TBS Refreshes 'Frank TV'

There will be fresh episodes of Frank TV this year.

TBS has ordered eight new installments of Frank Caliendo late-night sketch comedy show. Officials at the “very funny” did not say whether the second-season of Frank TV would bow like the first did in the November-December time frame.

The five-episode first season -- three other planned installments fell victim to the Writers Guild of America strike -- averaged 2.1 million viewers in their premiere 11 p.m. windows on Tuesdays, including 1.4 million adults 18 to 49. The show debuted with some 3.2 million watchers on Nov. 20, according to live+ same-day Nielsen Media Research data, scoring 2.06 million within the aforementioned demo, a record for a late-night original cable series launch.

Frank TV features Caliendo, a master impressionist, channeling such pop culture, entertainment, sports and political icons as John Madden, Dr. Phil, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and President George W. Bush. 

“Frank is one of the country’s most popular performers for a reason:  He’s simply the best at what he does,” said Michael Wright, senior vice president in charge of the Content Creation Group for TBS and sister networks TNT and TCM, in a statement. “Frank TV has resonated with audiences because his style of comedy is so accessible.  Frank has a very appealing everyman sensibility. He laughs at the same things we all laugh at in the popular culture around us.  And the show’s sketches catch that comedic point of view perfectly.”