Summary
- ABC has announced official premiere dates for returning shows like Grey’s Anatomy, 9-1-1, and The Conners, which were delayed due to the Hollywood strikes.
- The writers strike lasted for 148 days and the actors strike lasted for 118 days, significantly overlapping and causing production delays.
- The slate also includes premiere dates for unscripted shows like The Bachelor and American Idol, along with other scripted shows like Abbott Elementary and The Good Doctor.
Shows including Grey’s Anatomy, 9-1-1, and The Conners have received their official return premiere dates at ABC. Scripted shows have been delayed for the 2023-2024 network television season because of the dual Hollywood strikes that put productions on hold as writers and then actors went on strike for fair pay. The writers strike lasted for 148 days, ending on September 27 and significantly overlapping with the actors strike, which lasted for 118 days and ended on November 9.
Per TVLine, a cavalcade of ABC shows have been given their official 2024 premiere dates. This includes dates and times for returning unscripted shows like The Bachelor season 28 and American Idol season 22. However, the slate also reveals the return of delayed scripted shows including Grey’s Anatomy season 20, Abbott Elementary season 3, The Conners season 6, and 9-1-1 season 7 (which is being produced at ABC after the show was cancelled at Fox). Check out the slate of official release dates below:
|
Title |
2023 Premiere Date |
|---|---|
|
The Bachelor season 28 |
January 22 at 8:00 p.m. |
|
The Conners season 6 |
February 7 at 8:00 p.m. |
|
Not Dead Yet season 2 |
February 7 at 8:30 p.m. |
|
Abbott Elementary season 3 |
February 7 at 9:00 p.m. |
|
TBA |
February 14 at 9:30 p.m. |
|
American Idol season 22 |
February 18 at 8:00 p.m. |
|
Will Trent season 2 |
February 20 at 8:00 p.m. |
|
The Rookie season 6 |
February 20 at 9:00 p.m. |
|
The Good Doctor season 7 |
February 20 at 10:00 p.m. |
|
9-1-1 season 7 |
March 14 at 8:00 p.m. |
|
Grey’s Anatomy season 20 |
March 14 at 9:00 p.m. |
|
Station 19 season 7 |
March 14 at 10:00 p.m. |
How the Strikes Have Impacted ABC’s Scripted Shows
Across the board, the dual strikes impacted these shows by delaying their release dates to midseason, as opposed to ending their previous seasons early. This is because the writers strike began in early May, after the point that new scripts were needed for network seasons. Any network television productions that needed to finish production on those scripts could have done so in time for the actors strike that July.
However, these strikes have affected the beginning of these seasons but not the end. The returning shows will all most likely feature severely reduced episode counts, aiming to still end in time for summer hiatus despite their midseason premieres. For instance, the return of the Abbott Elementary cast most likely won’t prevent season 3 from concluding around the same time of year as season 2, which aired its finale on April 19, allowing the new season a run of only about two months.
Shortened seasons being doled out even for network hits such as Grey’s Anatomy, 9-1-1, and The Conners are exactly the reason that the unions went on strike. As writers and actors fought for fair pay, they sought to prove what an important impact their work had on the industry as a whole. By taking huge chunks out of the runs of major shows (and their related profits), they proved just how much their new contract was worth.
Source: TVLine