ABC is stocking its shelves with a slew of fresh programming for next season, including another drama from Shonda Rhimes, a reboot of The Muppets, and a half-hour comedy starring Community alum Ken Jeong. The Alphabet network, coming off a 2014–15 season in which it was the only major broadcaster to grow its ratings among viewers under 50, green-lit six dramas and three comedies late Thursday. (Not among them was that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff, which the network passed on.) It’s expected to formalize renewals for established series (and possibly confirm some cancellations) either later Thursday or Friday. Here’s a look at what’s headed to ABC next season. All descriptions are directly from ABC:
DRAMAS
The Catch: Legal thriller from executive producer Rhimes and creator Jennifer Schuur. Mirelle Enos plays a fraud investigator “who’s about to be the victim of fraud by her fiancé. Between her cases, she is determined to find him before it ruins her career.”
Quantico: “A diverse group of recruits have arrived at the FBI Quantico Base for training. They are the best, the brightest and the most vetted, so it seems impossible that one of them is suspected of masterminding the biggest attack on New York City since 9/11.” Cast includes Priyanka Chopra, Dougray Scott, and Aunjanue Ellis.
Of Kings and Prophets: “An epic Biblical saga of faith, ambition and betrayal as told through the eyes of a battle-weary king, a powerful and resentful prophet and a resourceful young shepherd on a collision course with destiny.”
The Family: Joan Allen and Zach Gilford in a thriller that “follows the return of a politician’s young son who was presumed dead after disappearing over a decade earlier. As the mysterious young man is welcomed back into his family suspicions emerge — is he really who he says he is?”
Wicked City: Every season follows “a different case set in a different noteworthy era of LA history, starting with a murder case from 1982 centered on the rock and roll, cocaine-infused revelry of the Sunset Strip. Alliances are formed between detectives, reporters, drug dealers and club-goers to solve a serial murder case.” Ed Westwick, Taissa Farmiga, and Gabriel Luna star.
Untitled Pate and Fishburne Project: Formerly known as Boom, Don Johnson stars as the head of a family living “beyond their working class roots” who “move to the Bakken in North Dakota, booming after the biggest oil discovery in American history. They’re soon pitted against a ruthless tycoon who forces them to bet big and put everything on the line, including their marriage.”
COMEDIES
The Muppets: Produced by Bob Kushell and The Big Bang Theory’s Bill Prady, the felt icons star in a “contemporary, documentary-style show that, for the first time ever, will explore the Muppets’ personal lives and relationships, both at home and at work, as well as romances, break-ups, achievements, disappointments, wants and desires. [It’s] a more adult Muppet show, for kids of all ages.”
Dr. Ken: Jeong plays Dr. Ken, “a brilliant physician with no bedside manner. He is always trying to be a good doctor, as well as a good husband and dad to his two kids. However, these good intentions have a way of driving everyone crazy at both work and at home. Luckily, his therapist wife Allison is just the right partner to keep things sane.” Also stars Suzy Nakamura, Dave Foley, Albert Tsai, and Tisha Campbell-Martin.
The Real O’Neals: Martha Plimpton and Jay R. Ferguson in “a contemporary take on a seemingly perfect Catholic family, whose lives take an unexpected turn when surprising truths are revealed. Instead of ruining their family, the honesty triggers a new, messier chapter where everyone stops pretending to be perfect and actually starts being real.”
