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ABC is reviving its classic variety show, Kids Say the Darndest Things, with comedian Tiffany Haddish as host and executive producer of the series. ABC entertainment president Karey Burke made the announcement during the network’s upfront presentation on Tuesday, May 14.
“When I was dreaming of stars I wanted to bring to ABC, Tiffany Haddish was top of my list,” Burke said. “Tiffany starring in and producing this iconic series is everything I hoped for.”
Taped in front of a live studio audience, Haddish will interact with kids in a mix of in-studio segments as well as segments filmed around the country. The original series was created in 1945 as part of Art Linkletter’s radio and television shows, House Part. CBS aired another version of the show from 1998 to 2000, hosted by Bill Cosby.
Accompanying the announcement is ABC’s 2019-20 schedule, which remains largely unchanged in comparison to this season. The network aims to focus on the shows that comprise its “most stable schedule in over a decade,” according to a statement.
“Since the beginning of the year, ABC has been the number-one network with a schedule that is working, and we are going to nurture it,” Burke said. “Going into next season, our priorities are stability and launching shows in a way our audience will know we are committed to them. Add to that some of the most buzzed-about titles and top talent of the recent pilot season, and we have an enviable combination that sets the stage for us to win with women and grow our overall reach.”
Currently, ABC claims six of the top 20 broadcast entertainment shows, including returning series Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Doctor, The Conners, A Million Little Things, and the 11th and final season of Modern Family—all of which will return to their current timeslots.
American Housewife has been moved to Friday nights, where it will lead into Fresh Off the Boat and 20/20. For its sophomore season, The Rookie will move from Tuesday to Sunday nights, following Haddish’s Kids Say the Darndest Things and Shark Tank.
The network also announced a three-year extension of Jimmy Kimmel Live, which will take the show through its historic 20th season. Kimmel, whose show debuted in 2003, is the third-longest serving current late-night host, after Conan O’Brien and Bill Maher.
Only two new dramas and one new comedy join the fall lineup, including the Black-ish spin-off series, Mixed-ish, which was announced two weeks ago. Three new series will premiere midseason.
Trailers and loglines for the new series, where available, are below.
Emergence
Originally developed as a pilot for NBC, Emergence stars Allison Tolman as a police chief who takes in a young child she finds near the site of a mysterious accident. However, she quickly realizes that the young girl is attached to a large, and potentially dangerous, conspiracy theory.
Co-writers Michele Fazekas and Tara Butter executive produce the series with director Paul McGuigan. Robert Atwood, development executive for the Fazekas & Butters production company, is a producer.
Mixed-ish
From the creators of Black-ish comes Mixed-ish, a series explores the experience of growing up in a mixed-race family. Arica Himmel plays the young Bow Johnson (portrayed as an adult by Tracee Ellis Ross on Black-ish), whose parents decide to move to the suburbs to better provide for their family. As her parents struggle with the challenges of their new life, Bow and her siblings navigate a mainstream school in which they’re perceived as neither black nor white.
The series will premiere 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, just before its flagship series, this fall.
Stumptown
How I Met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders stars in Stumptown, a drama about an Army veteran with a complicated love life, gambling debt and a brother to take care of in Portland, Oregon. It’s based on a series of graphic novels by Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth and Justin Greenwood.
It’s slated to premiere Wednesdays at 10 p.m., taking over the slot of Whiskey Cavalier, which was recently canceled after one season.
The Baker and the Beauty
Based on a hit Israeli show, the series centers around a Cuban-American in Miami who works in the family bakery. However, everything changes when he meets an “international superstar and fashion mogul” who moves his life into the spotlight.
Premiering midseason, the series stars Victor Rasuk as Daniel, Nathalie Kelley as Noa Hamilton, Carlos Gómez as Rafael Garcia, Dan Bucatinsky as Lewis, Lisa Vidal as Mari Garcia, David Del Rio as Mateo Garcia, Belissa Escobedo as Natalie and Michelle Veintimilla as Vanessa.
For Life
Inspired by the life of Isaac Wright, Jr., For Life is a fictional serialized legal and family drama about a prisoner who becomes a lawyer, litigating cases for other inmates while fighting to overturn his own life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit.
It stars Nicholas Pinnock, Indira Varma, Joy Bryant, Glenn Fleshler, Dorian Missick, Tyla Harris and more.
United We Fall
Premiering midseason, this family sitcom follows the trials and tribulations of Jo (Christina Vidal) and Bill (Will Sasso), parents of two young kids, as they try to make it day to day as a functioning family.
Mark Cendrowski directed the pilot, which was produced by Sony Pictures, Exhibit A Film and ABC Studios.
[Cover photo credit: Elton Anderson Jr., courtesy of Deadline)]