‘Samantha Who?’ and ‘Kath & Kim’ are renewed

November 4, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

ABC’s “Samantha Who?” and NBC’s “Kath & Kim” have each earned full-season pickups, continuing the trend of networks pursuing stability despite underwhelming ratings this fall.

ABC has ordered seven more episodes of “Samantha Who?,” slightly less than the typical nine.

“Samantha Who?,” for which star Christina Applegate earned an Emmy nomination earlier this year, loses a big chunk of its “Dancing with the Stars” lead-in at 9:30 p.m. Mondays. It still leads the half-hour in total viewers, however, and typically finishes third among adults 18-49 (it’s averaging a 2.8 rating in the demographic).

“Kath & Kim,” meanwhile, received the standard back-nine order from NBC. The show hasn’t done much in the ratings so far this fall, averaging about 6 million viewers a week and a 2.6 adults 18-49 rating.

Today’s birthdays

Former CBS news anchorman Walter Cronkite is 92. Actress Doris Roberts (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) is 78. Actress Loretta Swit (“MASH”) is 71. Singer Harry Elston of Friends of Distinction is 70. Singer Delbert McClinton is 68. Actress Markie Post is 58. Country singer Kim Forester of the Forester Sisters is 48. Actress Kathy Griffin is 48. Actor Ralph Macchio is 47. “Survivor” host Jeff Probst is 47. Actor Matthew McConaughey is 39. Rapper-producer Diddy (Sean Combs) is 39. Singer Shawn Rivera of Az Yet is 37. Actress Heather Tom (“Bold and the Beautiful,” “One Life To Live”) is 33.