NBC's 2009-2010 Series Pick-Ups; WGN America Minor Schedule Changes

Monday, May 04, 2009

NBC's 2009-2010 Series Pick-Ups; WGN America Minor Schedule Changes

NBC unveiled today programming for the 2009-2010 television season announcing the pickups of six new series featuring four new dramas including Trauma, Parenthood, Mercy and the event series Day One, as well as two new comedies including Community (single camera) and 100 Questions (four camera). It will be announced in two weeks which are for the fall and which are for midseason, but Day One is midseason. Four returning series pickups were also announced today including Heroes, Southland, Parks and Recreation and the addition of six new episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday skewering today's top stories in live half-hour primetime shows.
The new and returning series will launch next season and the epic event series Day One is slated to premiere out of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games with a two-hour event.
The Jay Leno Show will be broadcast Monday-Fridays, 10-11 p.m. ET beginning in the fall, slated for the second week of September. Previously announced series pickups include The Office, 30 Rock, The Biggest Loser, The Celebrity Apprentice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Friday Night Lights, and new alternative series The Marriage Ref, Breakthrough With Tony Robbins and Who Do You Think You Are?
View video clips of the new series.
NOTE: Additional series pickups will be announced May 19, when NBC announces its 2009-2010 schedule. So this means the fate of series such as My Name is Earl, Chuck, Medium, and Law & Order will be revealed during that week. I expect two of those to get cut, but knowing how desperate NBC is, they might all return. NBC will likely stock-up shows for midseason just in case Jay Leno Show is a big bust. We could get more new series announcements then too, such as David E. Kelley's Legally Mad.
View the details on the announced new series. And stay tuned in two weeks for the actual fall schedule, but before that come on back next week for our schedule predictions week!

WGN America has made some minor schedule changes. It seems new series Around The World For Free is not doing that well in the ratings on Thursday nights at 9pm ET. WGN America will move it to Mondays starting tonight, but tonight they will repeat the first two episodes from 8-10pm ET, before it joins the Monday schedule next week (May 11) at 9pm ET following an episode of AFV. Around the World for Free will also encore at 12am ET on Mondays replacing a Bob and Tom Show airing which moves to 4am ET on Mondays. That will cut the Corner Gas triple shot from 4am-5:30am to just a half-hour at 5am. Not to worry, because Corner Gas will be added to Tuesday nights starting May 12 from 4am-5:30am ET replacing Moesha. Moesha will slide over to Wednesday nights from 4am-5:30am replacing Sister, Sister which is off the schedule. Both Moesha and Sister, Sister were slated to leave the schedule after June as we previously mentioned, so Sister, Sister is leaving earlier than planned. Moesha will still leave after June. Fortunately, both shows are on other cable networks (Moesha on The N and Sister, Sister on ABC Family).
Anyway, replacing the original Around the World for Free airing on Thursdays will be various specials. Slated Thursdays at 9pm are Funniest Wedding Outtakes, Funny Things Kids Do, World's Most Shocking Moments Caught On Tape, and That Moment! With Jake Steinfeld. The specials will air out of WWE Superstars.
View the full list of changes happening on WGN America starting next week.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, July 3

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color! - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
CBS will honor the memory of legendary actor, producer, director, writer, comedian and Emmy Award winner Carl Reiner with THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO CARL REINER, featuring two colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series, Friday, July 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. As series creator and co-star, Carl Reiner personally supervised the original colorization of the episodes.

The special features “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” which ranked #8 on TV Guide’s list of the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All-Time,” and “October Eve,” which Mr. Reiner considered to be one of the series’ funniest episodes. Both were written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff.

In “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” Laura Petrie blurts out a top secret on a national television quiz show, revealing that comedian Alan Brady wears a toupee. The episode, which was the show’s fifth and final season premiere, was originally broadcast on Sept. 15, 1965. “Coast to Coast Big Mouth” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1966.

In “October Eve,” a painting of Laura returns to haunt her when, despite her having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) takes the liberty of “undraping” her. The episode was first presented on April 8, 1964, during season three.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 29)

Friday, July 3

Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Watch Kevin on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:35am on ABC.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mark Duplass (Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa guest hosts a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Love/Married/Go On) - Brett appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Tika talks about the season finale of mixed-ish and her latest project helping new moms on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie/The Secret Lives of Men) - Peter talks about Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Grace and Frankie on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.