ABC in 2025-26: More of the same

Network stands pat with a few changes

ABC released its 2025-26 schedule on Tuesday, and like the other broadcast networks (except NBC), familiarity and stability are the key. 

There is only one new show debuting on the schedule this fall, an indication of the lessening power linear TV has in today’s media space, and was indicated at the Disney upfront on Tuesday, as the network was barely mentioned at the presentation. 

Monday has an ESPN simulcast of Monday Night Football, and it isn’t known if ABC will carry every game or if they will carry a limited number, as last season, ABC carried ten contests. It is also isn’t known what ABC would air after MNF concludes for the season. 

Tuesdays remains unchanged with the former Monday anchor Dancing With The Stars and High Potential. 

Wednesdays have an unusual sitcom combo of Tim Allen’s Shifting Gears and veteran Abbott Elementary. If you’re thinking this pairing – given both shows attract completely different demographics from one another – makes no sense, keep in mind that WGN-TV once paired syndicated reruns of black-ish and Allen’s previous sitcom Last Man Standing in primetime when they were an independent. The night finishes off with the return of The Golden Bachelor and Shark Tank, moving from Friday. 

Thursdays has the returning 9-1-1 and new spinoff 9-1-1 Nashville, giving Ryan Murphy two hours on the network. Finishing off the night is the long-running Grey’s Anatomy, which is shifting to the final hour of primetime after years leading off the night. 

Fridays have Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and 20/20; Sports on Saturdays; and America’s Funniest Home Videos and movies on Sundays, but look for American Idol to return a week after the Oscars. 

ABC will have several new series ready to go midseason, including returning dramas Will Trent, The Rookie, and Celebrity Jeopardy. Look for more midseason shows to be announced in the future. 

Of note, ABC didn’t officially cancel any series- Doctor Odyssey going on hiatus, but for how long, nobody knows. Given shorter seasons for shows are the norm now, cancellations may be few and far between, despite what NBC and CBS did recently. 

There isn’t much more to say about ABC’s schedule next season, as the lack of innovation and the general blandness of it speaks for itself.