ABC 2014-15 primetime schedule

Today, the ABC 2014-15 primetime schedule was announced during the network’s annual upfront presentation.

“Our schedule reflects a judicious mix of boldness and stability,” said Paul Lee, president of ABC Entertainment Group, in a release.

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Among the boldness is moving the smash-hit Scandal up one hour, to 9pm ET on Thursdays, to accommodate a new show from Shonda Rhimes — How to Get Away with Murder — at 10pm. Scandal seems like such a surefire show at this point, though, that it’s doubtful fans will not find it and get used to it at its new time. Also on Thursdays, Grey’s Anatomy will be moving up an hour, to 8pm ET. In other time changes, Agents of SHIELD will be moving back one hour, to 9pm ET on Tuesdays.

Speaking of SHIELD, ABC also announced the new series Marvel’s Agent Carter, starring Hayley Atwell in the role she played in Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The series is set in 1946, and follows how Agent Peggy Carter proceeds after losing the love of her life in Steve Rogers (Captain America). She balances work for a covert agency and secret missions of Howard Stark with her personal life. Of course, comics fans know that Carter goes on to be a founding member of SHIELD, so it will be interesting to see that progression. ABC says that Agent Carter, along with the new series Galavant,will serve as “bridge programming” between the fall finales and winter premieres of Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon a Time.

Among the series returning to ABC this season, reflecting the “stability” Lee mentioned, are: America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor, Castle, Dancing with the Stars, The Goldbergs, The Great Christmas Light Fight, Grey’s Anatomy, Last Man Standing, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Middle, Modern Family, Nashville, Once Upon a Time, Resurrection, Revenge, Scandal, Shark Tank, The Taste and 20/20.

In all, 12 new series will premiere on ABC 2014-15, including: American Crime, Black-ish, Cristela, Forever, Fresh Off the Boat, Galavant, How to Get Away with Murder, Manhattan Love Story, Marvel’s Agent Carter, Secrets and Lies, Selfie and The Whispers.

ABC 2014-15 Primetime Schedule (All times ET; premiere dates to be announced later)

MONDAY:

8pm                   Dancing with the Stars

10pm                Castle

TUESDAY:

8pm                    Selfie (NEW)

8:30pm              Manhattan Love Story (NEW)

9pm                   Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

10pm                 Forever (NEW)

WEDNESDAY:             

8pm                   The Middle

8:30pm             The Goldbergs

9pm                  Modern Family

9:30pm             Black-ish (NEW)

10pm                Nashville

THURSDAY:

8pm         Grey’s Anatomy

9pm         Scandal

10pm       How to Get Away with Murder (NEW)

FRIDAY:

8pm        Last Man Standing

8:30pm    Cristela (NEW)

9pm          Shark Tank

10pm        20/20

SATURDAY:             

8pm          Saturday Night Football

SUNDAY:

7pm          America’s Funniest Home Videos

8pm          Once Upon a Time

9pm          Resurrection

10pm        Revenge

Here are some synopses of the new ABC 2014-15 series (descriptive info from ABC):

AMERICAN CRIME (Midseason)

All over the news are reports about a young couple in Modesto, California, who were attacked in their home. Matt Skokie, a war vet, was killed, and his wife, Lily, is unconscious, barely hanging on. Both sets of parents are at her bedside hoping for a miracle while four suspects are about to be arrested. The case sends shock waves into the community stirring up tensions across racial lines in this gritty drama—from the point of view of the victims. American Crime stars Felicity Huffman as Barb, Timothy Hutton as Russ, W. Earl Brown as Tom, Richard Cabral as Hector Tonz, Caitlin Gerard as Aubry, Benito Martinez as Alonzo Gutierrez, Penelope Ann Miller as Eve, Elvis Nolasco as Carter and Johnny Ortiz as Tony Gutierrez.

FOREVER

Doctor Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd), New York City’s star medical examiner, has a secret. He doesn’t just study the dead to solve criminal cases, he does it to solve the mystery that has eluded him for 200 years—the answer to his own inexplicable immortality. This long life has given Henry remarkable observation skills which impresses his new partner, Detective Jo Martinez (Alana De La Garza). Each week, a new case and their budding friendship will reveal layers of Henry’s long and colorful past. Only his best friend and confidant, Abe (Judd Hirsch) knows Henry’s secret. Forever stars Ioan Gruffudd as Henry, Alana De La Garza as Det. Jo Martinez, Barbara Eve Harris as Lt. Marcia Roark, Donnie Keshawarz as Detective Hanson, Joel David Moore as Lucas, and Judd Hirsch as Abe.

how-to-get-away-with-murderHOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER

The brilliant, charismatic and seductive Professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) gets entangled with four law students from her class, “How to Get Away with Murder.” Little do they know that they will have to apply what they learned to real life, in this masterful, sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller from Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, executive producers of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. How to Get Away with Murder stars Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, Billy Brown as Nate, Alfred Enoch as Wes, Jack Falahee as Conner, Katie Findlay as Rebecca, Aja Naomi King as Michaela, Matt McGorry  as Asher, Karla Souza as Laurel, Charlie Weber as Frank and Liza Weil as Bonnie.

MARVEL’S AGENT CARTER (Midseason)

Marvel’s Agent Carter, starring Captain America’s Hayley Atwell, follows the story of Peggy Carter. It’s 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve),  Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life – Steve Rogers.

