ABC announced midseason premiere dates for new dramas “Red Widow” and “Zero Hour” today, along with new comedies “How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)” and “Family TTools,” and new alternative series “The Taste” and “Celebrity Diving.” Returning series “Dancing with the Stars” and “Body of Proof” will rejoin the schedule will all-new seasons in the new year, and “Suburgatory” will move to Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m., beginning April 3, 2013.
“Red Widow,” from “Twilight Saga” films writer Melissa Rosenberg and starring Radha Mitchell, is a riveting new drama about one woman’s journey into the world of organized crime, and how far she will go to keep her family safe. “Red Widow” will debut with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, March 3 from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET, and premiere in its regular timeslot, Sunday nights at 10:00 p.m., ET, on Sunday, March 10.
New thriller “Zero Hour” stars Anthony Edwards (“ER”) in his return to series television. Edwards’ character, Hank Galliston, has spent his life debunking myths, only to be drawn into one of the most compelling mysteries in human history after his wife’s shocking disappearance. “Zero Hour” will premiere on Thursday, February 14 at 8:00 p.m., ET.
New comedy “How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)” features Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs”) as a recently divorced single mom who moves back in with her eccentric parents, played by the multitalented and critically acclaimed Elizabeth Perkins and Brad Garrett. The series premieres on Wednesday, April 3 at 9:30 p.m., ET.
“Family Tools” debuts on Wednesday, May 1 at 8:30 p.m., ET and stars Kyle Bornheimer, J.K. Simmons and Leah Remini in a new family comedy that proves mixing family with business is never easy. “Family Tools” will take over for “Suburgatory” in this new timeslot following its season finale.
New innovative cooking competition show “The Taste” will feature celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey, will debut with a special two-hour premiere on Tuesday, January 22 from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET, and will premiere in its regular time period, 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET on Tuesday, January 29.
“Celebrity Diving,” based on the international hit reality series “Celebrity Splash,” will premiere on Tuesday, March 19 at 8:00 p.m., ET and will feature as judges legendary Olympic diver and four-time gold medalist Greg Louganis, along with David Boudia, who brought home the gold for diving at the 2012 London Olympics.
“Dancing with the Stars” will return for a 16th season on Monday, March 18 at 8:00 p.m., ET. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show” will debut the following week on Tuesday, March 26 at 9:00 p.m., ET.
“Body of Proof,” starring the Emmy(r)-winning Dana Delany, will return to the schedule on Tuesday, February 5 at 10:00 p.m., ET, and will feature new cast member Mark Valley as Det. Tommy Sullivan, a former NYPD detective (and a bit of a lady killer) who has transferred back to Philadelphia to rekindle his relationship with Megan Hunt (Delany).
Critically acclaimed Wednesday comedy “Suburgatory” will move to at 8:30 p.m., ET as of Wednesday, April 3, one week after the season finale of “The Neighbors.” “The Neighbors” returns with original episodes on Wednesday, January 9, and runs for 12 straight weeks.
ABC’s Midseason premiere dates are as follows (all times listed are ET):
Tuesday, January 22
8:00-10:00 p.m. “The Taste” (Two-hour Series Premiere)
Tuesday, January 29
8:00-9:00 p.m. “The Taste” (Regular Time Period Premiere)
Tuesday, February 5
10:00-11:00 p.m. “Body of Proof”
Thursday, February 14
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Zero Hour”
Sunday, March 3
9:00-11:00 p.m. “Red Widow” (Two-hour Series Premiere)
Sunday, March 10
10:00-11:00 p.m. “Red Widow” (Regular Time Period Premiere)
Monday, March 18
8:00-10:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
Tuesday, March 19
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Celebrity Diving”
Tuesday, March 26
9:00-10:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”
Wednesday, April 3
8:30-9:00 p.m. “Suburgatory” (New Time Period Premiere)
9:30-10:00 p.m. “How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)”
Wednesday, May 1
8:30-9:00 p.m. “Family Tools”
Midseason show descriptions are as follows:
NEW DRAMAS:
“RED WIDOW”
Marta Walraven seems to have an idyllic life. A stay-at-home mom in tony Marin County, just north of San Francisco, she is devoted to her three children and her husband. Behind this perfect faade, however, is a more complicated story: Evan, Marta’s husband, supports the family by exporting marijuana. Marta is familiar with the world of organized crime: her father, Andrei Petrov, and his loyal bodyguard, Luther, are Bratva – Russian gangsters – in San Francisco. It’s a world from which she and her sister Kat always wanted to escape, though they never quite did.
