Brothers & Sisters renewed for Season 5

Brothers and Sisters Renewed for Season 5 announced by ABC

'Brothers and Sisters' Renewed for Season Five
by Allison Waldman, posted Mar 9th 2010 7:30AM

The powers that be at ABC have good reasons to be feeling good about the network's success. They've had a really good year developing some new shows, like 'Modern Family,' 'The Middle' and 'Cougar Town' -- all of which have been given a renewal for next season. And today an established drama, 'Brothers and Sisters,' was given a fifth season pickup. You know what that means, don't you? Pop the cork! Let the merlot and pinot grigio flow, the Walkers and Ojai Foods are going to continue on for another year of whining and wining.

The pickup is not particularly surprising, but in light of the recent news that Rob Lowe is exiting the show -- reportedly for a part on 'Parks and Recreation' on NBC -- and the fact that Calista Flockhart will be cutting back on her episode commitment, it's great news. You never know how these networks crunch the numbers; someone might have deemed the large ensemble too expensive for the Nielsen numbers it regularly draws.

But ABC has benefited from a stable Sunday night line up for a while. That's why 'Brothers and Sisters' renewal should signal a similar move for 'Desperate Housewives.'

With the upcoming flashback episode promising to uncover some Walker family secrets, plus the emergence of Dennis York (actor Peter Gerety) as an old enemy of William's, there'll be no lack of drama. Kitty's Senatorial campaign should also be a major story line, and could explain why Calista won't be in every episode.

Anyway you cut it, this is good news for 'Brothers and Sister' fans. Nobody was ready for the Walkers to wrap it all up this season.