ABC Family Acquires The Middle For Fall 2013, Also In Local Syndication; TV One's March Sitcom Madness

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

ABC Family Acquires The Middle For Fall 2013, Also In Local Syndication; TV One's March Sitcom Madness

Warner Bros. Television has sold the ABC hit family sitcom The Middle into broadcast syndication and cable for Fall 2013! In broadcast syndication, Tribune Broadcasting stations will air it in 11 markets, including WPIX-CW New York, KTLA-CW Los Angeles and WGN-CW Chicago. Also, Sinclair Broadcast Group has picked up the sitcom in 19 markets, including Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The Middle has been cleared on stations reaching 92% of TV homes so far, having also been sold to stations owned by CBS, Communications Corp., Raycom, Newport, Belo, Cox, Local TV, New Age Media, Titan, Grant, News Press & Gazette, Barrington, Mission, Venture, LIN, Pappas, Weigel, Acme, and others. A full list of stations will be available closer to fall 2013. More clearances will come.
As for cable, The Middle has been acquired by ABC Family for also fall 2013. This marks the first major current sitcom acquisition by the network, as the other comedies they previously acquired were of canceled sitcoms like My Wife & Kids and 8 Simple Rules or older comedies like That '70s Show and Full House. The hit family sitcom will likely air in the early evenings, probably sometime between 6-8pm during family time. We'll have more on that as we get closer to fall 2013, as we are still a while away!
The series premiered in fall 2009 on ABC (Wednesdays at 8PM) and is currently in its third season. By the time the series hits syndication, it will have four full seasons of episodes to air five-days-a-week. Two-time Emmy winner Patricia Heaton stars in this warm and witty single-camera comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations. Middle-aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country in Orson, Indiana, Frankie Heck is a harried wife and working mother of three who uses her wry wit and sense of humor in an attempt to get her family through each day intact. The Middle stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob. It is created and is executive produced by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline.

It's March and sports fans know that March means it's time for March Madness (the college basketball tournament). TV One will have its own March Madness with Sitcom Madness! TV One will air sitcom marathons every weekday all-month long from 11am-5pm. The stunt started this week on Monday (March 5) and will continue through Friday, March 30, so you have plenty of time to join the Sitcom Madness! On Mondays, TV One will air six hours of Martin in March. On Tuesdays, spend the day with twelve helpings of The Jeffersons from 11am-5pm. The sitcoms continue mid-week with Good Times on Wednesdays. On Thursday, it's not a half marathon but we get a Half & Half marathon. And close the week out on Fridays with Eve. That's five different sitcoms, so what show do you think is the best show from these five if TV One were doing a bracket style elimination? Luckily they're not, so you can watch all five series if you like them!
Everything else on TV One in March will remain as it is, as the 11am-5pm portion is preempted this month for these marathons. No other stunts are planned, so it's all about the Sitcom Madness in March!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.