ABC TO INTRODUCE TWO SERIES IN APRIL

ABC, running third in the prime-time ratings race, plans to introduce two more series in April to get audience reaction prior to deciding whether they should be included in the network’s lineup for next season.

Premiering April 5 in place of “Matt Houston” (Fridays at 10 p.m.) will be “Me and Mom,” an action show starring James Earl Jones, Lisa Eilbacher and Holland Taylor as partners in a detective agency. Taylor and Eilbacher portray mother and daughter.

Due on April 9 is “Hail to the Chief,” a comedy series from Susan Harris, the creator of “Soap.” It stars Patty Duke Astin as the first woman President of the United States. The series, which will air Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., also features Herschel Bernardi, Dick Shawn, Ted Bessell, Glynn Turman, Maxine Stuart, Murray Hamilton and Quinn Cummings.

To accommodate the new series, ABC is revamping the Tuesday lineup. “Three’s a Crowd” at 8 p.m. will be followed by new episodes of the previously canceled “Foul-Ups, Bleeps and Blunders,” “Who’s the Boss?” and “Hail to the Chief.” “MacGruder and Loud,” currently seen at 9 p.m., will move to 10 p.m. in place of “Moonlighting.”