No real surprises here. The comedies were actually reported last week, but ABC does a formal announcement on The Middle, Modern Family and Cougar Town, and includes FlashForward in the mix:
via ABC:
ABC ANNOUNCES FULL SEASON PICK-UPS OF NEW SERIES
“COUGAR TOWN,” “FLASHFORWARD,” “THE MIDDLE” AND “MODERN FAMILY”
The ABC Television Network announced full season pick-up orders for new drama “FlashForward” and comedies “Cougar Town,” “The Middle” and “Modern Family.”
“Cougar Town” (Wednesdays from 9:30-10:00 p.m., ET)
Courteney Cox stars as Jules, a recently divorced single mother exploring the honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture. While most women in their twenties go through life experiencing the challenges and often humorous pitfalls of meeting men, Jules took on the responsibilities of marriage and raising a son. Now in her forties, she embarks on a journey to self-discovery whilst surrounded by fellow divorcees and singletons eager to live or re-live a time gone by.
“Cougar Town” stars Courteney Cox as Jules, Christa Miller as Ellie, Busy Philipps as Laurie, Dan Byrd as Travis, Josh Hopkins as Grayson, Ian Gomez as Andy and Brian Van Holt as Bobby.
Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs,” “Spin City”) serves as executive producer/writer/director, Kevin Biegel (“Scrubs”) as writer/co-executive producer, and Courteney Cox and David Arquette are executive producers. The pilot for “Cougar Town was directed by Bill Lawrence and the series is produced by ABC Studios.
Exhibiting impressive compatibility, ABC’s “Cougar Town” holds 100% retention of its “Modern Family” lead-in in Adults 18-49. “Cougar Town” ranks a strong No. 2 in its half-hour in Adults 18-49, just two-tenths of a ratings point behind and tied in audience share with first-place CBS’s veteran drama, “Criminal Minds.” The new show leads its time period among Men 18-34. The freshman comedy is also improving the time period for ABC year to year, boosting the Net’s results over the comparable year-ago nights in Total Viewers (+19%) and Adults 18-49 (+23%).
“FlashForward” (Thursdays from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET)
What would you do if you were given a glimpse of the future? Would you accept what you saw and live life to its fullest, or would you do everything in your power to change your destiny? When the world’s population is given a glimpse of their future, it forces everyone to come to grips with whether their destinies can be fulfilled or avoided, in ABC’s drama, “FlashForward.”
Knowing their fate will alter each person’s life in one way or another, and poses the questions: Can destiny be changed? And by changing just one destiny, what effect would that have on those of others?
“FlashForward” stars Joseph Fiennes as Mark Benford, John Cho as Demetri Noh, Jack Davenport as Lloyd Simcoe, Zachary Knighton as Bryce Varley, Peyton List as Nicole Kirby, Dominic Monaghan as Simon, Brían F. O’Byrne as Aaron Stark, Courtney B. Vance as Stanford Wedeck, Sonya Walger as Olivia Benford and Christine Woods as Janis Hawk.
The series executive producers are David S. Goyer (co-writer of “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”), Brannon Braga (“24,” “Star Trek”), Marc Guggenheim (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Eli Stone”) and Jessika Borsiczky (“Revelations”). The pilot for “FlashForward” was directed by David Goyer. The series, which premiered on September 24, 2009, is from ABC Studios.
From 8:00-9:00 p.m. on Thursday, ABC’s “FlashForward” ranks No. 1 in Adults 18-49, leading CBS’ time-period veteran “Survivor: Samoa.” On its series debut telecast, the new ABC drama became the first regular program since “Friends” in 2004 to beat “Survivor” in the key young adult sales demo. The ABC freshman is an exceptionally strong draw among Adults 18-34, dominating its time period and qualifying as TV’s No. 1 new drama series this season. The new series is greatly improving its time period year to year for ABC, boosting the hour by 1.8 million viewers and by 32% in Adults 18-49 over the same nights last year. Based on DVR playback during season-premiere week, “FlashForward” finished as TV’s biggest freshman gainer, as its numbers jumped by 2.0 million viewers (12.5 million to 14.5 million) and 8-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (4.1 rating to 4.9 rating) from the initially reported next-day numbers to DVR finals.
