Tuesday, April 19, 2011
TV Land Developing Hot in Cleveland Spin-Off; Network Notes for ABC, CBS and Fox
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
Friday, July 26
The Conners - "Keep on Truckin'" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before.
The Conners - "Tangled Up in Blue" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene gets one surprise after another when David introduces his girlfriend at a parent-teacher conference and mentions that Mark & Harris will be spending the weekend with them.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 22)
Friday, July 26
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Watch Nick on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Michael appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Burning Love/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Corporate) - Sasheer, Joe and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - Jennie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. NBC's Today catches up with Jennie in the 10am hour.
- Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus talks about his coming-of-age film How I Learned to Fly on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Delroy Lindo (UnPrisoned) - Delroy talks about UnPrisoned on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Dylan Sprouse (The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody/Grace Under Fire) - Dylan talks about Lionsgate's The Duel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season / The Complete Series
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts