ABC sets 'Scrubs,' 'Better Off Ted' returns

Low-rated, audience-adored comedies will return to ABC in December

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 5:00 PM

Daniel Fienberg

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ABC sets 'Scrubs,' 'Better Off Ted' returns

Jonathan Slavin of 'Better Off Ted'

Credit: ABC

ABC, already having a comedically successful fall, will welcome "Better Off Ted" and "Scrubs" back to the schedule in December.

Both shows drew perilously low ratings last spring and continued ABC's long-term difficulties launching new comedies. This fall has been a different story, with "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town" drawing doing strong numbers, particularly in the key demo, and even "The Middle" attracting the kind of viewership "Scrubs" and "Better Off Ted" would have killed for.

Network sources confirm that "Scrubs" will return with a pair of episodes airing at 9 and 9:30 p. m. on Tuesday, December 1.

That will give viewers a little extra time to get to know the new "Scrubs," featuring a new medical school setting and a mixture of new and returning stars including John C. McGinley, Donald Faiso, Eliza Coupe, Michael Mosley, Kerry Bishe and Dave Franco. While original star Zach Braff is expected back for multiple episodes, it's unclear if he'll be in either of the season-starters.

Casting overhaul aside, this will be the ninth season for "Scrubs" and the second since it moved over to ABC.

"Better Off Ted" will kick off its second season the following week, Dec. 8, in the 9:30 p.m. slot. The critically adored comedy launched last fall and aired seven oddly staggered episodes before going off the air. After the show got an unexpected renewal, ABC burnt off the final six episodes of the first season in a staggered summer run, with an hour-long finale in August.

The comedy continues to star Jay Harrington, Portia de Rossi, Andrea Anders, Jonathan Slavin, Malcolm Barrett and Isabella Acres.

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Rena Moretti How was ABC "comedically successful" this Fall? None of their new shows managed to hit the (low) bar of 10 million viewers.

ABC has been very successful getting the press to say it was successful, but in reality it was anything but.

I like Better Off Ted and I hope it gains speed this year.
November 24, 2009 at 2:29PM EST Reply to Comment
- dan Rena - No network with the possible exception of CBS views "total viewership" as anything meaningful. What "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town" have done is raise the demographic bar for ABC, while also significantly outperforming the numbers ABC has gotten for almost all of its non-"Dancing"-inflated comedies in recent years. You want to know what constitutes success? Improvement. And ABC's comedies this fall have all shown demographic ratings improvement for the network. Thus? Successful. - Daniel
  November 24, 2009 at 4:20PM EST