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TCA Network Winter Press Tour: ABC and NBC; 'The Facts of Life' on DVD in June?

ABC and NBC were up at the TCA tour this weekend. ABC didn't release a concrete schedule of their March schedule, but they did talk about their upcoming March shows. ABC addressed the situation about pulling Emily's Reasons Why Not after just one airing. “We had seen the majority of big long-lead advertising money for Emily before we even saw a script, unfortunately, given the way production schedules work. Creatively we just did not get the show where it needed to be. All of us tried really hard: producers, the network and the studio, but it never got on track. I think you kind of have to measure your patience based on how you believe in the creative, and we felt it was not going to get better.”
The future looks a little brighter for Jake in Progress, which was also pulled after one episode this season. ABC President Stephen McPherson holds out hope that he'll be able to bring the show back later in the season. "I have a crush on John Stamos," he jokes about "Jake's" star.
ABC also talked about the status of Arrested Development coming to their network: “I don’t foresee that happening,” said Stephen McPherson. “I believe that I can market that show really well, and I think we have some spots on our schedule that make sense for us. But it is a long-shot.”
Finally ABC addressed their two new dramas Commander in Chief and Invasion. “Obviously, we are disappointed in Commander in Chief ticking down recently. I think being off the air for so long, not being able to hit it with aggressive marketing, has hurt it. We feel like we have to get the viewers and the demo back in there.”
“Invasion is a great television show. There are a lot of theories why it is not holding onto the Lost audience. A lot have people have said to me, ‘I watch that one hour of Lost. It’s such an intense experience. I come in for that appointment. No matter what you put in after that, I am not going to watch anything else.’ But I think it’s a great example for us of when to be patient and when to kind of fold them. We believe in Invasion.”
I think we will see both shows back next season, even if they move to another night and time.

So what is coming up this March for ABC? Returning sitcom Less Than Perfect, returning drama Alias, new drama from J.J. Abrams What About Brian, new one camera sitcom Sons & Daughters, new feel good reality show The Miracle Workers and new drama The Evidence. ABC also has a new mini-series in the works called The Ten Commandments. Should air in April for Easter. And don't forget Hope & Faith and Jake in Progress will likely be back from hiatus, too. ABC also has a series of specials with Regis Philbin in This is Your Life.

NBC released actual dates and times for its new March line-up. The game show Deal or No Deal returns Feb. 27 and will run through March 3 airing every night at 8 p.m. Then it will settle to its new weekly slot of Mondays at 8 p.m., replacing Surface, which is likely done for good. Also, The Apprentice (Trump edition of course) returns that night airing Mondays at 9 p.m., replacing Las Vegas which moves to Fridays at 9 p.m., which replaces Dateline NBC, which will now go to Saturdays at 8 p.m. Say that ten times fast! In a strange move, NBC will move Law & Order from 10 p.m. Wednesday to 9 p.m. Wednesday up against Lost, Criminal Minds, and American Idol Results Show. NBC might have to settle for fourth place, but it is better than what they are doing right now in that slot. New drama Heist will follow at 10 p.m. I don't think Heist will compete with CSI: NY and even Invasion. What NBC should have done was to air the new Dick Wolf drama Conviction at 10 p.m. Wednesday, but instead they will air that Fridays at 10 p.m. New sitcom Teachers will take over April 6 for The Office at 9:30 p.m., which will end its season early in late March. Not to worry The Office and the hit My Name is Earl have been already renewed for 22 episodes for next season. Some of NBC's moves are questionable, but they will be heavily promoted during the Winter Olympics.
NBC has yet to announce what they will do with the remaining Joey episodes and their other new sitcom Thick and Thin. Personally, Joey is good as dead, I doubt they will air it between March-May.

NBC has confirmed that long running hits Will & Grace and The West Wing will both be gone after this season. NBC’s The West Wing will end its seven-year run with an hour-long retrospective on Sunday, May 14 at 7 p.m., followed by the series-finale at 8 p.m. Will & Grace, meanwhile, will officially conclude its eight-year run on Thursday, May 18 with an hour-long retrospective followed by the series-finale at 9 p.m. Both shows have declined in the ratings this season. NBC might also lose Scrubs next season, but it is not official yet.
NBC announced some of their summer plans: In addition to the surprise return of The Last Comic Standing, NBC will launch Windfall, its long-awaited drama about a group of lottery winners, and the unscripted Treasure Hunters, where contestants search for hidden treasure.

Finally, on Saturday Facts of Life fans were out celebrating as the show is apparently finally heading to DVD this June! The Beyond the Facts of Life site is reporting that seasons one and two (29 episode set) will be out from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment this June. It is not official yet, but it seems like this will happen. If I were Sony, I'd release Silver Spoons Season 1 and Diff'rent Strokes Season 3 on the same day for a great marketing campaign. We will of course try to find out more on this and get back to you. For now head on over to TVShowsOnDVD.com and they have the exact quote that Sony said to this fansite. And you can discuss this news with fans right here on our message boards.

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