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ABC's New Comedies Trying Not to Repeat Recent History

Abe Fried-Tanzer - October 2, 2009

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This Fall, ABC is going back to an all-comedy block on Wednesdays from 8-10PM with Hank, The Middle, Modern Family and Cougar Town. That's a bold move, given its recent history. Like all networks this decade, ABC has had a few successesful sitcoms, like According to Jim, My Wife and Kids and George Lopez, but also its fair share of nonstarters. Now that the last two Wednesday sitcoms premiered this week, we're taking a look back at a few of ABC's recent comedic fast failures -- none of these programs aired more than 13 episodes in the last three years. Hopefully ABC gives each of its new programs enough time to find an audience so they don't end up on this list, and that just might happen based on initial ratings.

   
   
   
   
   

The Best of the Bunch

 Crumbs (Jan-Feb, 2006) & Sons & Daughters (Mar-Apr 2006)

 

Number of Episodes: Crumbs (5); Sons & Daughters (10)


The Plot for Crumbs: Two estranged brothers reunite when their mother is released from an institution and their father leaves her for another woman.


The Plot for Sons & Daughters: An edgy comedy about an extended family made up of childish adults and overly mature children.


Why They Didn't Make It: Bad timing. Just as these programs premiered, viewers stopped watching Arrested Development, causing FOX to cancel it. People didn't want to get to know yet another dysfunctional family, and certainly not two more at the same time.

 

Knights of Prosperity (Jan-Aug 2007)

Number of Episodes: 11


The Plot: A band of misfit thieves plans to rob Mick Jagger and take home the score of a lifetime.


Why It Didn't Make It: A short-term premise didn't help, but you could imagine each season focusing on a different crime caper. People needed time to get used to the program's dumb characters, but ABC gave up on the show quickly.

 

The Middle of the Road

 In Case of Emergency (Jan-Apr 2007)

Number of Episodes: 12


The Plot: Four old friends from high school reconnect and discover their lives haven't gone as planned.


Why It Didn't Make It: It was funny, but it wasn't clear what the show what was actually about. Its confusing title didn't exactly inspire confidence.

 

 Carpoolers (Oct 2007 - Mar 2008)
 

Number of Episodes: 13


The Plot: Four white-collar workers bond as they drive to work together each day.


Why It Didn't Make It: Filming most of the show in a car didn't allow for much variety nor creativity.

 

 

The Bad and Ugly

 Cavemen (Oct-Nov 2007)

Number of Episodes: 6


The Plot: Three cavemen live among humans in the present day.


Why It Didn't Make It: What's funny for 30 seconds in a commercial isn't necessarily funny for 30 minutes.

Abe Fried-Tanzer is a student at New York University majoring in cinema studies and journalism. He makes it his priority each year to see every Oscar-nominated film and watch every new television pilot, and writes reviews and awards predictions on his personal movie and TV blogs.