Quantico is on the move. ABC’s struggling sophomore FBI-turned-CIA drama is moving from its Sunday at 10 p.m. to Monday at 10 p.m., Variety has reported. The show’s writers also confirmed the move in a tweet.
When Quantico returns, it will be airing post-The Bachelor, which will hopefully give the show a much needed ratings bump. The show will be taking the spot of Conviction, which was capped at 13 episodes at the beginning of the month.
Entertainment Weekly spoke with showrunner Josh Safran, who said that the terrorism-themed storylines will start to get wrapped up in the second half of the season, saying “We always had a plan to transition away from terrorism (around) midseason, because we ourselves were feeling like we didn’t want to put that out into the world anymore. (The day after Election Day), we shut down talking about the episode we were on and just talked globally about (the show).”
ABC’s Sunday lineup is struggling this season, with Once Upon A Time well below its season average from last season. Secrets and Lies isn’t anywhere close to matching the success of its first season and Quantico is also well below its average ratings from its first season last year.
The move seems to show that ABC wants to save the drama to potentially get it to a third season, meaning it would be that much closer to getting a syndication deal. Moving the show could help the show, as its most recent episode, which aired on Nov. 27, scored a measly 0.7 rating in the key 18 to 49 demographic and was watched by 2.29 million viewers, according to TV by the Numbers.
However, it’s also unclear as to how much the move will help improve Quantico‘s ratings. Quantico is replacing Conviction in the Monday night timeslot and the ratings of Conviction aren’t much better than Quantico, with TV by the Numbers reporting that Conviction‘s average rating being a 0.66 in the 18 to 49 demographic and Quantico‘s average rating is a 0.77 in the 18 to 49. Quantico still does well in the delayed viewings ratings, as the number of people who watch the show doubles, but the show is still considered an “on-the-bubble” show.
ABC has yet to release their full midseason schedule, but Match Game and To Tell The Truth will be back in January, according to TV by the Numbers. ABC also has the full TGIT lineup, consisting of Grey’s Anatony, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder will return on Thursday, Jan. 19.
Quantico returns to ABC on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 at 10 p.m.