2017-18 Preview: Friday Nights

If you like dramas, then Fridays will be a great time for you as 11 of the 13 hours programmed hour long scripted programs. There are now no comedies on the night and just newsmagazines DATELINE and 20/20 change things up.

CBS looks poised to repeat as the nightly winner, with all three of its 2016-17 crime dramas return for 2017-18. The ratings should stay consistent, but with NBC and ABC adding new shows on the night, anything could happen.

NBC is taking a page from the CBS strategy, moving BLINDSPOT and TAKEN to the night. Neither drama drew strong ratings in their previous time slots, but the the viewing audience is different on Fridays, then they are on other nights.

ABC's new Friday night is a bit odd. They place the new superhero drama, MARVEL'S INHUMANS, as lead out from the dying ONCE UPON A TIME. OUAT will be fourth in the hour, giving the new drama little support to be competitive at 9 PM. ABC could challenge NBC for second place, but I suspect the reality will be closer to 4th place.

FOX is back with the same shows as last fall, including the low rated THE EXORCIST. Not complete sure why FOX brought the horror drama back, but it was a decent performer in the Live+7 ratings, compared to its Live+SD numbers. HELL'S KITCHEN should do well, with a possible second place finish in the 8 PM hour.

For the CW, this could be the lowest rated night in the network's history CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND will struggle to draw 500k in total viewers, at 8 PM, giving the relocated, JANE THE VIRGIN little chance to grow at 9 PM.

	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
ABC	Once Upon a Time		Inhumans		20/20
CBS	MacGyver		Hawaii Five-O		Blue Bloods
CW	Crazy Ex-Girfriend		Jane the Virgin
FOX	Hell's Kitchen		The Exorcist
NBC	Blindspot		Taken		Dateline