ABC is following NBC's lead in creating a new comedy block at 10 p.m., with two new shows, "Mr. Sunshine" and "Happy Endings" shifting to the later hour.
"Modern Family" reruns will also air in the 10 p.m. slot.
Press release below … more to come …
December 6, 2010
ABC ANNOUNCES PREMIERE DATES FOR NEW COMEDIES
“MR. SUNSHINE” AND “HAPPY ENDINGS”
Matthew Perry Returns to Television in “Mr. Sunshine” February 9;
“Happy Endings” Joins the Schedule April 13
“Cougar Town” Will Return April 13, with “Modern Family” Fan Favorites Added to the Lineup
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.
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