ABC Sets Its Summer 2021 Primetime Lineup Premiere Dates

The Celebrity Dating Game
ABC’s ‘Celebrity Dating Game’ stars Zooey Deschanel and Michael Bolton (ABC/Sami Drasin)

ABC will be adding three new series to their primetime lineup this summer with the debuts of The Celebrity Dating Game hosted by Zooey Deschanel and Michael Bolton, The Ultimate Surfer, and When Nature Calls. The network’s summer schedule will also include 11 returning series, kicking off the summer season on June 4th with the return of Emergency Call hosted by Luke Wilson.

ABC’s summer roster will include returning game shows The $100,000 Pyramid, Card Sharks, Celebrity Family Feud, The Chase, The Hustler, Press Your Luck, and To Tell the Truth. The Bachelorette featuring Katie Thurston arrives on June 7th and a new season of Bachelor in Paradise kicks off on August 16th. (Covid-19 forced the series to be postponed last summer).

2021 Summer Premiere Dates:

FRIDAY, JUNE 4
8:00-9:01 p.m. “Emergency Call”

SUNDAY, JUNE 6
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Celebrity Family Feud”
9:00-10:00 p.m. “The Chase”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “To Tell the Truth”

MONDAY, JUNE 7
8:00-10:00 p.m. “The Bachelorette”

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9
8:00-9:00 p.m. “Press Your Luck”
9:00-10:00 p.m. “The $100,000 Pyramid”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “Card Sharks”

MONDAY, JUNE 14
10:00-11:00 p.m. “The Celebrity Dating Game” (series premiere)

THURSDAY, JUNE 17
8:00-9:00 p.m. “When Nature Calls” (WT) (series premiere)
9:00-10:00 p.m. “Holey Moley 3D in 2D”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “The Hustler”

MONDAY, AUG. 16
8:00-10:00 p.m. “Bachelor in Paradise”
10:00-11:00 p.m. “The Ultimate Surfer” (series premiere)

New Series Details, Courtesy of ABC:

THE CELEBRITY DATING GAME – Hosted by actress and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel and multiple GRAMMY®-winning singer-songwriter Michael Bolton, The Celebrity Dating Game offers a wry wink at modern dating with a star-studded roster of celebrity singles from television, music, comedy, reality TV and feature film in their pursuit to find love. Offering the same iconic feel as the original classic dating show, each episode follows two celebrities who each pick one lucky suitor from a hidden panel of three bachelors and/or bachelorettes based on answers to a variety of questions. But there’s a twist! The celebrity identities will remain a mystery to their suitors, who are given clues via hilarious parody song performances by host Michael Bolton.

THE ULTIMATE SURFERThe Ultimate Surfer will gather some of the world’s greatest up-and-coming surfers to train and live together as they battle it out at the World Surf League’s (WSL) state-of-the-art Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California, powered by Kelly Slater’s human-made wave technology, in the hope of competing amongst the best athletes in the world’s fastest-growing sport. Slater will serve as on-air talent and special correspondent for the show.

Alliances and rivalries will be front and center in The Ultimate Surfer as men and women compete in individual and team challenges focused on specific surfing disciplines. Weekly eliminations will leave two men and two women as finalists who will vie for the male and female titles of The Ultimate Surfer and the opportunity to compete on the elite WSL Championship Tour, the pinnacle of professional surfing. Slater’s remarkable, one-of-a-kind, human-made wave—the most even playing field for measuring surf mastery—is at the heart of the series.

WHEN NATURE CALLS (WT)When Nature Calls (WT) is a laugh-out-loud, one-hour unscripted comedy series which looks at the lighter side of the natural world. Based on a BBC Studios comedy format, the show will surprise and delight viewers with what comes out of the mouths of majestic beasts, teeny-tiny frogs, beatboxing badgers and more within captivating, beautiful footage from all over the world. This new perspective on absurd animal antics is easy on the eyes and hilarious to the ears.