They are still a long way from earning second season renewals, but FOX’s critically-enjoyed new comedies “Ben & Kate” and “The Mindy Project” will at least stick around for the remainder of the season.
FOX picked up back nines for the two series, which air at 8:30PM and 9:30PM, respectively, in the network’s Tuesday comedy lineup.
Neither started particularly well out of the gate, and in their second weeks, both fell far more sharply than would have been expected given the positive word-of-mouth that was anticipated.
While “Ben & Kate” can at least blame its shrinking lead-in–rather than receiving support from the reliable “New Girl,” the new series benefited from a low-rated edition of “Raising Hope” this week–“Mindy Project” retained its “New Girl” lead-in and should therefore not have dropped the way it did.
In the official press release, FOX does, however, note that “Mindy” is the season’s best new sitcom performer in adults 18-34. Granted, underwhelming competition from offerings like “Partners,” “The New Normal,” “Guys with Kids” and “Animal Practice” does not exactly make “Mindy”‘s accomplishment iconic.
But no matter the opinion on ratings thus far, both shows will ultimately have twenty more episodes to win viewers and prove they belong on the network next sseason.