“The Middle” (Wednesdays from 8:30-9:00 p.m., ET)
Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton stars in this warm and witty single-camera comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations.
Frankie Heck is a superhero. Well, no, not an actual superhero — not unless you count getting her kids out the door for school every morning as a superfeat. Middle-aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country, this harried wife and working mother of three uses her wry wit and sense of humor to try to get her family through each day intact. Frankie has a job selling cars at the town’s only surviving car dealer; her husband, Mike, is a manager at the local quarry.
“The Middle” stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob.
“The Middle” is created and executive-produced by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, and is a production of Warner Bros. Television.
Building on its lead-in at 8:30 p.m. among viewers (+4%) and young adults (+26%), ABC’s “The Middle” qualifies as the most-watched TV show in its time period and a ranks a strong No. 2 in the half-hour to Fox’s time-period regular “So You Think You Can Dance” among Adults 18-49. The new ABC comedy also holds the No. 1 position in its half-hour with Adults 25-54 and Men 18-49. On average, “The Middle” is boosting ABC’s numbers in half-hour year-to-year by 2.1 million viewers and by 20% in Adults 18-49, over the same nights last season.
“Modern Family” (Wednesdays from 9:00-9:30 p.m., ET)
Today’s American families come in all shapes and sizes. The cookie cutter mold of man + wife + 2.5 kids is a thing of the past, as it becomes quickly apparent in the bird’s eye view of ABC’s new half-hour comedy, “Modern Family,” which takes an honest and often hilarious look at the composition and complexity of family life in 2009.
“Modern Family” stars Ed O’Neill as Jay, Julie Bowen as Claire, Ty Burrell as Phil, Sofía Vergara as Gloria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron, Sarah Hyland as Haley, Nolan Gould as Luke, Ariel Winter as Alex and Rico Rodriguez as Manny.
The series is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television in association with Levitan Lloyd Productions. Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd are executive producers/creators. The pilot was directed by Jason Winer, who also serves as co-executive producer on the series.
Standing as TV’s most-watched new comedy this season, ABC’s “Modern Family” ranks No. 1 in its half-hour among Adults 18-49. “Modern Family” is also No. 1 in its slot among Women 18-49 and Men 18-34. On average, the freshman comedy is improving the time period year to year for ABC, growing its half-hour over the same nights last year by 3.0 million viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49.
Great news for FlashForward! Now I hope it picks up speed and the audience steadies here soon. I see the premiere numbers have gone up with DVR data so are those the official numbers now? The 14.5M with 4.9 demo?
thirdsaint, Nielsen will use those numbers as the “most current” in anything they put out about the season, most likely, since that’s what they tend to do. But they are pretty meaningless on a renewal basis. Just stick to Live+SD. For the premiere it was 4.0 with 12.467 mil viewers.
Yeah, given the rest of ABC’s scheduling woes, FF getting a backorder is not a surprise.
That is not to say that it isn’t a mistake, however. I am by no means sure their ratings have leveled off, nor that they will be around next season.
Still, it is one situation to watch.
Oh ok, thanks. I take it that there’s no exact science to what a ‘full season pickup’ means in terms of amount of episodes right? Fringe had 20 episodes in all last year and other shows seem to finish between that and 24. Is that something that we don’t find out until the season is nearly over?
We all knew that it would get a full season. I hope the show picks up steam and can get a second season.
Not a surprise, I knew last week, FlashForward would get a full year. Out of the four new series to get a full year, The Middle was the only one I wasnt sure about. Now ABC just needs to give Castle a full year and basically everything else is done. Hank, Eastwick, and The Forgotten will be gone by November.
Now CW’s The Vampire Diaries & Melrose Place as well as NBC’s Community seem to be the only new series left expected to get a full season. Sophomore series Castle and Lie to Me should get a full year soon, while I think Fringe already has a full year.
thirdsaint, full season typically means 22. There are plenty of exceptions, but the current rule (and it has been different over the years) is 22 episodes is a full season. Usually new series (or mediocre returning series) get a 13 episode initial order, and then the “back-9″ pick-up, making it 22.
I love John Cho and I’d let Joseph Fiennes do all kinds of naughty things to me and yet I cannot keep up the brave face for all 40 minutes of an episode at all. I am happy it enjoys some measure of success though, FWIW.
