Say goodbye to Hank, kids!
Hey, this comedy thing is working out for ABC! The network went all-in for laughs this season, booking four new comedies to anchor Wednesday night, and their gamble appears to have paid off. ABC has ordered full seasons of Modern Family, Cougar Town, and The Middle, guaranteeing they'll be around through early next year.
Modern Family has been labeled one of the year's best new shows, and its lead-out Cougar Town has benefited from Modern Family's buzz and audience. The Middle hasn't performed as well as hoped, but still managed a 2.1 rating and 6 share last episode (compared to Modern Family's 3.2/9), which I guess is good enough to get picked up these days. Ugh.
The decision means all three comedies will add nine episodes to their initial 13-episode order. In this day and age of network shows getting slaughtered, I believe congratulations are in order.
The odd man out here is Kelsey Grammer's Hank, which stinks and probably won't be around by December. But what will ABC run in it's place?
We're jazzed about the Modern Family news, lukewarm on The Middle, and meh on Cougar Town. What are your thoughts?
I only watched one Cougar Town and it was...okay. The Middle is really funny, I was surprised by how much I liked it. I hope it gathers some more viewers. Modern Family is awesome, a hilarious show.
i personally like the middle the most of all, after seen the pilot a got addicted to this show.it really makes me laughs(that`s the point of a comedy show).
Finally, some good comedies.
Modern Family has nothing to worry about. Any show with a gay family is safe. And save the protests, please, we all know it's true. Hank is embarrassing. Whoever said "you can take Kelsey out of Frasier but you can't take Frasier out of Kelsey" hit the nail on the head. The Middle is simply not funny, and Cougar Town is an insult. Courtenay Cox wasn't funny in Friends, and she's not funny in Cougar Town either. I realized after watching the premiere episode that not a single line made me smile... is there supposed to be humor in a show about droopy breasts and oral sex and the overuse of the word "coochie"...? Is there anyone here over 19? Please give us some adult comedy. Oh sorry, I forgot...it's ABC. Wrong demographic for grownups, wrong network for good comedy writing.moreless
i agree completely with the ABC decision to kil Hank. it's bad, very bad. Kelsey Grammer is a great actor but this comedy doesn't add up. i must be the only one o doesn't like Modern family but one in two being out it's not bad.
modern family it the one
cougar town and samantha who would be a perfect combinaton.its a shame abc cancelled it!
the middle is surprising good!
Garbage.. all of it.. you keep wasting time and money on this crap ABC and you'll find yourself in NBC's position..
Cougar Town is the only one watchable from these three show!
I didnt watch Modern Family at first because it is a "mockumentary" which usually raises a red flag(the Office, anyone?), but I checked it out last week and found it to be suprisingly funny. And the old unseen interviewer thing which is so annoying on The Office(not to mention the pretentious shaky camera thing) actually seems to work here. Its kind of dark, yet sweet and its nice to see Ed O'Neill finally getting a chance to show his true comic talent. As for the Middle, it is somewhat uneven, Patricia Heaton is fine as the mother, but the husband is really annoying and the daughter seems to be a live action version of Meg from Family Guy(believe me, that is not a compliment!) But the stuff at the car lot was funny. Brian Doyle Murray is always good and even Chris Kattan was good. Maybe they need to make it about her job. Thats what happened on Barney Miller. The family was boring so they put the focus on the job, so it can be done. As for Hank, from what I saw, its more of Kelsey Grammer playing a Frasier-like character. Maybe he needs to give the sitcom thing a rest and do a serious drama playing someone totally unlike Frasier.moreless
Modern Family is good but no Arrested Development as it is evident in this series that everyone loves one another. However the Middle looks like a Malcolm in the Middle ripoff.
I don't find Modern Family all that funny. I've seen two episodes thus far and not much of a chuckle here. The end of the first episode where all these people began getting shot by the father was hilarious, so was the lead up "when can we shoot our son" scene. Apart from that, nothing. The Middle I found funnier, as well as Cougar Town for Courtney Cox's manic mom militia of one act. Scrubs, where are you? Eaaaaaaaaaaaaagle.
i'm glad Cougar Town got picked up, i am really starting to like it. Which is odd seeming i'm an 18 yo guy...but still :D
Get rid of Hank and bring back more episodes of "BETTER OFF TED"
"Modern Family has been labeled one of the year's best new shows" --- by the same author as this article? Really, quoting yourself? Cougar Town benefits from Modern Family, even though it has higher ratings? Maybe MF is benefiting from CT? That said, it's nice to see quality shows get their seasons filled out.
Anyway i dont watch any of those tv shows...
XO XO
:):):):)
I really enjoyed The Middle and I hopethe ratings begin to go up. I feel exactlylike their family. Caught in the middle!!!At least I can get some happiness from watchingthe show.
Hank just feels like Kelsey Grammer trying to be Frasier Crane without the name. Then again, so did Back To You. He was brilliant as Frasier Crane on Frasier and Cheers, but it didn't work as a newscaster and isn't working as a ex corporate CEO. Maybe rather than trying to resurrect the character as "someone else", they should just figure out some way to bring back Frasier Crane in some new environment with a new surrounding cast???
Modern Family is just great... The MIddle is average, i'll give it more time to improve, but not sure about it... and I didn't watch Hank and Cougar Town
Modern Family is just great... The MIddle is average, i'll give it more time to improve, but not sure about it... and I didn't watch Hank and Cougar Town
I love Modern Family, so-so on The Middle (funnier than I thought it would be), and quickly warming up to Cougartown- so I'm happy. Hank is bad, but I love Kelsey Grammar so much I hope it gets better and gets picked up- or has the chance to get better b/c it's picked up.
ABC is a a-hole, they never give a chance to good comedies..
Modern Family really surprised me, Its a funny show. Not really digging The Middle but I am a huge Scrubs fan so I'm cheering for Neil Flynn, hope that show gets better. Same with Cougar Town... Bill Lawrence made it so i hope it stays afloat. CT had some funny parts but it is for sure lagging overall, Ill wait 2 more episodes before writing it off completely
I like all three and I so agree with Hank. It is complete garbage.
modern family is great i have not seen the other three shows yet
When is Nip/Tuck leaving?? It was soooooooooo over the top last season!
Cougar town stinks big time !!! Cancel it already!
I'm glad to see the network picking up <em>The Middle</em> even though the rattings are not stellar. It's a pretty funny show and should get better.
I'm surprised that the middle got picked up that show just is so dumb. Glad for Cougar town. Modern family is okay and Hank not big Kelsey Grammer fan./
Surprised the Middle and Cougar Town gets picked up, they're both severly lacking in humor.
Not surprised, Hank sucks.