More on TV Land Sitcom Pilots; ION Television's January 2011 Ratings Is Best Month Ever; 2011 Valentine's Day Weekend TV Marathons

Thursday, February 10, 2011

More on TV Land Sitcom Pilots; ION Television's January 2011 Ratings Is Best Month Ever; 2011 Valentine's Day Weekend TV Marathons

Last Thursday we gave details on TV Land's three sitcom pilot they are taping, this week TV Land has officially announced them. They are not picked-up to series yet, but full details on the pilots were released.
Furthering TV Land's expansion into the original sitcom landscape, the network announced that it has signed several popular television and film actors to star in its three upcoming pilots. Fran Drescher (The Nanny), Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris), John Michael Higgins (Kath & Kim), D.W. Moffett (Friday Night Lights), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Valente Rodriguez (George Lopez) and Robert Walden (All The President's Men) will star in Happily Divorced based on Drescher's life.
Donald Faison (Scrubs), Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Hot in Cleveland), David Alan Basche (The Starter Wife) and Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock From The Sun) will headline an untitled Mark Reisman sitcom.
And Christine Taylor (Arrested Development), Barry Watson (Samantha Who?, 7th Heaven) and Sherri Shepherd (The View) will star in a comedy pilot by Terri Minsky tentatively titled Rip City. Anne Meara (The King of Queens) will guest star in Minsky's pilot. All three pilots, which were previously announced in January, will be multi-camera and will tape in front of live audiences in February.
View more on these pilots and stay with us for any details on if these pilots are picked-up to series. I could imagine at least one of these being picked-up for air.

ION Television kicked off 2011 with continued ratings growth, celebrating January as its best month ever, according to Nielsen Media Research. ION's growing mix of TV series and movies, presented under its "Positively Entertaining" consumer tagline, posted growth across key demos during the month, and, for the first time, ranked among the top 10 cable entertainment networks in A25-54, households and total viewers in the 7pm-12am sales prime time period. Shows airings weeknights from 7pm-12am are Without a Trace and Criminal Minds blocks. Movies air on weekends in this time frame.
ION Television closed out January with double-digit growth in household viewers, up 15% (1,002,000) and up 13% (1,315,000) in total viewers, compared to January 2010, representing new network highs. The network also registered record high numbers in the A18-49 demo (493,000).
Additionally in January, ION Television ranked #9 among cable entertainment networks in A25-54, households and total viewers -- marking the first time ION is positioned among the top 10 nets. January also registered ION's best week ever (1/3/11) in A18-49 (545,000) and total viewers (1,455,000).
ION's 11pm hour (Criminal Minds on weeknights/movies on weekends) also became a driving force for the network's ratings last month as viewers turned to ION as an alternative destination to late night talk and cable reality reruns -- making it the most viewed hour in the 7pm-12am daypart for the network among A25-54 and A18-49. During the 11pm hour in January, ION's rankings also saw a boost, positioning at:
· #3 in total viewers as the most watched network among all cable entertainment nets (1,669,000)
· #5 in A25-54 as the most watched network among all cable entertainment nets (690,000)
· #6 in households as the most watched network among all cable entertainment nets (1,092,000)
· #8 in A18-49 as the most watched network among all cable entertainment nets (645,000)
January's record ratings generates momentum for the general entertainment network as ION Television recently celebrated 2010 as its most watched year ever in its key demos.

Looking for new ways to celebrate Valentine's Day Weekend? Last night ABC had hilarious all-new Valentine's Day episodes The Middle, Better With You and Modern Family that did well in the ratings and tonight NBC's comedy line-up celebrates Valentine's Day and romance. ABC delivers the classic Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown on Friday at 8pm with the newer classic A Charlie Brown Valentine following. All weekend long you can fall in love all over again during Hallmark's Countdown to Valentine's Day, which includes the world premiere of the movie Accidentally in Love starring Jennie Garth on Saturday.
For more V-Day options, you should check out these 195 TV Series & Movie Marathons and Specials at TVTango that air during this coming week, including the long Valentine's Day weekend.
And more love will be discussed tomorrow during our pilot review of the upcoming CBS comedy Mad Love, which premieres on Monday--Valentine's Day!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.