A couple weeks ago, it was announced that ABC would be airing the season finale of In Case of Emergency on April 4th. Astute viewers realized that the “season finale” would only be the 11th episode. That would leave two episodes of the low-rated sitcom unaired with no scheduled return date. Thanks to a little show on another network, things have changed.
FOX recently announced that they would be extending their Wednesday night American Idol results show to two hours beginning April 11th. This messed up ABC’s plans to debut their new sitcom Notes from the Underbelly at 9:30pm. They’ve obviously learned from the beating that Emergency and Knights of Prosperity have taken.
To compensate, ABC has decided to instead air double episodes of Underbelly on Thursday nights at 10pm after Grey’s Anatomy. This is the first time that a sitcom has aired on a network at 10pm in well over a decade. Men in Trees, which was supposed to return on April 12th, has been postponed for now. Fans need not worry — Trees has already been renewed for a second season.
To fill the Wednesday 9:30pm opening, ABC has decided to keep airing episodes of In Case of Emergency for two additional weeks, allowing it to finish it’s 13 week run on April 18th.
This is mixed news for fans of the sitcom. On the one hand, it’s nice that all of the episodes will air. On the other hand, it’s obvious that ABC doesn’t see much future for it and is okay with sacrificing it to the ratings monster known as American Idol. Coupled with its previous low ratings, it’s highly unlikely Emergency will be picked up for a second season. Stay tuned! 
I really liked In Case of Emergency. Shame it wasn’t promoted very well.
“sacrifice to the ratings monster” .. Why is this something networks even need to consider anymore? With the popularity of TiVo and cable company PVR’s, why do conflicts even exist? I hate it when good shows die because of nothing more than scheduling. It’s ridiculous that people even pay attention to scheduling anymore.
All of my favorite shows air on Sunday afternoon, because that’s when I want them to. The sooner the general public catches on to that, the better off shows up against “ratings monsters” will be.
This show is quite hilarious. I wish it would have some more staying power than it seems to, but it was nice while it lasted.
At least we get the final episodes. The show had potential, but I never saw one ad for it until the night of it’s premiere (I stayed to watch it after Knights).
It is wonderful news that the “missing” episodes will be aired, and hope that their might be a better home through syndication for I.C.E. .
It is wryly and cleverly written with its tongue permanently grafted to its cheek. The acting is also done dead on to the roles by very funny and talented actors that are a pleasure to watch.
Its style and storyline may not be for everyone but it makes even the most cliche of sitcom situations fresh and funny.
It will be a real shame if it were left to an untimely death.
What happens to October Road if they’re putting NFTU on after Grey’s in a few weeks?