ABC Moves ‘Happy Endings' to Fridays

Comedy debuts on night March 29, with ‘Celebrity Wife Swap' and ‘The Taste' taking over Tuesdays

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/13/2013 11:24:37 PM

In another setback to the struggling comedy, ABC announced it will pull Happy Endings from the schedule for a few weeks and shift it to Fridays starting March 29.

New cooking competition show The Taste will shift back an hour to Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Feb. 26, pre-empting the previously scheduled episodes of Happy Endings. Reality series Celebrity Wife Swap will return on Tuesday at 8 p.m. the same night to lead into The Taste.

After ABC pulled fellow Tuesday comedy Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 last month, Happy Endings was scheduled to air back-to-back episodes on the night until Dancing With the Stars returned the week of March 18.

It will now air back-to-back originals on Friday from 8-9 p.m., where Last Man Standing and Malibu Country have aired this season. Both those comedies will have completed their season orders by that date.

The Friday move pushes Happy Endings one step closer to cancelation, despite ABC Entertainment chairman Paul Lee pledging his support for both it and Apt. 23 at the most recent TCA press tour and an attempt to double-run the series on Sundays and Tuesdays proved unsuccessful. Its most recent episodes on Jan. 29 earned a 1.3 rating with adults 18-49 and 2.9 million viewers.