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It’s the end of the road for Fox‘s freshman comedy Ben And Kate, at least for the foreseeable future. Like with The Mob Doctor, Fox is not saying that the comedy has been cancelled, just pulled from the schedule indefinitely, which basically means cancelled. The series is currently filming Episode 15 of its 19-episode order, which it will complete. After a long ratings struggle, Fox also is ending the two-hour Tuesday comedy block, at least for now. On March 12, reality staple Hell’s Kitchen will take over the Tuesday 8 PM hour, leading to New Girl and The Mindy Project. The network brass hope the move will give the two comedies a boost the way Glee helped New Girl and Raising Hope last season.
Speaking of Raising Hope, starting next Tuesday, Fox will double pump originals of the comedy in the 8 PM hour until Hell’s Kitchen arrives in March. Raising Hope will wrap its third season with an hourlong finale behind American Idol on March 28. In light of the pending departure of creator/showrunner Greg Garcia, who has two pilots in contention at CBS, the show’s long-term prospects are unclear, though the blue-collar comedy has been consistently funny and a solid ratings performer. With the double runs and hourlong finale, Raising Hope still will have two leftover episodes from its supersized 24-episode order whose future is TBD. (They may be rolled over to next season if the comedy is renewed.)
Launching to mostly positive reviews, Ben And Kate has been the weakest link in Fox’s new two-hour Tuesday comedy block, regularly drawing the lowest ratings. Last night, it averaged a 1.2/3 in adults 18-49, which was actually up 9% from last week. Its lead-in retention, 71%, actually mirrors that of fellow freshman The Mindy Project, which has been propped up by a stronger lead-in from New Girl, posting a 1.5/4 last night at 9:30 PM. Ben And Kate has undergone major changes in front and behind the camera since the pilot stage. Dakota Johnson replaced original lead Abby Elliott before the pilot was shot. Then last fall, during production on the series, the comedy changed showrunners, with John Quaintance and David Feeney replacing Garrett Donovan and Neil Goldman as co-showrunners alongside creator/executive producer Dana Fox. Here are Fox’s scheduling changes in detail:
Tuesday, Jan. 29
8:00-9:00 PM RAISING HOPE (Special One-Hour Episode)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY PROJECT
Tuesday, Feb. 5
8:00-9:00 PM RAISING HOPE (Special One-Hour Episode)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY PROJECT
Tuesday, Feb. 12
8:00-8:30 PM RAISING HOPE (encore)
8:30-9:00 PM NEW GIRL (encore)
9:00-10:30 PM STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Tuesday, Feb. 19
8:00-8:30 PM RAISING HOPE
8:30-9:00 PM NEW GIRL (encore)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY PROJECT
Tuesday, Feb. 26
8:00-9:00 PM RAISING HOPE (Special One-Hour Episode)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY PROJECT
Tuesday, March 5
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Live Episode; Special Night)
Tuesdays, beginning March 12
8:00-9:00 PM HELL’S KITCHEN (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL
9:30-10:00 PM THE MINDY PROJECT
Thursday, March 28
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Live Results Show)
9:00-10:00 PM RAISING HOPE (One-Hour Season Finale)
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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BOO! Love Ben and Kate!
What?? Ben & Kate is one of my favorite comedies on the air, and I felt the show is really hitting its stride right now. Too bad. It will be sorely missed.
Seriously they are leaving the comedies at 9pm instead of moving them to 8pm where they won’t face the competition of other similarly themed sitcoms on NBC and ABC? The 3 sitcoms at once at 9pm has done nothing but hurt the ratings of all three networks involved…
Love this show! Why Fox? Why?
Arrested Development needed time, 30 Rock needed time. Seinfeld needed time.
Fox won’t nurture or stand behind a show. Kevin Reilly is crazy to work with and goes whack over stuff like this. He’s picking up bad pilots now and not telling the truth about what he’s actually reading. Won’t support good stuff. He’s manic. It’s no way to run a network. Good shows become casualties.
The numbers for The Following will fall next week. No one wants to see that.
Kevin Reilly is a mad man. He’s quickly turning into Steve McPherson which is to say he’s a liar and unaccountable and his actions are all over the place. He’s not reading, his attention span is so short he can’t read well anyway. He’s all about which project has names or penalties. And he still doesn’t read. I don’t know how his team can function properly. Every agency in town is furious at the guy as well they should be. The talent is even more pissed. The guy is losing it.
Awww…I liked Ben and Kate.
FOX sucks! They have a reputation of killing good shows even with OK ratings.
This comedy did NOT have ok ratings. It had very poor ratings! If anything, FOX has held on to it’s flops this season most certainly for lack of alternatives (Mob Doctor).
pretty bad news, the show was getting better and better.
The worst thing here is that they keep insisting on scheduling every possible single camera comedy at the same time on the same day on a bunch of networks. You would think that by now somebody would’ve noticed the huge mistake they’re making and fix it.
*will “double pump” originals*. I love you Nellie! I love your choice of words. Show should do well! I mean who doesn’t enjoy a good “double pump”? I love you Nellie! Keep up the good work & keep up with your wonderful choice of words. Love ya!!!
Since Raising Hope is tied with New Girl as FOX’s number one comedy, is owned by the network and is another season away from syndication numbers, I’m pretty sure their future for a season pick up is pretty clear. Whether Greg Garcia is there or a chimp is running the show, it’s getting a season four.
try me
So lame! One of the best shows on the air, with its unique tone and charm. We look forward to it every week. So sad.
Weak promotion killed it. Few people ever sampled the show. It was a well-made, sweet, accessible show that Fox never quite figured out how to market.
