News > CBS isn't ready to dismiss "The Class."
November 16, 2006
Via :
Eye is close to ordering additional episodes of the half-hour comic-sudser from exec producers David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik. Kelly Kahl, the net's senior exec VP of program planning, let the news slip at a Wednesday lunch confab in Gotham sponsored by the International Radio and Television Society.
Warner Bros. TV and CBS are still hammering out details of the episode order, which means it's possible the Eye could greenlight a couple of episodes less than the usual back nine commitment.
CBS might not need a full season of "The Class" in part because the net is said to have high hopes for "Rules of Engagement," its midseason comedy starring David Spade, Oliver Hudson and Patrick Warburton. Latter skein seems a natural for the Eye's Monday comedy block.
While "The Class" hasn't lived up to pre-season expectations that it might be a breakout hit, skein has actually retained a solid percentage of its lead-in since moving behind the Eye's red-hot "How I Met Your Mother."
This is despite facing brutal competish from NBC's "Deal or No Deal" and ESPN's earlier-starting "Monday Night Football." The problem is that CBS has generally seen its 8:30 p.m. laffers improve on their lead-ins.
