LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- TV Land kicked off day two of the TCA Winter Press Tour with a breakfast featuring the ladies of "Hot in Cleveland" - Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White.
Amongst the festivities I grabbed a few minutes with Larry W. Jones, President of TV Land, who gave me some updates on the network's pilots as well as its scheduling plans going forward.
They'll stick to Wednesday nights for the time being. After a short-lived push on Tuesday nights earlier this year, TV Land's original lineup will stay put this summer on Wednesdays with "Hot in Cleveland" at 10:00/9:00c, "The Exes" at 10:30/9:30c and "The Soul Man" at 11:00/10:00c. As previously announced, "Cleveland" kicks off its summer season with a super-sized live episode on Wednesday, June 19.
The network has passed on "Brothers-in-Law." The pilot focused on "the family dynamic between Neil (Josh Cooke) and his wife Cheska (Kelen Coleman) as they adjust to Van (Jay Mohr), the eccentric fiancé of Cheska's twin sister Maddie (Ellen Woglom)." Bill Martin and Mike Schiff were behind the multi-camera project, from Scott Stuber and Quan Phung's Bluegrass Television.
"I'm Not Dead Yet," its first single-camera pilot, is in the testing stage. Ben Falcone stars as Sandy Lazarus, "a driving instructor who, after learning he has a potentially fatal heart condition, decides to start speaking his mind and grab life by the horns." Missi Pyle, Rachel G. Fox and Elliott Gould also star as his wife, daughter and father. Jon Sherman penned the pilot, based on the DBS produced Israeli format "Zanzuri." Electus' Ben Silverman is among the executive producers. Jones says TV Land's upcoming off-network run of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" will pave the road for its expansion into the single-camera marketplace.
"Giant Baby" completed production last month. The Kirstie Alley-led half-hour revolves around Madison "Maddie" Banks, "a Broadway star who finds her life turned upside down when Arlo (Eric Petersen), the son she gave up for adoption 26 years ago, turns up looking to connect after his adopted mother has died." Rhea Perlman and Michael Richards also star in the multi-camera pilot, from creator Marco Pennette.
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