Big Picture
Michele Williams: Paris Pretty Plus, Victoria Beckham struts and Courteney Cox steals a smooch. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (697)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (491)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (487)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (395)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (395)
- Morning Mail! Is Lea Michele Ready to Walk Like an Egyptian? (286)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (220)
Top 10 Stories
- American Idol: Did Tent Girl Get Better? Who Passed Out Onstage? And Who's Headed to Vegas?!
- Seal Takes Off His Wedding Ring
- Kim Kardashian, Movie Star? It's "Very Much Possible," Says Tyler Perry
- Charlie Sheen Gets Cease-and-Desist From Warner Bros.: Don't Use Our Men Photos!
- Grey's Anatomy: Ellen Pompeo Opens Up About Baby "Guilt," Her TV Marriage and Cristina's Crisis
- Whitney Houston Death Certificate Reveals Burial Location, Still No Cause of Death
- Did Lil Wayne Really Just Get Engaged?!
- Real Housewives' Michaele Salahi and Her New Man, Neal Schon, Sued by Her Ex for $50 Million
- Whitney Houston's Hotel Death Room Already Booked? Not So Fast...
- Chris Brown Plays Victim, Claims Media Out to Get Him
Fashion Police
Leighton's Valentine's Look Plus, Ashlee Simpson and Cate Blanchett. Rate the highs and lows!
MORE PHOTOS +
Our Partners
Patient Networks Stay with Newbies
When John Larroquette read the pilot for Happy Family, he said he thought the show just might enjoy a long run.
"Which is certainly the aim of American television," Larroquette told reporters Thursday via a telephone press conference.
That, it is. Shows making the grade this week included ABC's four new comedies, two of its new dramas, and NBC's Whoopi and Happy Family. All received orders for additional episodes to take them through the season.
The network moves were not unexpected. The six sitcoms, including ABC's Hope & Faith, I'm With Her, It's All Relative and Married to the Kellys, previously had been put on notice to keep cranking out scripts.
The other shows getting votes of confidence were the freshman dramas 10-8 and Threat Matrix, both on ABC.
Overall, ABC, CBS and NBC have demonstrated saint-like patience when it comes to their fall lineups. All but five of their combined 19 new shows have been picked up through the spring. Of that group, only one--CBS' The Brotherhood of Poland, NH--has gone, as the professionals say, bye-bye.
Fox, meanwhile, has canceled one (Luis) and renewed one (The O.C.). It's too soon to tell if the network has an itchy or relaxed trigger finger. Thanks to baseball, it wasn't until this week that Fox began rolling out the majority of its fall shows.
Despite the major networks' willingness to ride out their horses, not one of them is exactly saddling up Seabiscuit. Only one new show is a top 10 performer: Charlie Sheen's Two and a Half Men, currently tied for ninth. The CBS sitcom is averaging 15.9 million viewers in the golden Monday time slot following Everybody Loves Raymond.
There's only one other new show in the Top 20: CBS' Cold Case, the season's most-watched freshman drama, averaging 13.5 million viewers.
Proving that numbers don't always tell the whole story, Coupling (12.3 million) is NBC's most-watched new show, and third among all freshman series. Similarly, NBC's The Lyon's Den (10.1 million) is outdrawing network cousin Miss Match (6.6 million), but it's the latter that's more likely to last the season.
NBC has benched Coupling and Lyon's Den for the November sweeps.
Coupling's sin was to squander its Will & Grace lead-in. (Apparently what Charlie Sheen's doing isn't as easy as it looks.) After a promising debut, the Rob Lowe-led Lyon's Den, fell behind Sunday rival The Practice on ABC.
Among the other not-yet-renewed shows, Miss Match and ABC's Karen Sisco are still being pushed by their respective networks, but have yet to win season-long episode orders.
Arguably no new show has been pushed harder, or given more chances, than Whoopi. NBC has plugged in its repeats whenever possible, trying to hook viewers the way Whoopi Goldberg's character is hooked on cigarettes. After a falloff following a big premiere, the comedy has found its footing, averaging 10.3 million viewers. Indicative of the (weak) competition, that makes it the season's fourth-most-watched new comedy.
Among the netlets, the WB hasn't yet announced any season-long renewals. Perhaps one reason: Its top show is the underwhelming Tarzan, averaging 4.5 million viewers.
The UPN has issued season-long passes to two shows (Eve, All of Us) and banished one (The Mullets).
0 Comments
Now loading...