[01.26.09 - 09:49 AM]

ABC ANNOUNCES NEW THURSDAY NIGHT COMEDY BLOCK WITH "IN THE MOTHERHOOD" AND "SAMANTHA WHO" AT 8:00 P.M. AND 8:30 P.M.
Released by ABC

[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

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ABC ANNOUNCES NEW THURSDAY NIGHT COMEDY BLOCK WITH "IN THE MOTHERHOOD" AND "SAMANTHA WHO" AT 8:00 P.M. AND 8:30 P.M.

"BETTER OFF TED" WILL PREMIERE PAIRED WITH "SCRUBS" ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS

ABC announces a new Thursday night comedy block, with "In the Motherhood" premiering March 26 at 8:00 p.m., paired with "Samantha Who?" at 8:30 p.m. In addition, "Better Off Ted" will premiere Wednesday, March 18 at 8:30 p.m., following "Scrubs" at 8:00 p.m.

"The Bachelor" will continue on Monday nights from 8:00-10:00 p.m., leading directly into "True Beauty," and "Ugly Betty" will return to Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. following the run of "In the Motherhood" and "Samantha Who?"

"In the Motherhood" Thursdays at 8:00 p.m.

Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace") and Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") come to ABC in the new comedy "In the Motherhood," which takes a look at the importance of family and friends while trying to juggle motherhood, work and love lives in an overly complicated modern world. The story focuses on Rosemary (Mullally), Jane (Hines) and Emily (Jessica St. Clair), who represent mothers we all know. Rosemary is a free-wheeling mom who plays it fast and loose when it comes to parenting her teenaged son, Luke. Married numerous times, but currently single, Rosemary lives by her own rules. Much to the amazement of the other moms, her nontraditional parenting style has yielded a son much more responsible than she. Rosemary's best friend, Jane, is a recently divorced working mother of a pre-teen, Annie, and a baby girl, Sophie, who is just trying to keep her career and home afloat. Having just returned to work after giving birth eight months ago, Jane struggles to find a happy balance lucky for her she has her "manny," Horatio (Horatio Sanz, "Saturday Night Live"), to help out. Jane's younger sister, Emily, sees herself as the model stay-at-home-super-mom for her two young children, Esther and Bill. Emily's home is a work of art, and her kids are polite and sweet -- everything has its place in her world. Married to Jason (RonReaco Lee), Emily takes parenting as seriously as any mother could.

"In The Motherhood," based on a popular web series of the same name, will feature stories inspired by real life experiences of viewers shared through our website www.inthemotherhood.com. From play dates and daycare to stretch marks and potty training, ABC wants to hear about your poignant, hilarious, emotional and even your most banal mommy moments.

"In the Motherhood" stars Cheryl Hines as Jane, Jessica St. Clair as Emily, Horatio Sanz as Horatio, RonReaco Lee as Jason and Megan Mullally as Rosemary.

Jennifer Konner & Alexandra Rushfield ("Undeclared"), Stuart Bloomberg and David Lang are the executive producers of "In the Motherhood," which is from ABC Studios.

"Samantha Who?" Thursdays at 8:30 p.m.

After a hit-and-run accident left Samantha Newly (Christina Applegate) in an eight-day coma, she awoke with retrograde amnesia, which allowed her to fully function in the world but left her with no personal memories of her past. As she began her quest to rediscover herself, she learned that she had been a horrible person. Vain, selfish and potentially surrounded by far more enemies than friends, she made a conscious decision to improve herself moving forward with the help of her eclectic friends and family.

"Samantha Who?" stars Christina Applegate as Samantha, Jennifer Esposito as Andrea, Kevin Dunn as Howard, Melissa McCarthy as Dena, Tim Russ as Frank with Barry Watson as Todd and Jean Smart as Regina.

"Samantha Who?" was created by Cecelia Ahern and Donald Todd. Todd, Peter Traugott and Matthew Carlson serve as executive producers. "Samantha Who?," which is filmed in Los Angeles and premiered on October 15, 2007, is from ABC Studios.

"Scrubs" Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.

"Scrubs" focuses on the unique point of view of Dr. John Dorian, or "J.D." (Zach Braff). After surviving his internship and residency at Sacred Heart Hospital, J.D. is now an attending physician with his own class of interns to guide and mentor. Even though J.D. has risen in the hospital ranks, he will continue to face many challenges in both his personal and professional life. Joining the rumpled J.D. at Sacred Heart Hospital are Dr. Chris Turk (Donald Faison, "Remember the Titans," "Felicity") -- J.D.'s college buddy who is part of the elite surgical group -- Turk's wife, the no-nonsense head nurse Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes, "Oz"), as well as the beautiful, but socially awkward Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke, "Roseanne"). Former Chief of Medicine Dr. Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins, "Courage Under Fire") now keeps a watchful eye on the hospital staff from the coffee shop. Meanwhile, the caring yet abrasive Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley, "Wall Street," "Platoon") is struggling with an identity crisis as he reevaluates his career, and Neil Flynn ("Magnolia"), the hospital janitor, portrays J.D.'s nemesis, who never seems to miss an opportunity to harass his target.

"Scrubs" stars Zach Braff as J.D., Sarah Chalke as Elliot Reid, Donald Faison as Chris Turk, John C. McGinley as Dr. Perry Cox, ,Judy Reyes as Carla Espinosa, Ken Jenkins as Dr. Bob Kelso and Neil Flynn as the Janitor.

"Scrubs" is produced by ABC Studios. Bill Lawrence ("Spin City") is the executive producer and creator.

"Better Off Ted" Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m.

"Better Off Ted" is a new office comedy about successful good guy Ted who runs Research and Development at the morally questionable Veridian Dynamics. No achievement is too far-fetched and no invention too unorthodox for Veridian. Need cow-less meat grown in a test tube? Done. Need pumpkins that also double as weapons of mass destruction? No problem. Ted's a single dad to a seven-year-old girl and he loves his job, but he's starting to take a closer look at the company's extremely dubious practices. Do you manufacture the best teeth whitener ever if it could also kill off all of the planet's fish? Probably not, but... Ted's also fighting an attraction to co-worker Linda, who enjoys small acts of rebellion against Veridian (she's secretly stealing and hoarding all the company's creamer packets). But he holds back about his true feelings. He's already had his self imposed "one office affair" with berboss Veronica. Incredibly beautiful (if seemingly devoid of conscience and emotion-free), Veronica lets nothing get in her way when it comes to serving Veridian's needs.

"Better Off Ted" stars Jay Harrington as Ted, Portia de Rossi as Veronica, Andrea Anders as Linda, Jonathan Slavin as Phil and Malcolm Barrett as Lem. Isabella Acres appears in the recurring role of Rose, Ted's daughter.

"Better Off Ted" is produced by 20th Century Fox Television. Victor Fresco ("My Name Is Earl," "Andy Richter Controls the Universe") is executive producer and creator of the series.

Posted: Thurs., Jan. 29, 2009, 7:13pm PT

Networks confirm upfront schedules
TV presentations begin late May in New York

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Sluggish economy be damned, the networks are still carrying on with their upfront presentations this May as planned.

CBS confirmed that it will make its upfront presentation on Wednesday, May 20, at Carnegie Hall, as expected. The Eye is, however, unlikely to hold a post-upfront reception at Tavern on the Green; it ended that tradition last year.

ABC, meanwhile, is still set for its upfront on May 19 and plans to keep it a low-key event once again. The Alphabet net also opted not to throw a party last year -- and has no plans to do so this year.

Fox is keeping its upfront but moving it to Monday, May 18, taking advantage of NBC's departure from the day. NBC traditionally went first during upfront week but last year scrapped its presentation in favor of a multimedia event.

The Peacock, which is meeting with advertisers this weekend in Orlando, Fla. (from which the Peacock is telecasting the Super Bowl), will once again get a jump on its competitors by holding an early "infront" series of meetings in April.

With Fox leaving its longtime Thursday berth, the CW (which last year held its upfront on Tuesday) will take over the day with a mid-morning presentation at the Madison Square Garden Theater.

CW's "Reaper" to return earlier than expected

By James Hibberd – Tue Feb 3, 1:48 am ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Supernatural drama "Reaper" will begin its second season on March 3, a couple of weeks sooner than originally announced.

In addition, the CW network is swapping "Reaper" with its previously announced lead-in, "90210."

