ABC to Add Six New Shows, Including Drama From Kelley

ABC will add a half-dozen new programs to its prime-time lineup in the fall, while moving its second-year hit “Dharma & Greg” from Wednesday to anchor Tuesday nights, seeking to fill the void left by the departure of “Home Improvement.”

The network, which officially announces its revised schedule for next season today, will also introduce a drama from producer David E. Kelley, “Snoops,” expected to air before his Emmy-winning creation “The Practice” on Sundays. The new show features Gina Gershon as part of a team of private investigators and will play opposite CBS’ and NBC’s movies and Fox’s “The X-Files.”

Adding a second ABC series to his portfolio means Kelley will have at least four programs under his aegis come September. His company is also responsible for Fox’s “Ally McBeal” and CBS’ “Chicago Hope.”

ABC’s other new dramas are “Once and Again,” from the creators of “thirtysomething,” starring Sela Ward (“Sisters”) and Billy Campbell as divorced parents trying to begin a relationship; and “Wasteland,” as the producer of “Dawson’s Creek” graduates from the problems of a group of teens to young adults. The latter will air Thursdays, a night that has indeed proven to be a wasteland for ABC drama series in the past.

The new comedies are “Oh, Grow Up,” which deals with three friends living together; “Then Came You,” about a woman in her 30s who falls for a man 10 years younger; and “Odd Man Out,” about a teenage boy surrounded by his sisters and mother, which will follow “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” on Fridays.

With “Dharma” moving, sources say ABC will rely on “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place” and “The Drew Carey Show” to retain its comedy audience on Wednesdays.

The decision on whether to renew several programs went down to the wire. ABC opted to continue its sitcoms “The Norm Show,” starring Norm Macdonald, and “It’s like, you know . . . ,” showcasing a transplanted New Yorker’s view of Los Angeles, while canceling its Friday comedies “Two of a Kind,” starring the Olsen twins, and “Brother’s Keeper.” “Vengeance Unlimited” is another casualty, meaning ABC axed all four of last season’s new dramas, the others being “Cupid,” “Fantasy Island” and “Strange World.”

Both “Sports Night” and “The Hughleys” return next fall as well, although the latter--a sitcom about an African American family that relocates to the suburbs--is making another move, most likely from Tuesday to Friday nights.

“Monday Night Football” will shift back to 6 p.m. next season, after a failed experiment that had games kicking off last year at 5:20 p.m. Pacific time. ABC will keep airing a movie on Saturdays, a night where the network has traditionally struggled.

Perceiving some vulnerability in NBC’s powerful Thursday comedy lineup with “Seinfeld” gone, both ABC and Fox are said to be contemplating the scheduling of a pair of comedy series that night, challenging “Friends” and “Frasier” for the young-adult audience. Sources say the competition on Fox will likely include the animated series “Family Guy,” which currently airs Sundays after “The Simpsons.”

ABC is in third place this season, averaging 11.8 million viewers during prime time. CBS, Fox and UPN will unveil their fall lineups later this week, setting off negotiations with advertisers involving more than $6 billion in prime-time sales for next season. NBC and the WB network have already set their schedules.

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