View source for Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)

{{Short description|2002 American sitcom}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{italic title|all=yes}}
{{Infobox television
|italic_title        = no
|image               = 
|caption             = 
|alt_name            = ''My Adventures in Television''
|genre               = [[Sitcom]]
|creator             = [[Peter Tolan]]
|writer              = David J. Baldy<br />[[Jenji Kohan]]<br />Lesly Lieberman<br />Daphne Pollon<br />Peter Tolan<br />[[Mike Martineau]]
|director            = [[Robert Berlinger]]<br />Peter Tolan<br />[[Ted Wass]]
|starring            = [[Ivan Sergei]]<br>[[Melinda McGraw]]<br />[[Ed Begley Jr.]]<br />James Michael McCauley<br />[[John Cleese]]
|theme_music_composer = Peter Tolan<br />[[Christopher Tyng]]
|composer            = Christopher Tyng
|country             = United States
|language            = English
|num_seasons         = 1
|num_episodes        = 6 (1 unaired)
|executive_producer  = Lauren Corrao<br />Peter Tolan
|producer            = Mike Martineau<br />Michael Petok<br />Shari Tavey
|runtime             = 22&ndash;24 minutes
|company             = [[Peter Tolan|The Cloudland Company]]<br />[[ABC Studios|Touchstone Television]]
|channel             = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
|first_aired         = {{Start date|2002|03|27}}
|last_aired          = {{End date|2002|06|12}}
}}

'''''Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)''''' (later retitled '''''My Adventures in Television''''') is an American [[sitcom]] which aired on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in 2002. The series was created by [[Peter Tolan]].

==Plot==
Idealistic television executive David Weiss joins struggling TV network IBS, only to discover it is a place of backstabbing, constant competition, and a fair bit of bad programming. His colleagues include: Mike McClaren, an exec who will do anything to get ahead in the business, including hiding his own [[homosexuality]]; Lindsay Urich, an air-head who gets by on her looks; Joanne Walker, who exists as the token black person at the network; and head of programming Paul Weffler, who has an ability to get things done but is so clueless that often it is by accident. Overseeing them all is the president of the network, Red Lansing, whose orders – no matter how far-fetched – are ''always'' right.

The series didn't shy away from surprising storylines. Episode one featured David sleeping with [[Lori Loughlin]] which caused a scandal at the network; episode three – "Death Be Not Pre-Empted" – featured the team going after ratings by airing the execution of a [[serial killer]], and episode six revolved around David's attempt to please all sorts of minority groups without displeasing others.

==Cast==
* [[Ivan Sergei]] as David Weiss
* [[Melinda McGraw]] as Lindsay Urich
* [[Ed Begley Jr.]] as Paul Weffler
* [[Sherri Shepherd]] as Joanne Walker
* James Michael McCauley as Mike McClaren
* [[John Cleese]] as Red Lansing

==Production==
The series was a mid-season replacement,<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Levesque |title=Midseason sitcoms: From middling to really bad |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/tv/article/Midseason-sitcoms-From-middling-to-really-bad-1083639.php |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |date=March 25, 2002 |accessdate=April 28, 2015}}</ref> premiering on Wednesday, March 27, 2002 at (unsurprisingly) 9:30&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]] and [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific]] times, 8:30 [[Central Time Zone|Central Time]] – with the title being a play on the [[Effects of time zones on North American broadcasting#Time zone feeds|common U.S. network practice of promoting both airtimes]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Johnson |title=Comedy centralized |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2002/03/27/comedy-centralized/ |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=March 27, 2002 |access-date=April 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Terrence |last=Rafferty |title=Television/Radio; The importance of being silly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/24/arts/television-radio-the-importance-of-being-silly.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 24, 2002 |accessdate=April 28, 2015}}</ref> Series creator Peter Tolan had earlier written ''[[The Larry Sanders Show]]'', ''[[Ellen (TV series)|Ellen]]'' and ''[[Murphy Brown]]''. The series was able to attract big-name guest stars, such as Lori Loughlin, [[John Ritter]], [[Garry Shandling]] and [[Lisa Rinna]], who all appeared as themselves in the first few episodes. However, low ratings caused ABC to put the series on [[Hiatus (television)|hiatus]] after just two episodes,<ref>{{cite news |title=US drops Cleese sitcom |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1918773.stm |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=April 9, 2002 |accessdate=April 28, 2015}}</ref> and ultimately cancel it.<ref name="lat-cancel">{{cite news |first=Allan |last=Johnson |title=Canceled 'Adventures in Television': Was the hook too quick? |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-22-et-johnson22-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=June 22, 2002 |access-date=April 28, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907070036/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jun/22/entertainment/et-johnson22|archive-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref>

Three more episodes appeared after the May [[Nielsen ratings#Sweeps|sweeps]] were over; on May 29, 2002, the show returned to its Wednesday 9:30/8:30 time slot, under the new title ''My Adventures in Television''. The remaining produced episode never aired.<ref name="lat-cancel" />

==Episodes==
{{Episode table |total_width=100 |background=#101313 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 1
 |Title = Pilot
 |DirectedBy = [[Ted Wass]]
 |WrittenBy = [[Peter Tolan]]
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2002|03|27}}
 |ShortSummary =
 |LineColor = 101313
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 2
 |Title = The Art of Groveling
 |DirectedBy = Ted Wass
 |WrittenBy = David J. Baldy
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2002|04|03}}
 |ShortSummary =
 |LineColor = 101313
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 3
 |Title = Death Be Not Pre-Empted
 |DirectedBy = [[Robert Berlinger]]
 |WrittenBy = Daphne Pollon
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2002|05|29}}
 |ShortSummary =
 |LineColor = 101313
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 4
 |Title = Chinese Baby
 |DirectedBy = Peter Tolan 
 |WrittenBy = [[Jenji Kohan]]
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2002|06|05}}
 |ShortSummary =
 |LineColor = 101313
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 5
 |Title = Fired
 |DirectedBy = Ted Wass
 |WrittenBy = Lesly Lieberman
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2002|06|12}}
 |ShortSummary =
 |LineColor = 101313
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 6
 |Title = Diversity
 |DirectedBy = 
 |WrittenBy = 
 |OriginalAirDate = UNAIRED
 |ShortSummary =
 |LineColor = 101313
}}
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20020622144206/http://abc.abcnews.go.com/primetime/preview/wednesday_930.html}} (archived)
*{{IMDb title|0306220|Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)}}
*{{epguides|Wednesday930830Central}}

[[Category:2000s American sitcoms]]
[[Category:2000s American workplace comedy television series]]
[[Category:2002 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:2002 American television series endings]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Television series about television]]
[[Category:Television series by ABC Studios]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company sitcoms]]