A slew of releases containing descriptions of upcoming episodes on ABC were released this morning, and one notes a schedule change for the episode of ABC’s Modern Family airing on 9/30/09, but doesn’t involve the excellent pilot which premieres this Wednesday at 9pm (via ABC press release):
BEING A GOOD DAD CAN TAKE VARIOUS FORMS,
ON ABC’S “MODERN FAMILY”
“The Bicycle Thief” – Phil is determined to help Luke prove to mom that he is responsible enough to have the brand new bike they just got him. However Phil ends up being the irresponsible one when a hot neighbor clouds his judgment. Meanwhile Mitchell and Cameron take Lily to their first Mommy & Me class, and Jay and Manny have some awkward father and son time, on “Modern Family,” WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (9:00-9:30 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Nore: This episode replaces “Coal Digger.”
“Modern Family” stars Ed O’Neill as Jay Pritchett, Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy, Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy, Sofía Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron, Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy, Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy, Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy and Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado.
Guest cast include Krista Allen as Desiree, Davis Mikaels as Anton, Alex Staggs as Scott, Julia Lehman as Danielle, Kofi Natei as Bike Salesman, Lindsey Stoddard as Helen and Shemari Berkley as kid.
“The Bicycle Thief” was written by Bill Wrubel and directed by Jason Winer.
“Modern Family” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s Selected HD Format, with 5.1 channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to airdate.
For more information on “Modern Family” please visit ABC.com.
The episode scheduled for October 7 titled “Changes” appears to always have been planed for October 7. Despite any irony in the title, there is no notice of a “schedule change” in the release for that episode.
I saw the. preview of modern family from EW.com and it was pretty good but not really my cup of tea
I guess the second episode didn’t hold up as well as the fourth, so they are switching them? Trying to keep the initial sampling? Hope it works.
The pilot airs September 23, not September 30.
ABC probably thought that the second episode would be a better episode to introduce people more to the show then the original scheduled one. Its not anything to worry about. Modern Family will be renewed for a full season.
James Bond, yes, I know that’s why I said THIS Wednesday with regard to the pilot and 9/30/09 with regard to the episode with a schedule change
ABC’s whole wednesday block will fail. ABC will keep the two best rated comedies for a full season (Modern Family & Cougar Town), and likely axe the two lowest performing shows (Hank & Eastwick). ABC will either keep or axe The Middle however. If two new comedies get a full season it will be the first time two new fall comedies have gotten a full season on ABC since 2004 (Rodney & Complete Savages) and if three get renewed that will be the most since 2003.
and they always have better off ted/scrubs to fill in for any underperforming comedy
although, how either one will do is another question
this is a very misleading headline… there’s no evidence of “tinkering” from this. episode switches are not uncommon, especially early in the first season of a show. sometimes it’s the show itself that makes the decision.
Spot on killer.
As the shows get “in-the-can” the ‘brass’ can and does shift episodes to fit a better oriented flow of character building.
Modern Family has huge potential here, and ABC is giddy from all of its focus groups to this point.
If the writers can keep up, this one could go deep into syndication age.
Why does everyone keep saying Hank will fail? It’s a traditional sitcom– which, believe it or not people want and trust more than single-camera right now. It’s got Kelsey Grammer– a true TV star who people love. It’s of the moment– a lot of people can relate to Hank’s plight. And it’s a simple show about family– which ALWAYS triumphs. Modern Family might be slick and might have had a great pilot, but it’s a bit to clever, and I guarantee that if you compare the 12th episode of it to the 12th episode of Hank, Hank will be more entertaining and have more heart– hands down. And I guarantee Hank will be the “surprise” hit of the season. Though it’ll be no surprise to me.
People love Bob Saget too – but his family-oriented traditional multi-cam sitcom fell flat on its face. And it had DWTS as its lead-in. Kelsey Grammer already had a sitcom fail on FOX; don’t count this chicken before it’s hatched.
“Why does everyone keep saying Hank will fail? It’s a traditional sitcom– which, believe it or not people want and trust more than single-camera right now. It’s got Kelsey Grammer– a true TV star who people love. It’s of the moment– a lot of people can relate to Hank’s plight. And it’s a simple show about family– which ALWAYS triumphs. Modern Family might be slick and might have had a great pilot, but it’s a bit to clever, and I guarantee that if you compare the 12th episode of it to the 12th episode of Hank, Hank will be more entertaining and have more heart– hands down. And I guarantee Hank will be the “surprise” hit of the season. Though it’ll be no surprise to me.”
Hank will do poorly because
a) It’s not on CBS.
b) It has no lead-in and there’s no established anchor for Wednesday night.
c) It sucks.
This whole Wednesday night will do poorly. I expect Cougar Town and Modern Family to be moderate successes – at least enough to keep them on – while Hank, The Middle, and Eastwick will all tank hard.
I assume that Lost is getting its Wednesday at 9 slot back, so I’d gues smidseason will look like:
8:00 – Modern Family
8:30 – Cougar Town
9:00 – Lost
10:00 – Flash Forward (depending on their confidence in the show, as this has always been a death slot for ABC).
I guess they could move Lost to 10:00, but still, with new seasons of Scrubs and Better Off Ted showing up midseason they’ve got two replacements right there for the weaker two sitcoms (of course I expect those two shows to continue to poorly, as they did last season).
The Watcher – I guarantee Hank will be the failure of the season. Multi camera comedies dont perform well on ABC anymore, single camera shows dont do well but better than multi cams. Its reviews are bad also. Modern Family and Cougar Town have good reviews and a good chance at a full season.
Mumbo – I agree 100%, It’s likely Cougar Town and Modern Family will move to 8 once Lost takes the 9pm slot. It could look like this though.
Wednesday
8:00 Flashforward
9:00 Lost
10:00 NEW DRAMA
Thursday
8:00 Modern Family
8:30 Cougar Town
9:00 Grey’s Anatomy
10:00 Private Practice
I figure ABC could put Flashforward at 8 Wednesdays instead of 10, if they want the series to do well. If they put Flashforward at 10, possibly V or another drama may air at 8. With Wednesday being Sci-fi for ABC they could fill 8:00 Thursdays with the comedy combo of Modern Family and Cougar Town airing into Grey’s Anatomy.
I don’t think Hank will flop that hard too. Back to You did decent on Fox two years ago so I guess that’s why ABC decided for the show to lead off the night relying mostly on Kelsey’s star power.
I saw the leaked pilot of Modern Family and it was really good. But it’s a bit polarizing though, hate it or love it.
Back to You did decent because FOX does well with multi cam shows as does CBS. ABC and NBC does well now with single cams. Back to You did OK, but Hank can’t lead off the night. When a lot of new comedies are airing on one night and all get the same ratings, the one thats usually axed first is the one with the worst reviews (Cavemen was axed while Carpoolers aired its episodes out). ABC has sooo much promotion for Modern Family and Cougar Town and barely any for Hank. So despite low ratings for all 4 series, I strongly believe Hank will be axed first and Modern Family & Cougar Town will be renewed. If ABC decides to order more The Middle, its possible the series would be paired with a possible new midseason comedy, as Scrubs and Better Off Ted are already planned for tuesdays.
forg – where did you see the leaked pilot??
^ I watched it on zshare but it was taken down already
ooo, well i guess I can wait 2 days then. The Cleveland Show pilot has been leaked since July.
I guess I can wait for 2 more days to see the new ABC’s comedy block. ABC is trying hard to keep the auds interest so they change the second episode.
EW in conjunction with ABC was letting people see Modern Family. I thought it was great though maybe a tad overhyped. Flash Forward, Community, and Dexter were also leaked.
I’m glad there will be a special DWTS elimination episode to lead in for Modern Family, I hope it would help the show premiere to good numbers
I previewed “Modern Family” too, and wasn’t too impressed. “I’m scared to discipline my kids!” Gee, that’s new.
Modern Family is not the brilliant savior of all half hour sitcom. It is way too slick and the only characters that seem really fresh are the gay guys. The lame dad who thinks he’s cool? How old is that chestnut? The Ed O’Neill character being with the TV Penelope Cruz is totally sitcomy and unbelievable. And the “mockumentary” device is not only old by now, it’s pointless in this particular series.
There wasn’t anything funny in the “Hank” pilot — embarrassing for Kelsey Grammar.
“The Middle” while resembling “Malcom in the Middle” is actually engaging,fresh, funny and real.
Hank is definitely a show that will catch on if the network doesn’t “overthink” like it usually does — it is one of the only shows for baby- boomers and has a great younger cast for families with loveable characters like Grady (David Kochner) & surprise “Woody Harrellson” hunk-value with Matthew Florida (Days of our Lives)!! Also this is Melissa McCarthy’s HOME – she needs to be on a sitcom!! Finally!!! I am going to keep on watching!! I think America will too!
Hank would have succeeded had it premiered around 2001 back when ABC had a good deal of Family sitcoms. Now its missplaced in a sea of single cams.
That’s why I like it as opposed to the single-cams which are all like: “Look – here it comes – I’m gonna be funny & witty now: watch this!!” Modern Family, Parks and Rec, The Office, all are getting tiresome – the only single cam worth watching is 30 Rock – thanks to the brilliance of Baldwin! And who are the Modern Family people being interviewed by – why is that interesting? Breaking the fourth wall was done well in Ferris Bueller, and in my college theatre program, but it is just the same old rehash over and over again.