ABC has renewed the Universal TV "Coach" through the 1994-95 season with a total of 50 episodes -- securing a long-term companion for "Home Improvement," which already has been picked up through the 1995-96 term.
On the down side, however, at least two "Coach" producers are jumping ship, with supervising producer Bob Bendetson off to become a co-exec producer on "Home Improvement," the show's megahit lead-in, and producer Nell Scovall ankling to become a supervising producer on CBS and Warner Bros.
TV's "Murphy Brown."
Those changes come amid reports of trouble on "Coach" between some of the producers and star Craig T. Nelson, although reps for Universal TV and producer Barry Kemp's Bungalow 78 Prods. downplayed those reports, saying Bendetson and Scovall had simply moved on to pursue new challenges.
Bendetson is the second top-level producer to be added to "Improvement" in recent weeks, joining Elliot Shoenman as a co-exec producer (Daily Variety, Jan. 19). Wind Dancer Prods. principals and series exec producers Matt Williams, David McFadzean and Carmen Finestra have brought the pair aboard so they can focus more attention on their two-series deal with ABC, with a first project under that pact targeted for midseason.
"Coach" premiered in the middle of the 1988-89 season and has aired four full years on the network, commanding the post-"Roseanne" slot from November 1989 until last December, when ABC moved it to make room for "The Jackie Thomas Show."
"Coach" has prospered behind "Home Improvement," however, forming the heart of ABC's Wednesday lineup. Nelson picked up an Emmy for the Universal sitcom as lead actor in a comedy series last year.
Contact Brian Lowry at
brian.lowry@variety.com