TCA 2017 Winter Press Tour: ABC and Freeform, Includes ABC Mid-Season 2017 Schedule and Freeform Spring Premieres

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

TCA 2017 Winter Press Tour: ABC and Freeform, Includes ABC Mid-Season 2017 Schedule and Freeform Spring Premieres

ABC and Freeform were up yesterday at the TCA 2017 Winter Press Tour and lots of info was given. The ABC Television Network has announced midseason premiere dates for the mini-series When We Rise and series premiere dates for the one-hour drama Time After Time, half-hour comedy Imaginary Mary and the event movie Dirty Dancing, as well as returning series The Catch and American Crime, and the spring returns of Once Upon a Time and Designated Survivor. New comedy Downward Dog will premiere in Summer 2017. In addition, previously announced The Toy Box premieres Friday, April 7, 8:00-9:00 p.m. and TGIT returns Thursday, January 26. The full new dates are below:

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27 - THURSDAY, MARCH 2
9:00-11:00 p.m. When We Rise

SUNDAY, MARCH 5
8:00-9:00 p.m. Once Upon a Time
9:00-11:00 p.m. Time After Time (Two-Hour Premiere)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8
10:00-11:00 p.m. Designated Survivor

THURSDAY, MARCH 9
10:00-11:00 p.m. The Catch (Season Two Premiere)

SUNDAY, MARCH 12
9:00-10:00 p.m. Time After Time (Time-Period Premiere)

SUNDAY, MARCH 12
10:00-11:00 p.m. American Crime (Season Three Premiere)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29
8:30-9:00 p.m. Imaginary Mary (Sneak Peek)

TUESDAY, APRIL 4
9:30-10:00 p.m. Imaginary Mary (Time-Period Premiere)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24
8:00-11:00 p.m. Dirty Dancing

Freeform

Freeform made some key announcements at TCA for its 2017 schedule with the series pickup of drama The Bold Type (formerly Issues); The Bachelor spin-off Happily Ever After? franchise returns and will feature fan favorite twins Emily and Haley Ferguson, premiering March 20; and a fifth season order for The Fosters, which will bring the show to a landmark 100 episodes. It was also announced that Freeform's original hit comedies Young & Hungry and Baby Daddy will return with all-new episodes on a new night - Monday, March 13. Inspired by the life of Joanna Coles, chief content officer of Hearst Magazines, the pilot The Bold Type (formerly Issues) has been picked up to series and is set to premiere in summer 2017. The Bachelor spin-off Happily Ever After? franchise franchise will continue with a new unscripted series, titled The Twins: Happily Ever After?, and will follow the fan favorite twins Emily and Haley Ferguson from Season 20 of The Bachelor and Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise. The series will premiere on Monday, March 20, at 9:00 p.m. EDT, on Freeform.

Freeform's critically acclaimed family drama The Fosters has been greenlit for a fifth season, which will bring the series to the momentous 100-episode mark. The network will premiere all-new episodes from the fourth season on Tuesday, January 31, at 8:00 p.m. EST. Young & Hungry will premiere season five on Monday, March 13, at 8:00 p.m. EDT. In the fourth season finale, Gabi and Josh decided to be "friends with benefits," much to the group's chagrin, after their previous attempts at a relationship went awry. During the new season, Gabi and Josh try to prove to everyone that they won't let feelings get in the way of their new arrangement, Sofia continues on the path to a career in journalism, and Josh faces an unexpected reunion with his estranged father. Comedy legend Betty White guest stars this season as neighbor Ms. Wilson. The season six premiere of Baby Daddy will air on Monday, March 13, at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The premiere picks up three months after the finale, and Ben is still enthusiastically searching for the mysterious Elle. Danny and Riley are hunting for a good doctor to help with the pregnancy, and Bonnie desperately wants to be involved. Tucker is back from Los Angeles, but refuses to tell anyone what happened while he was there. The hit comedy series will reach the coveted milestone of 100 episodes during this season. And finally, in celebration of viewership that has gone above and "beyond," Freeform has given a second season order to its newest hit series Beyond. Tom Ascheim, president, Freeform, surprised the cast and executive producers with the announcement during their TCA panel in Pasadena, California. Beyond launched on January 2, and in a network first, Freeform rewarded its digital-savvy audience by making available its highly anticipated new drama for binge-viewing across key digital platforms, featuring reduced ad loads to enhance the viewing experience and drive higher ad engagement. In its first week alone, Beyond has already amassed over 14 million views, including 7.0 million across digital platforms and reaching an additional 7.2 million Total Viewers on linear TV.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Saturday, April 1

Act Your Age - "Weekend At Bernie's" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bernadette's childhood friends come to town, stirring up feelings of jealousy with Angela and Keisha; Olivia launches her new online platform.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 27)

Friday, March 31

Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Chris on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Super Mario Bros. Movie on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour.
Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jamie Lee Curtis (Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke appears on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Animal Practice/Better with You/Reba) and Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - JoAnna and Morris guest co-host The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Heather Graham (Californication/Emily's Reasons Why Not/Scrubs) - Heather appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra talks about Space Oddity on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. She will also be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
John Owen Lowe (Unstable) - John is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about her new OnlyFans comedy roast series Whitney Cummings Presents on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Kym Whitley (Act Your Age/Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) - Kym joins Sherri on the couch to talk about their NAACP Image Award-winning podcast Two Funny Mamas and her sitcom Act Your Age on Bounce TV on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Leslie Odom Jr. (Love in the Time of Corona/Big Dady) and Nicolette Robinson (Love in the Time of Corona/Perfect Couples) - Leslie and Nicolette talk about I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Christina Milian (Grandfathered) and Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know spotlights Celia Cruz as first Afro-Latina on a U.S. quarter with family and celebrity guests Christina Milian, Amara La Negra and Judy Reyes at 1pm.