ABC Tries to Build on Its Biggest Hits

By DAVID BAUDER

PASADENA, Calif. – Filming “Desperate Housewives” in Marcia Cross’ bedroom, letting Mick Jagger change the name of a sitcom and avoiding a showdown between amateur dancers and amateur singers. All are a part of thinking on your feet for a TV executive.

ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson has dealt with each issue as he tries to build a prime-time schedule with depth.

ABC ran into an obstacle with Cross, who is pregnant with twins, but ended up lucking out. Doctors restricted her to bed rest before the network had finished filming its current season, McPherson said Sunday.

But her last appearances for this season were to show her injured after falling off a ladder. ABC simply took cameras and crew into the bedroom of Cross’ home to film the final scenes, he said.

The Rolling Stones singer was happy to appear in an ABC sitcom that features a band of rogues trying to rip him off. He did, however, object to the series name of “Let’s Rob Mick Jagger.”

Jagger’s objections led ABC to change the title to the less-colorful “Knights of Prosperity,” McPherson said. It’s unclear whether Jagger will appear on the show again, but other stars, including Sting and Kelly Ripa, will be featured.

“A lot of people have come out of the woodwork to be on the show,” he said. “It has become a hip New York comedy to be involved in.”

None of the broadcast networks have been able to develop popular comedies this season. But the genre’s slump has led ABC to take some chances with the format, as it did a few years back with “Housewives,” he said. McPherson senses a renaissance on the way.

“It’s frustrating; it’s challenging,” he said. “We would like to get a bigger audience to them. But I believe that comedy is due to explode.”

ABC also announced Sunday that it will bring back “Dancing with the Stars” for a third run starting March 19. The show will be moved to Monday, with the results announced on Tuesday, specifically to avoid competition with Fox’s singing competition “American Idol,” he said.

“Our fans would have been upset; ‘Idol’ fans would have been upset if we had just put them head to head,” McPherson said in a meeting with TV critics on Sunday.

ABC has had a mixed season. Its biggest move – switching “Grey’s Anatomy” from Sunday to Thursday – was a home run. Yet the network, while still the second most popular in the country behind CBS, has seen viewership drop.

Its biggest problem is building moderately strong shows to back its hits. ABC has five of the nation’s top-ranked programs in “Grey’s Anatomy,”"Desperate Housewives,”"Lost” and, while it was airing, the two weekly “Dancing with the Stars” editions. Only three other ABC shows are in Nielsen Media Research’s top 40.

McPherson objected to the characterization of ABC as a feast-or-famine network. He said that “Ugly Betty” and “Brothers & Sisters” are strong freshman shows, and that ABC has done well considering the loss of “Monday Night Football.”

McPherson declined to speak about the feud between Rosie O’Donnell of ABC’s “The View” and Donald Trump – then did anyway. He said it was a publicity stunt for Trump.

“Me commenting on it just kind of feeds into his desire,” he said.