Thursday, March 30, 2006

CBS Sitcoms 'Out of Practice' 'Courting Alex' Head to Hiatus-land; 'Arrested Development' Done, For Now

CBS has dropped sitcoms Out of Practice and Courting Alex after just two weeks in their new Wednesday 8-9 p.m. time-slot. Both sitcoms struggled quite a bit, especially in the 18-49 demo, where competing ABC sitcoms crushed them. CBS will give The Amazing Race that time period and will move it there for the rest of the season. CBS will now air repeats of crime dramas (CSI, CSI Miami, etc) and specials in Race's old time slot of Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
CBS did say: "...comedies Out of Practice and Courting Alex will return to the schedule at a later date." While that is good, I don't think the chances of both returning next fall are good. If they do return this season it will probably be only to burn-off the remaining episodes. Did CBS on purpose try to kill these sitcoms? I always felt it made no sense putting two rookies back-to-back to start off a night.

20th Century Fox made it official that low-rated but critically acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development is "done...for now, anyway." They released this statement: "While there are no plans to resume production at this time, we know all too well from our experience with Family Guy-- another brilliant comedy which didn't find its audience in its first network run -- that anything is possible," the statement read. "We'll always be a little hopeful that this is not quite the end for this amazing show." Ron Howard's Imagine TV, who produces the sitcom, had this to say: "If it is really over, and I'm not quite sure that it is, the show's been an incredible source of pride for Ron [Howard] and Brian [Grazer] and I," says David Nevins, head of Imagine TV noting there were "a few avenues left to explore" -- "I wouldn't write the obit."
Meanwhile, creator of the sitcom Mitch Hurwitz is leaving the show.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, March 30

The Neighorhood - "Welcome to the Things We Do for Love" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Marty meets Courtney’s intimidating father to ask for his blessing, but Clancy’s (Anthony Anderson) cryptic response sends Calvin and Tina digging for answers. Meanwhile, Gemma and Dave are stunned by Grover’s tattoo.

DMV - "Gilbert" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Colette and Gregg convince Vic to foster a dog and help him clean up his act to meet the dog rescuer Howie’s (Thomas Lennon) high standards. Meanwhile, Ceci tries to repay Barb by boosting Noa’s processing time, mainly by toning down his hotness.

St. Denis Medical - "Here a Righteous Woman Comes" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Joyce hosts a ribbon-cutting for the birthing center; Matt and Serena take on an awkward assignment; Ron tries to knock out a quick physical before his fishing trip.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins - "The World Is Full of Beaks" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Tobin tries to keep his personal life separate from the documentary, but Reggie doesn't make it easy for him; Monica helps Brina with her music career.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 30)

Monday, March 30