Sunday, August 07, 2011

TCA Summer 2011 Press Tour: Fox and ABC; Summer Week 10 Sitcom Ratings; New Episodes of Sitcoms On Basic Cable

Before we get into our regular Sunday ratings blog, we want to give you a recap of Fox at the TCA press tour on Friday and ABC's first day today. First up for Fox was the executive session with Kevin Reilly. New comedy Breaking In, which was kind of canceled, is still being considered for the previously announced two-hour Tuesday comedy block planned for Tuesdays in March and early April. "It still has a shot. They've agreed to extend an option so we've kept it alive. And you know what, stranger things have happened," Reilly said. So maybe Fox has their back, as the theme song goes, "we've got your back!" Stay tuned! He also noted that Bones will only have 13 episodes this season because it will share its timeslot will spin-off The Finder, which will also have 13 episodes.
Among the major announcements, Fox announced the schedule for The X Factor. Hosted by Steve Jones, the two-night series premiere of The X Factor will showcase the live auditions which took place in front of audiences of thousands, around the country Wednesday, Sept. 21 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT and Thursday, Sept. 22 also from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT. Auditions from Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark and Seattle, as well as from YouTube and the nationwide MyStudio audition booths, will continue the following week on Wednesday, Sept. 28 and Thursday, Sept. 29 for two full-hours each. Hopefuls who pass the initial auditions will travel to Los Angeles for "Boot Camp" beginning Wednesday, Oct. 5 from 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) and continuing Thursday, Oct. 6 from 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT). Wednesday, Oct. 12 and Thursday, Oct. 13 will also feature 90-minute episodes. Then a special Tuesday airing will be held on Oct. 18 from 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT. Glee and Raising Hope will be preempted on that date, but new comedy New Girl will air at a special time of 9:30pm. During a special extended Tuesday airing on Oct. 25 (8:00-10:30 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), the judges will reveal who has earned one of the coveted spots among the season's finalists (all three regular Tuesday series will be preempted). It will then be up to America, as well as the judges, to decide who moves forward in the competition starting with the first performance show featuring the finalists from each category on Wednesday, Nov. 2 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed). The season will conclude on December 21 and December 22. Reilly says the 90-minute editions of X Factor in October will be used as lead-ins for additional airings of its comedies as well as perhaps Mobbed specials.
Fox also announced that Dec. 5 will be the date for the second annual Great American Country Awards. Then it was off to panels with the casts and crew of Allen Gregory, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, MasterChef, Hell's Kitchen/Kitchen Nightmares, New Girl, Primetime Emmy Awards, Raising Hope, Terra Nova, and The X Factor.

ABC started their first day of the press tour today. There were two announcements and some other tidbits. During the executive session, Paul Lee (President of ABC Entertainment) revealed a lot. Before we get to the major announcements, we learned an episode of Castle will feature a Marvel character this season. He also revealed ABC will air three Hallmark Hall-of-Fame movies this season, with the first being in late November/early December. And Lee had nothing but good feedback so far from nearly all of its new shows, except mid-season sitcom Work It, which he joked, knew nobody would like at TCA but will have a loyal following (maybe like According to Jim?). Lee also said no replacement voice has been found yet for the voice of Charlie for the new Charlie's Angels, but an announcement will come soon and that some of the original Charlie's Angels (Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Chery Ladd) could guest star at some point.
On to the major announcement, ABC announced today that this season will be the final one for the landmark series Desperate Housewives. The decision was made jointly by series creator Marc Cherry and ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee. All good things eventually come to an end, and in the eighth and final season, the stakes for everyone on Wisteria Lane are at an all-time high. Season Eight of Desperate Housewives will roll out on Sunday, Sept. 25, in a way that is accessible even to viewers who may have lapsed in their viewing, and be all the richer and more rewarding to the series' loyal fans. For Season Eight, Carlos' murder of Gaby's evil stepfather and the cover up by Susan, Gaby, Bree and Lynette has far reaching effects. Feelings of guilt begin to overcome everyone in different ways. Susan starts to withdraw from her friends and family, and Gaby works to reach out to Carlos while his guilt weighs heavily upon him. As Lynette and Tom are grappling with their disintegrating marriage and impending separation, Lynette is having trouble making the right choices ever since she participated in the cover-up. And Bree must be especially careful around her new love, Detective Chuck Vance (Jonathan Cake). Meanwhile a new sexy neighbor moves to town, Ben Faulkner (Charles Mesure, V), and he's Renee's first order of business. Marc Cherry's pilot Hallelujah will be redeveloped and we could potentially see it in 2012-13 and Cherry said it is "a different animal" and would prefer something new than a spin-off of Desperate Housewives.
ABC also announced that the spectacular celebrity cast for the new season of Dancing with the Stars will be announced live on ABC, Monday, August 29 from 8-10 pm, during that evening's episode of Bachelor Pad. Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke once again host the live unveiling of the all-star cast. The stars, the drama, the glamour and the glitter are back on ABC, as Dancing with the Stars returns for Season 13 on Monday, Sept. 19 from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET with a sensational two-hour season premiere. Then on Tuesday, Sept. 20, there will be two hours of original programming, beginning with the special Dancing with the Stars: Meet the Cast at 8:00 p.m., ET, followed by the premiere of Dancing with the Stars the Results Show at 9:00 p.m., ET.
Then it was panels with the cast and producers of Pan Am, Charlie's Angels, ABC Daytime Session and The Chew, followed by The Chew Lunch, an ABC Family Executive Session, then more show panels with Once Upon a Time, Man Up! and Revenge. Then it is off to the Disney-ABC Television Group All-Star Cocktail Reception!
Tomorrow during day two of the ABC portion, panels for Last Man Standing and Suburgatory will be held along with a set visit to sophomore drama Body of Proof. We'll recap that tomorrow along with the list of the winners from the TCA Awards from Saturday night.

