Ratings critics who spend every Thursday complaining about how “Cougar Town” fails to retain a significant portion of the lead-in from ABC’s Wednesday tentpole “Modern Family” have not convinced ABC to abandon the Courteney Cox comedy.
According to multiple reports, ABC has renewed “Cougar Town,” along with five other series, for next season. The feeling is that while “Cougar Town” could certainly be retaining a bit better (new comedy “Mr. Sunshine” gets a chance at the “Modern” lead-in this February), it still offers ABC a reliable audience in the 9:30 timeslot. Shows with their own massive, loyal, appointment fanbases do not always succeed as lead-ins, so ABC likely does not expect retention in the neighborhood of 85-90%.
The same can be said for the also-renewed “Castle,” which routinely loses a sizable portion of its “Dancing with the Stars” lead-in. Though many rip “Castle”‘s retention rate, the feeling is that “Dancing with the Stars” has a unique audience that cannot easily be extracted; it is thus enough to simply be moderately successful in its shadow.
The network also renewed “Modern Family,” “The Middle,” “Private Practice” and “Grey’s Anatomy” for next season.
Absent from the aforementioned list, “Desperate Housewives,” though the victim of a viewership decline this season, remains a strong candidate for renewal. Both Deadline and EW stress that the hold-up could be due to contract negotiations with talent and executives.