Last night, Better Off Ted registered yet another poor performance in the ratings. While the ABC sitcom was up in the 18-49 demographic by 30%, it still ranked a distant fourth place for the time slot. That’s not really a surprise considering that the series is pitted against some powerhouses on the other networks. Why doesn’t ABC move the series to another night?
Better Off Ted is an offbeat comedy that revolves around Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington) and the other employees at Veridian Dynamics, a heartless technology company. The rest of the cast includes Andrea Anders, Jonathan Slavin, Malcolm Barrett, and Portia de Rossi.
ABC has expressed disappointment in the show’s performance in year two and has decided to air the episodes of Scrubs and Ted in rapid succession. ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson recently admitted that the shows’ timeslots are tough, saying, “Whenever we put comedy on a night other than Wednesday, it’s been an island and we haven’t had a lot of success.”
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Since the Tuesday night timeslot doesn’t seem to be working for either comedy, why not shift one of the shows to Wednesday nights, to fill the spot left by cancelled Hank? McPherson said he didn’t feel that either one was compatible with shows like Modern Family or The Middle.
Still, ABC has scheduled the two last Scrubs episodes of the season on Wednesdays in early February. That’s left Ted out in the cold and all the more likely to be cancelled.
Fans of the office sitcom aren’t ready throw in the towel just yet though. They’re campaigning to give Ted a try on Wednesday nights, preferably in an 8:30pm timeslot, and for ABC to renew the series for a third season. Click here for more information.
What do you think? Is Better Off Ted a better fit on Wednesday nights? Would that be enough to save it from being cancelled?
Image courtesy ABC.
‘Better Off Ted” and ‘Working’ [Fred Savage 1997-99] were much funnier than ‘The Office’—by far. In neither one could I have expected some of the lines and stories. Both top notch ! Unfortunately I missed the first season because I got it confused with one of the WB teen angst programs. They both reminded me of a show many years ago, I think “The Associates” about a young group of lawyers that was pure comedy. With scenes like a junior partner and much older senior partner playing handball and the senior partner has a heart attack but the junior says… Read more »
I do not understand why this show has a rating problem. Better off Ted is the funniest series I have seen on TV. The writers are so cleaver. Everyone I know loves this show. I don’t belive there are any shows on TV right now that compete with this show. I have a feeling the ratings do not reflect what people really like or watch.
I don’t get why people like The Office or 30 Rock so much, I can not even make it through one show without shutting it off. These shows are not funny to me at all.
I THINK BETTER OF TED SHOULD REMAIN ON TV..IT IS VERY FUNNY AND I WATCH IT EVERY WEEK
I think this is a hilarious show and should definitely be kept on!!
This is the best show ever, um it’s um brilliant comedy, refreshing and i don’t know, it’s the best ever and if you cancel it deal with us being all over you! Deal with it!