CBS sets winter premiere dates; ‘Murphy Brown,’ ‘Happy Together’ get no additional episodes

CBS announced its winter premiere dates on Wednesday, with neither the revival of “Murphy Brown” nor freshman comedy “Happy Together” receiving orders for more episodes.

According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, the sitcom revival was always intended to be a 13 episode event rather than an ongoing continuation of the series. Still, “Murphy Brown” did not open as well in the ratings as other recent sitcom revivals like “Roseanne” (now “The Conners) and “Will & Grace.” The show debuted to a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 7.5 million viewers back in September in Live+Same Day. In Live+7, the series is averaging a 1.4 rating and 9.1 million viewers to date. There are also higher costs associated with the show, in part due to the fact that it shoots in New York rather than Los Angeles.

“Happy Together”–which stars Damon Wayans Jr., Amber Stevens West, and Felix Mallard–never quite got off the ground in the ratings either, opening to a 1.0 and 6 million viewers in Live+Same Day. In Live+7, the multi-cam is currently averaging a 1.1 and 5.5 million viewers. The show drew attention early on given how doggedly Wayans was pursued by multiple networks during pilot season, with the star inking a major deal with CBS that saw him score back-end points on the show and a multi-year first look deal with CBS Television Studios.

CBS will now premiere the new comedy “Fam” on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT after “Murphy Brown” completes its season order. The series stars Nina Dobrev and Tone Bell in a comedy about a woman whose vision of a perfect life with her adoring fiancé and his wonderful parents is radically altered when her 16-year-old, out-of-control half-sister unexpectedly comes to live with her. Odessa Adlon, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Sheryl Lee Ralph also star.

The third season of “Man With a Plan” will now debut on Monday, Feb. 4 at 8:30 p.m ET/PT after “Happy Together” completes its season run. Matt LeBlanc returns as an old-school guy confronting the modern challenges of parenting, marriage and family. Liza Snyder, Kevin Nealon, Stacy Keach, Grace Kaufman, Matthew McCann, Hala Finley, Matt Cook and Kali Rocha also star.

The season premiere of “Life in Pieces” will be announced at a later date.

Read the full schedule below.

CBS Thursday (as of Jan. 10)

CBS Monday (Feb. 4 and Feb. 11)

CBS Monday (as of Feb. 18)

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!