It's now the dog days of summer, but not to fret we will be back with our normal weekly ratings report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still continue to have our regular how the sitcoms did all for the rest of this summer! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Summer Week 9, week of July 25-31)
  • American Dad! (Fox) 2 airings - A repeat at 7pm did 2.02 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, which was up from the previous week. A repeat at 9:30pm did 3.77 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which was also up from previous week. Good numbers for the latter.
  • The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat at 8pm did 3.64 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, down a lick from previous week but a decent summer showing in 18-49.
  • Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A repeat at 7:30pm did 2.11 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, on par week-to-week but still could be better since 7:30 builds heavily usually from 7pm.
  • Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat at 9pm did 4.17 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, up from previous week and the best summer showing for a comedy since early summer.
  • The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A repeat at 8:30pm did 3.38 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was up some week-to-week.

Summer Week 10 (August 1-7)

Monday Sitcoms
  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 3.72 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating for a repeat at 8pm was on par with the previous week.
  • Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 5.24 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating for a repeat at 9pm is also on par week-to-week, but it was below normal.
  • Mike & Molly (CBS) 2 airings - 4.78 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating for a repeat in its normal 9:30pm slot was down some from previous week again. But an 8:30pm repeat earlier did 3.98 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which was the same as the previous week in 18-49.
Tuesday Sitcoms
  • Raising Hope (Fox) - preempted.
Wednesday Sitcoms
  • The Middle (ABC) - A repeat at 8pm did 4.34 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, up from previous week's below normal performance for a repeat.
  • Modern Family (ABC) 2 airings - A repeat at 9pm did 4.34 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, up a tad from the previous week. A repeat at 8:30pm also probably helped doing 4.36 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, also up some from the previous week.
  • Happy Endings (ABC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 2.78 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up a tad from the previous week. If you have missed any episodes, keep watching! A new episode will air Aug. 24 to promote the new season and the upcoming season one DVD. ABC Family will air a marathon as well on Friday, Sept. 16 from 5-11pm. Get hooked!
Thursday Sitcoms
  • The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A repeat did 6.3 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was down from the previous week.
  • Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A repeat of this comedy followed at 8:30pm with 5.29 million and 1.5 18-49 rating, which was down some from previous week.
  • Community (NBC) - A repeat only did 1.95 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, on par with the previous week but way too low even if it is a repeat.
  • Parks & Recreation (NBC) - A repeat in its 8:30pm slot did only 1.86 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, again on par really with the previous week but who cares since it is so low.
  • The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9pm did 2.33 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, best of the low rated block and up slightly from the previous week.
  • 30 Rock (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 1.97 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par with the previous week. It's sad that 3 of the 4 comedies for NBC were under 2 million.

Friday Sitcoms

  • Friends with Benefits (NBC) 2 episodes - Finally this series has made it on air, but in burn-off mode on Friday nights in the summer. Preliminary ratings show the comedy did very low ratings coming in 4th place, losing to repeats. The first airing did a prelim 2.37 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, while a second episode followed with only 1.99 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating. Final ratings might even have it go more down...stay tuned.
Saturday Sitcoms
  • Family Guy (Fox) - ratings not available at publishing time.
  • The Cleveland Show (Fox) - ratings not available at publishing time.
Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's animated comedies from 7-8pm only tonight due to the Teen Choice Awards.

Summing it up. Repeats of The Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, and both Modern Family repeats were impressive for the week, along with week 9's The Simpsons, Family Guy & American Dad 9:30p. Everything else was OK (such as repeats of Two and a Half Men, The Middle) or just plain old terrible (such as Friends with Benefits, and the very low rated NBC Thursday repeats especially, Community).

