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

Wednesday, September 17

Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.

Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.

Abbott Elementary - "Rally" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava and the Abbott teachers go to the district to plead for Ava's job back; Gregory handles duties as interim principal.

Abbott Elementary - "Please Touch Museum" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Abbott Elementary goes on a schoolwide field trip to the Please Touch Museum, which has some of the older kids skeptical.

The Hospital - "Double or Nothing; Make a Wish" (BET, 11:00PM ET/PT)
Apparently the best spot to gamble during your shift, is in the morgue.

The Hospital - "Lyrical Surgery; Get It Poppin" (BET, 11:30PM ET/PT)
Dr. Do-It-To-Em's mixtape has more bars than a nursing student during finals week.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 15)

Wednesday, September 17

Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Watch Wanda on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Jason appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Ron Howard (Arrested Development/Happy Days/The Andy Griffith Show) - Ron is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Brett Goldstein (Shrinking/Ted Lasso) - Brett stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rob Reiner (All in the Family/Morton & Hayes) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Paul and Greta are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about FX's Necaxa on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Marlon Wayans (Marlon/The Wayans Bros.) - Marlon talks about Him on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek/Greg the Bunny/Hiller and Diller) - Eugene talks about The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Mark Duplass (Big Mouth/Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark talks about The Morning Show on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - Kristin dishes on the end of And Just Like That and surprises Drew with an item from the set of Sex and the City on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jane Lynch (Angel from Hell) - Jane talks about Fox's Celebrity Weakest Link on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.