My Thoughts on the Mid-Season TV Schedule

 It's that time of year again! With the 2022-23 television season eager to begin its winter break halt, the networks each announced their schedule changes for the mid-season beginning this January.

Having primarily watched ABC series for the past several years, that is where most of my attention will be spent throughout this article, though I will touch on my additional thoughts on the other major networks.

Starting with Sunday nights, I was very disappointed to hear ABC opted to move the signature series The Rookie off of their schedule and onto Tuesday nights, or rather early afternoons. While I will touch on this again soon, this is paired with the moving of Celebrity Jeopardy! and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune to Thursdays, creating a full day of game shows as we enter the winter. This is all to make way for American Idol alongside new series The Company You Keep.

While I don't intend to judge The Company You Keep before seeing the series, let alone a trailer, I do find it quite intriguing that the company opted to move it to The Rookie's soon-to-be-former spot. Perhaps it hopes it'll attract the large audience? I don't believe I will watch this series, due to preference of sitcoms over dramas, but I may check out the first couple episodes to see what it's all about.

Entering on Mondays not much has changed, aside from NBC's The Voice being replaced with America's Got Talent: All Stars. As someone who watches neither series, this change doesn't really affect me, though I am intrigued that ABC opted to keep The Bachelor franchise on full gear for most of the evening, alternating with Monday Night Football. Personally, while I see the need for the return of football, I am unsure why the Bachelor series needs to have such a large presence on the schedule.

Truthfully, I am just glad to hear Quantum Leap remains on the peacock network's schedule, hopefully long enough to secure my favorite drama series another season.

Tuesday nights, growing up, were always my favorite, where my favorite ABC shows would come on and add much-desired laughter to my day. Sadly, the alphabet network opted to, once again, deprive me of nostalgia by instead having a drama-filled night. Now back-to-back on the schedule, The Rookie starts off at 8:00 PM followed by new spin-off The Rookie: Feds.

Picking up with what I said earlier, I am really confused by this change to the schedule. While I understand the desire to place the law enforcement shows together, I think this move would honestly hurt both audiences, taking it away from its signature timeslot. Furthermore, by putting the series on earlier in the day, it likely would change the amount of drama the series can show in comparison to both series' original 10:00 PM timeslots. I just hope both series survive past this season.

While the network is spending another year without a Tuesday sitcom, NBC is picking up the slack with the Night Court sequel and the sophomore season of American Auto. Admittingly, the latter series is one I initially watched last season, though I fell over in part due to my disinterest with the network. However, thanks in part due to ABC's lack of sitcoms, I may be returning as a regular viewer sooner than I thought.

Heading to Wednesday evenings, where I spend all my laughs this season, I was heartbroken to hear Home Economics was moved off the schedule in favor of the new sitcom Not Dead Yet. While I am honestly glad another sitcom was finally making it on the air with network television, Home Economics was the series giving me the most laughs, and I am unsure if it has enough viewers to give it a fourth season.

Quite honestly, I am surprised that The Goldbergs remain on the schedule, and not Home Economics. While I regularly watch Abbott Elementary, it is purely due to it being the lead-in to Home Economics. I am unsure how I will restructure my nights once this change is made.

Heading to Thursdays, it appears that all the current ABC shows are heading on a lengthy hiatus to create a night of game shows, with Celebrity Jeopardy!, The Parent Test, and The Chase. I personally am unfamiliar with the middle series, though it shocks me that the other two series aren't back-to-back, given their trivia-themed nature.

On the Fox network, I am glad to hear that Welcome to Flatch has moved off the schedule, with Call Me Kat remaining on, despite the passing of Leslie Jordan, a mainstay character on Kat. While there have been some reports on how the series will handle his passing, I am doing my best to remain in the dark for now.

Friday seems to be where NBC is trying to make its mark, having a second night of comedies with new series Lopez vs. Lopez alongside Young Rock before heading to newsmagazine series Dateline.

One series I was waiting for during these announcements appears to be no-more on this list, casting doubt on its renewal past its upcoming season. The Wonder Years has been pushed off this season's schedule and placed onto the summer tentative scheduling. It is unclear if anything has been shot for this season, and if it will be a true summer series or simply where May and early June cover most of the series. As a show I initially wanted to avoid based on its sensitive subject area, the first episode made me fall in love with it, and it is a true shame the second season has yet to air.

With more emphasis being put on streaming television lately, it is not fully clear how the networks will continue to adapt, and even if family-friendly sitcoms will even remain on the networks. This season marked the move to streaming for landmark ABC series Dancing with the Stars and the expansion of the networks' respective streaming hubs.

All I hope is that there will be more than reality series, dramas, and news coverage going into next season!

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