Saturday TV is looking up this weekend.

Tonight (June 6), CBS will air “The Party,” the 16th and last new episode of the rookie comedy Worst Week. The network officially canceled the sitcom last month, although viewers and industry watchers saw it coming long before that.

Since the summer is almost here, some networks are doing a bit of seasonal cleaning to get rid of the residue left behind by all the series they just canceled last month or earlier. The good news for us TV fans is that we now get the chance to say a final goodbye to some of the axed shows we enjoyed despite their fate.

Read more

Riding high on their very last-minute renewals, CBS sitcoms The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried present their fourth and first season finales, respectively, tonight (May 20).

Up first at 8pm ET is Old Christine with “Love: A Cautionary Tale,” a star-studded installment that features Chuck’s daddy Scott Bakula (Enterprise, Quantum Leap), as well as guest stars Constance Zimmer (Entourage, Boston Legal) and James Lesure (Lipstick Jungle, Las Vegas).

During the episode, Christine learns some shocking news about New Christine’s father — also known as her possible future love interest — after the two of them rekindle their relationship at Richard and New Christine’s wedding.

Gary Unmarried follows at 8:30pm with “Gary Fixes Allison’s Garbage Disposal.” When Gary stops by Allison’s home to fix her garbage disposal, the ex-spouses wind up in Allison’s bedroom, thanks to some simmering horny feelings.

Follow the jump for a wedding-themed sneak peek at Old Christine, which is the only video stingy CBS is currently allowing people to embed.

Read more

The entertainment Internets delivered good news this past weekend for fans of CBS’ dependable midseason comedy Rules of Engagement. It seems the sitcom will almost certainly be back during the 2009–2010 season for what looks like at least 13 episodes.

Tonight (May 18), however, the series is devoted to closing its current third season with not just one, but two episodes. The first, “House Money,” airs at the special time of 8pm ET and the second, “Sexy Toy Story,” follows in Engagement’s regular time slot of 9:30pm ET.

During “House Money,” Audrey persuades Jeff to do something fun together with the profit he made from selling his car. Unfortunately, she soon regrets that grand idea after their extravagant night proves more costly than they expected.

Then, on the finale proper “Sexy Toy Story,” Jeff wonders if he and Audrey are lacking something in their relationship after Jennifer hosts a party. I’m thinking the episode’s title totally gives away the theme of that last event, as well as what Jeff probably hopes he and his wife can introduce to make their personal life more “complete.”

A sneak peek for each episode and one promo for the double broadcast follow the jump.

Read more

The sixth-season finale of CBS’ hit sitcom Two and a Half Men airs tonight (May 18) at 9pm ET, and the show itself could not be in better shape, with continuing high ratings and a three-season renewal already on its plate.

The last episode of Season Six is business as usual, too, since it features another one of those odd “Say what?!” titles, this time “Baseball with Better Steroids.” On the plus side, Canadian actress Emmanuelle Vaugier (Saw flicks, CSI: NY) returns to reprise her role as Charlie’s lovely ex Mia.

During the episode, Charlie begins to reconsider his relationship with Chelsea (Jennifer Taylor) when he discovers Mia is back in town. Meanwhile, Judith goes into labor, giving viewers a prime opportunity to watch Charlie, Alan, and Herb (Ryan Stiles) bumble while rushing her to the hospital

Follow the jump to check out two sneak peeks and a promo for the last new Two and a Half Men episode until next fall. The first video features Alan running into Mia at a coffee shop and the second shows Charlie doing the same soon thereafter. If labor pains are what you want, though, the promo is the clip to watch.

Read more

Can you believe it?

When CBS’ How I Met Your Mother closes its fourth season tonight (May 18) at 8pm ET with the finale “The Leap,” the central event will be main character Ted celebrating his 31st birthday. I knew the gang’s members weren’t exactly young whippersnappers, but they’re definitely getting up there.

The occasion of Ted’s birthday, an all-nighter spent working on a pitch to acquire some business for his new architecture firm, and the presence of a meddlesome goat all influence Ted’s realization that he should probably think about a few alternative career possibilities.

Meanwhile, Marshall tries to coax Ted up to the apartment building’s roof for a surprise b-day party, and Barney and Robin continue fighting their obvious attraction to one another (Just quit it, you guys! Give in to the urge!).

