ABC to Shuffle Lineup to Test Drama, Sitcoms

With original episodes of fall series running out, ABC said Wednesday that it will shuffle its prime-time schedule in March to give tryouts to two comedy series and a one-hour drama. The network will also make room for the return of “Homefront” and “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles,” two dramas that were benched earlier this season.

The sitcom “Getting By,” starring Cindy Williams and Telma Hopkins as two single mothers and social workers sharing the same house, will air Fridays at 9 p.m. beginning March 5. That will be followed at 9:30 p.m. by comic Doug E. Doug’s “Where I Live.” The urban comedy, set in a Harlem apartment house, replaces the sitcom “Camp Wilder.”

The following Sunday, the family sitcom “Dinosaurs,” now airing Fridays at 9 p.m., will move to 7:30 p.m. to counter-program CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the No. 1 show on television. “America’s Funniest Home Videos” will move up an hour to lead off the night at 7 p.m. “Day One,” a news magazine hosted by Forrest Sawyer, will take over the hour at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The one-hour drama “Life Goes On,” currently airing Sundays at 7 p.m., will air its final two episodes of the season on Saturday, March 20, and Saturday, March 27, at 8 p.m.

Three female rookie cops played by Jayne Brook, Adrienne Joi Johnson and Liza Snyder are the center of the ensemble drama “Sirens,” which premieres Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on March 10. That series takes over for “Going to Extremes.”

Meanwhile, the low-rated World War II drama “Homefront” will return to ABC on March 9, airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. in place of “Civil Wars.” George Lucas’ “Young Indiana Jones” returns on Saturday, March 13, as a two-hour movie starting at 8 p.m., before moving to 9 p.m. the following Saturday in its regular time slot.

“Camp Wilder,” “Going to Extremes,” “Civil Wars” and “Life Goes On” will “remain in consideration for next season’s schedule,” with “Life Goes On” the least likely to return. “America’s Funniest People,” which goes on hiatus following its Sunday-night telecast on Feb. 28, will definitely be back with new episodes in May.

ABC has not yet announced what will fill the hole on Saturday nights at 8 p.m. after the season finale of “Life Goes On.”