the ghosts, including Martin Mull (“Clue”), Ed Begley Jr (“Amsterdam”), Mo Collins (“Fear the Walking Dead”), Deborah S. Craig (“Meet Cute”), Telma Hopkins (“Family Matters”), Don Lake (“Space Force”), Rhea Perlman (“Cheers”), Paula Pell (“Saturday Night Live”), Tony Plana (“Ugly Betty”), Brittany Snow (“X”), and Julia Sweeney (“Saturday Night Live”).
Rodriguez also co-executive produces the series, which is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios.
Here is a first look at the show:
Daytime
General Hospital
ABC’s Emmy® Award-winning iconic daytime drama “General Hospital” will celebrate its 60th anniversary this spring.
The show will kick off its anniversary programming at the end of March with a special episode honoring the late Sonya Eddy, who played “GH” head nurse Epiphany Johnson on the series since 2006.
Then, the fan-favorite Nurses Ball returns starting the week of April 3. It’s a fictional glamorous charity event complete with red-carpet fashion and musical performances from the illustrious citizens of Port Charles dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness. This marks the first time the Nurses Ball has aired since 2020.
The festivities will then continue as icons of Port Charles unite to stop a legendary threat from the past. Jane Elliot is set to reprise her role as the legendary Tracy Quartermaine for this storyline.
To honor the 60th anniversary milestone off-screen, the network is also set to present the cast and crew with a stage dedication on the Prospect Studios lot, permanently commemorating the show’s legacy.
“General Hospital” stars Genie Francis, Maurice Benard, Finola Hughes, Kristina Wagner, Nancy Lee Grahn, Rebecca Herbst, Kelly Monaco, Laura Wright, Kirsten Storms, Dominic Zamprogna, Maura West, Chad Duell, Roger Howarth, Donnell Turner, Michael Easton, Eden McCoy, Cynthia Watros, Josh Swickard, Katelyn MacMullen, Sofia Mattsson, Amanda Setton, Brook Kerr, Nicholas Chavez, Avery Kristen Pohl, Cameron Mathison, Charles Shaughnessy, Tajh Bellow, Tanisha Harper, Tabyana Ali, Robert Gossett, Josh Kelly, Gregory Harrison, and Evan Hofer.
In 2022, “General Hospital” won five Daytime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Drama Series, marking the show’s 15th win for this honor as well as the record for most wins in the category.
Here is a promo celebrating the 60 years on air:
Specials
Schoolhouse Rock! 50th Anniversary Singalong
I am so excited about the “Schoolhouse Rock! 50th Anniversary Singalong” that was announced during the TCA Winter 2023 presentation!
Airing Wednesday, Feb. 1, Ryan Seacrest will host this special that features a variety of guests singing songs from the classic educational series that first debuted in 1973 on ABC. The show will stream next day on Hulu, and at a later date on Disney+
Scheduled to appear are The Muppets, Black Eyed Peas, Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert, Fortune Feimster, Jason Biggs and Jenny Mollen, Julianne Hough, Kal Penn, Ne-Yo, Raven Symoné, Retta, Shaquille O’Neal and Boys & Girls Club of Atlanta.
This is the fifth installment of its successful “Singalong” franchise that includes 2020’s “The Disney Family Singalong,” and I’ll have the complete song list for you soon!
Unscripted Series
Jeopardy! Masters
ABC has greenlit an elite level iteration of America’s Favorite Quiz Show®, called “Jeopardy! Masters.”
Hosted by Ken Jennings, the hour-long primetime series will feature the six highest-ranked, current “Jeopardy!” contestants, who will face off in a Champions League style event to win the coveted title of “Jeopardy! Masters” Champion.
The contestants will be:
- Matt Amodio, whose 38-game winning streak spanned seasons 37 and 38, holds the No. 3 spots for both all-time consecutive games won and highest winnings in regular season play ($1,518,601).
- Sam Buttrey, who dominated the field on his way to becoming the 2021 Professors Tournament champion. His average correct response score was a whopping 96.1%.
- Andrew He, who is a season 38 five-day champion. He led all competitors that season with the largest correct Daily Double wager ($14,000) and tied for the highest score in the “Jeopardy!” round ($18,600).
- James Holzhauer, who lit up the competition over the course of a 32-game streak in season 35. He’s No. 4 on the all-time consecutive wins list, and he set the single-game winnings record with a $131,127 score; he also holds the next nine spots on the Top 10 list for single-game winnings. Holzhauer is one of only two contestants to earn more than $2 million in regular season play ($2,462,216).
- Mattea Roach, the first Gen Z super-champion, is a season 38 phenomenon, and the youngest contestant currently ranked in the Top 5 for all-time consecutive games won.
- Amy Schneider’s electrifying 40-game streak in season 38 landed her at No. 2 on the “Jeopardy!” all-time consecutive wins list; only 74-game champion (and “Jeopardy! Masters” host) Ken Jennings is ahead of her. She is one of only four people to earn more than $1 million in regular-season winnings, and her $1,382,800 puts her at No. 4 on that list.
No start date was given for the series to air.
Renewals
During the TCA Winter 2023 presentation, ABC also announced it has handed renewals to three unscripted shows:
“Claim To Fame,” hosted by Kevin and Frankie Jonas, is returning for a second season. Launched in July 2022, the series sees the two Jonas brothers challenge relatives of celebrities to live together under one roof, while concealing their identity and lineage in the quest for their own fame and fortune.
“Celebrity Family Feud,” hosted by Steve Harvey, will return for season nine. It features celebrities going head-to-head in a contest to name the most popular responses to survey-type questions posed to 100 people for a chance to win money for a charity of their choice.
“Press Your Luck,” hosted by Elizabeth Banks, has been renewed for a fifth season. It is a reboot of the classic 1980s game show, and features contestants answering trivia questions for cash and prizes, while trying to avoid the dreaded Whammys, which will bankrupt them.
Are you a fan of any of these shows? Looking forward to any of the ones newly announced at TCA Winter 2023? Let us know in the comments.
I’m excited for the Schoolhouse Rock special! But on the other hand, I’m getting tired of Derek and Julianne Hough in nearly everything. I know that they have contracts but it feels like Disney relies on them a little too much. (Also, they kind of unsettle me)
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