ONE SEASON WONDERS: Accidentally on Purpose

On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted one season or less. Today I am looking at 2000s flop Accidentally on Purpose!

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE

Programming Details:

September 21, 2009 - April 21, 2010

18 episodes

CBS

Starring: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham, Nicolas Wright and Grant Show

Created by: Claudia Lonow

Plot: Billie (Elfman) is a San Francisco movie critic who has a one night stand with a younger man and aspiring chef, Zack (Foster) and ends up pregnant. While dealing with her pregnancy and new complicated relationship, she also has to deal with ex-boyfriend and boss James (Show). Rounding out the main cast are Billie's friend Olivia (Jensen), Billie's sister Abby (Parham) and Zack's friend Davis (Wright).

Brief Pilot Review:

The pilot of Accidentally on Purpose certainly sets up at least a season of the show well with the pregnancy reveal. It gave the show a direction at least for the first season which is usually all a sitcom needs to get into its groove. Of course this never got the chance to get into a groove beyond the pregnancy storyline. It was a pretty standard CBS sitcom and definitely a vehicle for Jenna Elfman. The series rushed through the one night stand to the pregnancy test and it seemed like they could have given a little bit more time to build up to the pregnancy test. It felt rushed again when Billie went to tell Zack about the pregnancy.

I'm not always a fan of Elfman but she was definitely the strongest cast member. Ashley Jensen and Lennon Parham were pretty obnoxious as Billie's confidantes. Jon Foster was pretty vanilla as the baby daddy and I found myself wishing he was much more of a presence as a character. At least he had a little more to do than Grant Show, who was completely forgettable. The pilot really suffered from being filled with exposition. I feel like it didn't have to run the full gamut from Billie and Zack meeting to painting a nursery in one episode. They could have stretched it over a couple episodes and let us get to know the characters more in the pilot.

What Went Wrong:

CBS was high on Accidentally on Purpose heading into the Fall of 2009 as evidenced by its placement on their strongest comedy night. It marked Jenna Elfman's second return to TV after her successful Dharma & Greg and it was surrounded by huge hits How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. In 2009, that was about as good a spot as a new comedy could get but CBS just couldn't find the fourth piece and kept reverting back to Rules of Engagement. The most recent example in the 2008-09 season was the short-lived Worst Week. It seemed fortuitous as well for Accidentally when Elfman announced her real life pregnancy shortly before the show's debut, giving it some added press.

Things started out okay but Accidentally was clearly the weak link in the night. It was pulled off the night in February but still had a shot at renewal. It blew its chance though when it resurfaced on Wednesdays after The New Adventures of Old Christine. Without a strong lead-in, the ratings tanked quickly and the show was cancelled at the end of the season. Jenna Elfman continued in a parade of flops over the next decade with 1600 Penn, Growing Up Fisher and Imaginary Mary but she has found success again as a regular on Fear the Walking Dead. 

Tomorrow: A recap of F Troop including my favorite and least favorite episodes!