What better sign that sitcoms are back than the debut of a new one starring Betty White?
The former Golden Girl returns to situation comedy glory in prime time this July in Hot in Cleveland, airing Mondays at 8 p.m. on CTV.
Starring Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time), Jane Leeves (Frasier) and Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me), the show is based on the follies of three women who find themselves stranded in Cleveland en route to Paris. Realizing they are much hotter properties in Ohio than they are in Botox-soaked Los Angeles, the friends decide to stay in Cleveland and rent a home from an eccentric landlord named Elka, played by White.
The show targets adults 25 to 54 and 18 to 49 – a demo that seems suspiciously young for these boomer-friendly ladies, until one factors in the wild popularity of the successful Facebook-based campaign to have the 88-year-old White host Saturday Night Live. The show White hosted became the highest-rated episode of SNL since the 2008 presidential election.
Hot in Cleveland debuted on TV Land in the US to 4.75 million viewers, the biggest-ever debut for the channel. It will be promoted by CTV on-air and the network reports that it’s open to sponsorship opportunities.