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

Monday, November 10

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to New Horizons" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Dave’s silent auction wins lead to a classical concert outing with Gemma and the Butlers that quickly goes off the rails. Meanwhile, Malcolm’s ghostwriting gig takes a surprising turn when Tina encourages him to dive into reality TV for inspiration – sparking an unexpected obsession.

DMV - "Stick Shift" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Ceci accuses Colette of only being kind for the credit, Colette anonymously gives Noa the perfect gift.

St. Denis Medical - "Get Me in the Pod, Brother" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alex and Ron spar over the wisdom of open communication; Joyce brings in a body scanner that proves overly distracting.

The Paper - "Pilot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover the historic Toledo Truth Teller, a Midwestern newspaper, and its publisher's efforts to revive it.

TV We Love - "Happy Days" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The cast and creators of "Happy Days" reflect on its pop culture legacy.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 10)

Monday, November 10

George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Watch George on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Landman on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Aaron Tveit (Schmigadoon!) - Aaron is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Chris Kattan (The Middle) - Chris is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
The Jonas Brothers (Jonas/Jonas LA) - The Jonas Brothers talk about Very Jonas Christmas Movie on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Ginnifer Goodwin (Pivoting) - Ginnifer talks about Zootopia 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour. She tells Drew about the upcoming second season of Palm Royale and making it work long distance with partner Sam Rockwell while shooting The White Lotus in Thailand on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn talks about his new book Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Modern Living on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond - Phil is cooking something delicious with Drew in the kitchen from his latest cookbook and telling her about the diner he's opening on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Marilu Henner (Taxi/Evening Shade) - Marilu is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.