Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment, today outlined ABC’s plans for next season and unveiled the network’s 2007-08 fall schedule before a crowd of ABC affiliates and representatives of the advertising and media communities at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Scheduled to debut next season are four new comedy series: “Carpoolers,” “Cavemen,” “Miss/Guided” and “Sam I Am”; along with seven new drama series: “Big Shots,” “Cashmere Mafia,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Eli Stone,” “Private Practice,” “Pushing Daisies” and “Women’s Murder Club.” Alternative series “Oprah’s Big Give™” is also slated to debut.

            In addition to the new series, ABC previously announced season renewals for “Brothers & Sisters,” “MEN IN TREES,” “Ugly Betty,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Boston Legal,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “The Bachelor,” “Supernanny,” “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “Wife Swap"

“October Road” and “Notes from the Underbelly” will return for second seasons as well.

“We’re heading into the new season with a strong lineup of returning shows that we’ve developed and nurtured over the past few years,” said McPherson. “That solid foundation will help us launch an exciting development slate as we continue our forward momentum this fall. We’re dedicated to working hard week after week to deliver the best stories and most memorable characters on TV.”

During the 2006-07 TV Season, ABC’s first season in decades without “Monday Night Football,” the network solidified its dominance with women and in all upscale measures. And with the addition of “Ugly Betty,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “October Road” and “MEN IN TREES,” ABC has added a new generation of broad-appealing, young, accessible dramas to its roster. ABC is the #1 network with Women 18-34 and Women 18-49, and is currently in second place for the season among Adults 18-49, leading both NFL-fueled CBS (with ”Super Bowl 2007”) and NBC (with ”Sunday Night Football”).

Excluding sports from the mix this season (to account for the loss of “Monday Night Football,” the 2006 “Super Bowl” and the Bowl Championship series) ABC is the No. 2 network to Fox among Adults 18-49. The network airs 7 of the Top 20 TV series in the key young adult sales demographic. ABC retained 99% of its Total Viewers, 100% of its Adult 18-34 audience and 95% of its Adult 18-49 audience year to year in the “non-sports” averages. Additionally, ABC marked its second straight season as the No. 1 television network among advertiser-prized upscale, high-income Adults 18-49 (with/$100K+ annual income). And ABC is the only network whose May Sweep performance is up from a year ago.

As previously announced, “Saturday Night College Football” will return for a second season on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 (8:00 p.m., ET).