The pandemic wiped out the fall TV schedule. Does it matter?

Each fall, as the days grow shorter, the weather cools and kids return to classrooms, millions of Americans look to TV to keep them entertained. For nearly seven decades, broadcast TV networks have used the season to launch new shows in the hope they become enduring hits - and to bring back fresh episodes of returning programs after the long summer hiatus.

But like virtually every facet of American life, broadcast TV is going to look quite different when the 2020 season kicks off in late September. Thanks to the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic, production of scripted television remains largely shut down in most of the country, making it impossible for broadcast networks to premiere most of their new shows on schedule.

Facing the reality that they will not have new live-action sitcoms or dramas to air until at least November, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and the CW are getting creative this fall. Until widespread production can safely resume, the networks are plugging holes as they