During a normal season of The Conners, the ninth episode wouldn’t even mark the midpoint, and yet only four episodes remain after "Manifesting, Marriage Testing and Cheeseballs" due to the strike-shortened run. And fans will need to take note that the series, which hasn’t been renewed or canceled yet, will be shifting to a new, later time slot heading into the final stretch of TV finales, so don’t go missing out by thinking it’s not airing at all.
Why Is The Conners Changing Time Slots?
Having spent years in the 9:00 p.m. ET slot before moving up an hour with Season 5, The Conners will now settle into the third different airtime of its run so far. And that’s because ABC will be ushering in the second season/iteration of Jeopardy! Masters, the brainiest primetime tournament on TV.
The first season, which was won by James Holzhauer (who jokingly roasted Ken Jennings with his Final Jeopardy answer in the first ep), was a ratings win for ABC, so the follow-up is getting some preferential treatment by landing that lead-in slot of 8:00 p.m. ET. I mean, we’re talking about one of the greatest game shows of all time, so it’s understandable, even if some fans have experienced tournament fatigue recently after Jennings brought some cringe to the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament by repeated uses of the abbreviation “JIT.”
Jeopardy Masters will have quite the erratic schedule after its May 1 premiere, as seen below:
- Wed, May 1 - Games 1 and 2
- Mon, May 6 - Games 3 and 4
- Wed, May 8 - Games 5 and 6
- Fri, May 10 - Games 7 and 8
- Mon, May 13 - Games 9 and 10
- Wed, May 15 - Games 11 and 12
- Fri, May 17 - Semifinals 1 and 2
- Mon, May 20 - Semifinals 3 and 4
- Wed, May 22 - Season 2 Finale
Since those three weeks of episodes begin and end on Wednesdays, all of The Conners’ remaining eps will be relegated to the later time slot.
What Is The Conners' New Time Slot?
Fans can now find The Conners airing at 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday nights, following new episodes of the awards-friendly hit Abbott Elementary. All things considered, this move might actually be a boon for all involved.
If Jeopardy! Masters can bring in a big audience earlier in the night, that definitely helps Abbott Elementary's chances of maintaining some of the bleed-off viewership, which would then potentially give The Conners its own boost. Both comedies' numbers are pretty safe when it comes to staying on the air, even though ABC still has to make a call with the Roseanne follow-up, which in April 2024 hit 100 episodes despite its single-season origins.
Of course, the time shift won't be much of an issue for any Conners fans who exclusively watch via DVR or with a Hulu subscription, but it's still good to know. Speaking of things that are good to know, here's the synopsis for the first episode airing in the new time slot, titled “Campaign U-Turn and a Hard Write."
Dan gets asked to write an article for a Hardware magazine, making Ben long for his days as a writer. Meanwhile, Jackie inserts herself into Louise’s run for the school board when her retirement leads to too much free time.
So remember that May 1 will be the day when The Conners will mosey on down to its new ABC slot at 9:30 p.m. ET. Head to our 2024 TV schedule to see what other shows will be around after the glut of finales is over.
