Thursday, May 11, 2006

SitcomsOnline.com Upfront Preview: Fox; TBS Renews 'Saved by the Bell', But Not 'Mama's Family'

Fox has the strongest show in television right now and a hot drama called House. With that they will always be in the mix at the top for adults 18-49, especially after January. The question is can they find some new hits for the fall and try to build on that when that little show American Idol returns in January? Will Futurama be brought back from the dead like Family Guy? Will Fox actually pick up a decent sitcom? An no not Free Ride, Life on a Stick, Stacked and some of the other garbage they have aired over the last few years.

Here is the SitcomsOnline.com Fox 2006-07 preview:

New Series Already Picked-Up: American Crime (drama), Primary (drama), Til Death (sitcom) and Vanished (drama)
New Series We Think That Are Almost Good To Go: Southern Comfort (drama) and The Winner (sitcom).
New Series Perhaps Picked-Up for Mid-Season: Damages (drama) and Union Jackass (sitcom)

OUR FALL 2006 PREDICTION:

Sundays
7:00PM NFL Overrun
7:30PM King of the Hill
8:00PM The Simpsons
8:30PM Futurama (RETURN)
9:00PM Family Guy
9:30PM American Dad

Mondays
8:00PM Prison Break
9:00PM Vanished (NEW)

Tuesdays
8:00PM Primary (NEW)
9:00PM House

Wednesdays
8:00PM Bones
9:00PM American Crime (NEW)

Thursdays
8:00PM Til Death (NEW)
8:30PM The War at Home
9:00PM Bernie Mac
9:30PM The Winner (NEW)

Fridays
8:00PM The O.C.
9:00PM Southern Comfort (NEW)

Saturdays
8:00PM Cops
8:30PM Cops
9:00PM America's Most Wanted

Comments: Fox is tough to figure out. They have like two different line-ups for the fall and January. Of course 24 and American Idol will come back in January. Question is if American Idol will be Tuesday and Thursday next season instead of Tuesday/Wednesday? Bernie Mac will have to be back I think because they need something for the fall with Malcolm and That '70s Show ending, and it should be gone for good in January. The War at Home will probably be back, too, on another night. I think House will move to Wednesdays in January so American Idol can give another show a boost on Tuesdays. As for the results show, maybe Thursdays at 8:00PM followed by Til Death? Like I said, Fox is a tough one to figure out. And so many series are goners: Arrested Development, Kitchen Confidential, That '70s Show, Stacked, Head Cases, Reunion, Free Ride, The Loop, Malcolm in the Middle and Killer Instinct. I might have missed something. I think Nanny 911, Unan1mous and Trading Spouses will return at some point. Like when anything fails fast. Hopefully The O.C. fails. Futurama looks like it will return. If it does, then I say Bernie Mac is safe because a sitcom will be needed for another night. I can't comment anymore on this, because Fox is just weird. As long as American Idol is pulling big numbers, Fox will always be a contender in the second half and for the season in A18-49.

Remember, next Thursday (May 18) is the actual date when we will findout Fox's plans for the 2006-07 season. So, come on back next Thursday and we will let you know the details and you can see how much we were right (or wrong). Stay tuned tomorrow for a preview on The CW's upfront.

TBS has renewed its longest running show on the network yet again. Saved by the Bell reruns, which started in 1992 on the network, has been renewed yet again! It was set to expire after this August, but TBS has picked it up for another few more years. The show has done very well for them in the mornings in recent years. It even popped-up for two weeks on sister network Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block! Meanwhile, the news is not as good for another TBS favorite. Reruns of Mama's Family are also expiring after August, but TBS has decided they will not renew this one. Mama's Family has been on the network since 1997. It has been recently airing from 6-7am ET for a while. It will be replaced by Cosby Show at 6 a.m. and Drew Carey at 6:30 a.m. in September. Hopefully another cable network (TV Land???) will pick-up the series fast or better yet, Warner Home Video should release it on DVD. We don't have the full list of changes yet for TBS's September line-up, but we do know that reruns of The King of Queens will join the station in October. Cosby Show and Dawson's Creek will still be around this fall, too. I said before that they probably were expiring, but they're actually not. I think 2007 is the year when they expire. Dawson's Creek will ALSO be coming to The N in September. I guess another shared deal.
Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 9:00 AM
SITCOMS AIRING TONIGHT (May 20)

Raising Hope - "Not Indecent, but Not Quite Decent Enough Proposal" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Chance family meets Sabrina’s mother, Tamara (guest star Melanie Griffith), at the funeral of Sabrina’s grandmother, Nana (guest star Tippi Hedren). Nana’s last will and testament, revealed in a video she recorded before she died, has a big impact on Jimmy and Sabrina’s relationship.

The Goodwin Games - "Pilot" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Series Premiere)
Starring Scott Foley (“Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy”), Becki Newton (“Ugly Betty”) and T.J. Miller (“Our Idiot Brother,” “She’s Out Of My League”), the new inventive family comedy features three estranged siblings who return home after the loss of their beloved father (guest star Beau Bridges) and unexpectedly find themselves poised to inherit more than $20 million – if, and only if, they can adhere to their late father’s wishes.

New Girl - "Cabin" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Jess invites her divorced Mom and Dad (guest stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner) over for Thanksgiving dinner and enlists Nick and Cece to help her with a “Parent Trap” to reunite them. Meanwhile, Schmidt’s cousin, Big Schmidt (guest star Rob Riggle), visits, and Winston manipulates them into an escalating battle to prove their manhood.

The Mindy Project - "Danny Castellano Is My Gynecologist" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Mindy must find a new gynecologist, she asks Danny to assume the role. Eventually, he accepts – on the grounds that Mindy will feel too uncomfortable to go through with the exam. The two then play a game of chicken to see who will back out of the deal first. Meanwhile, Jeremy tricks Morgan and Betsy into helping him break into Mindy’s apartment to retrieve a valuable item.

2 Broke Girls - "And the Broken Hip" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Max and Caroline pay a high price for attempting to remove a street performer away from the entry to their cupcake shop. Comedian Andy Dick guest stars as J. Petto, a litigious puppeteer.

Rules of Engagement - "100th" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Series Finale)
Brenda goes into labor on Jennifer and Adam’s wedding day. Meanwhile, Russell and Timmy make an attempt at reconciliation and Audrey surprises Jeff, on the 100th episode and the seventh season finale.

The Big Bang Theory - "The Holographic Excitation" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The gang celebrates Halloween at Stuart’s comic book store. Meanwhile, Leonard seduces Penny with science. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin makes a cameo appearance as himself.

Mike & Molly - "Windy City" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Season Finale)
Mike and Carl get stuck working at the Renaissance Faire after their boss, Patrick, gets dumped by Mike’s mother. Later, as a tornado descends on Chicago, Mike and Molly each confess important news to each other. Gerald McRaney guest stars as Police Captain Patrick Murphy, Mike’s boss. Jim Beaver guest stars as Dwight.