My Dream Primetime Line-Up

First of all, I want to wish, in advance, all the readers of NGTV a very happy and safe Labor Day weekend.  Please enjoy yourselves and have a great one, but please remember to not drink and drive.  Have fun but please be safe.

Now, with the start of the fall season just a week away (can you believe it is that time all ready?), I’ve been paying close attention to what the primetime line-up will look like for the major networks: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and The CW. As I’ve probably stated before, I’m not a fan of reality (not even in the slightest) and don’t really enjoy the half-hour comedies. So, of course, I focus on all the one-hour scripted dramas from the networks.

But, in doing so, I keep thinking in the back of my mind (and this is something I actually think about routinely since I live, eat and breathe the entertainment industry): What would my dream primetime line-up look like if I were in the “head honchos” chair? If I had the chance to create a line-up of only my favorites from the past and the present – my own kind of fantasy football except with TV shows rather than NFL players – what shows would I want to see on the air on a regular basis?

Well, as you can imagine, I have a LONG list of short-run shows that I would have kept around a LOT longer than any of these networks ever did; many favorite series that survived at least a season or two (over the last two decades or so) and longer-running shows that aired for at least 4 or more years (and in this day and age any show that makes it to 5 years is really an accomplishment).

But before I digress too far, here are the shows – again from the past and the present from all the different networks mentioned above as well as cable series – which I personally would have in my fantasy TV prime-time line-up if I were a network executive with the right power. Please keep in mind this is nothing more than my fantasy – my dream – as this kind of schedule would NEVER be possible at any of the networks.

To explain the reason for the three different lists that you will see below, please understand that since I would want year-round programming for my fantasy primetime line-up the year would be divided into three sections: a fall schedule that covers from September to January; a mid-season schedule that would cover from January to May and a summer schedule that would run from May to September. Each night would have a theme – be it action, fantasy, intensity, sci-fi, dramedy, wacky, etc. I think you’ll pick up on each theme as you check out the shows. The shows would also air at 8, 9 and 10 PM in the order for which they are shown.

One more time, I cannot stress enough this is just a fantasy and is meant in fun. I hope you enjoy my dream year-round primetime line-up:

FALL SCHEDULE (September to January):

Mondays:

Chuck
Veronica Mars
Leverage

Tuesdays:

Buffy
Angel
Supernatural

Wednesdays:

Beauty & the Beast
Firefly
Charmed

Thursdays:

JAG
NCIS
Army Wives

Fridays:

Alias
Dark Angel
La Femme Nikita

Saturdays:

Ed
Providence
Castle

Sundays:

Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman
Touched By An Angel
Life Goes On

MID-SEASON SCHEDULE (January to May):

Mondays:

Popular
Glee
Psych

Tuesdays:

Heroes
Smallville
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Wednesdays:

The 4400
Lost
Battlestar Galactica

Thursdays:

Homefront
China Beach
Jericho

Fridays:

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Roswell
Stargate Atlantis

Saturdays:

Due South
The Pretender
Burn Notice

Sundays:

Privileged
Everwood
Brothers & Sisters

SUMMER SCHEDULE (May to September):

Mondays:

Prey
Moonlight
Being Human

Tuesdays:

Kyle XY
The Dead Zone
Medium

Wednesdays:

Joan of Arcadia
Eureka
Warehouse 13

Thursdays:

The Closer
Crossing Jordan
24

Fridays:

Quantum Leap
Legend of the Seeker
Sanctuary

Saturdays:

Drop Dead Diva
Eli Stone
Ally McBeal

Sundays:

Royal Pains
Grey’s Anatomy
Bones

It is nice to dream and imagine “what could be” – that’s what these schedules are all about. Do you have a dream primetime line up of your own? Please share.