America’s ABC has announced renewals for several key series: Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Ugly Betty, Private Practice, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Wife Swap, Supernanny, Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor and America’s Funniest Home Videos.
They join Lost, which is set to return for its final season as part of a three-season pickup in 2007.
Housewives creator Marc Cherry told the media and ABC he wanted a similar four-season renewal for his show, but ABC has opted to add on only another year to his current agreement.
Absent from the list are all the network’s newest shows: The Unusuals, Better Off Ted, Castle and In the Motherhood as well as Scrubs. According to insiders, talks continue about ways to lower Scrubs’ 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 remains Samantha Who, once a solid performer but has since struggled, so much so that the show was pulled two weeks earlier than expected, with seven episodes still in the can. Insiders believe the show will ultimately get another season on air.
ABC still has plenty of time to add more shows to this list between now and their upfront presentation to advertisers next month.
The news is good for Ugly Betty given its future had been in some jeopardy and good for Channel Seven which airs most of these titles in Australia.
Source: Hollywood Reporter, Variety
Reese, ‘My Finale’ is now being touted as a season finale not series finale due to the possibility it may -stress may- continue without Braff.
Variety: 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.
umm scrubs has already said to be the last season
they only have 2 episodes left to air in the u.s, the last called “my finale”
kummon tv tonight get with the times lol
Foxtel has Better Off Ted.
Airs here Monday.
Boston Legal was axed. It is pretty obvious they wanted to continue making the series, when every episode in the final season makes a joke about being axed!
And episode 11 was about Betty White’s character wanting to sue the TV networks for not producing intelligent TV shows for the over-50s anymore.
Better Off Ted had better come back. It’s my favourite new show. Absolutely hilarious! Not often a laugh-out-loud comedy comes along like that.
Has this series been picked up in Australia by anyone yet?
Oh no really? I never heard that Samantha Who’s ratings dipped.
What a shame.
No surprise about Desperate Housewives.
I very much doubt Better off Ted will be renewed. I still haven’t seen it yet, but i’m looking forward to.
tomothy, Ugly Betty returns to ABC next week.
I wish they would just end Scrubs and not drag it out. I hope somehow Better Off Ted can get a small (miraculous) renewal.
boston legal wasn’t axed.
I hope Better Off Ted and the other new shows get a chance to come back.
David what is happening with Samantha Who? on ch7?
Castle’s renewal isn’t set in stone yet, its been losing viewers most weeks and doesn’t retain as much of the DWTS lead-in as ABC have been wishing for. But from what I’ve heard ABC execs like the show and out of all the new midseason ones, its the most likely one to bring back (apart from Surviving Suburbia…)
ABC is pretty much a middle-aged woman’s network. They had a whole heap of engaging, witty shows like Boston Legal and Pushing Daisies but now they’ve been axed.
great news for a lot of those shows, ABC has such a nice lineup of shows when there written together like that. it’s a shame ABC don’t give the housewives that 4 years.
Castle should be safe, i haven’t seen it but the ratings have been good, from what i hear it’s a lot like bones, so it should do well in Australia. in the motherhood and better off ted not so good. the unusuals, maybe.
Ugly Betty season 3 still has around 6 episodes remaining to air on ABC. I presume they have pushed them to summer programming. I think season four will turn into a mid-season replacement during 09/10 as the ratings havent been as good as they once were.