ABC OVERHAULS SUMMER SCHEDULE

In place of serialized dramas that tend to draw few viewers during summer repeats, ABC plans to introduce three new dramatic shows this summer that, while similar in content to the ones they’re replacing, can stand on their own. On Sundays, The Gates, starring Frank Grillo, will be replacing Desperate Housewives at 9:00 p.m. and Scoundrels will replace Brothers and Sisters at 10:00 p.m. On Thursdays, Rookie Blue, a Canadian production starring Missy Peregrym, will be replacing Grey’s Anatomy, leading into Boston Med, a documentary series that follows doctors and patients at three Boston hospitals. The network is also scheduling a number of new reality series, including Bachelor Pad featuring former contestants from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and Dating in the Dark, in which singles attempt to get to know each other in a dark room (raising the question of whether the TV screen will also go dark during the show’s running time). In addition, the network plans to introduce a new quiz show called Downfall in which the contestants, standing atop a skyscraper, must play a perfect game to win millions of dollars worth of cash and prizes. Describing the series, Lisa De Moraes in the Washington Post wrote, “If they mess up, their winnings will literally be tossed off the side of the skyscraper — after which, presumably, people on the street below will kill each other in an effort to scoop up the loot. Can’t wait to find out which city has volunteered to host this one.”