SECRETS AND LIES (Midseason)

Ben Garner (Ryan Phillippe) is about to go from Good Samaritan to murder suspect, after he discovers the body of his neighbor’s young son in the woods. As Detective Andrea Cornell (Juliette Lewis) digs for the truth, the secrets and lies of this town come to the surface and no one is above suspicion. Ben’s family’s life will be turned upside down as he sets out on a complicated journey to prove his innocence in this thriller mystery from Barbie Kligman (“Private Practice”) based on the original Australian series of the same name. Secrets and Lies stars Ryan Phillippe as Ben, KaDee Strickland as Christy, Natalie Martinez as Jess, Clifton Collins, Jr. as Dave, Indiana Evans as Natalie, Belle Shouse as Abby and Juliette Lewis as Detective Cornell.

THE WHISPERS (Midseason)

Aliens have invaded Earth by using our most unlikely resource to achieve world domination—our children. As the kids unwittingly help these unseen enemies, the clock counts down in this suspenseful race to save humanity. The Whispers stars Lily Rabe as Claire Bennigan, Barry Sloane as Wes Lawrence, Milo Ventimiglia as John Doe/Drew Bennigan, Derek Webster as Jessup Rollins, Brianna Brown  as Lena Lawrence, Catalina Denis as Dr. Maria Benavidez, Kylie Rogers as Minx Lawrence and Kyle Harrison Breitkopf as Henry.

blackishBLACK-ISH

Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson (Anthony Anderson) has a great job, a beautiful wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), four kids, and a colonial home in the ‘burbs. But has success brought too much assimilation for this black family? With a little help from his dad (Laurence Fishburne), Dre sets out to establish a sense of cultural identity for his family that honors their past while embracing the future. Black-ish stars Anthony Anderson as Dre, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow, Yara Shahidi as Zoey, Marcus Scribner as Andre Jr., Miles Brown as Jack, Marsai Martin as Diane and Laurence Fishburne as Pops.

CRISTELA

In her sixth year of law school, Cristela (Cristela Alonzo) is finally on the brink of landing her first big (unpaid) internship at a prestigious law firm. The only problem is that her pursuit of success is more ambitious than her traditional Mexican-American family thinks is appropriate. She’s stuck straddling the old culture she’s trying to modernize at home with her working-class family and the modern world she’s trying to embrace in her professional career. Breakout comedian Cristela Alonzo stars in this hilarious comedy about laughing your way down the path to the new American dream. Cristela stars Cristela Alonzo as Cristela, Carlos Ponce as Felix, Terri Hoyos as Natalia, Andrew Leeds as Josh and Sam McMurray as Trent.

FRESH OFF THE BOAT (Midseason)

It’s the 90s and 11 year old, hip-hop loving Eddie (Hudson Yang) just moved to suburban Orlando from DC’s Chinatown with his parents (Randall Park and Constance Wu). It’s culture shock for his immigrant family in this comedy about pursuing the American Dream. “Fresh Off the Boat” is based on Chef Eddie Huang’s memoir Fresh Off the Boat. The series stars Randall Park as Louis, Constance Wu as Jessica, Hudson Yang as Eddie, Forrest Wheeler as Emery and Ian Chen as Evan.

GALAVANT (Midseason)

Screenwriter/executive producer Dan Fogelman (“Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “Tangled,” “Cars”) teams up with Broadway and Hollywood award-winning musical team—composer Alan Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast”) and lyricist Glenn Slater (“The Little Mermaid,” “Tangled”)—for a musical comedy fairytale of epic proportions. Once upon a time, the dashing hero, Galavant (Joshua Sasse), lost the love of his life, Madalena (Mallory Jansen), to the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson). Now, our fallen hero is ready to take revenge and restore his “happily ever after.” But it won’t be without a few twists and turns along the way. Galavant stars Joshua Sasse as Galavant, Timothy Omundson as King Richard, Vinnie Jones as Gareth, Mallory Jansen as Madalena, Karen David as Isabella and Luke Youngblood as Sid.

MANHATTAN LOVE STORY

Have you ever wondered what your date was thinking? This romantic comedy exposes the differences between men and women through the unfiltered thoughts, and often contradictory actions, of a new couple who have just begun dating. Manhattan Love Story stars Analeigh Tipton as Dana, Jake McDorman as Peter, Nicolas Wright as David, Jade Catta-Preta as Amy, Chloe Wepper  as Chloe and Kurt Fuller as William.

SELFIE

“Instafamous” Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillan) has 263,000 followers who hang on to her every post, tweet and selfie. But one lonely day, she has a revelation: being friended is not the same as having actual friends. She asks marketing guru Henry (John Cho) to ‘rebrand’ her self-obsessed reputation and teach her how to connect with people in the real world. Loosely based on “My Fair Lady,” Selfie explores the modern struggles of Eliza and Henry, as he tries to teach her how to live life offline—whether she ‘likes’ it or not. Selfie stars Karen Gillan as Eliza, John Cho as Henry, Tim Peper as Ethan, Da’Vine Joy Randolph as  Charmonique,  Allyn Rachel as Bryn and David Harewood as Sam.

selfie

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Agent Carter image: © 2013 MVLFFLLC. ™ & © Marvel. All Rights Reserved. Credit: Katrin Machinowski

How to Get Away with Murder image: © 2014 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Credit: Craig Sjodin

Black-ish image: © 2014 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Credit: Craig Sjodin

Selfie image: © 2014 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Credit: Craig Sjodin