TCA Cable Winter Press Tour: Day 4; FOX Books Arrested Development Finale, Moves 'Malcolm' to Sundays

Friday, January 13, 2006

TCA Cable Winter Press Tour: Day 4; FOX Books Arrested Development Finale, Moves 'Malcolm' to Sundays

Day 4 of the TCA Cable Winter Press Tour didn't really fit any of our sitcom needs. Networks like Discovery Channel, TLC were there today. FX and HBO were also there. They both are creating new series that just doesn't fit our news. HBO will bring back The Sopranos on March 12 for a sixth season with 12 new episodes.
Some late developments from yesterday included GSN. They will bring back a revived version of the classic game show I've Got a Secret starting April 17. Oxygen had its own version a few years back. On Feb. 12 they will celebrate Valentine's Day in style with a marathon of Love Connection and The Newlywed Game from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. And Lingo returns for a fifth season on GSN on April 3, airing weekdays at 7:30 p.m. Who can get enough of Lingo? Chuck Woolery is classic.

Fox has set Friday, Feb. 10, for a two-hour season finale episode of critically acclaimed Arrested Development. The 8-10 p.m. edition could be the final airing of the comedy from 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine TV on Fox. Both ABC and Showtime have reportedly expressed interest in picking it up. The final four episodes of the season will feature guest stars like Judge Reinhold and Jason Bateman's sister--Justine Bateman.
Meanwhile, Fox will move Malcolm in the Middle from Fridays at 8:30 p.m. to Sundays at 7 p.m. Right now Fox was airing a rotating wheel of shows on Sundays at 7 p.m. Bernie Mac encores will take the Friday 8:30 p.m. slot starting January 20. Malcolm makes its moves back to Sundays on January 29. Malcolm is currently Fox's lowest rated show for the season with less than 3.5 million viewers. The Sunday slot should help, but not by much I think.

Last night ABC's Crumbs premiered with over 12 million viewers, making the hilarious sitcom the third highest sitcom debut of the season (behind only NBC's My Name is Earl and CBS's Out of Practice). If the show can get 11-13 million viewers a week, ABC will be very pleased as Thursdays has been like hell to them in the past. Dancing with the Stars 2 has picked Thursdays up and has moved ABC ahead of NBC in total viewers and households for Thursdays. It should be interesting come March what ABC will do on Thursdays, since Stars 2 will conclude by then. Crumbs will still have a handful of episodes left so it will be interesting if it can generate its own audience if the lead-in will be weaker.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 23

Abbott Elementary - "Class Pet" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Janine gets a budget for class pets, but Melissa is resistant to taking on the added work and responsibility for her room’s guinea pig. An IT rep from the school district arrives to set up new computers.

Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Bullies" (Comedy Central, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chris gets a gig DJ-ing at a drag ball and develops drag queen eyes.

Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Career Tests" (Comedy Central, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Chris and Greg tape over a porno rented from Caruso and must replace it.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 21)

Wednesday, October 23

Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Watch Billy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - NBC's Today catches up with Olivia some time between 7-9am.
Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere) - Bridget talks about Somebody Somewhere on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
David Henrie (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place/Wizards of Waverly Place/How I Met Your Mother/The Pitts) - David discusses Wizards Beyond Waverly Place on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings. One or two Wizards Beyond Waverly Place cast members will be on New York Living at 10:05am.
Judith Light (Who's the Boss?/Phenom/Transparent) - Judith talks about Before on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Billy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - Mariska talks about the greatest thing sheâ€™s learned since turning 60 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Dexter Darden (Saved by the Bell) - Dexter talks about Peacock's Fight Night; The Million Dollar Heist on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Essence Atkins (Poppa's House/Marlon/Mr. Box Office/Are We There Yet?/Half & Half/Smart Guy/Under One Roof) - Essence talks about Poppa's House on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.