Tuesday, November 16, 2010

NBC Mid-Season 2011 Schedule; Spike TV, TV Land Acquire The King of Queens

NBC is making wholesale changes to its mid-season 2011 schedule that will make every night change, similar to a fall schedule. The changes happen starting in early January, 2011.
The mid-season schedule kicks-off with the season premiere of The Biggest Loser: Couples on Tuesday, Jan. 4 from 8-10pm followed by an all-new Parenthood. This night remains the same in January, but changes will be made come February, as Law & Order: Los Angeles moves from Wednesdays at 10 to Tuesdays at 10 starting Tuesday, Feb. 8, replacing Parenthood. So, L&O: LA will not air in January at all. We will have more on Parenthood's new night in a bit.
Then on Wednesdays, Minute to Win It has its official season premiere on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 8pm, after airing holiday specials on Tuesdays in December (along with encores on Wednesdays at 8 on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29). Law & Order: SVU will air two episodes on Jan. 5 from 9-11pm, before moving to its new timeslot of 10pm starting January 12. Struggling drama Chase moves from Mondays at 10 to Wednesdays at 9 starting Jan. 12 through March 9, in a very competitive timeslot. Starting March 16, new unscripted series America's Next Great Restaurant airs at 9pm through May 11.
Fridays will have Minute to Win It encores on Jan. 7 and 14 at 8pm leading into two-hour episodes of Dateline from 9-11. The return of Who Do You Think You Are is on Jan. 21 through April 1, airing eight episodes. It is unclear what will air Fridays at 8 starting April 8.
Moving on to Sundays, the NFL ends the regular season on Sunday, Jan. 2, so NBC will have a big hole to fill obviously, since the NFL saves them every week in the fall. Dateline returns to the 7pm hour starting Jan. 9. Special programming airs in January and February on this night due to all of the awards and the Super Bowl. On January 9, NBC previews the new drama The Cape from 9-11pm, before it moves to its regular night of Mondays starting Jan. 17. NBC will have The 68th Annual Golden Globes on Jan. 16 from 8-11pm ET, with a red carpet special at 7pm ET. Other specials include a 35th Anniversary SNL special on Sunday, Feb. 20. A regular schedule from 8-11pm will begin on Sunday, March 6 with the season premiere of comedic reality series The Marriage Ref at 8pm and the season premiere of Celebrity Apprentice from 9-11pm. I wonder if the latter will be way lower this year as the regular edition has bombed this fall?
Moving on to Mondays, we mentioned new drama The Cape gets a special preview on Sunday, Jan. 9, and NBC for some reason will encore the two-hour preview the next night on Monday, Jan. 10 from 9-11pm. Chuck remains at 8pm and will start new episodes starting Jan. 17. The Cape airs at 9pm for 6 weeks, benching The Event. At 10pm, new drama Harry's Law airs for 6 weeks. Mondays will get a makeover again after these 6 weeks are over. The Event returns on Monday, Feb. 28 with a two-hour return from 9-11pm, with a clip show airing at 8pm, as NBC tries to relaunch the struggling drama. Then it will move to its regular time of 9pm leading into the return of Parenthood, on its new night of Mondays starting March 7. Parenthood is off the schedule for the month of February. It is unclear what is airing on Monday, Jan. 3.
And finally the most un-confusing part of the changes will be made to Thursdays. Comedy will air three hours now starting Thursday, Jan. 20. Community and The Office remain in their 8pm and 9pm half-hours, but the rest of the night is changing. New comedy Perfect Couples starring Oliva Munn airs at 8:30pm for 13 episodes, while a full season of Parks & Recreation will air at 9:30pm. Then the 10pm hour will now be comedies, something the broadcast networks never do. 30 Rock moves from 8:30pm to 10pm and new comedy Outsourced moves from 9:30 to the tough 10:30pm slot. I can see 30 Rock doing OK here, but Outsourced is going to struggle. Still, it should be a better average for the hour than what The Apprentice is doing now (1.4 18-49 rating). It is expected that comedy encores will air on Thursday, Jan. 6 and 13.
Wow! That is a lot of changes and quite confusing. So all of NBC's new series they launched this fall will be moving, benched or canceled. The Event goes to the bench in January and February, Chase moves to Wednesdays at 9, Undercovers & Outlaw are canceled, Law & Order: Los Angeles is benched in January then it is moving to Tuesdays at 10 starting in February, Outsourced is moved to Thursdays at 10:30, and School of Pride is not expected to return after terrible ratings. And still three more new series are to come: comedy-drama Love Bites and comedies Friends with Benefits and The Paul Reiser Show. The latter two will probably be mixed in on Thursdays sometime later this season, and Love Bites could possibly be Fridays at 8 starting April 8...but that's just a guess.
It is A LOT of changes, so view the press release and schedule so you're not confused. Also view our day-by-day schedule for NBC, so you don't miss anything more.

