ABC Gets Serious About Its New Television Lineup

Just what Walt Disney Co. needs -- more drama.

In the wake of several turbulent months at Disney and its ABC broadcast division, the network Tuesday unveiled a TV lineup that will include seven new dramas, including a spinoff of its retiring legal show “The Practice.” It also will launch two comedies and two unscripted shows for the 2004-05 season.

The heavy load of dramas represents an about-face for the fourth-place network. For the last two seasons, it tried to rebuild its audience through comedies, once an ABC hallmark.

The network’s new president for prime-time entertainment, Stephen McPherson -- on the job for all of 29 days -- acknowledged in a media briefing that ABC has had little success with dramas in recent years. But he said it was time to end that streak.

“Drama has been broken at ABC ... but we felt like we had the goods this year,” McPherson said. “Every single one of these shows is a strong asset. We’re hopefully back in the business of dramas.”

Among them: “Desperate Housewives,” a show about life in suburbia, told from the perspective of a woman who committed suicide; “Lost,” a drama about the struggles facing survivors of a plane crash; and “Grey’s Anatomy,” which centers on the tough competition among medical residents.

The new “reality” shows are “The Benefactor,” in which Internet billionaire Mark Cuban gives away $1 million to a stranger, and “Wife Swap,” about family matriarchs who switch households.

Another part of ABC’s strategy is to build around its relatively strong Tuesday night hits, “According to Jim,” starring Jim Belushi, and “NYPD Blue.” The network will take some of its modest successes from other nights, including “My Wife and Kids” and “George Lopez,” and add them to Tuesday. It will then toss in a comedy about yet another wisecracking man and his brood: “Rodney,” starring comedian Rodney Carrington.

“It’s Testosterone Tuesday,” joked Belushi.

The block of male-oriented shows is surprising considering that in March ABC executives told advertisers that the network would hone its programming to appeal to more women.

It’s too early to tell how the new lineup will fare, but several advertisers said Tuesday that the network might be relying too much on dramas.

Stacey Lynn Koerner, an executive vice president at ad firm Initiative, said that the ABC offerings were “a mixed bag.”

“They do have some shows that look promising,” Koerner said. “They showed a real commitment to attracting men ... but I’m not convinced that all of their drama is going to work.”

Others said ABC’s push toward dramas was a sound strategy for the ailing network.

“I think it’s a reasonable approach to try to fix the problems,” said media analyst Harold Vogel of Vogel Capital Management. “Situation comedy has really been tapped out and overused for many years.”

ABC is not alone in ordering fewer comedies in favor of dramas and reality shows. Several other networks have embraced the strategy.

What ultimately matters is not so much the genre of the show but whether it connects with viewers, some observers said. “Whether it’s comedy or drama, all it takes is one hit show,” said Jordan Rohan, an analyst with Schwab SoundView. Regardless, analysts remain skeptical of Disney’s prediction that ABC will return to profitability by next year.

“It takes a long time to turn these things around and get viewers’ attention,” Vogel said.

Networks are previewing new shows for advertisers here this week for the so-called upfront market, in which more than $9 billion in commercial time is expected to be sold for next season.

This key stretch for the network follows weeks of upheaval at Disney and ABC.

Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner has been under fire from shareholders who blame him for the firm’s sluggish financial performance in recent years. They are particularly critical of ABC, which continues to languish. Last month, the media giant overhauled the network’s top management, installing McPherson, among others.

ABC’s presentation Tuesday started with this promise from Anne Sweeney, who was promoted last month to co-chair of the Disney media network: “Make no mistake,” she said, the company’s priority is to restore ABC to “prominence.”

The presentation also included some levity. ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel offered his take on why ABC took a pass on “The Apprentice,” the Donald Trump reality show that scored big for NBC. “It was too close to home,” Kimmel said. “ ‘You’re fired. You’re fired.’ ”

Laughs aside, McPherson acknowledged that he was under pressure to turn a profit and boost ratings. And he said he was optimistic. He likened his new role at Disney to “being fired out of a cannon.... I’m a creative guy at heart. So it comes down to what is the best material.”

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Times staff writer Richard Verrier contributed to this report.

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Super Tuesday?

Although ABC is betting big on dramas, it is hoping to win over viewers -- especially men -- on Tuesday nights with a slate of comedies. Here are the offerings:

* My Wife and Kids (8-8:30 p.m.)

* George Lopez (8:30-9 p.m.)

* According to Jim (9-9:30 p.m.)

* Rodney (9:30-10 p.m.)

Source: ABC

Los Angeles Times