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Roseanne canceled: What does this mean for ABC’s Tuesday nights?

By Alexandria Ingham

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ABC made the shocking but positive decision to cancel Roseanne after the social storm that took place on May 29. Now the question is what it means for Tuesday nights on the network.

Roseanne is canceled and all reruns have been pulled from the Viacom network. This is a positive move by the networks, choosing to suppport the fight against racism instead of being part of it. With the cancelation of the network’s biggest series, there are now questions about what it means for Tuesday nights.

Let’s not pretend that ABC wasn’t riding on the success of Roseanne at the Upfronts. Main star Roseanne Barr was the woman to open the whole presentation. Because of the huge success of the revival during the 2017-2018 season, the series was picked up early and kept its Tuesday night slot for the fall season. More than that, the plan was to use the series to launch new comedy The Kids Are Alright.

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Just to get an idea of how big the decision to cancel Roseanne was, Tuesday nights has been a big problem for ABC in recent years. CBS has hogged success with NCIS. So, putting a new show on this night meant that the network needed a show that was going to be a success. So now, there’s going to be a big hole in the schedule.

The Rookie might not suffer as much as the new comedy series. This is a dramedgy that will star Nathan Fillion and he has his own loyal audience. It really is just The Kids Are Alright that is the problem. So, what is ABC’s option now because it’s definitely not (rightfully) backtracking on its decision to pull Roseanne.

Switch up Wednesday nights?

One of the options is to move Modern Family from Wednesdays to Tuesdays. This would be a big risk for the comedy that is going into its 10th season next year. It’s had the Wednesday night slot for way too long for fans to want to move to a Tuesday night. Plus, it’s going to act as the series to help launch another new comedy Single Parents.

If Modern Family moves, the network may have to consider moving Single Parents too. But then that would mean more of a shakeup of Tuesdays with Black-ish. This doesn’t seem likely.

Keeping Single Parents on Wednesdays would work, but the series would need to move into American Housewife‘s spot to run off the back of The Goldbergs. Then A Million Little Things would be at risk.

The Goldbergs could move night, but again, this already has a loyal fanbase and has been on Wednesdays for too long. Would people really want to move?

Let Black-ish take the spot?

Another potential move is to put Black-ish into the 8 p.m. slot instead of the 9 p.m. slot. There series is certainly a good contender. Not great, but good. It already has a strong following and wouldn’t be too odd putting this comedy ahead of a new series instead of after it. The 9 p.m. slot would arguably be easier to fill.

The downside is that the following isn’t going to be as strong as that of NCIS. This could put this series at risk and nobody wants that.

Switching up Fridays?

How about the decision to switch up the Friday nights. While the shows moved to Fridays have been among the poorest, they may have the following enough to help support Tuesday nights for The Kids Are Alright. It’s a long-shot, but a chance. Fresh Off the Boat may be the better option to move to Tuesdays.

There is plenty of support for Fresh Off the Boat moving back to its Tuesday night slot. This move would also give the series a better chance than in the Friday night death slot.

Bringing a midseason show to the fall?

Another option is to consider bringing a midseason show forward to the fall. Schooled would be the best option for this. Of course, a Tuesday 8 p.m. slot isn’t a good one, but the Wednesday 8:30 p.m. would be perfect. Schooled is a spin-off of The Goldbergs, so what better timing than running it straight off the back of its parent show? That’s one of the ways Young Sheldon succeeded behind The Big Bang Theory on CBS.

This would mean American Housewife needs to move. Since it’s a returning show, it could possibly survive on a Tuesday night. This may be the best option of all.

Revive a show?

Had NBC not already saved Brooklyn Nine-Nine, this would have been the perfect opportunity. However, FOX does have another show that a fandom would like to see saved: Lucifer. There are now many asking the network to revive the devilish program.

While Lucifer is currently an hour-long drama, fans may be happy for a half-hour program instead. May. It could mean another change to the current schedule to make it work!

If ABC wants to keep one of their own shows, fans have asked for Kevin (Probably) Saves the World. That wouldn’t quite make an impact on a Tuesday night, but it could work on a Friday to bring Fresh Off the Boat back onto Tuesdays. Just a suggestion.

Next: 6 new shows coming to ABC to watch

What do you think ABC’s new fall 2018 schedule is going to look like? What would you like to see take the 8 p.m. slot now Roseanne is canceled? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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