Thanks again Julia. So I guess it’s just up to the network then and how the schedule plays out. I’ve seen people say they like shorter seasons like the ones on HBO and the like but I honestly like longer seasons. The more the better because if a show is good enough for me to watch it (I’m quite picky) then I already know I’ll enjoy every episode with the occasional clunker.
Dan, Community is expected to get a full season? I’d love it if that were true but I imagine NBC will wait and see how this new timeslot plays out. I expect it’ll go up this week but who knows. All I know is I”m willing to give it a chance to get some legs under it as the comedies I love took around 12-13 episodes before they started finding their stride.
Yeah! This is a great show! So happy it got picked-up! Great acting and I am enjoying the story!
Now if Chuck will only start at the end of this month; my TV will be so happy!
thirdsaint – Community will get a full season. Ratings are crap, but better than Parks and Recreation. Also reviews are good so despite lower numbers the series is a sure thing for a full year. It has a better chance than Mercy or Trauma.
Julia – Yeah, some shows get their full season episode order cut (Fringe, Knight Rider, Kath & Kim) some shows get shorter “full” seasons (Eleventh Hour 18, Gar Unmarried 20, Worst Week 16, Samantha Who 20). Flashforward’s order is likely just for 22 but it could get extended to 23 or 24 if ratings get better.
The writers have been good about re-referencing relevant plot points so viewers could catch up on this serialized drama. However, as good as it is, this show is not catching on.
Personally, I’m intriqued by last weeks’ cliffhanger with the dead crows in 1991. But that appeal looks to be limited. Not sure this show will go beyond one season.
YAAAAAY!!!
One less show I have to worry about (this season anyways…)
As so many have said, now that FF is guaranteed until next May, then maybe this could convince people to invest their time in it.
Looks like I’d better catch up on episodes 2 and 3 then….
Alright Dan, thanks for the thoughts on that. It’s reassuring to me at least since Community is the only other new show I decided to check out and stick with for awhile. I guess it’d really have to tank in the coming weeks to fall out of favor.
CK, I hate the Lost comparison myself but since it is the other serialized show that is most similar I have to do it. Lost took awhile to pick up speed and really get the ball rolling and I expect FF to be like that. FlashForward has actually started out of the gates with a lot more questions and intrigue than Lost did so it just needs to keep the pace interesting enough to keep people from getting bored. I’ve loved all the cliffhangers so far and anxiously await Dominic’s creepy character to come into play.
watching Episode 3 right now.Its great stuff and it may be leading for something great for ABC.well done ABC.
Jennifer Godwin from E Online reports its been picked up for a 24 episode season.
“• FlashForward: ABC has ordered 12 more episodes for freshman sci-fi series FlashForward, meaning that the first season is 24 full hours of sci-fi-y goodness!”
I still can’t really decide if I want to stick watching FlashForward or not. There is something about it that just doesn’t sit right. Not sure what it is. Maybe it’s that it feels a bit too much like a cop show most of the time. Nothing fantastical or shocking has really happened since the pilot.
tim any idea how many episodes for the comedies?
Thanks for the info Tim, though 13+12 = 25 so I guess it didn’t have a 13 episode original order? Haha.
I’m concerned about the direction what are they going to do after ffday
There’s a book out and apparently there was a lot to it so they have material to go beyound a year without it being a repeat next season. I trust the writers know what they are doing and since none of us know what’s going to happen next it’s a little too early to be worried after the 1st season if there is another.
Tar – I think each comedy will get 22 episodes a piece.
Can anyone who’s seen the show tell me if it would make sense to me at this point if I haven’t seen any episodes? I could kick myself that I missed the first episode, and I’ve been afraid to dive in ever since. I caught Lost from the first episode, but it wouldn’t have been hard to pick up if the first you saw was Episode 4.
BrianM, they are all available on Hulu. I would suggest watching them from the beginning, since they are easily available. You could probably figure it out, but it’ll all make more sense if you’ve seen them.
flash forward was sold to many countries recently, they be dumb if they didn’t give a full season
Thank you, Julia!
Bill or Robert: Do you think Eastwick is going to get a full season? I love the show…C’mon, ABC!
Andrew, there’s no way Eastwick gets a full season. Sorry.
