Fox Delays 'Til Death's New Slot for Reality Quiz Show; ABC's 10th Season of 'The Bachelor', Other Notes

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Fox Delays 'Til Death's New Slot for Reality Quiz Show; ABC's 10th Season of 'The Bachelor', Other Notes

Rookie sitcom 'Til Death was slated to move to Wednesdays at 9:30pm in late February (with a special two-night premiere following American Idol on Tues., Feb. 27 and Wed., Feb. 28 at 9:30pm), but Fox has decided to go with the new Mark Burnett reality-quiz show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? for those two nights (Feb. 27 and 28). Wednesday, March 7 Fox will have a special preview (as we mentioned before) of new drama The Wedding Bells following American Idol, so the earliest 'Til Death can premiere in its Wednesday at 9:30pm slot will be March 14 now.
As for Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, after those two special half-hour episode previews, it will move to Thursdays for its other four episodes. Episode three and on will be 1-hour episodes. Episodes 3 and 4 airs Thursday, March 1 and Thursday, March 8 at 9pm, following special Thursday editions of American Idol. The final two episodes will be on its own and will air March 15 and 22 at 8pm.

ABC will bring back The Bachelor back for its second installment of the season this April, and tenth installment overall. The series will air 90-minutes now on Mondays at 9:30PM-11:00PM, following the 90-minute performance show of the mega-hit Dancing with the Stars. This could be just what The Bachelor needs, a big boost, as the ratings have gone down but still did respectable. The premiere is set for Monday, April 2 and the official title for this installment is The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman. So, what happens to the current ABC Monday series (Wife Swap, Supernanny, and What About Brian)? Well, What About Brian will finish its 19-episode season on March 26 with a two-hour Dancing with the Stars performance show as its lead-in. The season premiere of Dancing with the Stars on March 19 will also lead into What About Brian. ABC is very keen on Brian, and they seem to want to bring it back next season. I don't blame hem, it is a very hot show. I'm not sure yet if Wife Swap and Supernanny will also finish their seasons in March or not, but I think Wife Swap probably will. Supernanny just started in January, so it might be heading to another night, possibly Tuesdays at 8?
With all this news, it looks like new sitcom Notes from the Underbelly will probably not air at all now. If it does, it'll probably be in the Wednesday comedy block, but it wouldn't fit in there because they are mostly male and family oriented. No news yet on Traveler or October Road, but I'm certain they will debut in March or April. Oprah's first reality project could be Tuesdays at 8 if Supernanny doesn't get that. Interesting stuff.
Also, ABC made some changes to its Feb. sweep Saturday plans. Feb. 10 from 9-11pm was the movie Legally Blonde 2, but now will be the movie Bringing Down the House, which was originally slated for Feb. 17. Feb. 17 is now an encore of Castaway from 8-11pm, replacing a Blooper special and Bringing Down the House.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, November 22

Happy's Place - "Happy's House" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bobbie agrees to take Isabella to Happy's house in search of a connection to their late father, leading Bobbie to worry about what they may find; Gabby hopes to strike it rich by searching through Happy's penny collection looking for a rarity.

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Orlando" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Rosie's spoiled nephew Orlando visits, Mayan sets out to expose Rosie's cultural gender bias; George wants to teach Chance the value of hard work, but, instead, helps him create a toxic work environment.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Whacking the Mole" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abishola has a romantic dream about Bob, she tries to suppress her feelings for him and pays the price.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Ralph Lauren and Fish" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob and Abishola finally go on a proper date, which is interrupted by Dottie's medical emergency.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Tough Like a Laundromat Washing Machine" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob hires Abishola to take care of Dottie in his home while she recovers; Dottie has a hard time dealing with her limitations and takes it out on Abishola.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Useless Potheads" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
With Abishola only helping part-time, Bob, Douglas and Christina struggle to take care of Dottie.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Wiz-Taken Identity" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Billie struggles with a spell, Roman says he could do it if he was a wizard: to prove him wrong, Billie uses a Power Glass to transfer her powers to Roman.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - " Ain't Gnome Party Like a Wizard Party" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Justin embraces mortality to live with his family; his new challenge arises when Alex introduces Billie, a wizard-in-training, seeking Justin's mentorship.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Friday, November 22

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Watch Kerry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jimmy O. Yang (Interior Chinatown/Space Force/Silicon Valley) - Jimmy is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Lopez vs Lopez/Search Party/Corporate) - Andy, Thomas and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her new book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Drew is joined by the hilarious Andrew to celebrate all things Thanksgiving on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie tells Sherri about her new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Before on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace will be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.