Feeling the repeat blues? Look for original sitcoms on cable all this summer, with the great Hot in Cleveland on Wednesday at 10pm, followed by the penultimate week of the first season of Happily Divorced starring Fran Drescher this Wednesday at 10:30pm only on TV Land. Also catch the new Comedy Wednesday on ABC Family this Wednesday with an all-new Melissa & Joey at 8pm guest starring Christine Lakin, who we just interviewed, followed by week seven of new comedy State of Georgia starring Raven Symone at 8:30pm (last week we get FOUR ALL-NEW episodes from 9-11pm). Loretta Devine is very sassy in this series and makes Mrs. Roper look tame! Also of course House of Payne and Meet the Browns are on TBS Wednesdays. New sitcom airings is the perfect way to beat the summer repeat blues! Watch them! And on premium cable, it is of course Curb Your Enthusiasm, Weeds, and Entourage among the entrees.

[Source: Nielsen NTI Ratings. View Travis Yanan's Ratings Website].


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, September 25

Son of a Critch - "Particip-action" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mark is forced to participate in the school's Sports Day; Fox fights for her mother's attention and attempts to break the school record for gold medals.

Run the Burbs - "Li Xi" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT)
As they celebrate Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Andrew worries about his parents' relationship; Camille pitches her business to Andrew's mother; the kids get into trouble with their business startup.

Children Ruin Everything - "Dignity" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Following embarrassing run-ins with her boss and co-workers, Astrid feels on the back foot and disconnected from her younger co-workers; Astrid realizes her best move might be to attend a drink night with the rest of her team.

American Dad! - "Productive Panic" (TBS, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Francine becomes an overnight sensation when a famous art dealer discovers her homemade pottery.

Breeders - "No Matter What: Part Two" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Jackie's health is continuing to worsen; Paul helps out a distressed Luke but finds himself in more conflict with Ally; at Baby Jay's naming party, Ava declares her love, and Paul makes an offer that will take him and Ally back in time.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)

Monday, September 25

  • Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place/Barry) - D'Arcy is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Jon Lovitz (Mr. Box Office/NewsRadio/Foley Square) - Jon is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) and Mark Consuelos (Alpha House/Hope & Faith) - E! News has interviews with Kelly and Mark at 11pm on E!.
  • Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Guys with Kids/Entourage) - Jamie-Lynn appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Kerry Washington (Unprisoned) - Kerry talks about her new book Thicker than Water: A Memoir on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Punkie Johnson (After Life) - Punkie talks about her podcast Love Thang with Punkie Johnson on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her Big Boss album and tour on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)

Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition)

06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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09/24 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 25, 2023)
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09/21 - Penn & Teller: Fool Us Gets New Return Date; Netflix's Unicorn Academy Premieres November 2
09/20 - Paramount+ Announces Colin from Accounts; The Really Loud House Gets Halloween Movie
09/19 - The Simpsons Season 34 Streams October 11 on Disney+; Good Burger 2 Set for Holiday Season
09/18 - Hulu's Huluween and Disney+'s Hallowstream Line-Up; Shining Vale Returns October 13 on STARZ
09/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 18, 2023)
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09/13 - TBS Acquires Modern Family; The Frasier Awards on COZI TV
09/12 - Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen Gets CBS Late Night Run; Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy Special
09/11 - Matt Rife Gets Netflix Special; Star Trek Day and Kid Cudi Join Forces
09/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 11, 2023)
09/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner Bros. Television Suspends Deals with Top Creators; Fran Drescher Re-Elected President of SAG-AFTRA
09/08 - CBS Announces Hosts of Game Show; New Goosebumps Premieres Friday the 13th This October on Disney+ and Hulu
09/07 - MeTV Presents Svengoolie's Halloween BOOnanza!; The CW Moving Fall Comedies to Thursdays
09/06 - CBS to Air NCIS: Sydney This Fall; Fox Makes Fall Change
09/05 - TBS and TNT September Stunts Include Big Bang Theory Batman Day Marathon; Netflix UK Produced Series Updates
09/04 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2023 Include Three's Company
09/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 4, 2023)
09/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: No Third Season for How I Met Your Father; Spectrum Dispute with Disney Could Spell End of Cable
09/01 - September Is Anniversary Month on Hulu; Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween Returns for Its 25th Anniversary
08/31 - Max's Original Comedy Series Starstruck Season 3 and Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Premiere Dates; AXS TV Announces Fall Programming Lineup
08/30 - The Partridge Family Coming to AXS TV Starting Oct. 2; CBS to Air A Tribute to Bob Barker Special Aug. 31, Marathon of Match Game Episodes to Air Sept. 2 on Game Show Network
08/29 - Once Upon a Time Coming to Hulu; Young Love Launches on Max in September
08/28 - Remembering TV Legend Bob Barker; Wolf Like Me Returns in October on Peacock
08/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 28, 2023)
08/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Frasier Reboot Date Set, With CBS Also Airing First Two Episodes; Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. Cancelled
08/25 - Rick and Morty Returns October 15; Switch New Season Begins September 18 on Game Show Network