Courtesy of ABC/Jack Rowand
The first pickups for the 2016-17 season.
Two weeks after being tapped as ABC entertainment president, Channing Dungey is doing something her predecessor, Paul Lee, never did: hand out early renewals. The former head of drama at ABC Studios on Thursday renewed several series — including veteran drama Once Upon a Time, sophomore comedy Fresh Off the Boat and rookie Quantico.
The renewals mark Dungey's first official duties as head of the network and come after Lee historically waited until the Friday before upfronts in May to announce both returning shows as well as his new series pickups. ABC is firming up its lineup for the 2016-17 season.
Once Upon a Time
The season six pickup comes just days ahead of the fantasy series' 100th episode – an important mark for syndication. The ABC Studios drama continues to draw stable ratings on Sundays, averaging 8 million viewers. When speaking about the milestone episode with THR, creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis sound open to a long run for the synergistic series, possibly with different characters taking the lead at some point down the road.
Fresh Off the Boat
Produced from outside studio 20th Century Fox Television, the third season renewal for the 1990s Asian-American family comedy should be seen as a vote of confidence from Dungey. The drama executive has made diversity a top priority and the renewal for the bubble comedy produced by an outside studio is a key sign that she's open to allowing time for series to find their creative legs. The critical darling is currently part of ABC's Tuesday night comedy and has had an uphill battle with low-rated The Muppets revival as a lead-in. The series, picked up for a 13-episode sophomore season, received a back-nine pickup after the Nahnatchka Khan-produced comedy built on its freshman ratings.
Quantico
Although one of ABC's few freshman drama hits, the drama has also proven to be one of the biggest network breakouts of the season. In addition to ranking as Sunday's top scripted series among adults 18-49, the FBI thriller enjoys impressive double-digit gains when DVR is factored in. (The show's winter finale jumped 100 percent in live-plus-seven numbers.) Produced in-house and by Grey's Anatomy exec producer Mark Gordon, Quantico has also been a point of pride for ABC in its continued to efforts to diversify with Bollywood veteran turned small star screen Priyanka Chopra.
Once co-creator Horowitz was the first to break news of the season six renewal on Twitter. Quantico showrunner Josh Safran also hinted strongly at the renewal with a vague tweet.
Still to be determined are the fates of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, Castle, Modern Family, The Middle, Black-ish, The Goldbergs, Nashville, Galavant, Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, American Crime and Last Man Standing, in addition to several unscripted series.
Once Upon a Time ABC
