Fall TV: Dynasty, Roseanne, and spin offs of ‘Big Bang’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
“Young Sheldon” and his grown-up version on “The Big Bang Theory” will be paired on CBS’s Thursday night schedule this fall.
The “Big Bang” spinoff, centered on star Jim Parsons’ character as a precocious 9-year-old Texas high school student, is one of eight new series coming to CBS in the 2017-18 season, the network announced.
Broadcasters outlined their next season’s plans to advertisers last week.
Parsons and the rest of the “Big Bang Theory” cast are signed through the next two seasons, a recently wrapped negotiation that included CBS Corp. chief executive Leslie Moonves meeting with the actors of TV’s No. 1 comedy.
“I hope it goes beyond that,” Moonves said, but, he added, “I can’t make any promises.”
Other freshman CBS shows set for a fall debut include:
▪ Sitcom “9JKL,” described as having an “Everybody Loves Raymond” vibe with the story of an actor (Mark Feuerstein) living near his parents and brother
▪ “Me, Myself & I,” which looks at a man at different stages of his life and stars Bobby Moynihan and John Larroquette.
▪ “Seal Team,” a drama with David Boreanaz (“Bones”) as a member of an elite Navy SEAL team;
▪ “Wisdom of the Crowd,” a drama with Jeremy Piven as a tech guru who creates a crowdsourcing app to solve crimes after his daughter is killed,
▪ “S.W.A.T.,” inspired by the TV series and movie and starring Shemar Moore.
The midseason slate includes “Instinct,” with Alan Cumming as a former CIA operative who’s pulled back into his old line of work, and the comedy “By the Book,” about a man (Jay R. Ferguson) who challenges himself to live strictly in accordance with the Bible. It’s based on A.J. Jacobs’ best-selling book “The Year of Living Biblically.”
Returning shows that will be held for later in the season include “Amazing Race,” “Code Black,” “Man with a Plan” and “Undercover Boss.”
But CBS viewers have seen the last of canceled series “Two Broke Girls” and “The Odd Couple.”
TBS and TNT
TBS has closed a new deal with Conan O’Brien that extends through 2022.
The format and distribution strategy for the talk-show veteran’s talents will evolve from his current Monday-through-Thursday hour. He will “expand the boundaries from a talk show to a range of personality-based, cross-platform experiences,” according to TBS and TNT President Kevin Reilly.
TBS and sister Turner network TNT plan to launch a total of six new series from stars such as Snoop Dogg, Daniel Radcliffe and Michael Moore.
And TNT is working with filmmaker Ridley Scott to develop a night of original science-fiction programming.
With Ridley Scott (“The Martian,” “Alien: Covenant”), TNT will develop an evening-long programming block of original science fiction in many forms, serving as a showcase for hour-long series, short form and other formats.
Meanwhile, TNT has announced “Who Run the World?” – a documentary series executive-produced by Sarah Jessica Parker and Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me”). Slated to premiere later this year, it will focus on the issues that women face in today’s world.
And in late fall, TNT will debut “Michael Moore Live from the Apocalypse,” a nonfiction series from the Oscar-winning filmmaker that promises to blow the whistle on everything from Washington politics to Wall Street shenanigans. Moore will star in the series as well as direct and produce.
TBS has given the green light to these four new series:
▪ “Miracle Workers,” a heaven-set workplace comedy starring Daniel Radcliffe and Owen Wilson and executive-produced by Lorne Michaels (“Saturday Night Live”).
▪ “Close Enough,” an animated series from “Regular Show” creator J.G. Quintel.
▪ An update of the durable game show “The Joker’s Wild” hosted by Snoop Dogg.
▪ An untitled series from the comedy trio The Dress Up Gang, whose viral videos include the “My Roommate, My Friend” series.
CNN
CNN’s new series set for 2018 include:
▪ “Detroit 1963: Once in a Great City,” a four-part series about the city of Detroit at its high point.
▪ “American Heiress: The Patty Hearst Story,” a six-part series that will follow the transformation of Patricia Hearst from heiress to terrorist after her kidnapping.
