What’s on ABC tonight? Here is the full ABC schedule for Thursday, October 29, 2026, with times in Eastern Time (ET).

ABC runs a three-hour rescue-and-surgery block, and 9-1-1 anchors it

See also: What's on tonight across all channels | Wednesday's TV guide

ABC’s Thursday primetime is one long argument for staying put: 9-1-1 at 8pm ET/PT (7pm Central), its spin-off at 9pm, then Grey’s Anatomy at 10pm. Three hours of drama, no need to touch the remote. For anyone who wants only one hour, it is 9-1-1.

That opening slot is the strongest of the three, and the one with the most history behind it. 9-1-1 began life on Fox and has since run to nine series and 142 episodes, with Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Aisha Hinds, Rockmond Dunbar and Connie Britton among its cast. A show that has changed networks and still anchors a night is doing something right. It also faces the busiest start of the evening: Hell’s Kitchen on Fox, the sitcom Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage on CBS, plus The Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo. Anyone torn between those is choosing between very different evenings.

The spin-off is the softer hour

9-1-1: Nashville is a young show. One series, 18 episodes, with Chris O’Donnell, Michael Provost, Jessica Capshaw, Julie Clairvallais and Adhir Kalyan leading. It has the hardest job on the night, because it sits at 9pm facing CBS’s Ghosts, which starts a minute later, and Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. Three stars is a fair mark: it is built on the parent show and benefits from the lead-in, but it is the hour most likely to lose a casual viewer to the competition. The schedule is clearly counting on 8pm viewers staying.

Grey’s Anatomy closes the block

Grey’s Anatomy airs at 10pm ET/PT (9pm Central) with the episode “It’s All Wrong, but It’s All Right”, S23E03. A medical drama running 466 episodes to date with Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers and T. R. Knight on its cast list does not need a sales pitch, and ABC has not given it one: it is simply parked at 10pm. The competition here is thin. CBS has the legal drama Cupertino, and Fox is back to local programming, so ABC has the late slot largely to itself on the broadcast side.

Note the episode count against the season number. A show deep into its run is a different kind of viewing from a young one, and Grey’s is a place to arrive already knowing the people. Newcomers should not start here.

The rest of the day

Everything outside primetime is news and talk. Good Morning America runs from 7am ET, with The View at 11am ET, General Hospital at 2pm ET and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir at 6:30pm ET. Jimmy Kimmel Live! follows at 11:35pm ET. The 2am slot is ABC World News Now, three hours long, which is the only overnight programme worth flagging, and then only for insomniacs.

If the night comes down to one choice, make it 8pm. 9-1-1 is the best-established hour ABC has on Thursday, and it is the only one of the three that does not depend on a lead-in.


Also on TV tonight at 8pm ET

  • NBC: The Traitors: New Blood
  • CBS: Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage
  • FOX: Hell’s Kitchen
  • PBS: This Old House
  • The CW: Scrabble
  • ION: FBI
  • TCM: The Beguiled
  • AMC: It (from 6pm ET)
  • FX: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (from 5:30pm ET)
  • Freeform: Monsters University (from 6:05pm ET)

Every channel tonight, side by side · Movies on TV this week · Tomorrow’s TV


Frequently asked questions

What’s on ABC tonight?

On Thursday, October 29, 2026, ABC shows 9-1-1 at 8pm ET, 9-1-1: Nashville at 9pm ET and Grey’s Anatomy at 10pm ET.

Is there a movie on ABC tonight?

No. ABC has no movies in its evening schedule on Thursday, October 29, 2026.

What’s on ABC late tonight?

After 11pm ET, ABC has Local Programs at 11pm ET and Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm ET.

What time does ABC’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with Local Programs at 6pm ET.