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

Wednesday, May 21

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "The Talk" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
House of Payne is the hilarious comedy about Retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Dyna Woman" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Anastasia relives her childhood and springs into action to combat criminal activity; the family must prepare for the increase in crime.

The Ms. Pat Show - "The Guilt Trip" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
When the family gets derailed on their way to Atlanta for Pat's big show, they wind up at an unusual resort where they all learn a powerful lesson about listening and learning from the past.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 19)

Wednesday, May 21

  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Watch Henry on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tina Fey (The Four Seasons/Only Murders in the Building/30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • John Krasinski (The Office) - E! News has an interview with John at 11pm on E!.
  • Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - Kristin talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - NBC's Today catches up with Howie in the 10am hour. He also talks about NBC's America's Got Talent on Access Hollywood with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - It's Drew's big 50th birthday show an entire show filled with surprises as Drew celebrates this big milestone on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

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


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

05/21 - Remembering George Wendt of Cheers; Platonic Season 2 First Look
05/20 - The CW Renews Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble; Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life on Netflix May 26
05/19 - North to Shore Festival Returns This June in NJ; S.W.A.T. Sets Spinoff Series
05/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 19, 2025)
05/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Picks Up New Dan Levy Comedy; First Look at King of the Hill Reboot Artwork
05/16 - Michael J. Fox to Guest Star on Shrinking; The CW Picks Up Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
05/15 - 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront; 2025 Netflix Upfront
05/14 - Chad Powers Premieres September 30 on Hulu; Upfront Premiere Dates for FX on Hulu
05/13 - ABC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Ted: The Animated Series Coming to Peacock
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Fox Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule
05/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 12, 2025)
05/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Cancels Night Court and Lopez vs. Lopez; ABC Renews Duo of Game Shows
05/09 - Peacock Orders Dig from Amy Poehler; Apple TV+ Comedy Stick Premieres June 4; Remembering Ruth Buzzi
05/08 - CBS 2025-26 Schedule; Animal Control and Going Dutch Renewed by Fox
05/07 - Netflix's A Man on the Inside Bulks Up Cast for Season 2; The Studio Renewed by Apple TV+
05/06 - Netflix's Long Story Short Announces Cast; NBC Renews All Chicago Series for 2025-26
05/05 - Antenna TV's The Partridge Family Mother's Day Marathon; Rewind TV's 227 40th Anniversary Marathon
05/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 5, 2025)
05/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels The Equalizer; Wisteria Lane Offshoot of Desperate Housewives in the Works
05/02 - USA and SYFY Announce Summer Premieres; CBC in Canada Renews 5 Series, Including Wild Cards
05/01 - ABC Summer 2025 Schedule; Audible Scripted Comedy Podcasts for Summer
04/30 - The Carol Burnett Show Mother of All Marathons; Netflix Renews North of North
04/29 - Lifetime Adds New Ripped from the Headlines Movie; BET+ Orders Season 2 of Series
04/28 - Fox Summer 2025 Schedule; Final Guest Hosts for Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Season
04/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of April 28, 2025)
04/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels Poppa's House; Final Season 50 Hosts for Saturday Night Live Set
04/25 - Classic TV's Biggest Auction; Remembering Will Hutchins and Wink Martindale
04/24 - Jerrod Carmichael's 4th HBO Comedy Special; HBO's Pee-wee as Himself Premieres May 23
04/23 - Apple TV+ Announces Comedy Series Prodigies; ABC Renews Unscripted Series Slate
04/22 - Hallmark Channel's May For Moms Month; Prime Video Gets Korean Comedy Action Series
04/21 - Peacock's Twisted Metal Returns July 31; Poker Face Lines Up Big Guests for Season 2