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

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.

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.