TV Land Developing Hot in Cleveland Spin-Off; Network Notes for ABC, CBS and Fox

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

TV Land Developing Hot in Cleveland Spin-Off; Network Notes for ABC, CBS and Fox

TV Land is developing a sitcom with renowned comedian/actor Cedric the Entertainer, it was announced by the network. The series is currently set to be a spin-off of TV Land's hit original sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, which stars Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and the incomparable Betty White. The spin-off revolves around a character that Cedric will originate in the second half of season two of new episodes of Hot (premiering this summer) in which he will play a minister who finds himself involved in the four ladies' latest humorous adventures.
The untitled series is contingent upon the pilot script, which will be co-written by Cedric and Suzanne Martin. Martin would also serve as executive producer of the series along with Emmy® Award-winner Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner of Hazy Mills Productions, who are also executive producers of Hot in Cleveland.
Hot in Cleveland launched on TV Land in summer 2010 and quickly won over viewers, becoming the number one cable sitcom of 2010. It remains the highest-rated and most-watched program on the network, averaging 3.1 million total viewers per week. The show returns June 15 with new episodes.
TV Land's development deal is one more step by the network into the world of original sitcoms. The network recently announced two more new series pick-ups – Happily Divorced, starring Fran Drescher, and The Exes, starring the ensemble of Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche and Kristen Johnston. In addition, TV Land has also renewed Retired at 35 for a second season and Hot in Cleveland for a 24-episode third season, both for 2012. The series pick-ups take the network from zero to four scripted sitcoms, all with leading comedic talent, within a year's time. The upcoming series with Cedric is just one of the many projects in TV Land's development pipeline, but it hasn't been officially picked-up yet. If and when it does, we will let you know...but you will 100% see Cedric at least on Hot in Cleveland. If it works out, he will be spun-off!

Moving on to some network notes, ABC announced last Thursday after promising ratings that an extra episode of new comedy Happy Endings will air this Wednesday at 10:30pm, replacing a Modern Family "Fan Favorites" encore. The comedy airs regularly in the 10pm half-hour after Cougar Town at 9:30, which returns tomorrow in the time period. Happy Endings premiered last week at 9:30pm after Modern Family and also aired in its regular 10pm half-hour to decent numbers, especially for ABC Wednesday at 10. We have seen episodes three and four airing this Wednesday in the 10pm hour, as you read in our review, and they are must see and go to another level from the premiere. Tune in!
In a scoop to us, CBS announced that Friday drama Chaos has been removed from the schedule effective immediately after only three airings. The series has struggled in the ratings and will be replaced this week by a repeat of CSI: NY. The following week (April 29) was the already scheduled special on the Royal Wedding, but starting Friday, May 6, CBS will air a new season of the Canadian series Flashpoint. In addition, we also announced that tonight's repeat of The Good Wife has been replaced by a second hour repeat of NCIS: Los Angeles. No reason was given, but they probably want to be a bit more competitive with ABC's new Body of Proof, which has done solid ratings and The Good Wife doesn't repeat as well as all the other CBS dramas. One other CBS repeat note has The Big Bang Theory stepping in next Monday (April 25) at 9pm in place of a repeat of Two and a Half Men.
And finally, you'll get to see Running Wilde finish off its run after all--but not on Fox. Fox's cable network FX will air the series Thursdays at 10pm starting next week (April 28). The Will Arnett-Keri Russell comedy has four episodes remaining from its 13 episode order and they will finally air during four consecutive Thursday airings. Repeats will air in the 10:30pm half-hour as well along with late night encores later in the night. The series last aired a new episode on Sunday, December 26 and was last seen on the Fox Saturday late night encore block in early January before being pulled to low ratings there, too.

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.