Thursday, November 29, 2012
ABC Picks Up More Episodes of Last Man Standing, Malibu Country; FX Schedules Season 2 of Anger Management for January 17, 2013
ABC has picked up five additional episodes each of Friday night comedies Last Man Standing and Malibu Country, giving each series 18 total episodes each for this season. These pick-ups join previously announced orders for new drama Nashville, new comedy The Neighbors, and sophomore drama Scandal. Both comedies Last Man Standing and Malibu Country air Friday nights at 8:00 and 8:30pm ET/PT, respectively, on ABC. Since its season premiere on Nov. 2, ABC sophomore comedy Last Man Standing starring Tim Allen is the top-rated show in Friday's 8:00pm half-hour with Adults 18-49 (2.1/7). Boosting its time period year to year by 76% in Total Viewers and by 91% in Adults 18-49 on average, Last Man Standing premiered with ABC’s biggest numbers in the Friday 8pm half-hour in well over 2-1/2 years – since 1/1/10.
Retaining 100% Adult 18-49 lead-in (2.1/7) from Last Man Standing and gaining total viewers, ABC's Malibu Country starring Reba stands as TV's most-watched freshman comedy this season (8.7 million). The new ABC sitcom is No. 1 in the time period across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) and is the broadcast leader with Teens 12-17. Like its lead-in, the sitcom is producing big year-over-year increases for ABC, improving its half-hour by 85% in Total Viewers and by 91% in Adults 18-49 from the same nights last year. Among Adults 18-49, Malibu Country opened as Friday's top-rated scripted series debut on any network in over 5 years -- since October 2007.
The comedies premiered late in the fall so a full season is probably not necessary to order, but 18 episodes should be enough to last them the rest of the season. ABC will air seven episodes each through December, so at least 11 episodes will be able to air from Jan-May. ABC has yet to announce its midseason 2013 schedule, so we will give that to you as soon as it is announced. With the additional episodes for Malibu Country, we now know the fate for all of ABC's fall freshman series as 666 Park Avenue and Last Resort are the only ones not moving forward after the initial 13 episodes.
FX has announced its early 2013 release dates, which includes season two of Charlie Sheen's sitcom Anger Management. First up, the Emmy(R) Award-winning Justified returns for its fourth season on January 8, and will continue to run Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT. Anger Management will begin its back-90 run on Thursday, January 17 with consecutive episodes at 9:00 & 9:30pm before airing in its regularly scheduled timeslot of Thursdays at 9:30pm ET/PT. Charlie Sheen stars as "Charlie," a non-traditional therapist specializing in anger management. FX's acclaimed animated series Archer returns for its fourth season starting January 17 and will air Thursdays at 10pm ET/PT. Archer is an animated, half-hour comedy that revolves around the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS) and the lives of its employees. FX will premiere its newest original comedy series Legit, on January 17 at 10:30pm ET/PT immediately following Archer. In Legit, Jim Jefferies is an edgy, foul-mouthed stand-up comedian from Australia, in his mid-30s and living in LA, struggling to make his life and career more "legit," only to find it a difficult, uncomfortable uphill struggle every step of the way. Jim is encouraged in his quest by Steve (Dan Bakkedahl), his neurotic best friend and roommate, a cyber-law library salesman who struggles to stay on his feet in the wake of a divorce, and Steve's brother, Billy (DJ Qualls), who suffers from advanced staged Muscular Dystrophy and is confined to a wheelchair. FX has ordered 13 episodes of Legit.
In late night, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell will return with a new cycle of episodes Thursday, January 17 at 11pm ET/PT. Totally Biased, from Bell and Executive Producers Chris Rock, Chuck Sklar and Keri Smith Esguia, stars standup comedian W. Kamau Bell as he hilariously dissects politics, pop culture, race, religion, sex and the media from his own unique point of view. The show features live guests and taped segments.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 22
Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.
Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Wednesday, January 22
- Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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