Still, credit to Fox for standing by it for so long in spite of its ratings.
This started out as an excellent show, but quickly morphed into something between bad and mediocre. I’m just relieved to see it gone. Not happy, but relieved.
“double pump episodes” Is that the hot new phrase?
Otherwise the only suprise is why it took FOX too long (answer; they didn’t have anything else to air).
Even though the network is crumbling around him, you can’t blame Kevin Reilly for this one–it was forced down his throat by the creative wizards at The Chernin Company, which has pretty quickly gained a reputation as one of the most toxic shops in town. Kevin: have fun selling America on Gun Machine, Touch and the rest of the gems these callous buffoons are polishing for you even as we speak. Some idiot over there actually tried to sell me on the idea that Liz Merriweather is “her generation’s Dorothy Parker.” We can once again pin a 60-70m loser like Ben and Kate on the golden parachute Rupert gave Chernin when he exited–ensuring pilot commitments and “opt in” producer credits in a time when Fox clearly cannot afford to be giving out corporate welfare. If Kevin can get Chernin and Simon Cowell (another purported “hitmaker” who hasn’t made the network a red cent since he left Idol) out of his hair, he MAY have a shot at saving the network. But a more likely scenario is he gets fired this spring and is replaced with one of Chernin’s execs–which would truly doom Fox.
It sounds like Chernin passed on a show of yours which has led to this bitter and inaccurate tome. Have you ever watched Ben & Kate? It’s quality television. Read the reviews. Is it the producer’s fault that the network doesn’t know how to market a show that appeals to young viewers and adults? Oh, let’s also not forget that Chernin has 2 series on the air which have run for 2 seasons (New Girl, Touch). Breakout Kings was on for 2 seasons. Terra Nova should have be renewed for a second season – that was a huge mistake. The premiere of The Following got Terra Nova’s numbers, and they are claiming that this show is a hit for them. Perhaps if you had any taste, you would have a producer who believes in you and talks so highly of you in their meetings. Ps. Liz Meriwether is immensely talented and her voice does speak to her generation. Unlike yours.
People give Peter Chernin all this power he doesn’t deserve. His taste isn’t any better than any of the other second guessing, white, male, former execs. Yet he’s treated with all this shock and awe as a producer like he’s the NRA. Is he some creative genius? Hardly. Can anyone explain this?
Maybe it’s me, but I find most of these network sitcoms interchangeable. Modern Family is the only one worth watching and it’s not been as good this year. Keep one, cancel one, who cares?
That show started pretty strong, but has gotten worse with each week. Last 2 or 3 episodes were almost unwatchable they were so bad. Probably best this way.
So that’s it? We may never see another new episode of this great show? They’re completing the production run but Fox may not air any of them? Bullshit!!!!
INTerested Observer – I don’t fault you for your inaccurate portrayal of the Chernin Group and what is actually a very strong crop of pilots this year. You are clearly too busy licking your wounds, for a piece of development that obviously didn’t pan out for you, to do research and understand that just because numbers may be down, doesn’t mean that everything not written by you is crap. When Chernin was at the helm, Twentieth Century Fox Film produced the two top-grossing movies of all time, Titanic and AVATAR and the Fox Broadcasting Company became the No. 1-ranked network among the key demographic of 18-49-year-olds. What, pray tell, have you established in your bleak life?
nbc and cbs?
what if INTerested Observer is right? what if everything he doesn’t write is crap and his isn’t but we don’t ever get to know that because his crap doesn’t get made on account of Chernin’s crap being the priority? I.O.’s crap may get buried with him because of the crap falling out of Chernin’s golden parachute. and let’s be honest, Ben and Kate may not be crap, but it’s not funny by consensus. it’s crap that only made it on the air because of whose ass it came out of.
In the digital age, anybody who has something worth making and whines because one of the networks or studios turns them down in favor of in-house, nepotistic bullshit is just that: a whiner. I’ve been creating for years and made a conscious decision not to go through the traditional channels. I know that people who have spent their lives trying to work the existing system will usually scoff at that but the world’s changed and if you have something to make, there’s an audience for it. FOX doesn’t buy something, kills a low rated series you happened to like and greenlights obvious crap from someone with an obvious deal that gives them priority over others? Screw ‘em & deal with it. Find resources and get that shit out there, find an audience and build your own brand. It ain’t easy but nobody ever said any of this was.
Personally, I found Ben & Kate tedious and annoying.
But the fact that it’s been pulled does underscore what I think is a huge problem with the networks – they are looking for the instant hit that’s a huge draw and are unwilling to develop a show and let it mature.
Add to that a tendency to shy away from taking a risk with something new and original and you get a reality show clogged, desolate television landscape that can be summed up in one word – meh.
This was a fantastic show – MUCH stronger than The Mindy Project – and I’m very sad to see it go. Hopefully those actors will all book fantastic pilots this year, they deserve it.
ABC will have stopped airing Happy Endings by then, as its moving Dancing With The Stars back to 9pm when it returns.
I can do without “Ben & Kate” but I love “Raising Hope”…we deserve another Chance
Bring back Breaking In! They’re still sitting on unaired epsiodes. I’ll allow it!
They’re also sitting on episodes of the Robert Schimmel show. You really don’t get how TV works, do you?
What?! Ben and Kate can’t be cancelled! It’s pretty funny to watch. It’s what kept me motivated to go through Tuesdays nights for relaxation.
The promos didn’t help. I just wanted to laugh…
Ben & Kate was the best new comedy this year. Much better than Mindy’s fantasy half hour where every guy wants to fuck her.
I agree 1000%