Fox Schedule Update, Loses NFL Lead-In for New Series; Friends Reunion Tonight on ABC's Cougar Town

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Fox Schedule Update, Loses NFL Lead-In for New Series; Friends Reunion Tonight on ABC's Cougar Town

The NFL for some reason changed the playoff schedule for Sunday, Jan. 17. Instead of Fox having the late afternoon playoff game, it will now be CBS, which was scheduled to have the early afternoon playoff game. However, Fox will now have the late afternoon playoff game (Green Bay at Arizona) this coming Sunday (Jan. 10) instead. But I'm sure Fox is pissed because now on Jan. 17, the premiere of new series Human Target will NOT get a direct NFL lead-in. Also airing that night on Fox is the season premiere of 24 from 9-11pm and it also won't have that inflated lead-in. A repeat of the season finale of 24 from last season will air in the 7pm hour opposite the ending of the NFL playoff game on CBS. CBS will use the huge NFL playoff lead-in for 60 Minutes at a special time of 8pm. It will be followed by an all-new Cold Case and a repeat of NCIS at 10pm.
As mentioned above, Fox will get to have a big NFL lead-in this coming Sunday though for the 450th episode of The Simpsons at 8pm followed by a one-hour 20th anniversary special, and an all-new Cleveland Show at a special time of 9:30pm. While that is good for Fox, but they would have preferred the huge lead-in for Jan. 17 instead, I'm sure. My guess is the 450th episode will do very well, but then the night will go back to normal levels quickly.
Here is the NFL playoff schedule for the networks the next two weeks: Saturday, Jan. 9 NBC late afternoon and primetime; Sunday, Jan. 10 CBS early afternoon and Fox late afternoon; Saturday, Jan. 16 Fox late afternoon and CBS primetime; Sunday, Jan. 17 Fox early afternoon and CBS late afternoon. Early afternoon is 1pm ET, late afternoon is 4:30pm ET, and primetime is 8:00pm ET.

Wishing for a Friends reunion? Well tonight on ABC, you'll probably get the best Friends reunion you can get right now. Lisa Kudrow guest stars tonight on the ABC comedy Cougar Town starring Courtney Cox at 9:30pm ET/PT. Yes, Phoebe and Monica together again...but on Cougar Town they will not be friends, they will be frenemies! Despite fearing the meanest and most unrelenting dermatologist in town, Dr. Amy Evans (Lisa Kudrow), Jules (Courtney Cox) and Ellie (Christa Miller) are willing to endure the harsh ridicule and wrath for an appointment with the best in the business. But when Jules learns Dr. Evans is seeing her ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt), she's determined to stand up to her and protect him. I'll be there for you, indeed! Meanwhile, her son Travis (Dan Byrd) gets a job working for the cougar Barb (Carolyn Hennesy) that turns out to be more than he bargained for. Scott Foley also guest stars.
Maybe Jennifer Aniston is next? View the promo and a sneak peak for tonight's reunion:

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, January 29

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Dirty Hands and a Barbed-Wire Fence" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Ruben are forced to get their hands dirty when Fred Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher) tries to run them out of business. Meanwhile, Mandy grows suspicious of Georgie’s lies.

Ghosts - "Soul Custody" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam, Jay and the ghosts attempt to extricate Jay from his deal with Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), the devil. Also, Isaac helps Patience (Mary Holland) through a crisis of confidence and Pete and Alberta navigate the fallout from their kiss.

Animal Control - "Lost Dogs and Bar Flies" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Roman Park takes Frank's beloved dog away from him; in an effort to get his dog back, Frank and Shred find themselves on a late-night rescue mission; Patel's house sale spirals.

Going Dutch - "There's No PX Like Home" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
With the celebration of the U.S.'s 250th birthday coming up, the base's festivities are on the line when their supplies are held up by a petty and vengeful Davidson; Team Shiny must pull off a daring undercover mission.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 26)

Thursday, January 29

Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simple Rules/Ladies Man) - Catch Kaley on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kermit the Frog (The Muppets) - Kermit the Frog appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Patrick Dempsey (Fast Times) - Patrick is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Memory of a Killer on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Animal Control on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
J.C. Currais (Just Roll with It) - J.C. is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Andy Cohen interviews Kyle, Kathy Hilton and Paris Hilton on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
Katherine LaNasa (Three Sisters) - Katherine appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. She also talks about The Pitt on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Shrinking on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin talks about Solo Mio on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Annie Potts (Young Sheldon/Over the Top/Love & War/Designing Women/Goodtime Girls) - Annie tells Sherri about her role in Fox's Best Medicine on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will tells Drew all about his awareness campaign for Huntington's disease on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.