ABC Changes Premiere Date for Romantically Challenged; Fox Cancels Sons of Tucson, Finale Date for 'Til Death; NBC Renews Unscripted Series

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

ABC Changes Premiere Date for Romantically Challenged; Fox Cancels Sons of Tucson, Finale Date for 'Til Death; NBC Renews Unscripted Series

It's all network news today and we have tons of scheduling updates that we must let you know! There are sitcom updates as well! ABC has changed the premiere date for upcoming Alyssa Milano sitcom Romantically Challenged from Monday, April 12 to Monday, April 19 but the timeslot of 9:32pm will remain. Not a big change, but a change nevertheless. It will now premiere a week later, giving Dancing with the Stars another two-hour episode on April 12 (8-10pm), leading into an all-new Castle which has guest star Tom Bergeron of Dancing with the Stars. So it makes sense to have Stars lead-in to that, but that is NOT the reason for the premiere delay for Romantically Challenged. So what is? The premiere date has been pushed back a week to April 19, to avoid premiering against a new episode of the CBS hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory on April 12, which also airs in the half-hour. That show will be in repeats on April 19 and 26, so Romantically Challenged will have a better premiere platform and a better shot of success now. It makes sense and now there will be a week more of promo time, as originally the show only had two weeks of promo time. Spread the word of the change and make sure you watch the new sitcom LIVE!
We have updated our original story so no confusion arises, please check that out for the complete details. I've seen the premiere and it is good (look for our review on Friday, April 16)!
In other ABC schedule updates, they will air an encore of last week's Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution at 8pm this Friday (April 9) leading into an all-new episode in the regular 9pm timeslot. Why? Just in case anyone missed last Friday's episode, which aired on Good Friday, ABC is giving you a shot to catch-up. Plus it is a better lead-in for the series. Wife Swap will not air on this date now, but as of now it will still air every other Friday at 8pm. Perhaps they will pull that though for the rest of the season and air it in summer? We'll let you know if they do decide to bump it for more than just one week.

Fox has pulled new sitcom Sons of Tucson from the schedule effective immediately after only 4 episodes. This is no surprise as the series was doing terrible in the ratings and the episodes have been bad, too. The series has been canceled, and the remaining 9 episodes will air Sundays at 7:30pm in the summer starting June 6, if that even lasts. As I predicted, American Dad! has returned and will air new episodes starting this Sunday at 9:30pm. And Fox has announced that the series finale of 'Til Death will air on Sunday, June 20 at 7pm. 'Til Death will now just air one episode on Sundays rather than two, as the 7:30pm half-hour will be repeats of The Simpsons starting this Sunday. This is no surprise, as we already mentioned 'Til Death has been canceled after four strangely airing seasons.

NBC has picked up three freshman alternative series as The Marriage Ref, Minute to Win It and Who Do You Think You Are? are renewed for the 2010-11 season. All three shows are not hits, but have done OK for NBC. 13 episodes for The Marriage Ref have been ordered, 8 for Who Do You Think You Are? and 10 for Minute to Win It, with the latter possibly airing some of those in the summer.
As for this season, NBC has picked up two additional episodes of Minute to Win It, giving it ten for this season. New episodes will air on Sunday, May 9 and Sunday, May 23 at 8PM ET/PT. As a result, Dateline will be cut to an hour on those dates at 7PM. Also, NBC has ordered three more episodes for this season for The Marriage Ref, so it will likely last through the rest of the season now. In addition, NBC has cut the episode order of Monday drama Trauma from 20 to 18 episodes and will now have its season finale on April 26 and is being replaced in the Monday 9PM ET/PT hour by repeats of Law & Order on May 3 and 10, leading into all-new episodes. Trauma is a very long shot to return next season.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 1

DMV - "Splash Fountain" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Colette’s effort to redirect holiday plans takes an unexpected turn when it lands her trapped in a car. Meanwhile, a surprising new friendship stirs up jealousy among the team.

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Babies and Bathwater" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Dave’s ambitious home improvement plans take a turn, prompting Calvin to step in, while Malcolm seeks Gemma’s help to overcome writer’s block. Meanwhile, Tina’s suggestion for Daphne sparks a parenting dilemma for Courtney.

St. Denis Medical - "I Left a Woman on the Table" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Matt struggles to deal with a patient from his past; Bruce tries to rekindle romance with a former flame; Joyce treats patients to cover a nursing shortage.

The Paper - "TTT vs the Blogger" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After learning that a snarky high schooler's blog has more readers than the paper, Ned and Esmeralda team up to embarrass the corner-cutting brat; Mare and Oscar cover a beloved music teacher's last production.

TV We Love - "Touched by an Angel" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
"Touched by an Angel" star Roma Downey and executive producer Martha Williamson reflect on the moving stories of faith, hope, and inspiration that captivated millions.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 1)

Monday, December 1

Sydney Sweeney (Everything Sucks!) - Watch Syndey on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Maya is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Adam Sandler (The Cosby Show) - Adam talks about Jay Kelly on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - George talks Jay Kelly with Michael Strahan on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie talks about Emily in Paris on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Kyle talks about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Live with Kelly and Mark and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Vanessa Bell Calloway (Kenan/Survivor's Remorse/Under One Roof) - Tamron Hall has A DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with rapper, writer and actor Vince Staples and award-winning actress Vanessa Bell Calloway, who play mother and son in the Netflix series The Vince Staples Show, so check your local listings.
Richie Moriarty (Ghosts) - Richie talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Cheyenne Jackson (Call Me Kat/30 Rock) - Cheyenne is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
Reba McEntire (Happy's Place/Malibu Country/Reba) - Reba appears on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour.
Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Regina is a guest on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.