It's The Start Of A New Era For ABC

Published Jul 17, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT After joining Screen Rant in January 2025, Guy became a Senior Features Writer in March of the same year, and now specializes in features about classic TV shows. With several years' experience writing for and editing TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include a wide range of genres, from comedies, animated series, and crime dramas, to Westerns and political thrillers. As one of the traditional “big three” American TV networks, ABC necessarily has high thresholds for measuring the success of its shows. Throughout its history, the network has made a point of cutting at least one series that’s delivered disappointing ratings from its schedule. Yet, 2026 is a different story. This year, ABC’s fall schedule will include every show that was there last time around. The network has taken the unprecedented step of renewing all of its ongoing scripted series for the 2026–2027 season, in a move that signals how times have changed for network television as a whole. Viewers used to grumbling about network TV shows that have ended too soon won’t have this problem when they tune in to ABC this fall. It makes a welcome change to know that everything from the Scrubs revival to Grey’s Anatomy is safe from the axe for another year, at least. However, there is a flip side to this new cancellation-free era for the network. ABC’s decision to retain every scripted show it has doesn’t come from a position of strength. It’s actually a risk-averse attempt to mitigate the effects of budget cuts amid a long-term decline in network TV ratings. ABC Has Renewed All Its Scripted Shows For The First Time Custom Image by Joe O'Shea It’s good news for several long-running network series that ABC has taken the step of reviewing every TV drama and comedy on its roster. The likes of school-based sitcom Abbott Elementary, procedural show 9-1-1, and its spinoff 9-1-1: Nashville will be back with new seasons in October. ​Other returning series will have to wait until the new year to debut their new seasons, including Tim Allen’s sitcom Shifting Gears. There’s some frustration that cop comedy-drama High Potential has had its third season delayed until January. Still, fans can take solace from the fact that the show is still very much a part of ABC’s plans.​ Scripted Shows Renewed By ABC For 2026–2027 Season Timeslot R.J. Decker Season 2 Tuesdays, 10pm EST Scrubs Season 11 Wednesdays, 8pm EST Abbott Elementary Season 6 Wednesdays, 8.30pm EST 9-1-1 Season 10 Thursdays, 8pm EST 9-1-1: Nashville Season 2 Thursdays, 9pm EST Grey's Anatomy Season 23 Thursdays, 10pm EST The Rookie Season 9 TBC High Potential Season 3 TBC Shifting Gears Season 3 TBC Will Trent Season 5 TBC Meanwhile, High Potential’s fellow police procedurals Will Trent and The Rookie will return at the start of 2027, too. This time around, though, the latter show will be joined by a new spinoff, The Rookie: North, which is set in Pierce County, Washington, up the Pacific coast from where its parent series takes place. This spinoff will be preceded by another crime series comeback this fall, in the form of detective drama R.J. Decker, which debuted earlier in 2026 with genre specialist Scott Speedman as its title character. Additionally, landmark medical drama Grey’s Anatomy maintains its regular timeslot at 10pm EST on Thursday evenings. This Historic First Reflects A New Era For Network Television ABC’s decision to renew its entire roster of scripted shows for 2026–2027 is partly a reflection of just how strong a selection of comedy and drama series it has to offer. But, more significantly, it also reflects the new era of television, in which networks are battling for survival against streaming’s consolidation of small-screen audiences. As only the third-biggest American TV network, ABC is in an especially vulnerable position. It’s faced extensive cuts to its budget in recent years, too, with its parent company Disney diverting more and more resources towards streaming platforms like Hulu and Disney+ (via Yahoo Finance). What ABC’s blanket renewal of its scripted output actually represents is an increasingly conservative outlook from the broadcaster. It could well mean the beginning of another network TV trend designed to stave off the grim reaper, but which is actually just accelerating the decline of broadcast ratings. The fact is, pre-existing serial dramas and sitcoms are bankable assets that tend to be cheaper to produce on average than debut seasons for new series. ABC is saving money where it can, while hoping that last year’s relatively successful schedule continues to produce results. Ironically, this aversion to risk could spell the network’s downfall in the long run. Callsign ABC Station Type Network