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

Tuesday, April 29

St. Denis Medical - "This Place Is Our Everything" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
A storm causes chaos in the Emergency Department; Alex is torn between an obligation to her husband and her co-workers' needs; Joyce goes on a spending spree with found money.

Night Court - "Blood Moonstruck" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On the night of the blood moon, Abby and Gurgs help Julianne with a surprising romantic prospect; Wyatt finds himself in hot water when he fills in as Dan's replacement.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Adjust Your Crown, Sis" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Ella sponsors the membership of the new wife of a longtime dea-con into her social club, Incomparable Crowns, she begins to suspect something may be going on behind closed doors in the new marriage.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Ay-Bay-Bay" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Leah wants to try for another baby, but when Jeremy plays hard to get, Leah hatches a plan to seduce him; Mr. Brown has to babysit Kimberly's grandson who appears to be the perfect angel, until he reveals himself to be a mischievous handful.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 28)

Tuesday, April 29

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Watching Ellie/Seinfeld/Day by Day) - Catch Julia on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Mo Amer (Mo/Ramy) - Mo is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Mary Lynn Rajskub (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/How to Be a Gentleman/Veronica's Closet/The Larry Sanders Show) - Mary appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Tina Fey (The Four Seasons/Only Murders in the Building/30 Rock) - Tina stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about The Four Seasons on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Tim Bagley (The Great North/Teachers/Grace and Frankie/Web Therapy/Stril Mall) and Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Tim and Andy are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Paul Feig (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/The Louie Show/The Jackie Thomas Show/Dirty Dancing) - Paul talks about Another Simple Favor on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda talks about the Wanda Sykes: Please & Thank You Tour on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls/The Office) - Ed talks about SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. He will also be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Essence Atkins (Poppa's House/Marlon/Mr. Box Office/Are We There Yet?/Half & Half/Smart Guy/Under One Roof) - Essence joins Tamron Hall for a candid conversation on everything from her recent abstinence journey to her career longevity as a working mom, so check your local listings.
Bill Bellamy (Mr. Box Office/Men, Women & Dogs/Cousin Skeeter) - Bill will be on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley drops by Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel talks about his CBS game show, Flip Side, and shares stories from his memoir, Growing Up Urkel, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Erika Alexander (Run the World/Living Single/The Cosby Show) and Kim Coles (Living Single/The Geena Davis Show) - Erika and Kim join Sherri to discuss their latest projects, so check your local listings.
Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - NBC's Today catches up with Joe in the 9am hour.
Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) and Erika Henningsen (The Four Seasons) - Will and Erika talk about The Four Seasons on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael is a guest on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.