ABC at TCA: Executive Session Live-Blog

Karey Burke, President, ABC Entertainment will speak to press during the network’s executive session—and there are a few recent controversies that are likely to come up.

Follow along for the live-blog…

10:45 AM: THE BACHELORETTE and BACHELOR IN PARADISE has been renewed.

10:48 AM: Burke points to their biggest shows also being their longest-running shows: MODERN FAMILY, GREY’S ANATOMY, and THE BACHELOR. She says the offer things streaming can’t: a bigger audience and a potentially longer shelf-life.

10:51 AM: ABC will have their first live musical on November 5: THE LITTLE MERMAID LIVE!

10:53 AM: ABC has ordered an anthology series WOMEN OF THE MOVEMENT. The first installment will focus on Mamie Till. They’re also doing an adaptation of “Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11.” (The latter will be timed to the 20th anniversary.)

10:56 AM: They haven’t made a decision about GRAND HOTEL yet; they’re waiting until the end of its run. “It’s a show we like a lot,” Burke says. “It’s a show I wish the ratings were a bit strong.”

10:57 AM: “I’m going to, I’m sure, be quite frustrating for you today, because I don’t have a lot of answers [about the Afton Williamson situation],” Burke says. “I learned alongside my colleagues at the end of June [as an investigation was being launched]…I’m waiting for the results.”

10:59 AM: “We have ongoing conversations with the producers of FRESH OFF THE BOAT,” Burke says. “Everyone took Constance at her word that she was apologetic for what she said.”

11:01 AM: Burke credits the “Summer Fun and Games” strategy as partially working because of the timing of where/when they air the shows.

11:02 AM: “I do not believe he’ll be missing,” Burke says of Ryan Seacrest’s IDOL future. She is “hopeful” he’ll return, despite the deal not being done yet.

11:04 AM: Burke says she can trust the investigation into THE ROOKIE; it’s being done by a non-biased third-party. She says if there has been a communication breakdown, the investigation could lead to insight with that. She says she hopes if there is an ongoing situation on the show, that people would be able to go to HR to get things resolved.

11:06 AM: “This show is so much bigger than a genre show,” Burke says of EMERGENCE, when asked why fans should invest in the show. “It’s really a show about a mother and a child. And that, very much, to me, feels like an ABC show.”

11:08 AM: “I wish I could comment on that, I wish I had more answers,” Burke says of whether THE ROOKIE could end due to these allegations. “As soon as I learn more, we will make a determination…too much is unknown.”

11:10 AM: “There did not seem to be a strong enough fanbase at the time,” Burke says of canceling THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT.

11:11 AM: “I’m very excited and energized by the work going on at STATION 19,” Burke says of TGIT’s future.

11:12 AM: “Ours is really built for television,” Burke says of THE LITTLE MERMAID. “It really is a combination of a live-action musical and performances and the animated movie itself.”

11:14 AM: How do they decide which similar bubble shows to cancel? It can depend on social media buzz, creative upswing, time period, etc.

11:15 AM: THE BACHELOR franchise creator Mike Fleiss will remain with the shows given that the charges against him have been dropped. The are aspiring for more diversity in the cast, potentially in its leads.

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