ABC adding more reality TV programming to its spring schedule

ABC has announced that it will be adding more reality TV programming to its lineup this spring, opting to fill the scheduling holes left by the upcoming finales of its Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor reality shows with the return of Supernanny, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition hurricane recovery specials, and two new reality series called American Inventor and Miracle Workers.


With The Bachelor: Paris scheduled to air its finale on February 27, Miracle Workers, a reality series that will feature a recurring "dream team" of physicians bringing medical care to the sick, will take over The Bachelor's 10PM ET/PT time period for four weeks beginning on Monday, March 6.

However since the network's decision to yank its Emily's Reasons Why Not/Jake In Progress comedy combo after only a single January broadcast has left The Bachelor: Paris doing double-duty and also filling the Monday 9PM ET/PT time period, that means The Bachelor's finale will still leave ABC with another hole to fill -- a hole that will be filled by Supernanny, which will return with new episodes on March 6.

Similarly, Dancing with the Stars 2's upcoming finale (scheduled to air on Thursday, February 23) will soon leave ABC with a super-sized 90-minute hole in its Thursday night schedule. It's unclear what ABC plans to air in the time period the following Thursday, however Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's hurricane specials and American Inventor will fill the two-hour block beginning Thursday, March 16

Filling the Thursday 8-10PM block with a special two-hour premiere on March 16 will be American Inventor, a new reality series created by Simon Cowell and the producers of American Idol. Previously announced as Million Dollar Idea and presumably changed to American Inventor for Idol-ous reasons, Inventor is a nine-episode series that will search for America's best new invention. After a nationwide search, nine inventors will receive $50,000 in "seed money" and compete for three spots in the show's live finale, where home viewers will decide which one of the inventors will receive $1,000,000 worth of business support, top-notch entrepreneurial counsel, physical resources, and cash.


American Inventor will move to its regular Thursday 9PM ET/PT time period beginning March 23, after which ABC will attempt to keep its Dancing with the Stars-fueled Thursday night ratings strength going by plugging the 8PM ET/PT hour with a month's worth of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition specials. Airing for four weeks, the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -- After the Storm specials will follow the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition design team as they visit four of the Gulf Coast states that were hardest hit by last year's hurricane season. Along with some special guests, the Extreme team will visit Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Mississippi -- one state each week.