Latest in ABC

Fox’s WWE SmackDown (1.0 adults 18-49 rating in Live+Same Day, 2.9 million viewers) was smacked down double digits from its premiere last week, which was a SmackDown 20th anniversary celebration featuring some of WWE's biggest past and present stars. Still, it won the night for the network in adults 18-40 (Live+SD)…

ABC has given a put pilot commitment to 90’s Popstar, a drama based on This Is Us star Mandy Moore’s musical childhood, Deadline has confirmed. It hails from writer Amanda Lasher (The Bold Type), with Moore set to executive produce alongside This Is Us co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. 20th Century…

ABC, Disney Channel and Freeform will get an early peek behind the curtain at High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The three Disney-owned nets will air the first episode on November 8, four days before it premieres as part of the launch of streaming service Disney+. Created and executive-produced by Tim…

Adam Scott has gone from sardonic sitcom star in Parks and Recreation to broken-hearted husband in Big Little Lies but his latest challenge is hosting ABC gameshow Don't – a world that includes eating ghost peppers on a treadmill under a blazing heat lamp. Scott has lifted the lid on the format, which is exec produced…

Holey Moley will play through. ABC has ordered a second season of the mini-golf game show from Stephen Curry that debuted in the summer. NBA star Curry executive produces the competition series from Eureka Productions and Unanimous Media. Rob Riggle and Monday Night Football’s Joe Tessitore return to offer up their…

Glee alum Amber Riley has been cast as the emcee in The Little Mermaid Live!, the hybrid musical event that airs on ABC next month. She joins the previously announced cast including Auli'i Cravalho as Ariel, Queen Latifah (Ursula) and Shaggy (Sebastian), Graham Phillips (Prince Eric) and John Stamos (Chef…

EXCLUSIVE: ABC has put in development Adversaries, a drama that centers on the female leader of the Navy’s Top Gun fighter pilot school in Key West. The series comes from the network’s The Good Doctor star/co-exec producer Freddie Highmore via his Alfresco Pictures and Sony Pictures TV where the company is…

EXCLUSIVE: ABC has put into development Bridge & Tunnel, a soapy one-hour drama that hails from Famous in Love and Stargirl executive producer Melissa Carter, Ellen DeGeneres and Jeff Kleeman’s A Very Good Production, and Warner Bros Television where AVGP is based. The plot for the aspirational series revolves around…

ABC has given a put pilot commitment, Homicide Special, a crime drama from The Resident co-creator/executive producer Amy Holden Jones and the series’ co-executive producer Andrew Chapman. The project hails from 20th Century Fox TV, the studio behind The Resident. Written by Holden Jones and Chapman, Homicide Special…

Disney has imposed a ban on advertising for Netflix shows across its entertainment networks, including ABC, FX and Freeform, though ESPN will continue to accept such spots. The move is a sign of the increasingly competitive times, as the media and tech sectors are engaged in a high-stakes battle for streaming…

ABC has given a put pilot commitment to Cupcake Men, a comedy from writer Owen Smith (Black-ish), Empire‘s Lee Daniels, Good Morning America co-host and former NFL star Michael Strahan, 20th Century Fox TV, where Daniels is based, and ABC Studios. Written by Smith, Cupcake Men is inspired by the real life story of…

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, ABC has given a script commitment with penalty to This Is Not a Drill, a comedy from Tad Quill (A Moody Christmas), Doug Robinson (The Goldbergs) and Sony Pictures TV, where Robinson and his DRP are based. Written by Quill, This Is Not a Drill is about a group of friends in…