The TV Watercooler

Upfronts: Comedies dominate Citytv’s fall schedule

Citytv has loaded up on American comedies and even ordered two new original shows.

Citytv has loaded up on American comedies and even ordered two new original shows. Here are some of the highlights:

– Looks like we’ll be getting returning favourites Happy Endings and Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 a bit earlier. While ABC will air both shows on Tuesdays, CItytv will air Happy Endings on Sundays and Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 on Monday.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! will begin airing on CItytv at midnight. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson also moves to Rogers and will begin airing on OMNI at 12:35 a.m. (Ferguson moves from Global).

Katie, the ABC daytime talker most feared by soap fans will air on Citytv this fall, but at 4 p.m. ET in the Toronto market, which should keep General Hospital at 3 p.m.

– Veteran television personality, Tyler Harcott will host The Bachelor Canada. As previously announced, the bachelor will be CFL free agent Brad Smith.

The Carrie Diaries, Hannibal, 1600 Penn and How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) are all coming to Citytv this midseason.

– Citytv has commissioned two new comedies, Package Deal and Seed. Package Deal comes from Andrew Orenstein (Malcolm int he Middle, 3rd Rock from the Sun) and is produced by Thunderbird. The 13-episode half-hour series focuses on three close brothers and the woman who comes between them. Seed comes from Joseph Raso and is about a sperm donor who becomes entailed in the lives of his new-found children and their less-than-thrilled families.

Monday
8 p.m. – How I Met Your Mother (s/CBS)
8:30 p.m. – Partners (s/CBS)*
9 p.m. – 2 Broke Girls (s/CBS)
9:30 p.m. – Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 (pre-release, ABC)
10 p.m. – Revolution (s/NBC)*

Tuesday
8 p.m. – Raising Hope (s/Fox)
8:30 p.m. – Ben and Kate (s/Fox)*
9 p.m. – New Girl (s/Fox)
9:30 p.m. – The Mindy Project (s/Fox)*
10 p.m. – Private Practice (s/ABC)

Wednesday
8 p.m. – The Middle (s/ABC)
8:30 p.m. – Suburgatory (s/ABC)
9 p.m. – Modern Family (s/ABC)
9:30 p.m. – The Bachelor Canada

Thursday
8 p.m. – 30 Rock (s/NBC)
8:30 p.m. – Parks & Recreation (pre-release, NBC)
9 p.m. – Person of Interest (s/CBS)
10 p.m. – Scandal (s/ABC)

Friday
8 p.m. – Last Man Standing (s/ABC)
8:30 p.m. – Community (s/NBC)
9 p.m. – Fringe (s/Fox)
10 p.m. – Mantracker

Saturday
8 p.m. – The Bachelor Canada (repeat)
9:30 p.m. – Less Than Kind (repeat)
10 p.m. – Murdoch Mysteries (repeat)

Sunday
8 p.m. – Malibu Country (post-release, ABC)
8:30 p.m. – Happy Endings (pre-release, ABC)
9 p.m. – Revenge (s/ABC)
10 p.m. – 666 Park Avenue (s/ABC)

Official Program Descriptions:

PARTNERS
Partners is a comedy based on the lives of creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (creators of Will & Grace), about two life-long best friends and business partners whose “bromance” is tested when one of them is engaged to be married. Joe (David Krumholtz, Numb3rs) is an accomplished architect who leads with his head and not his heart, especially in his love life. That’s in stark contrast to his gay co-worker, Louis (Michael Urie, Ugly Betty), who is spontaneous, emotional and prone to exaggeration. Both have found joy in their love lives: Joe is newly engaged to Ali (Sophia Bush, One Tree Hill), a beautiful and sophisticated jewellery designer, while Louis is dating Wyatt (Brandon Routh, Superman Returns), a vegan nurse who Louis insists is just a promotion away from becoming a doctor. As news of Joe’s engagement settles, time will tell if their business and personal bond can adapt to the addition of two other important relationships.

BEN AND KATE
What happens when an exuberant, irresponsible dreamer who always says “yes” moves in with his overly responsible little sister to help raise her five-year-old daughter? Ben and Kate, a new single-camera young ensemble comedy, follows these odd-couple siblings as they push each other out of their comfort zones and into real life. Kate Fox (Dakota Johnson, The Social Network) followed the rules all her life…until she got pregnant in college and dropped out just shy of graduation. After the birth of her daughter, Maddie (Maggie Jones, We Bought a Zoo, Footloose), Kate put her twenties on hold. Now working as a bar manager to make ends meet and maximize her time with five-year-old Maddie, she’s uber-prepared for every possible catastrophe – except for the arrival of her older brother, Ben Fox (Nat Faxon, Bad Teacher). Ben likes trouble a lot more than his sister does. When Ben comes to crash on Kate’s couch for a few days, he finds a sad state of affairs. Kate’s surviving, but not living. Ben realizes that for the first time in their lives, Kate needs his help and he’s determined to bring some much-needed chaos into her overly stable world. Always there to help with Ben’s crazy schemes is his partner-in-crime, Tommy (newcomer Echo Kellum), who worships Ben like a hero and nurses a serious crush on Kate. Kate’s British best friend, BJ (Lucy Punch, Bad Teacher), is a cocktail waitress at the bar that Kate manages and an all-around hot mess who would do anything for Kate, even if her advice is often questionable and occasionally illegal. From writer/executive producer Dana Fox (New Girl, What Happens in Vegas) and executive producer/director Jake Kasdan (New Girl, Bad Teacher), Ben and Kate is a heart-warming story of deeply mismatched siblings: a sister who needs to go for her dreams and a brother who needs to get his head out of the clouds.

THE MINDY PROJECT
The Mindy Project is a new single-camera comedy from Emmy Award®-nominated writer/producer and New York Times best-selling author Mindy Kaling (The Office) that follows awoman who, despite having a successful career, desperately needs to break bad habits in her personal life. Funny, impatient and politically incorrect, Mindy Lahiri (Kaling) can quote every romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan that exists. Mindy is determined to be more punctual, spend less money, lose weight and read more books – all in pursuit of becoming a well-rounded perfect woman…who can meet and date the perfect guy. Mindy is a skilled OB/GYN and shares a practice with a few other doctors, none of whom make life any easier for her. Jeremy Reed (British writer/comedian Ed Weeks) is the walking definition of total bad news. He not only shares a practice with Mindy, but sometimes her bed as well – despite her best efforts to resist. He is funny, self-absorbed and super sexy. In contrast, Danny Castellano (Chris Messina, Damages) is a hothead and guys’ guy who has a habit of stealing Mindy’s patients. Danny criticizes her for everything, including her struggling love life and her lack of professionalism – even though it’s obvious to everyone except Mindy that he secretly admires her work. Rounding out the office staff are the receptionists – Betsy Putch (Zoe Jarman, Huge), young, earnest and easily excitable, who thinks the world of Mindy and is always trying to impress her; and Shauna Dicanio (newcomer Dana DeLorenzo), a self-assured Jersey Girl who is indifferent to Mindy, always knows where the cool party is and carries a poorly concealed torch for Danny. Mindy is in constant communication with her beloved best friend from college, Gwen Grandy (Anna Camp, The Good Wife), who also happens to be the governor’s daughter. As Mindy attempts to get her career off the ground and meet a guy who passes her red flag test (no drug habits, no skinny jeans and no secret families, among others), only time will tell if she gets her romantic comedy ending.

MALIBU COUNTRY
When Reba Gallagher (Reba McEntire, Reba) discovers that her husband, Bobby, (Jeffrey Nordling, Desperate Housewives) a country music legend, has a cheatin’ heart, her world is turned upside down. Reba dreamt of becoming a country star herself, but put her career on hold to raise a family. Now she’s questioning all of that, big-time. With the ink on her divorce barely dry, Reba packs up her sharp-tongued mother, Lillie May (Lily Tomlin, Eastbound and Down, West Wing), her two kids and the U-Haul and heads for sunny California to begin a new chapter. Leaving Nashville in the rear view, they start over at their Malibu residence – the last remaining asset they have. Reba gets to know her new open and loving neighbour Kim (Sara Rue, Rules of Engagement, Less Than Perfect) and her son, Sage (Hudson Thames), but also discovers that relocation to Southern California is going to be quite an adjustment for a traditional southern belle. With the support of her family, she sets about finding her voice, jump-starting her music career with the help of her new music agent, Geoffrey (Jai Rodriguez, How I Met Your Mother, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), and embracing this chance to begin again.

REVOLUTION
Our entire way of life depends on electricity. So what would happen if it just stopped working? Well, one day, like a switch turned off, the world is suddenly thrust back into the dark ages. Planes fall from the sky, hospitals shut down, and communication is impossible. And without any modern technology, who can tell us why? Now, 15 years later, life is back to what it once was long before the industrial revolution: families living in quiet cul-de-sacs, and when the sun goes down lanterns and candles are lit. Life is slower and sweeter. Or is it? On the fringes of small farming communities, danger lurks. And a young woman’s life is dramatically changed when a local militia arrives and kills her father, who mysteriously – and unbeknownst to her – had something to do with the blackout. This brutal encounter sets her and two unlikely companions off on a daring coming- of-age journey to find answers about the past in the hopes of reclaiming the future. From director Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) and the fertile imaginations of J.J. Abrams (Lost, Person of Interest) and Eric Kripke (Supernatural), comes a surprising “what if” action-adventure series, where an unlikely hero will lead the world out of the dark. Literally.

