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

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.