ABC's cleaning house and getting themselves organized for the Fall '09 season. For the most part they seem to be going with a "better safe than sorry" strategy -- not a lot of surprises in the group. The question is, will any of this seasons fledgling shows (Castle, The Unusuals, Better Off Ted) make the cut?
Here's the breakdown of renewed shows thus far...
Dancing with the Stars -- Before we actually watched an episode (i.e. the first seven seasons), we never understood the appeal of this show. But, it has to be said, after watching half a dozen episodes this season, we kind of understand. However, please don't ask us to explain it, because we can't.
The Bachelor -- which we are never watching again.
Grey's Anatomy -- At this point Grey's Anatomy is sort of like that relative that you used to be close to when you were kids, and even though you now find you have nothing in common anymore, you still stay in touch.
Desperate Housewives -- Truthfully, we gave up on ever watching Desperate Housewives back in the first season when we tried to watch an episode and had to force ourselves to stay interested in the characters. No show should be that much work. ABC sort of agrees with us. DH creator Marc Cherry wanted a Lost-esque four season contract, but ABC stuck with a "let's just see how it goes" response.
Brothers
& Sisters -- You'll never hear us complaining about more time with the Walkers.
Ugly Betty -- We feel like Ugly Betty is like ABC's high school girlfriend that they married right out of college and after a few years decided they wanted someone new and exciting like In The Motherhood, only to realize (after sleeping with someone else lost it's novelty), that Ugly Betty was what they wanted all along.
Private
Practice -- Even though we don't exactly love Private Practice, we're happy to see it renewed, mostly because we can't bear the thought of another Taye Diggs show getting cancelled.
Lost -- Not exactly a renewal since the Islanders are still fulfulling their previous contract from 2007.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -- We've been a bit disenchanted with this show for a while -- ever since we started suspecting that the goal of the makeovers might be more about wowing the viewing audience with a gargantuan new house, rather than building one that's suited to the family in question.
Supernanny --
We try to stay away from shows that make us feel this stressed out about having kids.
Wife Swap -- Ditto.
America's Funniest Home
Videos -- How in God's name is this show still on the air? Who watches it? If you're out there, raise your hand so we can see you.
As for the maybes...
Absent from the list: ABC's entire freshman class, including
struggling midseason efforts such as "The Unusuals," "Better Off
Ted," "Castle" and "In the Motherhood" as well as import
"Scrubs."
Of the new shows, only "Castle" has shown enough spark for likely
consideration. And ABC still has plenty of time to add more shows
to this list between now and their upfront presentation to
advertisers next month. (The Hollywood Reporter)
We're sort of depressed by this news since we thought Castle was largely disappointing, whereas we could actually see ourselves getting into The Unusuals. Hmmmm. Might be time to start another feverish letter-writing campaign to ABC network executives.
Previously:
Ugly Betty Webisodes To Keep Us Warm During The Cold Lonely Hiatus
ABC President Defends Grey's Anatomy Ghost Sex
ABC's New Sitcom "In The Motherhood" Sounds Like a Sexual Euphemism
