ABC fills schedule gaps; “Dancing” to Tuesdays

ABC has finally filled some of the holes in its fall schedule – while leaving one open.
It announced today (Sept. 13) that:
— The return of “Dancing With the Stars” (shown here in a previous season) will be on Tuesdays. The season starts Sept. 26, with athletes, reality-show stars (including Charity Lawson from “The Bachelorette”) and teen-age “Doctor Strange” co-star Xochitl Gomez.
— That leaves Mondays open, allowing ABC to sometimes share “Monday Night Football” with ESPN. It plans to do that at least five more times.
After 30 seasons on ABC, “Dancing” jumped to Disney+ last season. (Disney owns both ABC and ESPN.) But with strikes wiping out other shows, it will now be on both networks.
One plan had it on Mondays, with a makeshift Tuesday schedule – “Judge Steve Harvey,” reruns of “Abbott Elementary” and the news production, “What Would You Do.”
Now, however, it’s set for Tuesdays, with a two-and-a-half-hour premiere. After that, it will be two hours, with the “Press Your Luck” game show getting the 10 p.m. slot, starting Oct. 10.
The dancers will range from Gomez, 17, to long-ago teen star Barry Williams, who turns 69 on Sept. 30. Other actors are Jamie Lynn Spears, Alyson Hannigan, Matt Walsh and Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino. The line-up also has singer Jason Mraz, former football star Adrian Peterson and reality/internet types – Lele Pons, Tyler Beckford, Harry Jowsey, Ariana Madix, Mauricio Umansky and Lawson.
Mondays stay with football for now. ABC shared the opener with ESPN; for the next two weeks (Sept. 18 and 25), the two networks have separate Monday games.
Then, however, there’s an eight-week gap before ABC’s next scheduled football Monday (Nov. 20), with other games on Dec. 11 and on Christmas Day. Those gaps remain, for now, unfilled.