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

Thursday, December 5

Young Sheldon - "A Party Invitation, Football Grapes and an Earth Chicken" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mary gets Pastor Jeff involved when Sheldon isn’t invited to Billy’s birthday party. Also, George Sr. has “male-bonding time” with Dr. Sturgis.

The Unicorn - "No Pressure" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Wade pretends to be dating Caroline (Betsy Brandt) to avoid being set up on blind dates by Delia. Also, Ben and Michelle throw an anniversary party for themselves, but have issues with the catering.

Mom - "Tuna Florentine and a Clean Handoff" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Christy and the ladies rally around Tammy when she has trouble adjusting to early release from parole. Also, Bonnie is disappointed when her perfect birthday gift for Adam gets a lukewarm response.

Carol's Second Act - "Therapy Dogs" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
As the hospital hosts therapy dogs to help care for their patients, Carol helps Lexie when the emotional burden of being a doctor becomes too “ruff."

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)

Thursday, December 5

Sam Rockwell (F Is for Family) - Catch Sam on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class) - Lizzy appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel drops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Anna Faris (Mom) - Anna is a guest on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
John Lithgow (Trial and Error/Twenty Good Years/3rd Rock from the Sun) - John visits Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
Casey Wilson (The Hotwives/Marry Me/Happy Endings), Nico Santos (Superstore) and Chris Hardwick (Guys Like Us) - Casey, Nico and Chris are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) - Jameela stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings. She talks about Same Time Next Christmas on ABC's GMA 3: Strahan, Sara & Keke at 1pm.
Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Sean appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon) - Iain is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kristin Chenoweth (Trial and Error/Kristin) - Kristin talks about Hallmark Channel's A Christmas Love Story on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT and on Access Daily, so check your local listings.