ION Adds New Movies to Christmas Slate; According to Jim Returns Tonight; CBS Midseason 2009 Schedule and More Network Notes

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

ION Adds New Movies to Christmas Slate; According to Jim Returns Tonight; CBS Midseason 2009 Schedule and More Network Notes

ION Television today announced that is has inked a deal with Aro Entertainment to acquire two originally produced holiday-themed films. Christmas Town, starring Nicole de Boer (The Dead Zone, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Patrick Muldoon (Melrose Place), will air Thursday, December 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET and The Christmas Clause, starring Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City), will premiere on ION Television the following week on Thursday, December 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The "Positively Entertaining" network also has plans to debut the classic Pinocchio, a four-hour adaptation of the beloved masterpiece, on Sunday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The original miniseries stars Golden Globe winner Bob Hoskins as Geppetto and Robbie Kay as Pinocchio.
View more on ION December 2008.

As we mentioned, don't forget tonight on ABC it is the eighth season premiere of sitcom According to Jim following the holiday classic Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. Yes, According to Jim is returning for one final season and the fun starts tonight at 9pm ET/PT on ABC with two all-new back-to-back episodes that are set during the holidays. The According to Jim holiday-themed fun continues next week at 9pm and on Dec. 16 at 9pm with guest star Steve Guttenberg! Then on Dec. 30 at 9:30pm, an all-new episode to coincide with the New Year's holiday. According to Jim will then have regular all-new episodes on Tuesdays starting Jan. 6 in its new time period of 8-9pm. So celebrate the holidays with Jim all this month and then join Jim starting in January for one final hurrah!

CBS today announced midseason schedule changes that include the return of the drama Flashpoint, the premiere of the mystery event Harper's Island, the debut of the new game show Game Show in My Head and the returns of reality hits Survivor and The Amazing Race.
Game Show in My Head launches first and it is a hidden camera game show from Ashton Kutcher, premiering Saturday, Jan. 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT). Ordinary people must perform extraordinary tasks on an unsuspecting public to win up to $50,000. Under the watchful eye of host Joe Rogan, each contestant performs five outrageous, embarrassing and hilarious tasks worth $5,000 each. In a no-holds-barred bonus round, each contestant has the chance to double their money up to $50,000. It will replace the first hour of CBS crime repeats. We're not sure yet how many episodes have been ordered.
Flashpoint, last summer's top original scripted series, returns Friday, Jan. 9 in the 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT time period replacing various CBS drama repeats.
Harper's Island, a 13-episode mystery event, premieres Thursday, April 9 from 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT and concludes Thursday, July 2 from 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT. The series is about a group of family and friends who travel to a secluded island for a destination wedding. They've come to laugh... to love... and, though they don't know it... to die. As the wedding festivities begin, friendships are tested and secrets exposed as a murderer claims victims, one by one, transforming the wedding week of fun and celebration into a terrifying struggle for survival. In every episode, someone is killed and every person is a suspect, from the wedding party to the island locals. By the end of the 13 episodes, all questions will be answered, the killer will be revealed and only a few will survive. It will replace Eleventh Hour, which would have wrapped its season by then. More on that below.
Finally, CBS will return Survivor with its 18th season on Thursday, Feb. 12 and The Amazing Race on Sunday, Feb. 15 for its 14th season. Survivor will replace various encores while Race replaces Million Dollar Password. No word yet on returning sitcom Rules of Engagement will return for its all-new season. Worst Week was ordered for three additional episodes, so I'm guessing it will be replaced by Rules of Enagement after that. Just a hunch, we'll let you know when we know.
View the full CBS midseason 2009 press release.

CBS has picked up five more episodes of Jerry Bruckheimer's Thursday crime drama Eleventh Hour. The episode order is now up to 18 episodes for the season. The show has done nearly 12 million following CSI, not great retention but 12 million is good. Could CBS be doing better in the slot? Yes. If they thought not, then we would have seen a full 22 episodes for Eleventh Hour. We will see Harper's Island take over in the slot starting April 9, as mentioned above.
The CW will launch new midseason scary reality series 13: Fear is Real on Wednesday, January 7, airing Wednesdays at 8pm with encores on Fridays at 9pm. 13: Fear is Real will keep the slot warm for America's Next Top Model when it returns in March. 13: Fear is Real is a spine-tingling new eight-episode series combining the horror genre with a reality show format. Contestants are energetic, competitive and are full of personality, as they try to be part of television's first scary competition reality show and win a grand prize of $66,666. Talk about bad luck!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, March 12

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Big Birthday and Tequila Shots" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy struggles to celebrate Georgie’s 21st birthday after hitting a rough patch in her career.

Ghosts - "St. Hetty’s Day 2: The Help" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
A St. Patrick’s Day staffing emergency gives Hetty the chance to step into an unlikely role at the restaurant as she regains her once-a-year ability to be seen and heard by the living. Meanwhile, Kyle returns to watch over the ghosts and finds himself caught in an amusing supernatural dynamic.

Animal Control - "Squirrels and Fat Cats" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank uncovers Emily and Shred's secret romance during a break-in at city supply; Victoria and Patel confront his daughter's school bully.

Going Dutch - "Tinker, Tailor, Colonel, Spy" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Rick takes a sabbatical from the CIA and returns to the base, hoping to rekindle his strained relationship with Capt. Maggie; paranoia runs high when a mole is suspected to be operating inside the base.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 9)

Thursday, March 12

Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Will on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Robert stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jennifer Tilly (Out of Practice) - Andy Cohen interviews Jennifer on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan talks about Broadway's Death of a Salesman with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana joins Tamron to talk about her fashion evolution and her role in the all-star cast of the new series Scarpetta on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren talks about Reminders of Him on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - NBC's Today catches up with Valerie in the 10am hour.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil and Lily Rosenthal join Drew for a taste test of weird foods and talk about their children's book Just Try It! Someplace New! (A Phil & Lil Book) on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.