'Samantha Who?,' 'Kath & Kim' Get Full Seasons

Zap2It.com | November 3, 2008

Christina Applegate of 'Samantha Who?'

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ABC and NBC comedies earn more episodes

ABC's "Samantha Who?" and NBC's "Kath & Kim" have each earned full-season pickups, continuing the trend of networks pursuing stability despite underwhelming ratings this fall.

The Alphabet has ordered seven more episodes of "Samantha Who?," slightly less than the typical nine. That doesn't necessarily indicate any lack of confidence in the show, which is averaging about 10.5 million viewers per week. ABC does, however, have several comedies on tap for midseason, including NBC refugee "Scrubs" and new shows "Single with Parents," "In the Motherhood," "The Goode Family" and "Better Off Ted." The unkillable "According to Jim" will also be back starting Tuesday, Dec. 2.

"Samantha Who?," for which star Christina Applegate earned an Emmy nomination earlier this year, loses a big chunk of its "Dancing with the Stars" lead-in at 9:30 p.m. Mondays. It still leads the half-hour in total viewers, however, and typically finishes third among adults 18-49 (it's averaging a 2.8 rating in the demographic).

"Kath & Kim," meanwhile, received the standard back-nine order from NBC. The show -- which was developed by current network execs Ben Silverman and Teri Weinberg when they were running production company Reveille -- hasn't done much in the ratings so far this fall, averaging about 6 million viewers a week and a 2.6 adults 18-49 rating.

On the plus side, "Kath & Kim" has retained better than 85 percent of the viewers and adults 18-49 rating from its lead-in, "My Name Is Earl," and has actually improved on "Earl's" numbers a little among adults 18-34.