CBS Picks Up 3 Freshman Sitcoms; NBC Cancels Welcome to the Family, Slots Community Return

Monday, October 21, 2013

CBS Picks Up 3 Freshman Sitcoms; NBC Cancels Welcome to the Family, Slots Community Return

CBS has picked up three freshman sitcoms to full seasons. They have given the "back nine" orders to The Crazy Ones, The Millers and Mom. We mentioned that the fourth CBS freshman comedy We Are Men was already canceled. All three of these series haven't been big mass hits but they have done solidly, especially The Millers coming out of a huge lead-in from The Big Bang Theory on Thursdays. The other two haven't been as successful in adults 18-49, though The Crazy Ones had a big series premiere. That series airs Thursdays at 9pm and stars Robin Williams, Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Wolk, Hamish Linklater and Amanda Setton. The Millers airs Thursdays at 8:30pm and stars Will Arnett, Beau Bridges, Margo Martindale, Jayma Mays, J.B. Smoove, Nelson Franklin and Eve Moon, while Mom, from Chuck Lorre, airs Mondays at 9:30pm and stars Anna Faris, Allison Janney, Nate Corddry, Matt Jones, Sadie Calvano, Blake Garrett Rosenthal, Spencer Daniels and French Stewart. Stay with us for continued updates, as CBS hasn't announced the fate of Monday freshman drama Hostages yet.

Community

NBC has canceled two fall series: Thursday comedy Welcome to the Family effective immediately and Wednesday drama Ironside starting Oct. 30. As a result, NBC will eventually replace these series with the debut of Dick Wolf's Chicago P.D. (the spin-off of Chicago Fire) at 10pm on Wednesday, Jan. 8, as well as the season premiere of Community with back-to-back episodes from 8-9pm Thursday, Jan. 2. Community then settles into its 8pm half-hour on Jan. 9 followed by Parks and Recreation at 8:30. The Jan. 9 episode will be the show's 100th and was co-written by Amy Poehler and Mike Schur.

In the short-term, replacing Ironside in the 10pm Wednesday time slot for November and December will be a string of original programming, including new episodes of Dateline crime stories, Saturday Night Live holiday-themed specials and holiday music specials starring Kelly Clarkson and Michael Buble. On Wednesday, Oct. 30 a rerun of Law & Order: SVU will air. NBC on Thursday nights from 8-9pm for the remainder of the fall will change due to Welcome to the Family being pulled. It will include two weeks of original back-to-back Parks and Recreation episodes (Nov. 14 and 21), specials such as SNL Halloween, plus a previously-announced edition of The Voice on Nov. 7 and The Sound of Music Live! broadcast on Dec. 5. In addition, The Sing-Off moves into the time period in December for two weeks on Dec. 12 and 19. This Thursday (Oct. 24), a rerun of The Voice will air in the hour. Stay with us for continued updates, as NBC hasn't made any decisions yet on freshman comedy Sean Saves the World, while new drama Dracula premieres this Friday (Oct. 25).

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, January 28

The Conners - "Mud Turtles, A Good Steak and One Man in a Tub" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Becky thinks that Jackie’s new friend Dawn (guest star Cheryl Hines), a restaurant supplier, is only cozying up to her to sell them things they can’t afford for the Lunch Box. Darlene is thrilled when Harris gets into Central Illinois State, but Harris might have found a better offer on her own. When Dan finds himself in an embarrassing situation nursing an injury, Louise (Katey Sagal) tries to help him out.

Bless This Mess - "The Letter of the Law" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Rio is bummed she can’t afford to go to Iceland for her best friend’s wedding, so the nuptials are moved and brought to the farm. Meanwhile, Rio is forced to take on Deb’s mail route after she quits, and Mike and Jacob help Rudy get over Constance.

mixed-ish - "True Colors" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Paul is shocked to hear from his estranged mother who wants to visit for Rainbow’s 13th birthday and soon learns more about why she abandoned him. Meanwhile, Rainbow sees turning 13 as a huge turning point in her life and wants a big birthday party, but Alicia wants to celebrate all the things Rainbow missed out on over the years while on the commune.

black-ish - "Adventure to Ventura" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Dre worries Diane and Jack don’t know how to fend for themselves and sends them out on an adventure, only to realize it’s his overbearing worries that hold the twins back. Meanwhile, Junior gets into a tricky situation at work when he befriends Josh in hopes of scoring a positive peer review.

Schitt's Creek - "Maid of Honour" (Pop, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Moira shares the newly released "Crows" movie trailer with the Jazzagals; Johnny and Roland find a suspicious bag of money at the new motel.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 27)

Tuesday, January 28

Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) - Catch Ben on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) - William drops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ashton Kutcher (The Ranch/Two and a Half Men/That '70s Show) - Ashton visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
Tony Rock (Living Biblically/All of Us) - Tony is a panelist on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Kumail stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Aidy Bryant (Shrill) - Aidy appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
Miles Brown (black-ish) - Miles is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Fox's The Resident on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland/Hot in Cleveland/Jake in Progress/Just Shoot Me!) - Wendie talks about Disney Channel's The Owl House on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Life) - Nia talks about Poisoned Love on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Bill Pullman (1600 Penn) - Bill talks about The Sinner on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on the BUILD Series at 12:15pm.
Janeane Garofalo (The Larry Sanders Show) and Grant Rosenmeyer (Oliver Beene) - Janeane and Grant are guests on the BUILD Series at 2pm.