Image Credit: ABC
ABC is giving out some happy endings.
Fairy tale drama Once Upon a Time is among three shows which just landed a full-season pickup at the network. The order is a bit unusual since only two episodes have aired, but Once is ranked as the highest-rated new drama of the fall, averaging 12.3 million viewers and a hearty 4.0 rating among adults 18-49. Plus, Once held onto its strong Sunday night premiere rating in Week 2 despite facing increased competition — and that’s very rare.
Here’s two more shows getting nine more episodes from ABC:
– Tim Allen’s new comedy Last Man Standing (averaging 12.7 million viewers and a 3.7 according to “most current” data which includes some DVR playback). Standing has had some ratings erosion since it premiered, but has given ABC a foothold on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
– And, yup, returning comedy Happy Endings (7.9 million, 3.5), which performed modestly as a midseason replacement earlier this year and has since blossomed in the fall.
Absent from the list: Pan Am (8.4 million, 2.8), which has been slightly below the line of what ABC wants to see on Sundays. ABC is ordering 5 more scripts for the show, but holding off on a pickup. With a new showrunner at the helm, the network is hoping the series will improve in the coming weeks (a press email this morning noted Pan Am is HUGE in Sweden … so it’s got that going for it).
Also: Last Man Standing‘s less popular Tuesday night companion Man Up (7.3 million, 2.2) was left out.
Dany Delany’s returning crime drama Body of Proof (11.2 million, 2.4) has been helping out ABC at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, but the network has five unaired episodes left over from last season and therefore doesn’t feel like it necessarily has to order any additional hours.
For more, see our updated Death Watch 2011: Survival chances of all the new fall shows
