By Ryan Flaherty

At the most information packed TCA presentation this summer, ABC took the stage to discuss Afton Williamson’s recent allegations of racial discrimination & sexual assault, Constance Wu’s dismay over the Fresh Off the Boat renewal, a mysterious new Marvel project, and what’s in store for the rebranded “female centered” network.

‘Live in Front of a Studio Audience’ Specials

After the success of the first Norman Lear special, ABC has ordered two more classic television show adaptations to air during the 2019 season. The shows they’ll focus on will be announced at a later date, while the two specials will air in winter 2019 and spring 2020.

American Idol

The series has been renewed for a third season on the network, and all three celebrity judges will return for another year. Ryan Seacrest, on the otehr hand, has not yet secured a deal. ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke says of the show, “It was the first of its kind to take everyday singers and catapult them into superstardom, launching the careers of so many amazing artists. We couldn’t be more excited for Katy, Luke, Lionel and Bobby to continue in their roles as American Idol searches for the next great music star, with more live episodes and exciting, new creative elements coming this season.”

The Bachelor Franchise

Fan favorite love reality shows ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ and ‘The Bachelorette’ will both return for new seasons. In addition to this news, it’s been announced that ‘Bachleor in Paradise’ will feature its first gay couple. When asked the routine diversity questions concerning the Bachleor franchise, Burke said “I do think that the show has worked hard to increase diversity in its casting and is continuing to evolve. As that evolves, you will continue to see more diversity from the franchise moving forward.”

New Shows

ABC has ordered ‘Women of the Movement’ (working title), a series that will illustrate the civil rights movement through the women involved. The anthology series has attached ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ writer Marissa Jo Cerar as well as Aaron Kaplan, Jay-Z, and Will Smith to produce. The first installment will focus on the murder of Emmet Till, and how his mother devoted her life to finding justice after the catastrophic event. This series directly falls in line with Burke’s announcement of a new “female centered” network.

Limited series “Fall and Rise: the Story of 9/11” has been ordered, and will premiere in 2021 in line with the event’s 20th anniversary. The series is based off of the book by Mitchell Zuckoff, who says the series “dignifies not only the individuals profiled…but all who were violated by the terrorist attacks of 9/11.”

Allegations of Misconduct

Afton Williamson made news on Sunday after coming forward with allegations that both racist attitudes, sexual harassment, and sexual assault caused her to quit her job on ‘The Rookie’. Since the news broke, Williamson named the people involved, starting with saying that she went to showrunner Alexi Hawley but he unfortunately didn’t do anything about it. She claims that guest star Demetrius Grosse is the one responsible for sexual harassment, and the head of the hair department  Sallie Ciganovich was the one who was racist and eventually sexually assaulted her. In response to this, Burke said “I wish I had more answers. I’m frustrated. I can tell you that as soon as we learn more, we will make a determination based on what is found. …Those conclusions will help guide us [on] how to handle situations like that in the future, if in fact there has been any sort of communication breakdown. I don’t have any more answers than that right now.” Williamson’s original instagram post is included below.

