NBC makes 'Whoopi,' 'Family'
NBC extends 3
Oct 30, 2003
NBC has picked up its new Tuesday comedies "Whoopi" and "Happy Family" for a full season.
The network also has ordered five additional scripts of freshman dramedy "Miss Match."
"('Whoopi' and 'Happy Family') have fulfilled our goal of opening Tuesday night for us in a way that we haven't been able to do in years," NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker said. "In the face of extremely abnormal competition, these two shows have given us tremendous stability and important comedy building blocks."
After a strong premiere, "Whoopi" and "Happy Family" saw significant erosion. "Whoopi," at 8 p.m., faced the highly rated final three episodes of ABC's "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" that starred the late John Ritter as well as a stronger-than-usual baseball postseason.
Still, "Whoopi's" season-to-date average of 9.4 million viewers and a 3.3 rating/10 share among adults 18-49 is a 22% improvement on the network's subpar performance last season.
"Happy Family" (9.1 million viewers, 3.4/9) is up 10% in the demo.
The Carsey-Werner-Mandabach/NBC Studios comedy starring Whoopi Golberg and the NBC Studios sitcom toplined by John Larroquette and Christine Baranski both received additional exposure on Saturdays, while two episodes of "Whoopi" were also rerun in the plum Thursday 9:30 p.m. slot.
After a shaky start in the Friday 8 p.m. slot, Twentieth Century Fox Television/Imagine TV's "Miss Match" was moved to 9 p.m.
NBC already picked up its new Monday drama "Las Vegas." The heavily promoted new Thursday comedy entry "Coupling" has been put on hiatus, while there is no word yet on the fate of the freshman Sunday drama "The Lyon's Den," which has struggled in the 10 p.m. slot.
The network also has ordered five additional scripts of freshman dramedy "Miss Match."
"('Whoopi' and 'Happy Family') have fulfilled our goal of opening Tuesday night for us in a way that we haven't been able to do in years," NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker said. "In the face of extremely abnormal competition, these two shows have given us tremendous stability and important comedy building blocks."
After a strong premiere, "Whoopi" and "Happy Family" saw significant erosion. "Whoopi," at 8 p.m., faced the highly rated final three episodes of ABC's "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" that starred the late John Ritter as well as a stronger-than-usual baseball postseason.
Still, "Whoopi's" season-to-date average of 9.4 million viewers and a 3.3 rating/10 share among adults 18-49 is a 22% improvement on the network's subpar performance last season.
"Happy Family" (9.1 million viewers, 3.4/9) is up 10% in the demo.
The Carsey-Werner-Mandabach/NBC Studios comedy starring Whoopi Golberg and the NBC Studios sitcom toplined by John Larroquette and Christine Baranski both received additional exposure on Saturdays, while two episodes of "Whoopi" were also rerun in the plum Thursday 9:30 p.m. slot.
After a shaky start in the Friday 8 p.m. slot, Twentieth Century Fox Television/Imagine TV's "Miss Match" was moved to 9 p.m.
NBC already picked up its new Monday drama "Las Vegas." The heavily promoted new Thursday comedy entry "Coupling" has been put on hiatus, while there is no word yet on the fate of the freshman Sunday drama "The Lyon's Den," which has struggled in the 10 p.m. slot.
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