The move puts "90210" at 8 p.m. Tuesdays followed by "Reaper," a shake-up that protects the teen soap from Fox's "American Idol," with which it has been wrestling, ratings-wise, in recent weeks. "Reaper" will still air its 13 episodes straight through, without repeats, as originally planned.

To make way for "Reaper," the CW also advanced its first-season finale date for "Privileged." The show will conclude March 24, having aired fewer repeats than originally planned. The network has not yet decided whether the drama will return next season.

The changes are part of a modest midseason schedule makeover at the network.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20090203cw01

[02.03.09 - 09:53 AM]

CHANGE HAS COME TO THE CW NETWORK
Released by The CW

[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

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CHANGE HAS COME TO THE CW NETWORK

"90210" Relocates To A New 9:00pm Timeslot on Tuesdays, The Second-Season Premiere Date for "Reaper" Moves to March 3, And The "Privileged" Season Finale Moves to February 24

February 3, 2009 (Burbank, CA) - The CW Network is making a few changes to its midseason schedule: Beginning Tuesday, March 3, freshman drama 90210 moves to a new 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET timeslot on Tuesday nights, with encore episodes through March 24. Eight consecutive original episodes will air from March 31 through the season finale on May 19.

The second-season premiere date of the devilish dramedy REAPER moves up to Tuesday, March 3 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET). All 13 original episodes will air consecutively through the season finale on May 26.

Finally, the season finale of the critically acclaimed freshman drama PRIVILEGED will air on Tuesday, February 24 (9:00-10:00p.m. ET). Encore episodes of PRIVILEGED will continue to air on Wednesdays (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) from January 28 through February 18. As previously announced, AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL will premiere on Wednesday, February 25 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET).

Following is The CW's revised midseason schedule:

Monday

8:00-9:00 p.m. "GOSSIP GIRL"

9:00-10:00 p.m. "ONE TREE HILL"

Tuesday

8:00-9:00 p.m. "REAPER" (Second-Season Premieres March 3)

9:00-10:00 p.m. "90210" (Encore Episodes begin March 3) (Original episodes begin March 31)

Wednesday

8:00-9:00 p.m. "PRIVILEGED" (Encore Episodes January 28-February 18)

8:00-9:00 p.m. "AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL" (Premieres February 25)

9:00-10:00 p.m. "90210" (Encore Episodes)

Thursday

8:00-9:00 p.m. "SMALLVILLE"

9:00-10:00 p.m. "SUPERNATURAL"

Friday

8:00-8:30 p.m. "EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS"

8:30-9:00 p.m. "THE GAME"

9:00-10:00 p.m. "13 FEAR IS REAL" (Season Finale February 20)

9:00-10:00 p.m. "AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL" (Encore Episodes begin February 27)

All Times ET

Posted: Wed., Feb. 4, 2009, 10:45am PTABC sets 'Suburbia' for Monday
Saget comedy to follow 'Dancing' on April 6

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

ABC has given a plum Monday night berth to “Surviving Suburbia,” the orphaned Bob Saget comedy that had originally been targeted for the CW’s Sunday night lineup.

The half-hour laffer will air on Mondays at 9:30 p.m., following “Dancing with the Stars,” starting April 6.

ABC had previously announced that “Samantha Who,” which earned a solid following in that spot last year and this fall, is moving to Thursdays.

“Suburbia” was originally set to air this March as part of Media Rights Capital’s Sunday night programming deal with the CW. But the show was left without a home after CW scrapped that relationship.

ABC, which has been on the hunt for family shows in the vein of “Roseanne” and “Home Improvement,” later entered talks with MRC about acquiring the show, which has already produced 13 episodes (Daily Variety, Jan. 29).

Kevin Abbott (“Reba”) exec produces the laffer, along with Acme Prods.’ Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis.

“Suburbia,” which also features Cynthia Stevenson and Dan Cortese, revolves around Steve and Anne Patterson and their two children, all of whose lives are upended when they get new next-door neighbors.

When the MRC/CW pact collapsed, “Suburbia” was in the middle of shooting episode six. MRC told Abbott, Hanel and Schultheis to keep shooting the rest of the show’s 13-episode order -- and then set about to find the laffer a new home.

“When the CW deal imploded, we thought surely the show was dead,” Abbott said. “There were a few sleepless nights. But then ABC picked it up and gave us this phenomenal time slot.”


Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999556.html