But when Evan is brutally murdered in their driveway, everything changes. Marta’s first concern is to protect her children – and yet when FBI Agent James Ramos promises Marta justice in exchange for her cooperation, she cannot go against the Bratva code. She refuses his help.
Slowly, the truth about her husband’s murder begins to emerge: Evan’s business partners – Marta’s scheming brother, Irwin Petrov, and their best friend, the hapless Mike Tomlin – were involved in the theft of millions of dollars of cocaine from the formidable international crime boss, Nicholae Schiller. Evan paid with his life, but as far as Schiller is concerned, his debt is not clear. It falls to Marta, as Evan’s widow, to navigate the criminal underworld in order to repay this debt – in whatever way Schiller sees fit.
Hounded by the FBI on the one hand and by Schiller on the other, while also trying to raise three grieving kids on her own, Marta discovers a tenacity she never knew she had. As she hunts for the truth about her husband’s death and struggles to keep her children safe, she’ll rely on her resourcefulness, determination and her Bratva DNA like never before. But just how far is Marta willing to go in order to beat her adversaries at their own deadly game?
“Red Widow” stars Radha Mitchell (“High Art,” “Pitch Black,” “Man on Fire”) as Marta Walraven, Sterling Beaumon (“Clue,”"Lost”) as Gabriel Walraven, Clifton Collins Jr. (“Traffic,” “Thief”) as FBI Agent James Ramos, Luke Goss (“Blade II,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”) as Luther, Suleka Mathew (“Hawthorne”) as Dina Tomlin, Erin Moriarty (“One Life to Live”) as Natalie Walraven, Jaime Ray Newman (“Drop Dead Diva”) as Kat Petrova, Jakob Salvati (“Crescendo,” “Little Boy”) as Boris Walraven, Lee Tergesen (“Army Wives”) as Mike Tomlin, Wil Traval (“Rescue Special Ops”) as Irwin Petrov, with Rade Serbedzija (“24″) as Andrei Petrov and Goran Visnjic (“ER”) as Nicholae Schiller.
Based on the Dutch series “Penoza,” “Red Widow” is executive-produced and written by Melissa Rosenberg (“Dexter,” “Twilight Saga” films) and executive-produced by Howard Klein (“The Office,” “Parks & Recreation”) and Alon Aranya. The series is produced by ABC Studios in association with Endemol Studios.
“ZERO HOUR”
As the publisher of a paranormal enthusiast magazine, Modern Skeptic, Hank Galliston has spent his career following clues, debunking myths and solving conspiracies. A confessed paranormal junkie, his motto is “logic is the compass.” But when his beautiful wife, Laila (Jacinda Barrett), is abducted from her antique clock shop, Hank gets pulled into one of the most compelling mysteries in human history, stretching around the world and back centuries.
Contained in one of his wife’s clocks is a treasure map, and what it leads to could be cataclysmic. Now it’s up to Hank to decipher the symbols and unlock the secrets of the map, while ensuring the answers don’t fall into the wrong hands – a man they call White Vincent (Michael Nyqvist). With his two young associates, Rachel (Addison Timlin) and Arron (Scott Michael Foster), in tow, along with Becca Riley, a sexy FBI agent (Carmen Ejogo), Hank will lead them on a breathless race against the clock to find his wife and save humanity.
“Zero Hour” stars Anthony Edwards (“Big Sur,” “Flipped,” “ER”) as Hank, Carmen Ejogo (“Sparkle,” “Chaos,” “Away We Go”) as Beck, Scott Michael Foster (“Californication,” “The River”) as Aaron, Addison Timlin (“Californication”) as Rachel, Jacinda Barrett (“Matching Jack,” “Middle Men,” “New York, I Love You”) as Laila and Michael Nyqvist (“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Patrol”) as White Vincent.
“Zero Hour” was written by Paul T. Scheuring (“Prison Break”) who is also an executive producer along with Zack Estrin, Pierre Morel, Lorenzo DiBonaventura (“The Transformers,” “GI: Joe” franchise, “Salt,” “Red”) and Dan McDermott (“Human Target”). The pilot for “Zero Hour” was directed by Pierre Morel. The series is produced by ABC Studios.
