SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Malcolm in the Middle Coming to Nick at Nite in July 2009; Old Christine Reruns Join Entourage, Curb in Fall 2010 Syndication

Nick at Nite is getting the 8pm ET/PT hour back! The last time they had the full 8pm hour was from 1985-1996. The 8pm half-hour was lost starting in Fall 1996. Then they eventually lost the 8:30pm half-hour as well a year or so later. They briefly got 8:30pm back in fall 2000, but eventually that was gone by summer 2001. But now the full 8pm hour is back! What show will Nick at Nite use? Malcolm in the Middle! Nick at Nite has acquired rerun rights to all 151 episodes of the family comedy from Twentieth Century Fox TV. Malcolm will become the anchor of Nick at Nite's primetime sitcom block, airing Sunday-Thursday in the reinstated 8pm hour starting Sunday, July 5. The single-camera comedy ran on Fox for seven seasons from 2000-06 and revolved around a budding teenager (Frankie Muniz), with a genius IQ in a family of misfits. Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston co-starred as parents Lois and Hal. The series will make a nice companion to fellow single-camera sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, which will premiere in syndication this fall on Nick at Nite!
Malcolm in the Middle will still remain on cable on FX, where it has been airing since fall 2007. FX has a 5-year deal, that runs though fall 2012. There has to be a time restriction for FX and Nick at Nite now. FX airs the show currently in the weekdays 7am hour and various times in the afternoons, mostly 3-4pm. So, if I were to guess, FX has rights from 7am-7pm, with Nick at Nite 7pm-7am? Just a guess, but it makes sense. The show is also on local broadcast syndication. It has been airing on local channels since fall 2004, but its term is up this fall (2009), so it seems it will leave locals this fall. View the press release and discuss this news! We will have more on Malcolm in the Middle soon, including how this will affect the full Nick at Nite schedule starting in July. Stay tuned!
In other Nick at Nite news, they added a very last minute The Nanny marathon last night (Sunday, June 7), from 11pm-6am ET/PT and a special airing at 9:30pm as well. The show will also get a marathon next Sunday (June 14) from 9pm-4am, in case you didn't see it last night. It seems to me The Nanny is a surprise hit for the network.

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has cleared reruns of sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine on local TV stations reaching more than 70 percent of the country, including the Tribune stations in New York and Los Angeles, for a Fall 2010 syndication launch.
The New Adventures of Old Christine, which CBS just picked up for a fifth season, was picked up by Tribune-owned WPIX in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles and by Weigel-owned WCIU in Chicago. In addition, the show has been sold to other markets owned by the CBS, Sinclair, Fox, Local TV, Hearst, Raycom, Meredith, Acme, Titan, Roberts, Gannett, Capitol, Grant and Cox station groups. Old Christine will air as a double-run daily strip with two weekend broadcasts at the most on these stations.
As previously mentioned, Warner Bros. has also sold reruns of Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm for a fall 2010 syndication launch as well. Entourage reruns will also air on cable on Viacom's Spike TV and Comedy Central before the syndication launch, in January 2010 as we mentioned.
Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm have also added several more station groups to their clearances, including CBS, Sinclair, Fox, Local TV, Hearst, Raycom, Meredith, Acme, Titan, Roberts, Gannett, Capitol, Grant and Cox. Both shows already were cleared on the Tribune stations in 17 markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Both shows will air as daily strips with one weekend run at most on these stations. And now Entourage also "reportedly" has a run on Tribune's WGN America cable network starting in Fall 2010 as well, according to B&C. So by Fall 2010, Entourage will be in broadcast syndication, Spike TV/Comedy Central, and possibly WGN America. Curb is still looking for a cable home, as is Old Christine.