Tuesday, November 15, 2011

CBS Midseason Winter 2012 Schedule, Includes New Comedy; NBC Midseason Winter 2012 Schedule, Includes Return of 30 Rock


Midseason is on the horizon and today we have the winter portion (Jan-Mar) for CBS and NBC to give you. CBS has announced midseason 2012 premiere dates for the new comedy ¡Rob! and the return of reality series Undercover Boss. Both series will start airing in January, 2012. ¡Rob!, a new comedy starring Rob Schneider as a lifelong bachelor who just married into a tight-knit Mexican-American family, premieres Thursday, Jan. 12 at 8:30PM, ET/PT following The Big Bang Theory on Thursday nights. ¡Rob! also stars Cheech Marin, Claudia Bassols, Diana Maria Riva, Eugenio Derbez and Lupe Ontiveros. The new comedy has an episode order for eight episodes. Veteran comedy Rules of Engagement will return to its Thursday at 8:30 PM, ET/PT time period later this season, but its episode order has been cut from 18 to 13 (it is actually 15 because the sitcom had two leftover episodes from last season). The sitcom will air its fifth episode of the season this Thursday and perhaps another one will air in December before it goes on a hiatus for eight weeks starting Jan. 12. If all goes well, you will see it return sometime in March at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Undercover Boss returns with its third season premiere on Sunday, Jan. 15 at a new earlier time of 8:00 PM, ET/PT. Each week, Undercover Boss follows a different executive as they leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their companies. It is unclear how many weeks the series will run in this timeslot, as The Amazing Race will return in this timeslot at mid-season with a premiere that will be announced at a later date. Other than that, CBS has not announced any other changes. Still to be scheduled is new cop series The 2-2, which is likely for March or later in the spring. CBS also has not announced what will air Wednesdays at 8:00 PM, ET/PT in January before Survivor returns sometime in February, but it will likely be encores. And finally CBS has ordered three additional episodes of struggling Friday drama series A Gifted Man. The series will now air 16 episodes this season. My inclining is that it will be on the bubble for a second season until the day of upfront. Anyway, view and discuss the early changes to CBS midseason 2012.


30 Rock

We have another early midseason schedule for you, covering January-March 2012 for NBC! NBC announced its new mid-season 2012 schedule which features the premieres of four new series in Smash (Monday, February 6), The Firm (two-hour premiere Sunday, January 8, time slot premiere Thursday, January 12), Fashion Star (Tuesday, March 13) and Are You There, Chelsea? (Wednesday, January 11). The new lineup also includes the return of The Voice, 30 Rock, The Celebrity Apprentice and Who Do You Think You Are? Newcomer Prime Suspect and third year comedy Community will go on hiatus, but will return later in the season. In addition, there are day and time period changes for Whitney, Up All Night, Rock Center with Brian Williams and Harry's Law.

Let's detail it night-by-night. On Mondays, last spring's hit vocal competition series The Voice returns even louder with an hour-long season debut following Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, February 5 at approx. 10pm ET/7pm PT and then resumes in its regular day and time on Monday, February 6 from 8-10 p.m. ET. Following The Voice is the much-anticipated musical drama Smash which premieres Monday, February 6 at 10 p.m. ET for 15 weeks. On Tuesdays, Fashion Star - the new reality competition series hosted and executive-produced by Elle Macpherson - will premiere with a two-hour episode on Tuesday, March 13 from 9-11 p.m. ET and resume on Tuesday, March 20 airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET. The Biggest Loser will open a new edition on Tuesday, January 3 from 8-10 p.m. ET followed by Parenthood at 10 p.m. ET, but it concludes its season on Tuesday, February 28 with its season finale. On Wednesdays, the freshman comedy Whitney" moves into a new day (Wednesday) and time (8:00 p.m.) beginning Wednesday, January 11 followed by the series debut of the new comedy Are You There, Chelsea? at 8:30 p.m. ET also on Wednesday, January 11. NBC will move Rock Center with Brian Williams to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, starting Wednesday, February 8 as it has its last Monday telecast on Jan. 30. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit remains at 10 p.m. (ET).

For Thursdays, the new drama The Firm moves into the Thursday lineup at 10 p.m. ET beginning Thursday, January 12 following its special two-hour premiere the previous Sunday (January 8) from 9-11 p.m. ET. The first-season comedy Up All Night will also move to Thursday nights at 9:30 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, January 12 which is also the night that multiple Emmy Award-winning 30 Rock returns for its season debut at an earlier time of 8 p.m. ET, with an expected episode order of a full season. Parks and Recreation and The Office remain in the same time periods at 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET. Moving on to Fridays, the returning series Who Do You Think You Are? makes its season debut on Friday, February 3 at 8 p.m. ET, as Chuck will have its two-hour series finale on Friday, January 27 from 8-10 p.m. ET. Newcomer Grimm and Dateline NBC remain in the respective time periods from 9 to 11 p.m. Saturdays will feature encores of Harry's Law, The Firm and Law & Order: SVU. And finally on Sundays, The Celebrity Apprentice returns on Sunday, February 12 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Dateline NBC begins on Sundays from 7-9 p.m. ET, on January 8, but then Harry's Law moves to the 8 p.m. (ET) time period on March 4, so Dateline NBC will be cut just to the 7 p.m. (ET) hour starting on March 4.

That's a whole lotta changes, but more is still to come. Still missing from the mid-season schedule for NBC are new drama Awake, new comedies Bent & BFFs, and practical joke series Betty White's Off the Rockers. As mentioned, Community will return later in the spring to complete its 22 episode order (10 are scheduled to have aired by the end of 2011, so 12 will be ready to go later this season). We urge you to view and discuss the NBC midseason 2012 schedule for Jan-Mar.

Sitcom Recap:
New sitcoms - Are You There, Chelsea? (TBD episodes, NBC Wednesdays at 8:30pm starting Jan. 11) and ¡Rob! (8 episodes, CBS Thursdays at 8:30pm starting Jan. 12)
Returning - 30 Rock (TBD episodes, NBC Thursdays at 8:00pm starting Jan. 12)
Moving - Whitney (NBC Wednesdays at 8:30pm starting Jan. 11) and Up All Night (NBC Thursdays at 9:30pm starting Jan. 12)
Hiatus - Rules of Engagement (CBS) and Community (NBC) - both expected back in Spring


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, September 16

English Teacher - "School Safety" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Evan tries to get a new school club to shut down.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 16)

Monday, September 16

  • Don Cheadle (The Wonder Years/Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Watch Don on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - Ana appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Paul Feig (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/The Louie Show/The Jackie Thomas Show/Dirty Dancing) - Paul is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - E! News has an interview with Demi at 11pm on E!.
  • Lily Collins (Emily in Paris) - Lily talks about Emily in Paris on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer talks about An American Story: Everyone's Invited on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Tony Danza (Taxi/Who's the Boss?/Hudson Street/The Tony Danza Show) - Tony about his brand-new show, Tony Danza: Sinatra & Stories on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Eve (Eve) - Eve opens up in her new memoir, Who's That Girl?, on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke discusses the Thrive@50+ campaign on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Justina, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series Check It Out! - The Complete Series Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series

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)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

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