Network executives officially released their Fall 2026 television lineup on Tuesday. Fans waiting as ABC sets fall premiere dates for Shark Tank, Abbott Elementary, DWTS, and more finally have a firm calendar. The slate kicks off in August with athletics—shifting smoothly into reality heavyweights shortly after. Executives clearly want to capitalize on a dominant season, especially since ABC delivered 10 of the top 20 broadcast programs among adults 18-49 during the 2025-2026 run. And they just secured the most Emmy nominations across all networks for a second year.
ABC Sets Fall Premiere Dates for Athletics and Reality
Live football anchors the early weeks. College athletics returns on Saturday, August 29, when Alabama A&M plays Howard to start the season. Monday Night Football then takes over the primetime slot on September 14. The Denver Broncos travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs in that highly anticipated game. ABC scheduled the specific sports matchups and the broadcast premiere of Pixar’s Inside Out 2 to capture early television viewership.
Reality television programming rolls out the following night. Dancing with the Stars launches season 34 with a two-night event—broadcasting on Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16. The competition show generated over half a billion fan votes last year. It just earned its first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality Competition Program in a decade. Disney will stream the broadcasts live on Disney+. Hulu users get the episodes the next day.
So network programmers heavily stacked the late-September calendar. Sophomore drama R.J. Decker returns on September 15. 20/20 anchors the news division with David Muir and Deborah Roberts on Friday, September 25. America’s Funniest Home Videos gets a two-episode block on Sunday, September 27. Pixar’s Inside Out 2 makes its network television debut that same evening. Wednesday, September 30, brings a two-episode block of Shark Tank at 9:00 PM, though a two-episode premiere of the revived comedy Scrubs precedes it at 8:00 PM.
The Midseason Shift
But a schedule change caught industry watchers off guard. Celebrity Jeopardy! won’t air this autumn. Executives explicitly pulled the game show from its expected slot. The network confirmed the complete schedule rollout and the strategic push of Celebrity Jeopardy! to midseason, according to recent coverage, on Tuesday. An unnamed replacement currently occupies the block. Game show fans simply couldn’t find the autumn consistency they were looking for.
October brings the scripted series. Celebrity Wheel of Fortune premieres Friday, October 2, at 8:00 PM. Shark Tank moves to its regular 10:00 PM timeslot on Wednesday, October 7, and Abbott Elementary premieres at 8:30 PM that same night. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire follows it at 9:00 PM. Thursday, October 15, belongs entirely to medical responders. The original 9-1-1 kicks off the evening at 8:00 PM before leading directly into the new 9-1-1: Nashville spinoff at 9:00 PM. Grey’s Anatomy closes out the night at 10:00 PM.
Disney+ Integration Threatens Traditional Broadcast Competitors
ABC holds a distinct advantage heading into this cycle. They secured the highest number of Emmy nominations among all broadcast networks for a second year. The network delivered 10 of the top 20 broadcast programs among the 18-49 demographic last season—a fact verified when this Emmy nomination dominance and top 20 program ratings data surfaced in internal metric reviews. Programmers are deeply integrating linear channels with streaming platforms. Disney+ and Hulu actively share the distribution load for flagship properties. Viewers don’t have to watch traditional television to participate. Competitors must now rethink their own autumn release schedules.