Friday, November 21, 2008

ABC January 2009 Midseason Plans; The CW Cancels MRC Sundays, Tyra Banks Show Heads to CW Daytime Next Fall

ABC has announced its January 2009 plans. ABC made it official yesterday with the swapping of Private Practice and Life on Mars. Private Practice will move to Thursdays at 10PM following Grey's Anatomy, where Life on Mars was airing, while Life on Mars will move to Wednesdays at 10PM, where currently Dirty Sexy Money was airing. As mentioned already, Lost will take over Wednesdays at 9PM starting January 21, replacing Private Practice. Yes, Life on Mars will indeed follow Lost. Lost's season premiere is two-hours, so Life on Mars will debut on the night on January 28. 7 episodes have aired thus far, with six still remaining in the original order...but now ABC has ordered four more episodes, so a total of 17 will air this season at least. As for Private Practice, it will launch with new episodes on Thursdays on January 8, with repeats of the series in the slot on Dec. 11, 18 and 25 so fans are used to the change by the time is launches with new episodes on Jan. 8. The show will continue to air Wednesdays at 9 through and including Dec. 17. It is still not known what will air on Wednesdays in January prior to Lost coming (Jan. 21). It seems Private Practice will NOT air Wednesday at 9 on Jan. 7 and 14...could they double pump Pushing Daisies or Dirty Sexy Money? We'll let you know, when we know.
The news is not good for Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone, as ABC has announced they will not order more episodes than the 13 episodes from the original order. The word cancelation is not used, but all of them will likely not return next season, but...as of now, all 13 episodes of each will air.
Elsewhere, ABC has announced Scrubs will have its eighth season premiere on Tuesday, January 6 with two back-to-back episodes from at 9:00pm & 9:30pm ET/PT, replacing According to Jim. Jim will slide down into the 8:00pm & 8:30pm ET/PT slots, after airing in the 9pm hour starting in December. Scrubs will also air for the full-hour on Tuesday, January 13, opposite the same night of American Idol's two-hour season premiere. Then starting January 20, Scrubs will be followed by the new midseason animated comedy The Goode Family more than likely. ABC has not yet announced plans for Tuesdays at 10 following the comedies and Wednesdays at 8 leading into Lost. One option for either slot is Border Security USA, the new docudrama 11 episode series. My guess is Wednesdays at 8.
Keep checking back right here because the day is not over and we could have more announcements! Busy busy day!

The CW has canceled the MRC (Media Rights Capital group) programming block completely and will take over programming of the night effective Sunday, Nov. 30 due to very low ratings. So this coming Sunday (Nov. 23) is the last of MRC on The CW. MRC was programming The CW's Sunday night programming from 5-10pm, with an hour of 4Real at 5pm, Valentine encores at 6pm, In Harm's Way at 7pm, Valentine at 8pm, and Easy Money at 9pm.
Effective Sunday, Nov. 30, The CW will air encores of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game in the 5pm hour. Then in the 6pm hour they will go into the vaults of Warner Bros. and air back-to-back episodes of '90s sitcom The Drew Carey Show. At 7pm The CW will use its CBS Paramount library and air the short-lived drama Jericho, which aired on CBS for two seasons. And finally at 8pm, they will air Movies from MGM. So it looks like The CW is putting good use of their CBS-Warner libraries, hence the name The CW. Will this do any better than the MRC block? It remains to be seen, but if it does...expect more library programming on the night, as The CW plans to air this for the rest of the season before coming up with a new strategy next season.
So what will happen to the shows that were slated to come to the MRC block in midseason? One of them was the Bob Saget multicamera sitcom Surviving Suburbia. That sitcom has taped many episodes and still is scheduled to tape episodes in December and January. They last taped an episode last night before taking next week off for the Thanksgiving holiday. I am not sure what will happen to this sitcom. MRC could shop the sitcom for another network or perhaps The CW would pick it up for another night, possibly Fridays with the other comedies?

Meanwhile, first-run syndicated talk show The Tyra Banks Show from Warner Bros. Television is moving to The CW next fall (Sept. 2009) for its fifth season. How? Well, it will air daily on The CW Daytime back-to-back at 3PM (classic episode) and 4PM (all-new episode)! Which means the talk show will leave syndication and air exclusively on The CW! So this means both Tyra Banks' shows The Tyra Banks Show and America's Next Top Model will air on the same network starting in the fall...one in the daytime and one in primetime.
Currently airing on The CW Daytime is rookie Warner Bros. court show Judge Jeanine Pirro from 3-4pm, now that show will leave CW Daytime next fall and will be moving to first-run syndication! Let the bidding begin. From 4-5pm currently are sitcoms The Wayans Bros. and The Jamie Foxx Show, and they will be off the line-up, obviously. Who knows if the new CW Sunday is successful, maybe these will move to Sundays next fall somewhere between 5-7pm.