Preview the episode in the sneak peek and promo after the jump. Gotta love the goat, an animal that had its very own episode near the end of Season Three called, appropriately enough, “The Goat.”

And, in case anyone is worrying, although CBS hasn’t officially renewed How I Met Your Mother, the announcement is only a matter of time, and possibly just hours. The network’s upfront presentation happens on Wednesday, May 20, and it announced the new series coming to The Eye during the 2009–2010 season a few hours ago earlier this morning.

Now on to the videos…

Read more

The sophomore season of CBS’ hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory ends tonight (May 11) at 8pm ET with the finale “The Monopolar Expedition.” And there’s no need for fans of the show to get anxious — if you haven’t already heard, Big Bang was a rare recipient of a two-season renewal back in March.

During tonight’s finale, Penny has some issues when she learns that Leonard and his buddies plan to spend the summer working at the North Pole, which doesn’t sound like it well help them with their feelings for each other at all. Guest stars include Carol Ann Susi as Mrs. Wolowitz, Alice Amter as Mrs. Koothrappali, and Brian George as Dr. Koothrappali.

Read more

And I bet you thought their seasons were already over, considering it’s been weeks since the last fresh episodes aired. But, no, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried are still in action, and tonight (May 6) both are back on the small screen.

First up at 8pm ET is The New Adventures of Old Christine with “He Ain’t Heavy.” In her attempt to help Matthew lose weight using her know-how as the owner of a gym, Christine finds herself unable to shed the extra pounds she’s put on.

Following at 8:30pm is Gary Unmarried with “Gary And His Half Brother,” which features guest star Rob Riggle of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as the character Mitch. When his rambunctious half brother Mitch returns home from the war and decides to move in, Gary quickly loses control of his kids and his house and is forced to play the role of grown up.

Once again, ABC swoops in to save the day for a sitcom endangered at its home network.

Confirming speculation from last month, ABC has reportedly closed a deal with The New Adventures of Old Christine’s production studio Warner Bros. TV that will give the deserving comedy a guaranteed new home at the Alphabet Network if CBS should refuse to renew it for a fifth season. Smart, smart move!

Considering how badly CBS treats the show right now, it would be great if ABC could give Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Company a new home, regardless of what CBS wants or decides. Yet, despite the continuing inexplicable trend of waiting to the very last minute to pick up the show for another run, conventional wisdom says CBS will do right by Old Christine and eventually renew it, just later (as usual) rather than sooner.

Last year it was Scrubs that ABC kindly took from NBC when the network declined to renew the hospital spoof for an eighth season. Now the comedy is doing so well in its new home, ABC is considering rewarding it with a ninth season, regardless of earlier claims the current eighth would be its last. Hopefully, an equally favorable future is waiting in the wings for The New Adventures of Old Christine, one of TV’s better sitcoms.

It seems like ABC is trying to poach every other broadcast network’s sitcoms these days, while it lets its own dramedies die a premature and despicable death.

First it was Scrubs, which jumped to the network from NBC last year when The Peacock failed to come through with a Season Eight renewal. Now it’s The New Adventures of Old Christine that Entertainment Weekly claims might get the same treatment if CBS decides not to renew the comedy for a fifth season.

Old Christine’s fate was in a similar “bubble” predicament during the 2008–2009 season, until CBS gave the Julia Louis-Dreyfus series a full 22-episode pickup for Season Four in the spring. Talks are rumored to be currently underway between ABC and Warner Bros., the show’s production studio, to allow ABC to keep the sitcom alive should CBS make the wrong choice and finally let the ax drop.

I personally don’t understand what CBS’ problem is. The New Adventures of Old Christine is one of the consistently funniest comedies on broadcast TV right now. Why not treat it like the cream of the crop it is instead of like a throwaway waste of time? If the show isn’t performing up to expectations, CBS executives certainly have nobody to blame but themselves. They’ve been mishandling the series since its sophomore run.

It’s about time!

CBS has finally made good on the assumptions that have been floating around the Internets all month long and picked up Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, its Warner Bros.-produced Monday-night comedy hits, for multiple seasons.

As a result of the renewals, Two and a Half Men, currently in is sixth season, will stick around for at least three more, while sophomore geek-com The Big Bang Theory now has two additional guaranteed seasons ahead.

If you ask me, this is an excellent development. I enjoy both shows for different reasons, although they each share the trait of consistently making me laugh. What more can you ask for in a comedy?