Midseason schedules have already been announced from FOX and NBC, but now ABC has revealed their plans for the midseason with the premieres of the new comedy series Mr. Sunshine starring Matthew Perry and Happy Endings featuring Elisha Cuthbert (24). As a result of the new comedy premieres, Courtney Cox's Cougar Town will not return to the schedule until Wednesday, April 13th. Starting that same Wednesday ABC will premiere a three-hour comedy block starting with The Middle and concluding with Modern Family Fan Favorite episodes. For a full rundown of the new schedule and details on ABC's two new comedy series premieres, hit the jump.
Mr. Sunshine follows Ben Donovan (Matthew Perry), a self-involved manager of a San Diego sports arena, the Sunshine Center, where curious mishaps and bizarre requests are nothing more than ordinary. Allison Janney (The West Wing) also joins in the laughs as his boss and arena owner Crystal, an attractive, powerful and highly erratic woman. Andrea Anders (Better Off Ted) and James Leasure (Las Vegas) also star. The new series (watch the trailer here) will premiere Wednesday February 9th at 9:30/8:30c.
Happy Endings takes a look at modern friendship and what one urban family will do to stay friends after the perfect couple who brought them all together, Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) and Dave (Zach Knighton of FlashForward), break up on their wedding day. The failed wedding forces them all to question their life choices. The gang includes Alex’s sister, Jane (Eliza Coupe, Scrubs) a suburban housewife, and her buttoned-up husband, Brad (Damon Wayans Jr., The Other Guys), who are thinking about starting a family; Max (Adam Pally), their gay friend; and Penny (Casey Wilson, Saturday Night Live), who worries about never finding the right guy. Then there are Alex and Dave themselves, who strike a truce and must learn to live with the changes their breakup has brought. You can watch a trailer here.
For details on the changing schedule, and some more specific details on Mr. Sunshine and Happy Endings, check out the official press release below.
The ABC Television Network announced premiere dates for new comedies “Mr. Sunshine” and “Happy Endings” today. Matthew Perry returns to series television in “Mr. Sunshine,” also starring four-time Emmy winner Allison Janney (“The West Wing”), WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 (9:30-10:00 p.m., ET), and “Happy Endings,” an all-new ensemble comedy including Elisha Cuthbert (“24”), will premiere WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 (10:00-10:30 p.m., ET), following the run of “Off the Map.”
ABC’s critically acclaimed comedy “Cougar Town” will return to the schedule in its regular time slot (9:30-10:00 p.m., ET) on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, and the Emmy-winning “Modern Family” will air “Fan Favorites” episodes beginning that same evening at 10:30 p.m.
The Wednesday schedule for February 9 through April 6, 2011 is as follows (all times ET):
8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “Better Together”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Mr. Sunshine”
10:00 p.m. “Off the Map”
The Wednesday schedule beginning Wednesday, April 13, 2011 is as follows:
8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “Better Together”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Cougar Town”
10:00 p.m. “Happy Endings”
10:30 p.m. “Modern Family” Fan Favorites
In “Mr. Sunshine,” Perry stars as Ben Donovan, a self-involved manager of a San Diego sports arena, the Sunshine Center, where curious mishaps and bizarre requests are nothing more than ordinary. Working alongside him is his boss and arena owner Crystal (Janney), attractive, powerful and highly erratic; Alice (Andrea Anders, “Better Off Ted”), the cute, tomboyish marketing director and Ben’s friend with benefits; Alonzo (James Leasure, “Las Vegas”), a former basketball player, handsome and unbelievably happy; Ben’s assistant, Heather, pretty, sweet, but terrifying because she once lit a boyfriend on fire; and Crystal’s son, Roman (Nate Torrence), sweet-faced, clueless and Ben’s newest employee.
Matthew Perry, Alex Barnow (“Family Guy,” “Rules of Engagement”), Marc Firek (“Family Guy,” “Rules of Engagement”), Matthew Carlson (“Men Behaving Badly,” “Townies”), Jamie Tarses (“My Boys”) and Thomas Schlamme (“The West Wing,” “Sports Night,” “Tracey Takes On . . .”) are executive producers. “Mr. Sunshine” is a Matthew Perry Production, Shoe Money Production, Barnow and Firek Production and FanFare Production, in association with Sony Pictures Television.
“Happy Endings” offers a fresh and funny take on modern friendship and what one urban family will do to stay friends after the perfect couple who brought them all together, Alex (Elisha Cuthbert, “24”) and Dave (Zach Knighton, “FlashForward”), break up on their wedding day. The failed wedding forces them all to question their life choices, including Alex’s sister, Jane (Eliza Coupe, “Scrubs”), a suburban housewife, and her buttoned-up husband, Brad (Damon Wayans Jr., “The Underground”), who are thinking about starting a family; Max (Adam Pally), their gay friend; and Penny (Casey Wilson, “Saturday Night Live”), who worries about never finding the right guy. Then there are Alex and Dave themselves, who strike a truce and must learn to live with the changes their breakup has brought.
The series is from executive producers Jamie Tarses (“My Boys”), Jonathan Groff (“How I Met Your Mother”), Anthony & Joe Russo (“Arrested Development,” “Community”) and co-executive producer David Caspe (the upcoming feature film “I Hate You Dad”). The pilot was written by David Caspe and directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, and is from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios.