TV Bulletin Board (Mon., Oct. 21) -- renewal/eviction roundup
10/21/13 14:46
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The fall season’s cancellation corral has opened its gates to two new members.
ABC’s Lucky 7 and CBS’ We Are Men are being joined by NBC’s Ironside and Welcome to the Family.
Ironside, which aired Wednesdays at 9 p.m. (central) and starred Blair Underwood, will be replaced by an array of plug-ins before Chicago P.D., a spinoff of the Peacock’s Chicago Fire, premieres on Jan. 8th. Both shows are produced by Law & Order maestro Dick Wolf.
Welcome to the Family likewise is giving way to a mix of replacement parts, including back-to-back new episodes of Parks and Recreation on Thursday, Nov. 21st and 28th. NBC says the season premiere of Community, also with back-to-back episodes, will move into Thursday’s prime-time leadoff hour on Jan. 2nd.
On the plus side for new fall series, CBS has green-lit full seasons for three comedies -- The Crazy Ones, The Millers and Mom -- while Fox has given Brooklyn Nine-Nine a full 22-episode order. Also, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl will be part of a one-hour “comedy event” following the network’s Feb. 2nd telecast of Super Bowl XLVIII.
In the cable network realm, TNT has ordered a Season 4 of Franklin & Bash, which is scheduled to return next summer.
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ABC gets this season’s award for loopiest special with Lady Gaga & The Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular, scheduled to air on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 28th from 8:30 to 10 p.m. (central).
Gaga will be joined by special guests Elton John, RuPaul, Kristen Bell and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Says Kermit the Frog in a publicity release: “We have a long history with Ms. Gaga, so we jumped at the chance to do a holiday special with her. We won’t even mind if she mistakes some of the Muppets for pieces of her wardrobe -- again.”
The star of the show also will be promoting her new “ARTPOP” CD. And Disney-owned ABC will use the special for a “sneak peek” of the Disney movie Muppets Most Wanted, which will open on March 21st and includes a Gaga cameo.
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