666 PARK AVENUE
At the ominous address of 666 Park Avenue, anything you desire can be yours. Everyone has needs, desires and ambition. For the residents of The Drake, these will all be met, courtesy of the building’s mysterious owner, Gavin Doran (Terry O’Quinn, Lost). But every Faustian contract comes with a price. When Jane Van Veen (Rachael Taylor, Transformers) and Henry Martin (Dave Annable, Brothers & Sisters), an idealistic young couple from the Midwest, are offered the opportunity to manage the historic building, they not only fall prey to the machinations of Doran and his mysterious wife, Olivia (Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty), but unwittingly begin to experience the shadowy, supernatural forces within the building that imprison and endanger the lives of the residents inside. Sexy, seductive and inviting, The Drake maintains a dark hold over all of its residents, tempting them through their ambitions and desires, in this chilling new drama that’s home to an epic struggle of good versus evil. 666 Park Avenue was based on the book series by Gabriella Pierce.

1600 PENN
The Gilchrists are just the average American family dealing with all the everyday issues – like a grown kid who’s forced to move back home, children who are smarter than their teachers, and a stepmom (Jenna Elfman, Dharma and Greg) desperately trying to win over the kids. They’re loving, fun and a little crazy. In other words, just like everybody else. With one exception: they live in a very special house. The White House! Whether it’s entertaining foreign dignitaries, sneaking away for a night out, dealing with middle school crushes or putting out fires – figuratively and sometimes literally – there’s never a dull moment in the Gilchrist White House. For example, the First Son (Josh Gad, star of Broadway sensation The Book of Mormon) is one of the administration’s biggest liabilities, but also the glue that holds this family together. The President (Bill Pullman, Independence Day) knows too well that the only thing harder than being Head of State is being head of the family. Modern Family meets The West Wing in this election-year comedy from Emmy®-winning executive producer/director Jason Winer (Modern Family).

HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS (FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE)
Polly (Sarah Chalke, Mad Love, Scrubs) is a single mom who’s been divorced for almost a year. The transition wasn’t easy for her, especially in this economy. So, like a lot of young people living in this new reality, she and her daughter, Natalie (Rachel Eggleston), have moved back home with her eccentric parents, Elaine (Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds) and Max (Brad Garrett, Everybody Loves Raymond, ‘Til Death). But Polly and her parents look at life through two different lenses. Polly’s too uptight. Her parents are too laid back. Polly’s conservative when it comes to dating (no action, whatsoever), while her parents are still sexually adventurous. They think Polly turned out okay, so what’s the big deal? Well, they say it takes a village to raise a child…and in Polly’s case, this village is on fire. But with help from her best friend Gregg (Orlando Jones, Rules of Engagement), her lovable yet irresponsible ex-husband Julian (Jon Dore, The Jon Dore Show) and her cool and fun assistant Jenn (Rebecca Delgado Smith), Polly takes her first steps toward getting a life, starting with a social one.

THE CARRIE DIARIES
It’s 1984, and life isn’t easy for 16-year-old Carrie Bradshaw. Since their mother passed away, Carrie’s younger sister Dorritt is more rebellious than ever, and their father Tom is overwhelmed with the responsibility of suddenly having to care for two teenage girls on his own. Carrie’s friends – sweet, geeky Mouse, sarcastic and self-assured Maggie and sensitive Walt – make life bearable, but a suburban life in Connecticut isn’t doing much to take her mind off her troubles. And even though the arrival of a sexy new transfer student named Sebastian brings some excitement to Carrie’s world, she is struggling to move on from her grief. So when Tom offers Carrie the chance to intern at a law firm in Manhattan, she leaps at the chance. Carrie’s eyes are opened wide at the glamour and grit of New York City – and when she meets Larissa, the style editor for Interview magazine, she’s inspired by the club culture and unique individuals that make up Larissa’s world. Carrie’s friends and family may have a big place in her heart, but she’s fallen in love for the first time with the most important man in her life – Manhattan. The Carrie Diaries is based on the novels The Carrie Diaries and Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell.

HANNIBAL
One of the most fascinating literary characters comes to life on television for the first time: psychiatrist-turned-serial-killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In this new drama from Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Heroes), based on the characters from Thomas Harris’ classic novels, we see where this incredible story began. Will Graham (Hugh Dancy, The Big C) is a gifted criminal profiler who is on the hunt for a serial killer with the FBI. Graham’s unique way of thinking gives him the astonishing ability to empathize with anyone – even psychopaths. He seems to know what makes them tick. But when the mind of the twisted killer he’s pursuing is too complicated for even Will to comprehend, he enlists the help of Dr. Lecter, one of the premier psychiatric minds in the country. Armed with the uncanny expertise of the brilliant doctor, Will and Hannibal (known as a serial killer only to the audience) form a brilliant partnership and it seems there’s no villain they can’t catch.

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