TV Land Picks Up Season 2 of Happily Divorced; ABC Family's State of Georgia Gets 2 Multiple Episode Airings In August

Thursday, July 21, 2011

TV Land Picks Up Season 2 of Happily Divorced; ABC Family's State of Georgia Gets 2 Multiple Episode Airings In August

TV Land announced that it has picked up its original sitcom Happily Divorced, starring and co-written by Fran Drescher, for a second season with 12 new episodes tentatively scheduled to premiere in Spring 2012. Drescher shared the news with the Fran Fans on TV Land's Happily Divorced Facebook page. Happily Divorced, inspired by Drescher's own life, also stars acclaimed actors John Michael Higgins (Best in Show), Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris), Rita Moreno (OZ), Robert Walden (All The President's Men) and Valente Rodriguez (George Lopez). According to Nielsen, Happily Divorced is averaging over 2.2 million total viewers, a 1.0 among A25-54 and a 1.3 among W25-54 season-to-date, posting triple digit gains over the network's primetime average.
Drescher, twice nominated for both Golden Globe® and Emmy® Awards and also a New York Times best-selling author of Enter Whining and Cancer Schmancer, will co-write the show alongside her real life ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson. Jacobson previously worked with Drescher as co-creator and writer on The Nanny.
Filmed in front of a live studio audience, Happily Divorced airs on Wednesday nights at 10:30pm ET/PT immediately following new episodes of Hot in Cleveland.

ABC Family's freshman sitcom State of Georgia starring Raven Symone premiered on Wednesday, June 29 at 8:30pm and thus far has aired four episodes of its twelve-episode order (upped from the originally reported ten). Episode 5 will air next Wednesday (July 27) at 8:30pm, but then ABC Family will be airing FOUR all-new episodes (episodes 6-9) during a special 9-11pm block on this night. Melissa & Joey will air two all-new episodes for the full hour at 8pm on this date leading-in. The following week (Aug. 10) is back to normal for a week with an all-new Melissa & Joey at 8 and an all-new State of Georgia at 8:30 (episode 10), but then on Wednesday, August 17, State of Georgia for its season finale will air two all-new episodes (episodes 11 and 12) from 9-10pm following an hour of all-new Melissa & Joey at 8pm. Melissa & Joey will air for a full hour every week hereafter starting Aug. 17, and will be all-new for the full hour. They have 18 episodes to air this summer and that series has aired four so far this summer (thru July 20). If two all-new episodes air from Aug. 17 and on, the season finale would air on Sept. 14 (which is convenient because ABC returns its Wednesday comedy line-up on Sept. 21), but this is just my guess for now. Melissa & Joey was already renewed for a second season, as we reported.
It's hard to tell what ABC Family is doing with State of Georgia, but the ratings for episode three weren't very good last week (July 13, a 0.2 18-49 rating). Perhaps the multiple-episode stunts will help on Aug. 3 and Aug. 17? It's still early, so hopefully ABC Family is not giving up already because the first four episodes have been pretty funny and is a nice throwback to comedies of the early '90s. We'll certainly keep an eye on State of Georgia and hope they stick with it and renew it.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, September 17

Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.

Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.

Abbott Elementary - "Rally" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava and the Abbott teachers go to the district to plead for Ava's job back; Gregory handles duties as interim principal.

Abbott Elementary - "Please Touch Museum" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Abbott Elementary goes on a schoolwide field trip to the Please Touch Museum, which has some of the older kids skeptical.

The Hospital - "Double or Nothing; Make a Wish" (BET, 11:00PM ET/PT)
Apparently the best spot to gamble during your shift, is in the morgue.

The Hospital - "Lyrical Surgery; Get It Poppin" (BET, 11:30PM ET/PT)
Dr. Do-It-To-Em's mixtape has more bars than a nursing student during finals week.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 15)

Wednesday, September 17

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Jason appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Ron Howard (Arrested Development/Happy Days/The Andy Griffith Show) - Ron is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Brett Goldstein (Shrinking/Ted Lasso) - Brett stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rob Reiner (All in the Family/Morton & Hayes) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Paul and Greta are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about FX's Necaxa on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Marlon Wayans (Marlon/The Wayans Bros.) - Marlon talks about Him on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek/Greg the Bunny/Hiller and Diller) - Eugene talks about The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Mark Duplass (Big Mouth/Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark talks about The Morning Show on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - Kristin dishes on the end of And Just Like That and surprises Drew with an item from the set of Sex and the City on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jane Lynch (Angel from Hell) - Jane talks about Fox's Celebrity Weakest Link on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.