▪ “1968: The Year That Changed America,” a four-part series that looks back at a year marked by seismic shifts in American politics, social movements and national leadership.
▪ “Kennedys: An American Dynasty,” a six-part series that explores how personal relationships within the Kennedy dynasty helped shaped national and global events.
▪ “Pope,” a six-part series that goes inside the Vatican to reveal the true power held by popes throughout the ages.
HLN
On tap for HLN is “Unmasking A Killer,” a five-part series that goes inside the investigation, case files and mind of The Golden State Killer, a man believed to be the most prolific uncaught rapist and serial killer in the nation.
CW
“Dynasty” is returning to TV, nearly 30 years after the prime-time soap opera aired its last hair-pulling fight.
The rebooted drama will be one of four new series joining the CW’s fall schedule.
Also debuting in the fall, is freshman military drama “Valor.”
Midseason additions to the CW lineup will include the comedy “Life Sentence” and the DC Comics-based “Black Lightning.”
Two freshman shows from last season, “No Tomorrow” and “Frequency,” were canceled. It was previously announced that “The Vampire Diaries” and “Reign” were wrapping their runs this season.
NBC
NBC is reviving its “must-see TV” Thursday franchise this fall with the revival of “Will & Grace,” and by moving its heartwarming hit “This is Us” to the same night.
NBC will introduce eight new series next season but sprinkle them throughout the year. Only the “Will & Grace” reboot, a Dick Wolf-produced limited series on the Menendez murders and an action series starring Anne Heche as an undercover military hero will begin in the fall.
The network said Tina Fey will appear periodically in “Great News,” the newsroom comedy she’s producing that will also air Thursdays.
ABC
“Roseanne,” one of TV’s rare working-class comedies, will return to ABC two decades after it wrapped its hit run and with star Roseanne Barr and the rest of the cast intact for an eight-episode run.
The network also plans to reboot “American Idol,” which was dropped by Fox.
Other new shows are:
▪ “Alex Inc.,” a comedy, is set for the 2017-18 season but with a still-unannounced debut date. Zach Braff stars as a radio journalist and family man who decides to turn entrepreneur.
▪ A new “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff. Set in a Seattle firehouse, the untitled drama, to be executive produced by Shonda Rhimes, has no air date.
▪ “The Good Doctor,” a drama starring Freddie Highmore as a young physician with autism and savant syndrome
▪ “The Gospel of Kevin,” a drama about a troubled man (Jason Ritter) who’s instructed by a celestial being to save the world
▪ “Marvel’s Inhumans.” The comic-book based series will explore the story of Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans, and his royal family splintered by a military coup.
▪ “Ten Days in the Valley,” a drama starring Kyra Sedgwick as an overworked TV producer of a police show whose daughter disappears.
▪ “The Crossing,” a drama about Americans seeking refuge in a small U.S. town as they try to avoid a war that has yet to happen. Steve Zahn stars.
▪ “Deception” stars Jack Cutmore-Scott (“Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life”) as a superstar magician who joins the FBI to help catch elusive criminals.
▪ “Boy Band” will feature Rita Ora as host of a music competition show trying to anoint the next big male singing group. The show will also feature the Backstreet Boy’s Nick Carter and Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls as mentors for contestants.
▪ “Splitting Up Together” is based on a Danish series and tells the story of a couple whose marriage is “reignited by their divorce,” said ABC. Jenna Fischer of “The Office” stars with Oliver Hudson.
▪ “The Bachelor Winter Games” will bring together contestants from “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” to compete in winter-themed athletic challenges, “including the toughest sport of all – love,” according to the network’s description.
▪ “Dancing with the Stars Junior,” a spinoff in which celebrity kids and children of celebrities will be paired with professional junior ballroom dancers to compete in choreographed routines.
“Last Man Standing,” the Tim Allen comedy, won’t return next season. Other shows that were axed include “Time After Time,” “American Crime,” “Imaginary Mary,” “The Real O'Neals,” “The Catch” and “Dr. Ken.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Fall TV: Dynasty, Roseanne, and spin offs of ‘Big Bang’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’."