Sunday 10 January 2010

Is ABC's Wednesday Night Complete?

Ugly Betty had it first airing at 10pm on Wednesday but is it a good fit with ABC's comedy block.

It's now been established that ABC has hit the right note with new comedies Modern Family and Cougar Town. With these breakout shows and The Middle, Wednesday has become a success for the network. There have been obvious hiccups, with the now cancelled Hank and Eastwick. Repeats of Modern Family have since taken Hank's spot but this week a new episode of The Middle was aired.

Eastwick's lost has been Ugly Betty gain. As soon as news broke of Eastwick's cancellation, talk was being made about Ugly Betty receiving that slot. The show had been struggling on Friday and fans thought a move could save the show from possible cancellation.

This meant Lost had to move to Tuesdays; I guess the network didn't want to change a winning team. With Lost airing its final season, it could be seen as ABC testing what could possibly be the line-up come September. It's a safe bet that Modern Family and Cougar Town will be renewed. The Middle has a good chance and this week's ratings will help their case, achieving 8.2 million, with a little help from an appearance from Brooke Shields.

The 8pm slot is still up for grabs and Better Off Ted fans would like the show to be moved there. Unfortunately with low ratings and the network burning off double episodes to finish its order in January, its unlikely to return for a third season. Scrubs will get the 8pm slot on January 27th and February 3rd, to finish off its current season. Ratings for them has also been disappointing. The show has been less impressive and should have ended last season.

Ugly Betty's Wednesday debut only managed 5.1m, less then the average of the cancelled Eastwick. Some of the episodes have been better than last season and Justin's growth has been interesting and touching to watch. Part of the problem is that once people stop watching, it's hard to get them back. When people are raving about other shows, then you end up checking those out instead; too many people have given up on this show. If ratings don't improve for the next few episodes, then I think I'll be proved right in my prediction of this show being cancelled.

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