Drama premiere pushed back; 'Big Shots' displaced

With the TV season now on uncertain ground, ABC is putting one of its new shows on indefinite hold.

"Cashmere Mafia," which was set to premiere Tuesday, Nov. 27, has been pushed into the uncertain timeslot called "TBA." ABC is also giving the ratings-challenged "Big Shots" a second night off during sweeps, replacing it with "Women's Murder Club."

The bumping of "Cashmere Mafia" comes on the first day of a Hollywood writers' strike that will severely slow or altogether stop production on most scripted series. The show, about the friendship between four powerful women, has shot seven of its initial 13 episodes.

ABC didn't cite a reason for the schedule change, but postponing the show could give the network one more asset to use in the event of a prolonged strike. Rather than running through all seven finished episodes by January or February -- which is about when most of the networks' fall shows will reach the end of their strings as well -- the network could save them for the spring, when the pool of non-reality programming could get awfully shallow.

The season finale of "Dancing with the Stars" will expand to two hours on Nov. 27 to fill the "Cashmere Mafia" spot. The network hasn't figured out what to plug into the show's timeslot -- 9 p.m. Tuesdays -- after that.

"Women's Murder Club," meanwhile, will fill the post-"Grey's Anatomy" slot on Thursday, Nov. 15 (it will also air in its regular slot Friday, Nov. 16). That means a two-week break for "Big Shots," which is also getting Thanksgiving off in favor of the season premiere of "October Road."

ABC is also pre-empting the Nov. 20 episode of "Boston Legal" for a "Bachelor" special; the drama will return on Dec. 4.