ABC gives rookie sitcom “Cristela” full-season order in same week Alonzo releases first stand-up CD

Amid all of the carnage of cancelled rookie sitcoms this fall, finally some good news, and it’s for a stand-up comedian sitcom, as ABC has granted Cristela Alonzo’s Cristela a full-season order.

The only other rookie sitcom on primetime network TV this fall to receive a “back-nine” order: Blackish, also on ABC. NBC’s Marry Me earned a five-episode extension from its initial 13-episode launch. The other new sitcoms all halted production at 13 episodes and/or already are off the airwaves: Manhattan Love Story, Selfie, A to Z, Bad Judge, Mulaney.

ABC hadn’t even ordered Cristela to pilot this past winter, but Alonzo and her producers shot one anyhow with the penalty money they’d received via their development deal, and made it onto the fall schedule. The multi-cam family sitcom has Alonzo living with her sister’s family, along with their mother, as she tries to make it from law school to prestigious law firm. Gabriel Iglesias has a recurring role as her brother-in-law’s brother.

Cristela airs on Friday nights, where it debuted with a 1.3 rating and has hovered between that and a 1.0 for subsequent episodes. Which, on Fridays, hasn’t seemed to be as important. A generation after TGIF, ABC and the other networks largely had abandoned original programming on Fridays, only to reverse course in the past few seasons to slot series there again that may be immune to ratings pressures.

Alonzo told friends on Facebook: “I’m crying in front of the travel items at Target because of this…” linking to the pick-up news. “WE GOT PICKED UP FOR A FULL SEASON!!!” A little bit later, she Tweeted:

Congrats, Cristina!

Coincidentally, Alonzo just released her first stand-up album via Comedy Central Records, “Some of the Hits.” You’ll hear plenty of stories from Alonzo that may have been plucked for punchlines and storylines, plus the charisma that won critics over this past summer. Oh, and it’s also got some salty language you won’t hear on ABC.

Buy Cristela Alonzo’s “Some of the Hits” now.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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