New Scrubs and Better off Ted Return to ABC in December; NBC Cancels Trauma, More Chuck; Roseanne's Wicked Halloween Bash on TV Land

Thursday, October 29, 2009

New Scrubs and Better off Ted Return to ABC in December; NBC Cancels Trauma, More Chuck; Roseanne's Wicked Halloween Bash on TV Land

Scrubs will return with an all-new season starting Tuesday, December 1 (as I expected), as the action will shift from Sacred Hearts hospital to the classroom and make med-school professors of John C. McGinley's Dr. Cox and Donald Faison's Dr. Turk, however their students will still make rounds at Sacred Heart. Eliza Coupe as intern Denise "Jo from Facts of Life" Mahoney will remain on the show. Joining the cast are Michael Mosley, Kerry Bishe and Dave Franco. Scrubs will air back-to-back episodes for its season premiere on Dec. 1 at 9:00pm & 9:30pm (airing after A Charlie Brown Christmas and the new special Disney Prep & Landing), before airing every Tuesday in the 9:00pm half hour. Most of the original cast will make appearances throughout the season, including Zach Braff as J.D., but this series will now focus on a new cast with McGinley and Faison now the stars. 18 episodes have been ordered for season nine, of which at least 4 or 5 will air in December before the holidays.
The new Scrubs will lead into the second season of the hilarious comedy Better off Ted. That will launch its second season on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 9:30pm. Unofficially 13 episodes have been ordered, but there is no confirmation of that. The first season had 13 episodes, with 7 airing in the spring and 6 in the summer. If you missed any of those 13 episodes, get the DVD coming out Dec. 1 or watch the last 5 episodes from season one on Hulu.

NBC has canceled freshman medical drama Trauma, which is airing Mondays at 9pm. The series has failed to draw any interest and will remain airing until it finishes its 13 episode order, as of now at least, but production has stopped for anything more than 13 episodes. If NBC sticks with the show on the schedule, the finale will be airing on Dec. 21.
Meanwhile, it looks like Chuck will return earlier than planned, as NBC has ordered 6 more episodes of the one-hour comedy. Originally 13 episodes were ordered, so now we have a total of 19. It is expected to return to Mondays starting in January now, instead of March. Stay with us for an official confirmation!

TV Land has stirred up a magical brew of Halloween-themed episodes of Roseanne to celebrate All Hallow's Eve on Saturday, October 31 from 10:00PM-2:00AM (ET/PT). Tune in to "Roseanne's Wicked Halloween Bash" for a haunting night of episodes, including when the Conners have a spooky night of fun with a Ouija board, a hilarious parody of the horror flick Rosemary's Baby, their annual Halloween party at the lodge and finally, a night filled with antics that leads to the arrival of a new family member -- Jerry Garcia Conner.
Episodes airing are: "BOO!," "Trick or Treat," "Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down," "Halloween IV," "Halloween V," "Skeleton in the Closet," "Halloween: the Final Chapter," and "Satan, Darling."

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.