There is no new “The Company You Keep” tonight. Instead we’re getting three hours of American Idol. Three.

Why are we punting on new episodes of a promising young show in exchange for a reality music competition that is over two decades old, and lost its flair years back?

If ‘Company’ was already renewed then I wouldn’t be sweating so much, but ABC is guilty of negligence with its Sunday nights and with its new dramas.

We were stuck watching old Disney family films for a spell before Idol returned. The alphabet could have aired reruns of some of its freshman shows but chose not to. Instead we were watching “Enchanted” and “The Avengers” two films that any viewers would likely already have access to, whether with a Disney Plus subscription or a copy of their own.

Then the alphabet did “Alaska Daily” wrong with a winter layoff that spanned almost four months. Granted, the show has a laundry list of problems, but when it returned, the complicated history of the plot had already passed a lot of us by.

And lets be completely honest. There isn’t anything that American Idol can’t get done in two hours that warrants an unnecessary third hour of video packages at the cost of a promising action drama like ‘Company’.

At least the alphabet renewed Will Trent. Lets hope they tag this program too.

Otherwise we’ll be looking back at weekends like this one as a lost opportunity for this show to hold its viewers and deliver in the ratings like it has with its performances.

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