View this post on Instagram

I will not be returning for Season 2 of The Rookie. I owe it to you my amazing fans to share the Truth. Throughout the filming of the pilot, I experienced Racial Discrimination/Racially Charged inappropriate comments from the hair department and bullying from Executive Producers. During the Season, it continued along with Sexual Harassment from a recurring guest star,Demetrius Grosse,and the racist commentary & bullying from the Hair Dept.Head, Sally Ciganovich escalated into Sexual Assault at our Wrap party.The Sexual Harassment though reported directly to the Showrunner/EP remained undocumented and was not reported to HR as promised.Ciganovich was fired ONLY after the sexual assault and NOT for an entire year of outward racism/racially charged language and bullying behavior in and out of the Hair and Makeup trailer. HR protocol was never adhered to following the above reports given by me to my Showrunner/EP and an investigation was never issued for any of my claims. The only time I was asked to participate in an investigation was after a meeting I called in June following our Season 2 announcement. This meeting included the Showrunner and two other producers as well as my agent and SAG-AFTRA Union Rep. It was clear to all present in the meeting that the Showrunner had not shared my reports with the any of the producers. After my initial report of sexual harassment, I was assured that Grosse would be fired. I was also asked to film with him the very next day as a courtesy to the script, even though we had not begun filming the episode yet. Grosse reappeared on our call sheet at the end of the season, I was even written in scenes with him. I asked the Showrunner about this and he admitted to me that the Grosse had not been fired nor had he gotten HR involved. I was asked to return this season, and promised that “everything was handled.” The investigation hadn’t even begun and Season 2 had already started filming. I turned it down and I walked. Now is the best time in the world to be a woman and I have a platform so it’s time to use my Voice. Strength comes from within. It comes from Above. “Greater is He that is within Me than he that is in the world” ❤️🙏🏽

A post shared by Afton Williamson (@therealaftonw) on Aug 4, 2019 at 1:12am PDT

Constance Wu’s Dismay with ‘Fresh Off the Boat’

Earlier this year, ABC announced that ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ would return for another season- to star Constance Wu’s dismay. She tweeted in reply to the news, “So upset right now that I’m literally crying. Ugh. F***.” The ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ star later clarified the outburst, explaining that she had to turn down another feature film due to conflict with the sitcom (her apology and explanation is included below). Karey Burke acknowledge the incident, saying “I was happy she apologized. I’ve had no further conversation [with her]. We have ongoing conversations with the producers of Fresh Off the Boat and it was made clear to us very early on that everyone took Constance at her word and that she was apologetic for what she said.”

These words are my truth. I hope you hear them pic.twitter.com/l6SvbFcUlj

— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) May 11, 2019

The Streaming War

Amid the great fight to get to the top of the streaming mountain, Burke says that broadcast is in a far better shape than streaming services. She referenced Netflix’s quick cancellation tactic, saying “Broadcast matters because our shows endure. Shows like Grey’s Anatomy… 15 seasons in, this incredible show is as vital as ever… That phenomenon is unique to broadcast television and certainly not to be found on our streaming competition, who [tout] hits one day and cancel them the next, usually around season three.” She also referenced another downside to Netflix, the fact that in an enormous library of content it’s easy for a show to get lost. “That has been our pitch to creators, if you care about telling stories that appeal to lots of people and have the capacity to endure over time and be watched by generations, ABC is where you have the best chance,” she said. “If you create that show for us, it will get launched, it will get marketed. We invest heavily in making people aware of our shows and actually knowing about their work.”

Marvel

Hot off of the news that ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has reached its end, the broadcaster hinted that they’ll be bringing a new female superhero to your TV screens, and called her “something brand new”. As per usual with Marvel projects, details are being kept very under wraps.

A ‘Happy Endings’ Reboot?

“I will never say never; I’m hearing whispers” said Burke on stage. That is a dream of a lot of people at ABC. I’m hearing that there’s a remote possibility of something. It’s at the very beginning [stages]. Happy Endings was certainly one of my favorite ABC shows.” She explained that she’s currently discussing the series with Erin Wehrenberg, who recently joined the company as Head of Comedy Development (Wehrenberg was previously at Warner Brothers). Burke continued to tease a reboot, saying “I think [Erin is] exploring what’s possible.”

Grey’s Anatomy

Krista Vernoff, Grey’s Anatomy show runner, has been tapped as the show runner for the spinoff ‘Station 19’. As to how this changes the franchise, Burke says that fans can now expect a crossover much more frequently, including a “crossover romance”. “I am very energized and excited by the work that is going on over at Station 19 and what Krista Vernoff is doing as the overseer and head showrunner of both of those shows. I believe that there’s exciting things to come in the third season of that show, and in particular the nature of its relationship with Grey’s Anatomy, will be pretty game changing,” said Burke.