ABC dramas take long breaks

Lengthy absences frustrate viewers but avoid need for repeats.

Fans ofGrey's Anatomy, Scandal andNashville, get ready for a long winter vacation from those shows.

As ABC has done to some extent in past seasons, it will yank those shows, along with Revenge and Once Upon a Time, off the air for more than two months next winter to preserve episodes and avoid the need for low-rated repeats, which plague serialized dramas.

Temporary replacements for most of the shows will be decided later, says programming chief Paul Lee.

After pre-holiday finales, Nashville won't return until Feb. 26, with Grey's Anatomy and Scandal back the following night. Once Upon a Time and Revenge won't be back until March 9, joined by Resurrection, an eight-episode drama about a girl who resurfaces, without aging, decades after her disappearance.

The Quest, a reality series that puts 12 contestants into a fantasy world, from the creator of The Amazing Race, will debut Jan. 2, but then slide to Thursday, where it will replace Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, an Alice-themed spin-off that is scheduled to run for 13 episodes this fall.

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While NBC's ratings woes have won more attention, ABC finished in fourth place -- behind NBC -- among adults ages 18 to 49, its target audience. Unlike rivals, ABC does not air NFL football. And many of its most popular shows have declined in popularity as they age, particularly Dancing With the Stars, which is being reduced to one night this fall that will include both performances and results. But ABC has a budding hit in Scandal, and has one of the most anticipated new dramas this fall, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., starring Clark Gregg's character from The Avengers.

Separately, ABC plans a preseason best-of Shark Tank week, in which the reality show's "shark" investors will pick their favorite contestant segments. The weeklong stunt, Sept. 8-13, is an obvious attempt to blunt the opening of NBC's two-week game show, Million Second Quiz. source : usatoday

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