NBC Pulls The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World; TV Land's Darren Star Sitcom Gets Pilot Order Starring Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff

Monday, February 10, 2014

NBC Pulls The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World; TV Land's Darren Star Sitcom Gets Pilot Order Starring Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff

Late last week NBC announced it has pulled (and canceled) both of its remaining freshman Thursday comedies on the schedule. Sean Saves the World and The Michael J. Fox Show will not be returning after the Winter Olympics as planned, instead NBC will now air new episodes of Hollywood Game Night on Thursday nights in the 9pm hour (following Community and Parks & Recreation) starting February 27. Sean Saves the World already had its episode cut from 18 to 15, and now the remaining two episodes are unscheduled. 13 of the 15 episodes have aired. As for The Michael J. Fox Show, 22 episodes were ordered and only 15 have aired, with seven episodes still left to air. No word on if and when NBC will burn-off either of the show's remaining episodes. If it happens, it might be on a Saturday night, in the summer or just placed on nbc.com. Both really struggled in the ratings, with The Michael J. Fox Show on Jan. 16 doing less then 2 million total viewers (1.992 million) and just a 0.59 18-49 rating, both historic lows for NBC Thursday originals. We'll let you know if they schedule these remaining episodes. Stay with us.

TV Land

Production has begun on TV Land's newest sitcom pilot, Younger, starring Tony® Award winner Sutton Foster (Bunheads) Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire), Debi Mazar (Entourage) and Miriam Shor (GCB). The single-camera project, which is written, executive produced and directed by Darren Star (Sex and the City), is based on the novel Younger by Pamela Redmond Satran. Patricia Field, who worked with Star on Sex and the City, will be a costume consultant on the production. The Younger pilot follows 40-year-old Liza (Foster), a suddenly single mother who tries to get back into the working world, only to find out it’s nearly impossible to start at the bottom at her age. When a chance encounter with a 20-something guy at a bar convinces her she looks younger than she is, Liza tries to pass herself off as 26 – with the help of a makeover, courtesy of her best friend Maggie (Mazar). Armed with new confidence, she lands a job as an assistant to the temperamental Diana (Shor) and teams up with her new co-worker and fellow 20-something Kelsey (Duff) to make it in the career of her dreams.

TV Land also recently announced the series pick-up of another single-camera sitcom, Jennifer Falls, starring Jaime Pressly. The network's current original sitcoms includes hit series Hot in Cleveland, The Exes, The Soul Man and Kirstie, all multi-camera sitcoms starring pop culture icons and fan favorites including Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Kristen Johnston, Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche, Kelly Stables, Cedric "The Entertainer," Niecy Nash, Wesley Jonathan, Kirstie Alley, Michael Richards, Rhea Perlman and Eric Petersen. We will let you know if and when Younger will get a series pick-up, but for now, this is just a pilot order. Stay tuned.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, January 23

Shifting Gears - "Accommodations" (ABC, 9:02PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt joins Riley at Carter’s high school open house, where he’s unsettled to learn about the “accommodations” made for his grandson’s anxiety. Meanwhile, Riley reconnects with Caitlin, a former classmate, and sets her up with Gabriel.

Only Murders in the Building - "Sparring Partners" (ABC, 9:33PM ET/PT)
Closing in on the killer, Mabel takes her investigative talents into the ring; Oliver and Charles duke it out over a birdcage only to end up confronting their deepest paternal struggles.

Only Murders in the Building - "I Know Who Did It" (ABC, 10:12PM ET/PT)
The question of who did it remains, along with a few more questions that have been raised.

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "An Old Mustang" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie worries that he’s leaving Connor out of his new project with Jim. Meanwhile, Mandy and Audrey struggle to decorate CeeCee’s nursery without fighting.

Ghosts - "The Primary Source" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Sam’s book publisher requires source material for her biography on Isaac, she and Jay take a field trip to find a diary he claims he hid when he was alive.

Animal Control - "Baby Kangaroos and Chickens" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Victoria compete to win Fiona's affections at the new kennels' fundraiser; Emily gets some very bad advice from Bettany on her speech; Patel and Shred find themselves facing the world's most charming squatter.

Going Dutch - "Korfball" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Everyone in town is talking about the upcoming Korfball match between the Americans and the Dutch; the colonel refuses to lose to the Dutch and Quinn brings out her high school alter ego "The Rocket" to make her dad proud.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)

Thursday, January 23

James Marsden (30 Rock) - Catch James on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Fortune Feimster (FUBAR/Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Denis Leary (Going Dutch/No Good Deed/Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - Denis stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Thomas, Paul and Joe are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Al Madrigal (Lopez vs Lopez/About a Boy/Gary Unmarried/Welcome to The Captain) - Al appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason and his wife Jenny Mollen are telling Drew about their new show Dinner and a Movie that features an episode focusing on 50 First Dates on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.