Thursday, May 13, 2010

SitcomsOnline.com 2010-11 Upfront Preview: The CW; Network Pick-Ups

The CW continues to struggle, but they found one hit (Vampire Diaries) and a moderate success (Life UneXpected) this past season after many struggles (Melrose Place). And to make things worse, for the second straight year they have zero sitcom pilots in development, so all of their new series pick-ups will be dramas again. They could need a sitcom or two to change things up.
Here is the SitcomsOnline.com The CW 2010-11 preview:

New Series Already Picked-Up: None.
Already Renewed Returning Series: 90210, America's Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, Smallville, Supernatural, and The Vampire Diaries.
Likely Returning Series: One Tree Hill and Life UneXpected.
Likey To Be Canceled or Already Canceled: The Beautiful Life: TBL, Fly Girls, High Society, and Melrose Place.
Likely New Series: Nikita (drama), Hellcats (drama), Betwixt (drama) and Nomads (mid-season drama).

OUR FALL 2010 PREDICTION:

Mondays
8:00PM Gossip Girl
9:00PM Hellcats (NEW!)

Tuesdays
8:00PM Life UneXpected
9:00PM 90210

Wednesdays
8:00PM America's Next Top Model
9:00PM Nikita (NEW!)

Thursdays
8:00PM Vampire Diaries
9:00PM Betwixt (aka Changelings) (NEW!)

Fridays
8:00PM Smallville
9:00PM Supernatural

Comments: The CW only has five nights to program, so that is only 10 hours worth of programming. With zero comedies again, they again are going with all dramas and Top Model. It would have been nice to see a comedy hour somewhere. For Mondays, Gossip Girl could be back to leading off Mondays and they can try new drama Hellcats at 9pm which focuses on cheerleaders. Sounds like a perfect fit out of Gossip Girl.
For Tuesdays, they should start the night off with Life UneXpected at 8 leading into 90210. 90210 needs to do much better and needs all the help it can get. Melrose Place was a dud and should be canned for good. I think 90210 should be also, but The CW renewed it.
Wednesdays will of course have America's Next Top Model leading off the night followed possibly by a drama that could be their top pilot, Nikita, a remake of the TV/movie franchise about a female assassin. That could be the fit The CW was looking for, instead of wasting the timeslot with repeats or duds like Fly Girls/High Society.
For Thursday, that is The CW's biggest night! Highest rated drama The Vampire Diaries will continue to lead off the night at 8pm. They could move Supernatural off to Fridays and try a new drama at 9pm. I think they should go with the drama Betwixt (aka Changelings). That pilot centers around teens who find something strange about themselves in the woods. Could be a good match with The Vampire Diaries.
And finally on Fridays, long-running hit Smallville returns at 8pm for sure. But the 9pm hour will likely not be repeats anymore, with possibly Supernatural moving here, as they already are airing repeats of that in this slot in the summer.
For mid-season, they will have One Tree Hill ready to go (watch your back 90210!). They could pick-up another drama for mid-season such as Nomads, about a group of traveling teens that work for the CIA.
With only two hours to program each night, The CW should start each night with a proven show (Gossip Girl, Life UneXpected, Top Model, Vampire Diaries, Smallville). It still baffles me why they had no sitcoms in development. I think a comedy hour would work on Tuesdays following Life UneXpected, especially if they are in the same vein as something like Reba. It is too bad they are wasting time on 90210, as that has been a bust and still is entering its third season next season.
Discuss your thoughts on our prediction and feel free to make suggestions of your own.

Remember, next Thursday (May 20) is the actual date when we will find out The CW's plans for the 2010-11 season. So, come on back next Thursday and we will let you know the details and you can see how much we were right (or wrong).
And as a reminder, stay tuned starting Sunday evening (through Thursday) for all the final schedules released by all the networks! We will put them up as soon as they are released by the networks, so this will be your home to see them first!


With upfronts next week, the networks are giving some early pick-ups and renewals. NBC has green-lit the new romantic single-camera comedy Perfect Couples for its 2010-11 season. The sitcom joins previously announced dramas Chase, Undercovers, The Event, Love Bites, and fellow comedy Outsourced as the sixth new scripted series currently unveiled for NBC's new season with additional pickups yet to be announced. NBC unveils its schedule on Sunday at 5:15pm ET.
Perfect Couples depicts the misadventures of three engaging couples as they struggle to find out what makes the ideal relationship -- and how to maintain it through humorous trial-and-error. The series explores their heroic journey in search of the perfect relationship without destroying each other in the process.
Dave (Kyle Howard, My Boys) and Julia (Christine Woods, FLASHFORWARD) are the relatable, normal couple, but Julia's hope of remaining the cool, low-maintenance chick is tested by Dave's attempts to keep both his wife and his needy best friend Vance (Dave Walton, NBC's 100 Questions) equally happy. Vance, along with the neurotic Amy (Mary Elizabeth Ellis, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), are the high-passion, high-drama couple who bring out the best and worst in each other.
The third duo features Rex (Hayes MacArthur, She's Out of My League), a reformed party guy, and, and his wife, Leigh (Olivia Munn, G4's Attack of the Show), who considers herself as the group's mother hen. Believing that they are relationship experts, Rex and Leigh have attended every class and seminar on relationships -- and regard themselves as the "perfect couple."
Meanwhile, NBC is close to canceling Heroes and bringing back Chuck. There is word that Heroes could get a two-hour movie to wrap things up, but there is nothing official yet. Chuck will likely air in the fall and possibly for the full season if it does well enough. Stay with us for updates.