NEW COMEDIES:
“HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS (FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE)”
Polly (Sarah Chalke) is a single mom who has recently divorced. The transition hasn’t been easy for her, especially in this economy. So, like a lot of young people living in this new reality, she and her daughter, Natalie (Rachel Eggleston), have moved back home with her eccentric parents, Elaine (two-time Golden Globe(r) and Emmy(r) nominee Elizabeth Perkins) and Max (three-time Emmy(r) winner Brad Garrett). But Polly and her parents look at life through different generational lenses. Polly (in contrast to how she was raised) aspires to be organized and together, while Max and Elaine live a more free-flowing, improvisational life-style. Polly wants to take it slow with new relationships, while her parents encourage her to be more sexually adventurous.
Polly and her parents’ views on parenting itself also conflict: Polly wants to be an involved modern parent, but Max and Elaine are laid back, hands-off parents from the 1970s. Polly believes children need to be sheltered and have structure and guidance, while Max and Elaine feel that children need the freedom to fall and pick themselves back up. After all, Polly turned out okay, so what’s the big deal?
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in Polly’s case, this village is on fire, and although her ex-husband Julian’s (Jon Dore) intentions are good, he doesn’t exactly help extinguish the flames. But through figuring out how to live with her dysfunctional family, Polly realizes she might even be able to learn a few helpful things about herself.
“How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)” stars Sarah Chalke as Polly, Elizabeth Perkins as Elaine, Jon Dore as Julian, Rachel Eggleston as Natalie, Stephanie Hunt as Jenn and Brad Garrett as Max.
“How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)” is executive-produced by Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo and Claudia Lonow. The series is produced by Imagine Television in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television.
“FAMILY TOOLS”
Mixing family with business is never easy, and Jack Shea (Kyle Bornheimer) is about to learn that lesson the hard way. When Jack’s father, Tony (J.K. Simmons), has a heart attack and is forced to hand over the keys to his beloved handyman business, Jack is eager to finally step up and make his father proud. Unfortunately Jack’s past career efforts have been less than stellar, so everyone seems to be waiting for him to fail. His new job isn’t made any easier by Tony’s rebellious, troublemaking assistant, Darren (Edi Gathegi), and Darren’s flirtatious sister, Liz (Danielle Nicolet), who works at the local hardware store. But with the support of his Aunt Terry (Leah Remini) and his oddball yet endearing cousin Mason (Johnny Pemberton), Jack Shea may just find his true calling right at home.
“Family Tools” stars Kyle Bornheimer (“Bachelorette,” “Romantically Challenged,” “Perfect Couples”) as Jack Shea, J.K. Simmons (“Ultimate Spiderman,” “Generator Rex,” “The Closer”) as Tony Shea, Edi Gathegi (“X Men: First Class”) as Darren Poynton, Johnny Pemberton (“21 Jump Street,” “Aim High”) as Mason Baumgardner, Danielle Nicolet (“X Men TV Series”) as Lisa “Stitch” Poynton and Leah Remini (“In the Motherhood,” “King of Queens”) as Terry Baumgardner.
Based on the UK series “White Van Man,” the “Family Tools” teleplay is by Bobby Bowman. “Family Tools” is executive-produced by Joshua Sternin (“That ’70s Show”), J.R. Ventimilia (“That ’70s Show”), Mark Gordon (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Criminal Minds”), Andrea Shay (“It Takes a Village,” “Virtual Virgin”) and Paul Buccieri (“Prime Suspect”). The pilot for “Family Tools” was directed by Michael Fresco (“Suburgatory,” “Raising Hope,” “Better Off Ted,” “My Name Is Earl,” “Northern Exposure,” “St. Elsewhere”). The series is from ABC Studios.
NEW ALTERNATIVE SERIES:
“THE TASTE”
One blind spoonful could change everything… on ABC’s “The Taste.” The exhilarating new cooking competition show “The Taste” puts 16 culinary competitors — pro chefs to home cooks — to the fire when four of the world’s most notable masters of the food world judge their creations based on a blind taste test. In this pressure-packed contest, the taste in a single spoonful can catapult a contender to the top or send him packing. “The Taste” features no-holds barred chef Anthony Bourdain, British food star Nigella Lawson, expert chef/author Ludo Lefebvre and restaurateur Brian Malarkey. Each of the four culinary superstars and “Taste” mentors – Bourdain, Lawson, Lefebvre and Malarkey – will coach a team of four competing pro and amateur cooks chosen from a nationwide casting call as they vie to create the best tasting dish. In each episode, the groups will face team and individual challenges with a variety of culinary themes through several elimination rounds. At the end of each episode, the mentors will have to judge the competitors’ dishes blind, with no knowledge of whose creation they’re sampling, what they’re eating, how it was prepared or whom they could be eliminating.
