Thursday, April 23, 2009

ABC renews 12 series for next season

Over at the NJ.com blog, I have news of ABC renewing 12 of their series -- basically, everything but "Scrubs," "Samantha Who?" and the shows that debuted at mid-season -- for next year. Other renewals could come between now and the upfronts in late May, but networks sometimes like to give the good news ahead of time to the series whose fates were a fait accompli (or the ones like "Ugly Betty" and "Private Practice" that were borderline but could use some good publicity).

36 comments:

Sean said...

Too bad they already murdered the best shows they had last year (Eli Stone etc).

I would trade Nathan Fillion's smugness for Pie Hole banter in a heartbeat.

Lydia and Josh said...

I like Castle and hope it stays on. When will we know?

Jordan said...

I hope Better Off Ted sticks around. "With great junk comes great responsibility." This show's hilarious. Which probably means it's getting canceled.

Anonymous said...

Off Topic:

Did you see David Simon's interview on Bill Moyers Journal this week. 100% Wire talk, very interesting.
A little late, of course.

Puff

Devin McCullen said...

I hope Castle gets renewed, because, while it's not a good show now, the things that are wrong with it are easy to see. The cases generally aren't that interesting, the other cops are ciphers, and they're not even getting good HITG!s for the guest stars.

But the two leads are good, the stuff with Castle's daughter is usually entertaining - there's definite potential there. Get some new writers, add somebody interesting to the squadroom and it could be good in a hurry.

Carrie said...

I like Castle as well. It's a good hour to watch in the sleepy time right before bed, and Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic (sp?) have great chemistry. It's much more entertaining than The Unusuals, at least for me.

Ebeth said...

Just because it amuses me: does anyone else feel like Stana Katic was a last name divided into a first and last name? Like her birth name was Mavis Stanakatic and Mavis wasn't working for her. :)

Pamela Jaye said...

oh right. i forgot Castle (it's hard to type with a duck biting your fingers)

I've been on the phone for an hour (I have a friend in VA who was worried about Ugly Betty, so I called her - once I found where the message came from (a tweet from TFC over Digsby))

I've only seen three of Castle, but it's my answer to Bones (which was too gross even when I wasn't looking)

and WHY did ABC have no Graphic warning for Blowhole guy on Grey's, when Fox has one for Every Episode of House?

Jack said...

Ebeth,

Actually, no. Stana Katic is of Dalmatian heritage (Croatia). Stana is a common name there, Katic is a common surname. Stanakatic is absolutely nothing. LOL. xD

Brent McKee said...

Put me on the list of people who like "Castle" as well. It reminds me a lot of an old favourite of mine, "Remington Steele" although Nathan Fillion is no Pierce Brosnan (in any way). One thing though, Castle doesn't have to be in the thrid hour of primetime, and indeed that might hurt it as far as audience numbers goes. ABC might want to try it an hour earlier.

Anonymous said...

Put me down for Castle and Better Off Ted, though I too would rather resurrect the Pieman.
Lost and GA will keep me watching ABC for another year. NBC - not so much. (except Chuck)

Puff

Pamela Jaye said...

found on Variety.com


Alphabet was said to be hopeful with "Unusuals," giving it a Tuesday night showcase this week in addition to its Wednesday home - but that experiment fell short, likely hurting the show's chances. With "Cupid" not making much noise, that gives "Castle" now the best shot of the three to return next season.additionally, I'm an idiot - there's one other show on NBC i'm "watching" - I'm still DVRing Medium. I'm 2 or 3 seasons behind...

Toby O'B said...

I'm holding out hope for 'Castle', 'The Unusuals', and 'Better Off Ted'. Aside from 'Brothers & Sisters' and 'Lost', they're the only ABC shows I watch.

Henry said...

I have no faith they will keep Castle or The Unusuals, but holding out they can keep Better Off Ted and put it somewhere.

Tyroc said...

Not one sitcom? Yikes!

I'm with those rooting for Better Odd Ted. It's really firing on all cylinders now (even if I still don't find Andrea Anders very funny.)

Come on, ABC, give it a shot!

Sirfuller said...

Could some explain to me why people like "Dancing with the Stars"? So much fluff, so many commercials.

katie said...

Another vote for Castle

Mike F said...

as a whole, I really don't like ABC shows...any one of those 12 shows could never air again and I wouldn't be unhappy

meanwhile, most of the shows I am devoted to barely survive year-to-year...Friday Night Lights, BSG, In Treatment, Breaking Bad, etc etc...

shows how valuable my opinion is, I guess

FlopEJoe said...

Vote'n for "Better Off Ted" and possibly "The Unusuals." I'm not sure on Unusuals since I haven't seen the last two but the first couple got me wanting some more. Ted is good stuff. Not a laugh a minute but I do lol a lot.

Brandy said...

Castle is pretty light weight, but it's light weight fun. And It's hard not to like the leads.

Plus it has all sorts of room to improve.

Minkis said...

ABC: The Vagina Network.

Oh yeah, and we still have Lost.

Clevelle said...

I wasn't aware that PRIVATE PRACTICE was borderline. I keep reading about how it beats its competition in the demo and how it's the only show that's ever aired after GREY's that holds on to a decent amount of its lead-in.

Poonfield said...

Doesnt make it any good.

Clevelle said...

Um yeah, nobody said anything about quality.

Unknown said...

Put me down for hoping Castle gets renewed. It meets my quota of both detective shows and comedy. And romance although I hope they can keep it at this level for a while.

I knew Nathan Fillion was good but Stana Katic is right up there matching him lately. Susan Sullivan is a joy and the girl who plays the daughter is amazingly tolerable for a child actor.

I'll gladly trade the overdone soap of Private Practice for it.

Mooger said...

Save Better Off Ted!

Karen said...

Huh. I adore Fillion, I watch Castle every week, and for the sake of Fillion being employed, I hope it's renewed - but the show itself, if they didn't renew it, I wouldn't be heartbroken. The Fillion is the only thing about it I don't find predictable or dumbed down.

Still sad about Pushing Daisies, though. And keep pretending that the end of Life on Mars never happened.

Texany said...

I just saw my first Better Off Ted this week -- it was great.

Like the majority here, I also enjoy Castle.

Those are the only shows I watch on that network, which makes it ironic that those are the ones with the best chances of being canceled.

Alex D. said...

Any show that keeps Susan Sullivan AND Nathan Fillion employed, I'm in favor of keeping going. Plus, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would -- maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome or something, but they seem to be figuring out what they're doing as they go, and getting better at it.

Anonymous said...

If Samantha who had a regular schedule it would be a hit.

Paul said...

Samantha Who has the best cast on TV. It will probably get a 3rd season because ABC has nothing that's any better to put on the schedule.

Sean said...

ABC cancels anything that's any good. Samantha Who still has a good chance though. ABC has a bad track record with comedies. The reviews have been good and the show has a loyal following, so why would they cancel it? At least they got Cavemen right.

Bonnie said...

I couldn't believe Life on Mars was canceled. But the series finale was awful.

Matt said...

Samantha Who was and would continue to be a decent sized hit out of Dancing on Monday nights at 9:30. Still not sure why they pushed it to Thursdays.

And I'd be interested in seeing what Castle could do with Lost as its leadin.

ABC is actually in good shape for next season--Sunday and Thursday won't change a bit, and Dancing is a powerful weapon for them.

Anonymous said...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Castle and the Unusuals. Nathan fillion and the humor on castle is awesome and the unusuals just feels to me like a 'real' cop show. I love all the partnerships and crazy personalities.

Laura said...

I love Castle. I think the dialog is witty.