ABC Hands Out Early Pickups for 2009/2010 Season

ABC doled out some good news to producers Thursday morning, giving early pickups to its top primetime performers.

Others weren’t so lucky — yet — although momentum is building for the returns of "Samantha Who?" and even "Scrubs," which was originally expected to close shop after the season.

There weren’t many surprises in the Alphabet’s renewals, which included key series "Desperate Housewives," "Grey’s Anatomy," "Brothers and Sisters," "Private Practice" and "Lost," which had already been given a go-ahead and will now complete its final season next year.

Biggest news was probably a firm go-ahead for another season of bubble show "Ugly Betty," but ABC execs had been hinting for months that the show wasn’t in danger.

On the unscripted side, staples "Dancing With the Stars," "The Bachelor," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "America’s Funniest Home Videos," "Wife Swap" and "Supernanny" are a lock for 2009-10.

Speculation continues to grow that the Alphabet may find a way to bring back "Scrubs" for a ninth season after all.

Although not on Thursday’s pick-up list, "Scrubs" has had enough of a creative streak this season — and ABC still lacks much in the way of half-hours — that a deal to bring the show back is now quite conceivable.

According to insiders, talks continue about ways to lower the show’s license fees and bring back most or all of the cast, including star Zach Braff (who would perhaps do at least a portion of the episodes).

The other real question mark on ABC’s sked remains "Samantha Who?"

Once a solid Monday night performer and shoo-in for renewal, "Samantha" struggled on Thursdays — so much so that the show was pulled two weeks earlier than expected, with seven episodes still in the can.

That means "Samantha" remains on the bubble, although insiders believe the show will ultimately get another season on air.

Also among half-hours, there remain fans inside ABC of "Better Off Ted," which has earned strong reviews even though its ratings haven’t reflected that.

"Surviving Suburbia" hasn’t made any friends with critics, but if producer MRC offers to bring back the show at a lower license fee, it might still find a way to return next season. Then there’s "In the Motherhood," which is now off the air — likely for good.

On the drama side, bubble shows include midseason hours "Castle," "The Unusuals" and "Cupid."

Alphabet was said to be hopeful about "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" the best shot of the three to return next season.

Back to the returning shows: Pickups make it season six for "Desperate Housewives," "Grey’s Anatomy" and "Lost." It’s the fourth season — bringing it close to off-net sale time — for "Brothers and Sisters" and "Ugly Betty." "Private Practice" is entering its third year.

Among the reality shows, "America’s Funniest Home Videos" will hit its 20th season this year; "The Bachelor" is back this fall with its 14th cycle; "Dancing With the Stars" will return with its ninth set of celebs; "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is back for a seventh season; and "Supernanny" and "Wife Swap" are both back for their sixth year.

The complete 2009/2010 fall season for all networks will be announced in mid-May.

ABC, NBC yank 'Samantha,' 'Motherhood,' 'Kings' from Schedule Sooner Than Expected

ABC and NBC got impatient Tuesday, yanking already tossed-aside series "Samantha Who," "In the Motherhood" and "Kings" sooner than expected.

Alphabet net had already shortened the runs of "Motherhood" and "Samantha" by a week, opting to bring "Ugly Betty" back to the Thursday at 8 p.m. slot on April 30.

But "Motherhood" and "Samantha" were still slated to air one last episode this week - until ABC execs decided that they'd be better off with a repeat of "Grey's Anatomy" leading into an original "Grey's" at 9 p.m. Having been in repeats for a few weeks, "Grey's" might have been hurt further by the weak numbers coming from "Motherhood" and "Samantha."

That means last week's "Motherhood" and "Samantha" segs wound up being the last of the season for both shows. "Motherhood" isn't expected to return, but "Samantha" still has a decent shot at returning for a third season.

Seven episodes remain of this year's "Samantha" order; those could either fold into next year's order, or run this summer - should the show not make it on the fall sked.

Over at NBC, Peacock has opted to push the remaining seven segs of "Kings" to the summer. The show will now air on Saturdays at 8 p.m. from June 13 to July 25.

In the meantime, NBC will now air repeats of "Law & Order: SVU" at 8 p.m., followed by repeats of "Southland" at 9 p.m., on Saturdays. "Law & Order" repeats will then run at 10 p.m. That setup will last through May 16; "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" repeats will then run at 8 p.m. on May 23 and 30.
The "SVU" - "Southland" pairing is seen as a trial run for next fall; NBC could very well run the two gritty dramas together on Wednesdays.

ABC Targets Thursday with Comedy Block

ABC has announced the creation of a Thursday night comedy block and has scheduled airtimes for two of its midseason comedies.

Starting March 26, the network will air single-mom comedy "In the Motherhood" on Thursdays at 8 p.m. and move the Christina Applegate-starring sitcom "Samantha Who?" from Mondays to Thursdays at 8:30 p.m.

The usual occupant of that hour, "Ugly Betty," will take a rare hiatus, then will return to the slot later in the season after "Motherhood" and "Samantha" finish their short-order runs.

ABC also has scheduled the office sitcom "Better Off Ted," which will air Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. starting March 18, paired in the hour with "Scrubs."

The Thursday move puts ABC's comedy block head-to-head with NBC's "My Name Is Earl" and "Kath & Kim," which have slipped in the ratings in recent months. ABC is not the first competitor to see an opportunity in the hour. Just last week Fox moved medical drama "Bones" into the same slot and won first place.

The move also represents one of the first hints that ABC might be getting frustrated with the performance of "Betty," which has served as a dependable yet relatively modest lead-in for top-rated "Grey's Anatomy."

The network has yet to schedule one midseason comedy, Mike Judge's animated comedy "The Goode Family." It's considered a challenge because ABC does not have other animated shows with which to pair it.