“The Taste” is from Kinetic Content and is executive-produced by Chris Coelen, Matilda Zoltowski, Emma Conway, Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson. Brian Smith is the director.
“CELEBRITY DIVING”
“Celebrity Diving,” based on the hit international format “Celebrity Splash,” features celebrities competing in an exciting, family-friendly and often thrilling diving competition in front of a packed audience. Stars will perform dives from dizzying heights that will increase in difficulty each week, including backflips, somersaults and other gymnastic feats, to impress the judges, viewers at home and, most importantly, to win! Leading up to the competition, a professional diving instructor will give each celebrity weeks of training. Dives are not for the faint of heart, as they can be from as high as from 10-meter boards, with ever-increasing complexity, leading up to the much-anticipated finale.
“Celebrity Diving” is from award-winning production company Eyeworks USA (formerly 3 Ball Productions). The series is executive-produced by JD Roth, Todd A. Nelson and Brant Pinvidic. Judges include legendary diver and four-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis, and David Boudia, who brought home the gold for diving at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
RETURNING SERIES:
“DANCING WITH THE STARS”
Season 16 of “Dancing with the Stars” will feature a star-studded cast filled with celebrities across a variety of genres, who will be paired with some of the world’s most decorated professional ballroom dancers to compete each week in a live ballroom competition. The couple with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes for their performance is sent home live every week, on “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show.”
Hosted by Emmy(r) Award winner Tom Bergeron (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”) and Brooke Burke-Charvet (“Dancing with the Stars” Season Seven Champion), the celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned Ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba. The series is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer.
“BODY OF PROOF”
Brilliant and driven neurosurgeon Dr. Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) has found a new life as a Medical Examiner after a car accident left her with a condition called paresthesia and unable to operate. Although she’s no longer in the business of fixing what’s wrong with living patients, she’s still instinctively drawn to finding out what killed her dead patients and uncovering who was responsible and why. As she pursues the answers, the bodies of the dead provide the clues. The body is, in effect, the proof. As she, alongside her incredible team, investigate what happened to her patients, she finds their lives and the lessons they hold are in a way a bequest to her, to learn from them what she can and to apply to her own personal journey of redemption and forgiveness. In return, Megan is determined to get them justice.
“Body of Proof” stars Dana Delany as Dr. Megan Hunt, Jeri Ryan as Dr. Kate Murphey, Mark Valley as Detective Tommy Sullivan, Geoffrey Arend as Dr. Ethan Gross, Windell D. Middlebrooks as Dr. Curtis Brumfield, Elyes Gabel as Detective Adam Schaeffer, and Mary Mouser as Lacey Fleming.
The series is created by Christopher Murphey and executive-produced by Murphey, Matthew Gross, and Evan Katz. “Body of Proof” is produced by Gross Entertainment and ABC Studios.
“SUBURGATORY”
Tessa and George (Jeremy Sisto) have been on their own ever since Tessa’s mom pulled a “Kramer vs. Kramer” before Tessa (Jane Levy) was even potty trained. So far George has done a pretty good job of raising Tessa without a maternal figure in their lives, but suddenly he’s feeling a little out of his league. So it’s goodbye New York City and hello suburbs. At first Tessa is horrified by the big-haired, fake-boobed mothers and their sugar-free, Red Bull-chugging kids. But little by little, she and her dad begin finding a way to survive on the clean streets of the ‘burbs. Sure, the neighbors might smother you with love while their kids stare daggers at your back, but underneath all that plastic and caffeine, they’re really not half bad. And they do make a tasty pot roast.
“Suburgatory” stars Jeremy Sisto (“Law & Order”) as George Altman, Jane Levy (“Shameless”) as Tessa Altman, Carly Chaikin (“The Last Song”) as Dalia Royce, Rex Lee (“Entourage”) as Mr. Wolfe, Allie Grant (“Weeds”) as Lisa Shay, Alan Tudyk (“V”) as Noah Werner, Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) as Dallas Royce, Ana Gasteyer (“Saturday Night Live”) as Sheila Shay and Chris Parnell (“30 Rock”) as Fred Shay.
Emily Kapnek (“Hung”) writes and executive-produces this bitingly ironic single-camera comedy, which is produced by Warner Bros. Television.
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