ABC Makes Few Friends

The TV network owned by Disney has put together a prime-time lineup for next season that leaves much of Hollywood feeling grumpy.

Fox, meanwhile, is putting the final touches on a schedule expected to take a more conservative approach than some of its competitors, adding fewer new programs while relying heavily on dramatic series.

As for ABC, the only people unhappier than those left off the schedule may be some of those on it, who are being asked to attract viewers on nights where ABC faces heavyweight competition from the other networks--demonstrating the difficulty in pleasing talent on a lineup nearly bereft of hits.

The most aggrieved party may be “Chicago Hope” producer David E. Kelley, who was reportedly led to believe that his first-year legal series, “The Practice,” might wind up Wednesdays at 10 p.m., with the newsmagazine “PrimeTime Live” shifting to another time period.

Instead, Kelley’s show has been slated for 10 p.m. Saturdays, an hour in which ABC struck out last season with an equally acclaimed dramatic program, “Relativity.”

ABC’s news division and “PrimeTime” anchor Diane Sawyer, who recently signed a lucrative new deal with ABC, were unwilling to relinquish such prime real estate. After a Friday meeting with ABC News Chairman Roone Arledge, entertainment officials notified Kelley that the hoped-for Wednesday berth wasn’t in the cards.

“NYPD Blue” producer Steven Bochco--still smarting from ABC’s handling of “Murder One”--also had his latest show, “Total Security,” slotted in the Saturday night wasteland.

Meanwhile, DreamWorks SKG, the partnership headed by Steven Spielberg, mogul David Geffen and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, not only saw its drama “High Incident” canceled but also had the studio’s “Spin City,” starring Michael J. Fox, moved to a less desirable time period on Wednesday night.

Ellen DeGeneres actually received one of ABC’s better time periods but was still upset that her comedy, “Ellen,” was renewed after she asked to end the show now. DeGeneres is still under contract to Disney and, according to sources, has resigned herself to fulfilling that obligation.

Even the producers of “Home Improvement” are said to be miffed that their Dan Aykroyd comedy, “Soul Man,” after just three airings in April, will have to face off Tuesdays against NBC’s long-running “Mad About You.”

Part of ABC’s scheduling woes stem from a shortage of returning hits. Producers didn’t want to be slotted on Thursday or Saturday--considered death sentences because ABC’s ratings have been so low there. Four of the five new dramas will be seen on those two nights.

The desire to quickly change its fortunes prompted the network to assemble a lineup in which half the programming has been on the air six episodes or less, including 10 new series and a revival of “The Wonderful World of Disney.”

ABC will also add a second edition of the news program “20 / 20” on Thursdays opposite “ER,” in the same way NBC consolidates its magazines under the name “Dateline.” ABC is hoping to foster more cooperation between its news programs, rather than having anchors like Sawyer and Barbara Walters compete for interviews.

ABC flirted with airing series on Sundays instead of a movie, something CBS is also considering. NBC, which announced its schedule last week, dropped one of its two movie slots.

In presenting the lineup to advertisers Monday, ABC Entertainment President Jamie Tarses said the network’s strategy is to put on shows with broad appeal “that people choose to watch together on a regular basis.”

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ABC’s new comedy programs are “Hiller and Diller,” with Richard Lewis and Kevin Nealon playing a comedy writing team; “Over the Top,” featuring Tim Curry as an out-of-work actor who takes a job at ex-wife Annie Potts’ inn; “Dharma and Greg,” which has the daughter of hippies (Jenna Elfman of “Townies”) marrying a blue-blood lawyer; “Genie,” in which a single mom inherits a genie; and “Teen Angel,” where a dead teenager returns as his friend’s guardian angel.

Dramas include “Timecop,” an adaptation of the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, with a cop pursuing criminals through time; “Cracker,” starring “Murphy Brown’s” Robert Pastorelli in this version of the British series about a police psychologist; “Nothing Sacred,” about a priest whose faith is tested by his rough parish; Bochco’s “Total Security,” in which James Belushi and James Remar run a high-tech security firm; and “C16: FBI,” with Eric Roberts heading a team of highly specialized FBI agents.

“Grace Under Fire” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” have been ordered as well but will not be on when the season begins in September. “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” has also been left off the schedule.

Fox, which announces its lineup today, will lead into the macabre drama “Millennium” with “The Visitor,” a sci-fi show starring “Northern Exposure’s” John Corbett, produced by the team behind “Independence Day.” The other new dramas are “Ally McBeal,” another David Kelley legal show, this one about a young attorney who engages in Walter Mitty-esque fantasies; and “413 Hope St.,” set in an inner-city teen crisis center.

In terms of comedy, Fox has ordered “Rewind,” which focuses on two thirtysomething friends, flashing back to them as teenagers in junior high school.

Fox canceled “Sliders” and “Ned & Stacey,” while “Married . . . With Children” and “Martin” ended their runs earlier this month. Two shows popular with African American viewers, “Living Single” and “New York Undercover,” may be held off the schedule as midseason backups.

The popular Sunday lineup of “The Simpsons,” “King of the Hill” and “The X-Files” will return.

The ABC prime-time schedule night by night:

Monday: “Monday Night Football,” “Timecop.”

Tuesday: “Soul Man,” “Over the Top,” “Home Improvement,” “Hiller and Diller,” “NYPD Blue.”

Wednesday: “Spin City,” “Dharma & Greg,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Ellen,” “PrimeTime Live.”

Thursday: “Nothing Sacred,” “Cracker,” “20 / 20.”

Friday: “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” “Boy Meets World,” “Genie,” “Teen Angel,” “20/20.”

Saturday: “C16: FBI,” “Total Security,” “The Practice.”

Sunday: “The Wonderful World of Disney,” “Sunday Night Movie.”