Fox also has announced five series pick-ups. Single-camera comedy pilots Traffic Light, Keep Hope Alive and Running Wilde, as well as dramas Ride-Along and Lone Star (aka Midland). And on the bubble series, Lie To Me and Human Target both are being renewed for 13 episodes. Maybe they share a slot this season, with Human Target airing in the fall and Lie To Me in mid-season (since it is airing this summer)? Fox hasn't issued a press release on any of this yet, so we don't have descriptions for the new series.

And finally ABC has picked up the drama No Ordinary Family for the fall. The drama is about a typical American family whose members - mom Stephanie (Julie Benz), dad Jim (Michael Chiklis), daughter Daphne (Kay Panabaker), son JJ (Jimmy Bennett) - discover they have special abilities. Tate Donovan, Autumn Reeser, Christina Chang and Romany Malco also star.
Look for more ABC early pick-ups soon, as single-camera comedy pilots Mr. Sunshine, Happy Endings, and multi-camera sitcom pilot That Couple are hot right now. Drama pilots Generation Y and Off the Map are also looking good. Nothing official on these yet, so stay with us.

Stay with us for updates this weekend and of course during the week next week for the schedules!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, January 23

Shifting Gears - "Accommodations" (ABC, 9:02PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt joins Riley at Carter’s high school open house, where he’s unsettled to learn about the “accommodations” made for his grandson’s anxiety. Meanwhile, Riley reconnects with Caitlin, a former classmate, and sets her up with Gabriel.

Only Murders in the Building - "Sparring Partners" (ABC, 9:33PM ET/PT)
Closing in on the killer, Mabel takes her investigative talents into the ring; Oliver and Charles duke it out over a birdcage only to end up confronting their deepest paternal struggles.

Only Murders in the Building - "I Know Who Did It" (ABC, 10:12PM ET/PT)
The question of who did it remains, along with a few more questions that have been raised.

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "An Old Mustang" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie worries that he’s leaving Connor out of his new project with Jim. Meanwhile, Mandy and Audrey struggle to decorate CeeCee’s nursery without fighting.

Ghosts - "The Primary Source" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Sam’s book publisher requires source material for her biography on Isaac, she and Jay take a field trip to find a diary he claims he hid when he was alive.

Animal Control - "Baby Kangaroos and Chickens" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Victoria compete to win Fiona's affections at the new kennels' fundraiser; Emily gets some very bad advice from Bettany on her speech; Patel and Shred find themselves facing the world's most charming squatter.

Going Dutch - "Korfball" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Everyone in town is talking about the upcoming Korfball match between the Americans and the Dutch; the colonel refuses to lose to the Dutch and Quinn brings out her high school alter ego "The Rocket" to make her dad proud.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)

Thursday, January 23

  • James Marsden (30 Rock) - Catch James on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Fortune Feimster (FUBAR/Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Denis Leary (Going Dutch/No Good Deed/Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - Denis stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Thomas, Paul and Joe are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Al Madrigal (Lopez vs Lopez/About a Boy/Gary Unmarried/Welcome to The Captain) - Al appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason and his wife Jenny Mollen are telling Drew about their new show Dinner and a Movie that features an episode focusing on 50 First Dates on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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01/06 - 82nd Golden Globe Winners; Shoresy Returns in February on Hulu
01/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 6, 2025)
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01/03 - Antenna TV Pays Tribute to Linda Lavin with Alice Marathon; Catchy Comedy Recreates Classic CBS Saturday Night Lineup from the 1970s
01/02 - Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Crossover Event; The Night Agent Returns January 23 on Netflix
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12/30 - Remembering Linda Lavin of Alice; Hulu Releases Chad Powers Teaser
12/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 30, 2024)
12/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Cable Networks No Longer a Priority for Paramount; Paramount+ Removes Vintage Nickelodeon Series
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12/26 - Cobra Kai Final Episodes in February on Netflix; HBO Slates 13th Bill Maher Comedy Special
12/25 - Merry Christmas from Sitcoms Online; The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Coming to DVD in February
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