I know I promised the network holiday specials dates today, but because of this unusually busy Friday, I will give them to you on Monday...no matter what happens. So stay tuned for that!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, June 4

The Simpsons - "My Life as a Vlog" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Through a series of YouTube recommended videos, the story of the rise and fall of the Simpson family vlog is revealed.

Family Guy - "Oscars Guy" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Griffins perform a retelling of three Oscar-winning stories: "Silence of the Lambs," "American Beauty" and "Forrest Gump."

HouseBroken - "Who's Nocturnal?" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After Honey loses a clutch of baby possums she is supposed to be caring for, she and The Gray One set out to find them; Shel and Nibbles try to apprehend a critter that has been pooping on Shel's shell at night; Diablo gets abducted by an owl.

HouseBroken - "Who's Married?" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
A new playmate upends Honey and Chief's relationship; Tabitha helps Chico find the perfect anniversary gift for Kevin; Nibbles goes searching for her special someone.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 29)

Saturday, June 3

  • Ronald Gladden (Jury Duty) - Ronald can be heard on SiriusXM's Ben +1 at 9am.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)

Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI) Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI) Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series

01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

06/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Declares Rating Victories for 22-23 Season; Australian Version of The Office in the Works
06/02 - HBO Renews Somebody Somewhere for a Third Season; Remembering Marlene Clark of Sanford and Son and Other Sitcom Stars We Recently Lost
06/01 - MeTV's Marry Me Block on June 4; TBS Sets Miracle Workers: End Times Premiere Date for July 10
05/31 - Amazon Freevee's Jury Duty Gets Special Release; Stars on Mars Fan Experience
05/30 - 75th Emmy Awards Nominations on July 12; Final Season of HBO's How to with John Wilson
05/29 - Memorial Day 2023 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 29, 2023)
05/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Wins 2022-2023 Ratings Game; Netflix Ends Sharing of Passwords
05/26 - Prime Video Renews Priyanka Chopra Series; Sex and the City 25th Anniversary Event in NYC
05/25 - Brady Bunch House on the Market; The Family Stallone Gets 2nd Season
05/24 - Antenna TV's Father Knows Best Father's Day Fest Marathon; Netflix Gets Glamorous This June
05/23 - CBS Summer 2023 Reality Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces Peanuts Programming
05/22 - More Details on Zoey 102; New Lifetime Movie Series Coming July 8
05/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 22, 2023)
05/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Showtime Looking to Bring Back Two Old Favorites; Disney+ Removing Content
05/19 - Futurama Triumphantly Returns July 24; Final Season of Physical Drops August 2; Primo Premieres May 19 on Amazon Freevee
05/18 - The CW Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Netflix Upfront 2023
05/17 - Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023; Sarah Silverman HBO Special Premieres May 27
05/16 - ABC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; FX's Summer 2023 Slate
05/15 - FOX Announces 2023-24 Programming Slate; iCarly Season 3 Premieres June 1
05/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 15, 2023)
05/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Season Finale Brings Back a Familiar Face; Comedy Central Renews Digman! for Second Season
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Hulu Orders Deli Boys from Onyx Collective
05/11 - CBS Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; The CW Summer Lineup Has Comedies
05/10 - Minx Returns in July on STARZ; Never Have I Ever Final Episodes Premieres June 8, Trailer Drops
05/09 - The CW Acquires Son of a Critch; FX's The Bear Returns June 22
05/08 - NBC's Hot Wheels Gets Celeb Judges; Zooey Deschanel's Max Series Premieres May 23
05/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 8, 2023)
05/06 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Week of Writers' Strike Already Sees Early Casualties; Fox Cancels Call Me Kat
05/05 - BUZZR's Classic TV Moms Week; Fox's Stars on Mars Celebs Announced
05/04 - Dancing with the Stars Returning to ABC in Fall; Conan O'Brien Producing New Podcast Miniseries
05/03 - Roku 2023 NewFront; Peacock Schedules Kaley Cuoco Series