NBC is putting a pin in its plans to launch a Friday night comedy block. The peacock has decided not to move ahead with it previously announced plans to air Community and Whitney on Friday nights from October 19th. According to the network, the move was taken so as to concentrate promotional efforts on Monday – Wednesday, where NBC is having the most success with shows such as Revolution and Go On.
Fox has given back orders to modestly rated freshman comedy series The Mindy Project and Ben & Kate. The order for Ben and Kate is for an additional six episodes, while The Mindy Project receive a traditional back nine order.
EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4 has renewed its licensing deals with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution and Disney Media Distribution and acquired the exclusive first run UK broadcast rights to the second seasons of 2 Broke Girls and Revenge for its E4 channel. I’m being told that the second season of 2 Broke Girls is set to premiere later this year, while the second season of Revenge is currently scheduled for an early 2013 premiere. These two deals follow on from previous deals signed by Channel 4 in recent months to acquire the rights to NBC’s new comedy series The New Normal, the fourth season of The Good Wife, the second and (prospective) third seasons of Homeland and New Girl, the sixth season of The Big Bang Theory, the third season of The Big C, the fifth season of 90210, the eighth season of How I Met Your Mother, the second season of Don’t Trust The B—- In Apartment 23 and the fourth season of The Cleveland Show.
The second season of The Booth At The End will receive its UK premiere on FX UK on Monday November 12th at 11pm, it has been announced. The show’s five episode second season wll then air daily in the 11pm time-slot, wrapping its run on Friday November 16th.
The first season of BBC Two’s comedy series Hebburn will premiere on Thursday October 18th at 10pm, it has been announced.
EXCLUSIVE: British actor Stephen Wight (Threesome) has been cast in BBC Three’s upcoming comedy series Bluestone 42, TVWise has learned exclusively. Wight has been cast as Simon, a member of Bluestone 42, a British army bomb disposal detachment serving in Afghanistan. Wight will be joined on the series by Scottish actor Scott Hoatson (Case Histories), who was cast as Gav last month.
New spy drama series Hunted premiered last night on BBC One and pulled in 4.5 million viewers and a 19% share in its 9pm time-slot. The series won the 9pm slot despite being up against competition from ITV1’s Homefront (2.3 million total viewers/10% share) and the tenth season premiere of Red Dwarf on UKTV’s Dave channel, which drew in the second highest audience in the history of UKTV (1.5 million viewers/6% share).
Turner Broadcasting has renewed its UK produced series The Amazing World of Gumball for a third season of 40 episodes, which will air on Turner’s portfolio of Cartoon Network channels in 160 countries in 2013.