Whats the difference between full season pick ups and back9?
tar- I haven’t seen any reports on how many episodes the comedies will have so I would assume its probably the standard 22, but i’m not sure.
Thirdsaint- I noticed the same thing, but posted it how she said it anyways lol
hey this means that on april 29 2010 the day will be the season finale after all because in the show the flash forward is supposed to happen on that day?
Justin, different ways to say the same thing. Though in the case of FlashForward, it received a 24 episode full season order, so it got a back 12.
Justin again, April 29, 2010 is the first day of sweeps. It won’t be the season finale, but it’ll definitely be a big episode.
dont u mean a 25 episode full season order because it was intially 13 episodes + 12 new episodes so 25 lol and thanks for helping. Im really happy for flash forward, NCIS: LA, and Vampire Diaries got a full season i watch all 3 now all im hoping for is a full season for castle. Go Castle!
or do u mean a 22 episode season?
Justin, it had a 12 episode order to begin with, so it got an additional 12 episode order for 24.
Hmm. I’m seeing it reported as 25 episodes one place. But I trust the 24 episode source more, though not by much.
I’m surprised with the 12 episode pick up. I guess the writers presented an arc to the ABC execs that will really require more episode. So I really hope the rating for the show will go up in the succeding weeks (or at least stabilize in the 3.0 demo)
Julia
I think you’re wrong about Eastwick, it’s going to be a slow grow.
Craig, you’re joking, right?
Nope
I know it’s numbers are awful, but I think it’ll get a pick up.
There’s a story arc developing and it’s a fun show to watch.
Unfortunately Flash Forward is an on going series, not a limited set of episodes. As interesting as it seems so far, it will end up like Lost – every episode will suggest clues leading to a resolution that simply doesn’t exist. The writers will make it up as they go along until everyone gets bored and the show is axed, leaving a season on a cliffhanger.
David, the writers have a bible for the show that maps out the entire series, including an ending.
Delighted with the news! Here’s an interview with FlashForward author Robert J. Sawyer http://paullev.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=527907
I think they are wrong about the order for The Middle, that show is going down hill
I’m still not sure if FlashForward could get a 2nd season.
Julia,
Why do you think Eastwick will be canned since it’s demo rating hasn’t been below 2.0 yet?
I think it’s done well enough to get a full season.
FlashForward isn’t going to last long anyway with the stars they’re banking. After awhile, the show is going to become too financially cumbersome and serialized that if you miss one episode, there’s no point in trying to catch up or get into it. It’s Jericho 2.0.
At least with Eastwick, you know what you’re getting every week.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure the creators for FlashForward said they have 3 seasons mapped out at least. I’m sure if the show does make it that far they’ll do the same thing as Lost is doing and plan an exit after ‘X’ amount of years. It’s really the smartest thing to do for a serialized show like that. As it’s been said countless times before, Heroes should take note.
andrew writes, “Why do you think Eastwick will be canned since it’s demo rating hasn’t been below 2.0 yet?”
Uh, yeah, it has.
“I think it’s done well enough to get a full season.”
Uh, no, it hasn’t.
“Flash Forward” isn’t a bad show. I might be interested in seeing where it’s going. Or I might not. Only “time” will tell!
“Uh, yeah, it has.”
My bad. I got the HH rating crossed with the demos, you’re right.
I still don’t see how getting 5-6 million+ viewers every week is bad, considering the fact that they have a relatively unknown cast. It can’t cost that much to produce.
I didn’t like the first episode, but as a fan of the original movie, I’ve grown to like it. It’d be nice if they kept it.
Viewers jumped ship midway through the premiere, which is the last thing networks want to see. And it’s plummeted every week since then. If it debuted with 5-6 mil viewers and was steady (and if they didn’t need to decide on a place to air “Lost’s” final season in January), there would at least be the sense that they could grow it. Reportedly a very expensive show, as well (special effects probably). I thought it had some promise — kind of like “Desperate Housewives” meets “Charmed” — but I wouldn’t get attached.
Julia, Robert, Bill
I am just saying now that im gonna go by the name Smallville now when i talk ok since u know me pretty good now.
I usually only comment on stuff about Smallville, Supernatural, Castle, Legend of the Seeker, Flash Forward, Vampire Diaries, Desperate Housewives, NCIS:LA because those are my favorite shows.
Hello im the same person as Justin