The CW is staying in business with Whose Line Is It Anyway.
The network on Monday announced that it has renewed the series for a second, expanded season of 24 episodes -- up 14 from its summer run.
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"It's clear that viewers are as excited to have Whose Line back on the air as we are,” CW president Mark Pedowitz said of the revived series with Aisha Tyler, Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles. "We have wanted to bring comedy back to The CW for a long time, and Aisha, Wayne, Colin and Ryan have brought funny to the network in a big way. We’re very excited to have them back for another season."
The CW revived the series in March following its 1998-2004 run on ABC. The improv comedy series opened strong in July against competition including Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, topping ABC in head-to-head competition with an average of a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49. The premiere also marked the CW's most-watched premiere since Arrow last fall. The episode drew 2.9 million viewers, the network's most-watched unscripted series premiere in six years.
Whose Line has been considered the CW's first foray into half-hour comedy territory. Pedowitz has noted that should the series perform well, the network would use it as a launch pad for original scripted comedies.
A premiere date for the expanded second season has yet to be announced.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
