After pre-empting re-runs of Desperate Housewives, first to show the Oscars then to air an Oprah Winfrey telemovie, ABC has decided to forgo a DH episode for the third week running so that it can launch its new Jake in Progress.

The new comedy series, starring John Stamos, will air on Sunday 13 March 2005 at 9pm ET, according to The Futon Critic. It will then settle in a regular time slot of Thursdays at 8pm ET opposite NBC's Joey. In the show, Stamos plays Jake Phillips, a New York-based publicist who, as well as trying to create good PR for the stars, also tries to spin his own life in the best possible light.

Creator Austin Winsberg said he believes the show will fit ABC's resurgence this season. "Hopefully, the show (will) appeal to the same audience that likes Desperate Housewives or Lost or some of the more sophisticated shows that ABC has been putting on this year," Winsberg told the Montgomery Advertiser.

However, most initial reviews of the show are not very positive. "It's a good thing Nielsen doesn't measure disappointment levels. This one could go through the roof," wrote Barry Garron for Reuters. "It's not that Jake is awful. In several respects, particularly the strength of its supporting cast and the clever use of split-screen, it actually is quite good. Where it fails is in the writing, which is both mediocre and repetitive."

"Jake in Progress feels a little more like 'Shaky Jake'", said Mike Duffy for the Detroit Free Press. But not altogether negative, he noted: "[It] has a few things going for it. There's no laugh track or guffawing studio audience. Also, the show is filmed single-camera-style like a movie or like Sex and the City, which Jake mildly echoes." His end verdict was that Jake just "needs to progress" and that the show could still succeed with ABC.

Robert Bianco at USA Today is less forgiving. "It starts out badly in the first of Sunday's special double-episode run and gets worse," he said. "But what can anyone be expected to make of Jake in Progress when its own network and producers seem to have no clear idea what the show should be?"

But there are some more positive reactions; Kay McFadden at The Seattle Times loved the show, declaring it a "leap forward for network comedy" and a "winner". "Jake in Progress is the reinvented sitcom that TV has badly needed," said McFadden. "It combines fast, in-the-know humor and a surprising amount of heart. It treats us like the smart viewers we are without a hint of bicoastal snobbery."

The original Futon Critic article can be found here, and the Montgomery Advertiser article here. You can also read the full reviews at Reuters, Detroit Free Press, USA Today and Seattle Times.

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