In a surprise announcement on Friday, ABC renewed the 20th Century Fox-produced midseason comedy "Better Off Ted" for a second season. The quirky single-camera sitcom, which is executive produced by "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" creator Victor Fresco, hasn't been a huge success in the ratings, but has shown solid retention from its lead-in "Scrubs", which has also been renewed for another season. The two shows are rumored to be continuing as a pair next season, although ABC's schedule won't be officially announced until the 19th.
"Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence had said that he envisions the show continuing with a mix of original cast members and some of the intern characters introduced this past season, although probably not actor/comedian Aziz Ansari, who has moved on to "Parks and Recreation" over on NBC. The down-to-the-wire negotiations for both "Scrubs" and "Ted" demonstrate the level of intense bargaining that has gone on this season, where the networks have put a lot of pressure on studios, especially outside suppliers, to lower license fees/orders. In fact, there has been talk that "Scrubs" might be considering changing to a hybrid single/multi-camera format, a la CBS's "How I Met Your Mother", as a way of saving money next season. Stay tuned to AST next week for more news on which pilots have been picked up as the networks roll out their "upfront" presentations beginning Monday.
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