The hit sitcom, The King of Queens, will have a new prime-time cable television home at MTV Networks and will start airing on Spike TV beginning in October 2011. Then the popular series will move to sister network TV Land in 2013.
Spike TV will telecast two back-to-back episodes of The King of Queens in primetime twice per week when the network's run begins in October 2011 before TV Land airs it daily in the evenings starting in 2013.
The sitcom currently airs on TBS on cable, since Fall 2006, and will continue to do so until at least 2019 as they have renewed it. So, TBS will be sharing the rights with Spike TV/TV Land, as TBS will have the daytime rights and Spike/TV Land will have the primetime/late night rights. The King of Queens currently airs on TBS from Mon-Sat at 6pm & 6:30pm ET. Stay tuned for updates on The King of Queens on Spike TV as we get closer to next fall (2011).
Set in the working-class suburb of Queens, New York, the show follows Doug Heffernan (Kevin James, Paul Blart: Mall Cop), an amiable deliveryman, and his wife, spitfire legal secretary Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini, The Talk), as they explore the everyday challenges of love, life, family and marriage. Doug and Carrie also have to deal with the third, high-maintenance member of the Heffernan household. Carrie's twice-widowed father, Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller, Seinfeld), lives in their basement. His constant presence and often-bizarre behavior add to their daily adventures. Doug often finds refuge in the little alone time he has with Carrie, best friend and co-worker, Deacon (Victor Williams), buddy Spence (Patton Oswalt) and his cousin Danny (Gary Valentine).


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, May 30

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 29)

Tuesday, May 30

  • Salma Hayek Pinault (30 Rock/The Sinbad Show) - Catch Salma on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He stops by to chat about his new stand-up comedy special, Little Big Boy, on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Bradley Whitford (Perfect Harmony/Happyish/Trophy Wife) - Bradley appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Ronald Gladden (Jury Duty) - Ronald will be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) - Hannah is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Reid Scott (Veep/My Boys/It's All Relative) - Reid appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Jurnee Smollett (Wanda at Large/On Our Own) - Jurnee talks about her new film Lou on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry will be on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • John Owen Lowe (Unstable) - John talks about Netflix's Unstable on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)

Growing Pains - The Complete Series Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Twelve Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI) Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)

01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

05/29 - Memorial Day 2023 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 29, 2023)
05/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Wins 2022-2023 Ratings Game; Netflix Ends Sharing of Passwords
05/26 - Prime Video Renews Priyanka Chopra Series; Sex and the City 25th Anniversary Event in NYC
05/25 - Brady Bunch House on the Market; The Family Stallone Gets 2nd Season
05/24 - Antenna TV's Father Knows Best Father's Day Fest Marathon; Netflix Gets Glamorous This June
05/23 - CBS Summer 2023 Reality Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces Peanuts Programming
05/22 - More Details on Zoey 102; New Lifetime Movie Series Coming July 8
05/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 22, 2023)
05/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Showtime Looking to Bring Back Two Old Favorites; Disney+ Removing Content
05/19 - Futurama Triumphantly Returns July 24; Final Season of Physical Drops August 2; Primo Premieres May 19 on Amazon Freevee
05/18 - The CW Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Netflix Upfront 2023
05/17 - Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023; Sarah Silverman HBO Special Premieres May 27
05/16 - ABC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; FX's Summer 2023 Slate
05/15 - FOX Announces 2023-24 Programming Slate; iCarly Season 3 Premieres June 1
05/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 15, 2023)
05/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Season Finale Brings Back a Familiar Face; Comedy Central Renews Digman! for Second Season
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Hulu Orders Deli Boys from Onyx Collective
05/11 - CBS Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; The CW Summer Lineup Has Comedies
05/10 - Minx Returns in July on STARZ; Never Have I Ever Final Episodes Premieres June 8, Trailer Drops
05/09 - The CW Acquires Son of a Critch; FX's The Bear Returns June 22
05/08 - NBC's Hot Wheels Gets Celeb Judges; Zooey Deschanel's Max Series Premieres May 23
05/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 8, 2023)
05/06 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Week of Writers' Strike Already Sees Early Casualties; Fox Cancels Call Me Kat
05/05 - BUZZR's Classic TV Moms Week; Fox's Stars on Mars Celebs Announced
05/04 - Dancing with the Stars Returning to ABC in Fall; Conan O'Brien Producing New Podcast Miniseries
05/03 - Roku 2023 NewFront; Peacock Schedules Kaley Cuoco Series
05/02 - COZI TV's Little House Mother's Day "Ma-A-Thon"; Human Resources Returns June 9 on Netflix
05/01 - Peacock's Twisted Metal Drops in July; IFC Dark Comedy SisterS Launching May 17
04/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 1, 2023)
04/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Bob ♥ Abishola to Return with Smaller Regular Cast; CBS Developing Comedy Set in 1700s