Reports are coming in from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Times, that ABC has renewed the Nathan Fillion headlined mystery series Castle, as well as Scrubs [though it is unknown if and how many of the current cast will return] and Better Off Ted, which has a very Scrubs-like sensibility. All three shows have helped ABC continue its tradition of supporting programming that takes traditional ideas and gives them unorthodox spins.
New comedies for the alphabet network are Bill Lawrence’s [Scrubs] single-camera series Cougar Town; Eileen Heisler and Deann Heline’s [Lipstick Jungle] single-camera comedy, The Middle, and Tucker Cawley’s [Parks and Recreation] sitcom Hank.
New dramas include: Scott Peters’ re-imagining of Kenneth Johnson’s sci-fi classic, V; The Forgotten, created by Mark Friedman and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television; Happy Town, from the Life on Mars [US] team of Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg, and David Hemingson’s The Deep End.
On the comedy side, Cougar Town stars Courteney Cox-Arquette as a divorced single mom and real estate agent who begins a much younger guy she meets at a club; The Middle stars Neil Flynn [Scrubs] and Patricia Heaton [Everybody Loves Raymond] as a middle class couple who live in Jasper, Indiana with their three children, and Hank stars Kelsey Grammer as a Wall Street executive who loses his job when the recession hits – and has to move back to his hometown with his wife and kids.
V, the alien invasion series, features a TV all-star cast: Elizabeth Mitchell [Lost], Morena Baccarin [Firefly], Morris Chestnut [The Perfect Holiday], Joel Gretsch [The 4400], Scott Wolf [Everwood, Party of Five], Lourdes Benedicto [Cashmere Mafia, The Nine],and Logan Huffman [Lymelife].
The Forgotten features a group of amateur crime fighters who take on John/Jane Doe cases and stars Reiko Aylesworth [24, Lost], Rochelle Aytes [Drive], Michelle Borth [Tell Me You Love Me], Anthony Carrigan, Rupert Penry-Jones [Spooks, Whitechapel] and Bob Stephenson [Jericho].
Happy Town, a mystery series set in a Minnesota town that suffered through a series of kidnappings many years ago and is now beset by a new crimewave, stars Amy Acker [Dollhouse. Angel], John Patrick Amedori [Gossip Girl, Vanished], Sarah Gadon [Bing Erica, The Border], Lauren German [Surrender Dorothy], Sam Neill [Jurassic Park, The Triangle], Jay Paulson [October Road], Geoff Stults [Reunion, October road], Dean Winters [Rescue Me, Sarah Connor Chronicles] and Robert Wisdom [Supernatural, The Wire].
So happy to see Castle renewed as it has become my favorite show!!! If you have not see it give it a try on abc's online player or hulu….
Castle is so refreshing compared to most of the boring shows out there-its incredibly well-written and the actors have amazing chemistry together-you will laugh a lot!:)
I just hope they have it on a bit earlier as then more families are able to watch it together! Cheers ABC for a wonderful new show!!!!:)