Breaking In - Season 2 - Info about the cast and the programming

As you all know, Tuesdays on FOX will change a little bit next year.

FOX will launch its first 2-hour live-action comedy block this Spring, in March-April 2012, while Glee is on hiatus, probably after episode 3.16 airs on Tuesday, February 28 (I don't know about you but personally I don't know how I will survive, where will I find my weekly fix of intelligent, original TV if Glee's not around ?).

In this 2-hour comedy block, FOX will broadcast original episodes of its two truly great comedies launched last season, Breaking In (starting on March 6 at 8:30pm) and Raising Hope at 9:30pm.


In between there will also be new episodes of New Girl on Tuesdays at 9pm, but does this show really deserve to be associated with the word 'original' (it's already reaching to call it 'new' given we've all seen its stories in other sitcoms many times) ? That's quite the conundrum... but Zooey is cute so that's okay, I guess. Anyway, 5-6 new episodes of New Girl will probably air in January and February, and the show has a 24-episode first season order, that leaves 10 new episodes for the next 3 months : assuming FOX chooses not to air a new episode of New Girl after a new episode of Breaking In in March and also chooses to air a repeat one Tuesday when Glee returns in April to conclude its 3rd season, then it puts the season finale (1.24) on May 22, that's a realistic expectation.

The last 12 episodes of season 2 of Raising Hope will be spread over 19 Tuesdays, from January 17 to May 22, so there will be repeats... or not ! Indeed, FOX will probably choose to air episodes 2.11 through 2.22 of Raising Hope from January 17 to April 10, which would leave the 9:30pm timeslot available for Breaking In to complete its mid-season run : all 13 episodes would air without reruns from March 6 to April 10 at 8:30pm and then from April 17 to May 22 at 9:30pm, with FOX throwing in a 1-hour episode when Breaking In is at 8:30pm (it will be easy given that the 8-8:30pm timeslot is filled with reruns of New Girl during those 6 weeks).

Why would it be scheduled like that ? Well, Breaking In has a 13-episode order and eventually Glee has to return, and to complete its 22-episode third season, it would have to be back on Tuesdays at 8pm from April 17 to May 22, with episodes 3.17 to 3.22 airing without reruns until the end of the 2011/2012 season.


To sum up, here's my prediction for Tuesday nights in 2012 on FOX :

- From Jan 17 to February 28 (7 weeks) : Glee (eps 3.10 to 3.16), New Girl (1.10 to 1.14) & Raising Hope (2.11 to 2.16).
- From March 6 to April 10 (6 wks) : Breaking In (eps 2.01 to 2.07), New Girl (1.15 to 1.19) & Raising Hope (2.17 to 2.22).
- From April 17 to May 22 (6 weeks) : Glee (eps 3.17 to 3.22), New Girl (1.20 to 1.24) & Breaking In (2.08 to 2.13).

I guess I Hate My Teenage Daughter qualifies as comedy as well, and there's no telling whether this show will be back in 2012, the very poor ratings would suggest that FOX could easily quickly cancel it (6.80, 5.38, 5.06 & 5.78 million viewers after American Idol 0.5, with only 2.1, 1.8 and 2.0% of the 18-49 demographic watching the episodes after the pilot), and it's not like it's a critics darling. The first 4 episodes aired from November 30 to December 21 and judging by the production codes, at least 7 episodes were ordered by FOX (the episodes produced as episodes 2, 3 and 6 are yet to be broadcasted). FOX could air them on Tuesdays at 8pm this Spring instead of New Girl reruns, although for the sake of Breaking In's ratings, I'm not sure that's such a great idea.


And here's a tidbit about the cast of Breaking In season 2. The show came back from the grave twice (not many shows have pulled that off*), with a first season order in November 2010 despite not being picked up at the May '10 upfronts (where the pilot was however well received), and then a second season deal sealed last summer after being cancelled by FOX in May (despite decent ratings and critical approval), thanks to Sony Pictures TV.

But this comeback from the dead doesn't come without a price to pay : Trevor Moore (Josh) is likely not to appear in season 2, or maybe in just a few episodes as a guest (he wasn't the most memorable character though). Michael Rosembaum (Dutch), busy shooting a movie right now, will not appear either even if there is talks about him guest starring in a couple of episodes at the end of the season. Odette Annable (Melanie), working on House this season, will appear in a guest star capacity in a few episodes throughout the season.

The only survivors of the main cast of season 1 (Bret Harrison, Alphonso McAuley and Christian Slater) are joined this season by Megan Mullally (Party Down, Parks and Rec) who will play the boss of Oz. Furthermore, the show will tone down on the missions outside the office and will become more of a workplace comedy... let's wait and see the result.

* Family Guy did just that in its early years, it escaped death twice. Season 1 started on January 31, 1999 and season 4 started more than 6 years later, on May 1, 2005 ! During that time, Family Guy was taken off the air from February to April 1999 (the pilot was a special preview after the Superbowl so that's understandable), from October 1999 to March 2000 (the PTA angry at the show + fierce competition with Frasier or Friends + multiple timeslots = that's not a great combo), from August 2000 to July 2001 (first cancellation) and from February 2002 to May 2005 (second cancellation). FOX must be glad they brought it back since it is now the cornerstone of their animated lineup, on Sundays at 9pm, with two other Seth MacFarlane shows airing during the night, The Cleveland Show and American Dad (which actually premiered on the same night than the return of Family Guy after a three-year absence, on May 1, 2005, and prior to that American Dad also got to have a special preview after the Superbowl on February 6, 2005).