ABC Reveals Midseason Schedule

This week ABC unveiled its midseason schedule, which includes a few tidbits of interest to comedy fans. First, there's the long-awaited (by somebody, I presume) return of According to Jim, which will air back-to-back episodes on Tuesdays at 9 and 9:30 p.m. EST, beginning December 2. The unkillable Jim Belushi sitcom is entering its eighth season, despite steadily declining ratings and even briefly being canceled by the network back in 2007. On a more positive note, Scrubs will enter its own eighth season (and first on ABC, after moving from NBC) airing Wednesdays at 8 p.m. No premiere date has yet been set, but expect it to be sometime in January.

Samantha Who?, which recently was picked up for 20 episodes this season, will retain its Monday at 9:30 p.m. timeslot. New animated comedy The Goode Family, from King of the Hill co-creator Mike Judge, will follow Scrubs on Wednesday nights at 8:30. Fantasy-comedy-drama-whatever (it's hard to define, which is part of the appeal) Pushing Daisies is absent from the schedule; word has it that all 13 completed episodes will be broadcast, although the fate of a third season remains up in the air. This sort of unique, quirky brilliance struggles to find an audience, while the hackneyed foibles of Jim Belushi go on for eight seasons. Ah, television.