Returning Series: The New Adventures of Old Christine
Eye spies anchor for 'divorce night' block
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Now comes the hard part.
Come fall, the Emmy-winning Julia Louis-Dreyfus-starring CBS sitcom will move to Wednesdays at 8 p.m., and anchor a new, hourlong comedy block.
"I think (CBS) would be really surprised if that show performed in that time period," says Brad Adgate, director of research for Horizon Media.
To series creator and executive producer Kari Lizer, that's not exactly an unheard-of theory.
"One executive said to me, 'You should be happy. The expectations on Wednesday are very low' -- which I'm choosing to take as a compliment," Lizer says.
On Mondays, where it aired during its first three seasons, "Old Christine" was a modest performer.
In the strike-shortened spring of 2008, it averaged a 6.4 rating/10 share -- higher than Monday-night running mates "The Big Bang Theory" (5.0/8) and "How I Met Your Mother" (4.9/8), but lower than its hit lead-in, "Two and a Half Men" (8.1/12).
On average last season, "Old Christine" lost nearly one-quarter of "Two and a Half Men's" 13.1 million viewer-strong audience -- respectable, given "Men's" status as TV's top-rated laffer.
On Wednesdays, "Old Christine" won't be accused of frittering away Charlie Sheen fans. Instead, it'll be the lead-in for the new fall comedy "Project Gary," starring Jay Mohr.
According to CBS senior exec VP Kelly Kahl, marrying the two shows made sense. Not so much because the sitcoms, both about single parents, could make for an "America's Night of Divorce," as has been joked, but because, Kahl says, "tonally we thought they went together."
The network also saw "Old Christine" as the most durably movable of its Monday parts. "Julia has a real strong following. It's an Emmy winner for us, so it has some prestige," Kahl says.
Still, Adgate, for one, thinks it came down to CBS being high on "Worst Week," the new comedy that will inherit the 9:30 p.m. Monday timeslot, and viewing "Old Christine" as acceptable cannon fodder for the likes of NBC's "Knight Rider" and Fox's "Bones" on Wednesdays.
"There are some time periods CBS has a tough time with -- one is Tuesdays at 10, I think the other is Wednesdays at 8. And I think they're just throwing something up against the wall to see what sticks," Adgate says.CBS hasn't enjoyed a long-running half-hour comedy success in the 8 p.m. Wednesday slot since "The Nanny."
Still, Lizer remains focused on the positive.
"(The move) might be a sign of our network's confidence in our show's ability to bring comedy back to Wednesdays," she says, "which I'm choosing to look at as an honor."
