ABC announces premiere dates for ‘Scandal’ and ‘Apartment 23,’ hopes to premiere ‘Cougar Town’ in March

The Television Critics Association press conferences continue. NBC held the spotlight at the end of last week, while Fox took over on Sunday. Tuesday, ABC had its chance, announcing the premiere dates for two new shows, while continuing to hold back one of its cult hits, Cougar Town.

The Wrap reports that ABC entertainment president Paul Lee announced that new drama Scandal will premiere on Thursday, April 5, while sitcom Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 debuts on Wednesday, April 11.

Scandal is produced by Grey’s Anatomy’s Shonda Rhimes and will air in Private Practice’s old slot after Grey’s. According to TV Line, Private Practice will air on Tuesdays after the Dancing with the Stars results shows.

Don’t Trust The B in Apartment 23 stars Krysten Ritter and James Van Der Beek and is expected to act as a lead-in to Modern Family. It originally had the word ‘bi**h’ in the title, like GCB, which was going to be called Good Christian Bi**hes.

As for Cougar Town, which stars Courteney Cox, Lee was non-committal about when the show would return. "We're not quite ready [to announce a return date]," he said, according to E! News. He added that he believes that the show has is “having some of their best episodes” and that the network still hasn’t figured out where to put it. He did say, however, that, “It's tentatively slated for March. It's in there for a good reason."

Other shows at ABC that are on the fence include Pan Am and Work It!. Pan Am’s ratings have been consistently low, but Lee said that “We have new and original shows right through the end of February and it'll be in contention past that,” according to E! News. Work It!, which features two men that dress as women to try to get jobs, has been slammed by critics, but Lee would only say that ABC would keep a close watch on the ratings before making a decision on the show, notes the Wrap.

Lee also responded to complaints about Work It! by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, according to The Associated Press. Lee said that he didn’t “get” their complaints, comparing the sitcom to the 1982 film, Tootsie.