CBS Renews 14 Series for 2006-07; 'George Lopez' and 'Freddie' Cross-Over On March 22

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

CBS Renews 14 Series for 2006-07; 'George Lopez' and 'Freddie' Cross-Over On March 22

In a surprise move, CBS has already announced 14 series that will for sure be on the line-up for next season. Freshmen series pick-ups for 2006-07 include Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer and How I Met Your Mother--all of which have delivered impressive time period growth. In addition to the three rookies, CBS also will bring back 60 Minutes, Cold Case, NCIS, NUMB3RS, Survivor, Two and a Half Men, Without a Trace, The Amazing Race, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, and CSI: New York.
However, not making the initial short list were veteran comedies The King of Queens & Still Standing. Their future is up in the air right now. 2005-06 freshmen Close To Home, Courting Alex and Out of Practice also were not on the list. Alex and Practice both will move to Wednesdays later this month and that might tell us what their fate will be next season. CBS looks to have a nice slate of comedy pilots, such as The Class (from executive producer David Crane and starring Jason Ritter) and Sex, Power & Politics (with Jane Krakowski, Jay Harrington and James Van Der Beek)--so Alex and Practice need to do very well in order for them to bring both back next fall. CBS still has The New Adventures of Old Christine to premiere later this month (look for our pilot review very soon!). I think one of those three will only be back next season--so they all are competing for a spot next season.
And CBS announced that veteran sitcom Yes, Dear will indeed not return next season, so the series is officially canceled. The last episode aired last month.
Also, The WB has officially canceled veteran drama Charmed. So, that is one series that will not make it to the new CW line-up. The series finale is in May on The WB.

ABC will crossover two of its sitcoms for a very special crossover episode! Sitcoms George Lopez and Freddie will mark sitcom history with the famous crossover episode. But this time, both shows will crossover with each other--cast of Freddie on George Lopez and the cast of George Lopez on Freddie on the same night in a special two-part episode airing back-to-back on Wednesday, March 22 from 8 to 9 p.m. Here is how ABC describes it:

George Lopez: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at 8 p.m.:

Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Brian Austin Green from Freddie Guest Star in Their First Crossover Episode with George Lopez
“George Gets Cross Over Freddie” – In the first of a two-part crossover episode with Freddie, George discovers that Max has begun an online romance with a teenage girl from Chicago (Zoey from Freddie). When he assumes his son’s identity to protect him from what he suspects is an internet predator, George comes face to face offline with Zoey’s uncle, Freddie, on George Lopez, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. Guest starring are Freddie Prinze Jr. as Freddie, Brian Austin Green as Chris and Chloe Suazo as Zoey.
“George Gets Cross Over Freddie” was written by Stacey Pulwer and directed by Katy Garretson.

Freddie: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at 8:30 p.m.:

George Lopez, Valente Rodriguez and Luis Armand Garcia from George Lopez Guest Star in Their First Crossover Episode with Freddie
“Freddie Gets Cross Over George” – After Freddie and Chris’ trip to Los Angeles to investigate whether or not Zoey’s internet friend is genuine or a predator, they realize that George’s son, Max, really is a kid and invite them to Chicago so that Max and Zoey can finally meet face to face. When George sees how well off Freddie is, he teases him that he’s “soft,” so Freddie takes him to a rowdy bar in his old neighborhood to prove he hasn’t lost his edge. But when they get involved in a bar fight and end up in jail, Freddie and George realize that they’ve both lost their edge and don’t mind being a little “soft,” on “Freddie,” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Guest starring are George Lopez as George, Valente Rodriguez as Ernie, Luis Armand Garcia as Max, Jed Rhein as Judd, Frank Merino as Jesse, Angela Sorenson as Krista, Bruno Amato as bartender and Steve Saucedo as guard. Other guest cast TBD.
“Freddie Gets Cross Over George” was written by Stacey Pulwer and directed by Bob Koherr.

Both shows are from Warner Bros. Television, Mohawk Productions and Fortis Films. Mr. George Lopez is a producer of both series (executive producer for George Lopez and producer for Freddie).

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.