ABC on Sunday further clarified which of its programming would be broken up into two uninterrupted blocks of 12-episode runs in addition to announcing its midseason schedule.
ABC Entertainment Group president Paul Lee used his platform at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour to unveil his plan for midseason with reality show Quest and limited series Resurrection filling in between fall and midseason drama runs. He called the latter drama "extraordinary," and noted there's "nothing like it on television."
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The scheduling marks a move on ABC's part to eliminate repeats, allow programming to continue its momentum and retain viewers. It follows the cable network model -- something Lee is familiar with during his run at ABC Family.
Resurrection will premiere Sunday, March 9 at 10 p.m. taking the slot occupied by Betrayal when the freshman drama's season concludes. The Quest will debut on Thursday, Jan. 2 with a two-hour premiere and moving into the slot occupied by Once Upon a Time in Wonderland following the latter's season finale.
Grey’s Anatomy, Nashville, Once Upon a Time, Revenge and Scandal will return in the spring, following their winter finales, with all new episodes that will run with few or no repeats to their season finales in May.
Lee will look to series like Killer Women (among others) and its other new fare to fill in the gaps during the long hiatus for Grey's, Scandal, Nashville and OUAT.
Here's the breakdown (new shows in bold):
Thursday, Jan. 2
8-10 p.m. The Quest
Wednesday, Feb. 26
10-11 p.m. Nashville
Thursday, Feb. 27
9-10 p.m. Grey's Anatomy
10-11 p.m. Scandal
Sunday, March 9
8-9 p.m. Once Upon a Time
9-10 p.m. Revenge
10-11 p.m. Resurrection
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
