ABC Picks Up 9 Series for Next Season; ION Picks Up M*A*S*H; ABC Family March Changes

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

ABC Picks Up 9 Series for Next Season; ION Picks Up MAS*H; ABC Family March Changes

The strike will most likely officially end today after the vote...no doubts. We will keep you up to date on it certainly. Today is day 100.
ABC Entertainment announced pickups for nine of its most popular shows, returning broadcast television's most successful fall series. ABC Entertainment ordered episodes of Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who? and Ugly Betty.
On average during Fall 2007 (10 complete weeks: 9/24-12/2/07), ABC was the No. 1 network among Adults 18-49 (3.9/10), delivering the top position in the key young adult sales demo on 7 of the first 10 weeks of the season and ranking No. 1 during the November Sweep for the third consecutive year. In addition, ABC claimed eight of the Top 20 highest-rated TV shows among young adults during the fall, including five of the Top 10 freshman series.
Now these 9 are not the only ones returning, these 9 are just the early pick-ups. Missing are Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, America's Funniest Home Videos, Boston Legal, Women's Murder Club, among others. Most of those, if not all, could also be back next season. Cavemen, Carpoolers, Notes from the Underbelly, October Road, Big Shots are in danger...and possibly Cashmere Mafia. Jury is still out on Eli Stone, but it needs to pick up in the ratings more.

ION Media Networks, Inc. today announced it has entered into an agreement with Twentieth Television to air the television series, M*A*S*H, on ION Television starting this Fall. The agreement marks the latest addition of programming to the ION network's primetime lineup. This comedic drama melds humor, social, political commentary and often heart-wrenching plotlines to provide ION's broad audience with a perennial favorite that redefined the boundaries of television programming.
More details will come closer to the premiere, but it is not certain yet if local broadcast channels will lose rights to the show this fall when ION launches it, since ION is technically a broadcast channel. TV Land and Hallmark Channel air the show on cable and will continue to do so, as this deal is not exclusive.

Since Family Matters' contract is expiring at the end of this month on ABC Family (it will move to Nick at Nite in June), they will make changes to ther March line-up. Sister, Sister will move to both Family Matters hours (Mon-Sun 7-8am and Mon-Fri 1-2pm). Sabrina, the Teenage Witch will lose its weekdays 2-3pm slot and move to every morning 8-9am. Step by Step will return to afternoons and air weekdays 2-3pm, which will be in addition to its 9am slot. And finally, weekends from 10am-12pm will be a block of Grounded for Life, with sometimes early movies in there.
To view these changes and to discuss this, click HERE!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.