ABC Renews Castle, Better Off Ted, and Scrubs!

Some folks in Hollywood got a nice start to their weekend as ABC handed out some more renewal notices for the 2009 – 2010 season. Though the network execs won’t announce their upcoming schedule until Tuesday, the good news has already been given to the folks behind Better Off Ted, Scrubs, and Castle.

Castle revolves around a popular crime novelist who ends up teaming with a real-life female cop. The series stars Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Molly C. Quinn, Susan Sullivan, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tamala Jones, Jon Huertas, and Seamus Dever. Though the show hasn’t been able to hold onto a large portion of Dancing with the Stars’ audience, signs have been looking pretty good for a renewal. The alphabet network typically shows faith in one or two struggling new shows each season.

Better Off Ted — a quirky office comedy featuring Jay Harrington, Portia de Rossi, Andrea Anders, Jonathan Slavin, Malcolm Barrett, Isabella Acres, and Chris Dotson — is a favorite of critics and the network but hasn’t found much success in the ratings. ABC has only aired half of its completed episodes and they’ll likely just film a handful more to fill out season two.

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Scrubs will also be back for a ninth year but it’s up in the air as to who exactly will be staffing the hospital. Zack Braff left and got a fond farewell last week but he’s agreed to stop by for half dozen installments next season. The Hollywood Reporter says that Sarah Chalke has been offered a similar deal.

Judy Reyes has moved on but may return as a guest star. Meanwhile, Donald Faison, John C. McGinley, and Neil Flynn have all signed to other projects. Faison and Flynn are committed to ABC shows while McGinley has a CBS drama pilot. If those shows get picked up, it’s unlikely that the actors could return to Scrubs as regulars.

The network and Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence say that the show will be a blend of the original cast and the newer characters that were introduced in year eight. The show may also switch from being a single-camera series to a more traditional multi-camera sitcom.

Though Scrubs has been struggling in the ratings, the show is a cash cow for ABC Studios in syndication. Lawrence said, “For every episode that gets produced, ABC makes $1 million [in syndication].”

ABC execs supposedly like the pairing of Scrubs and Ted so it seems like they’ll be sticking together next season. The network’s complete schedule will be announced on Tuesday.