ABC on Thursday handed full-season pickups to three of its four new fall comedies, the single-camera half-hours “Modern Family,” “Cougar Town” and “The Middle.”

“Modern Family,” one of the best received new series, and the Courteney Cox starrer “Cougar Town” have been early ratings standouts.

While they dipped in their third airing this week, the two shows continue to be solid anchors of ABC’s all-new two-hour Wednesday comedy block in the 9-10 p.m. hour.

“The Middle,” which stars Patricia Heaton, has been less impressive at 8:30 p.m., but has built on its “Hank” lead-in in both airings so far.

As for “Hank,” the fourth piece of ABC’s comedy block, there is no word on its future.

“Hank,” starring veteran Kelsey Grammer, is the only multi-camera comedy among the foursome and has fared much worse than the others in critical response and in the ratings.

ABC is yet to make a decision on the fifth new Wednesday series, low-performing dramedy “Eastwic

ABC’s new sitcoms Modern Family and Cougar Town slipped in their second outings, but they were still the highest-rated shows of the evening last night.

Modern averaged a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, the night’s top-rated show and off 12 percent from last week’s 4.3 for its debut.

At 9:30, lead-out Cougar Town averaged a 3.6, dropping a bit more, 18 percent, but still tying with CBS’ Criminal Minds, its timeslot companion, for the No. 2 program of the evening.

The combination of Modern and Cougar finished just ahead of Minds in the timeslot with a 3.7, with some of last week’s viewers possibly drifting back to Fox’s Glee. The comedy saw its ratings rise week to week for the first time in its brief four-week run, up 7 percent to a 3.2, equaling its average the week before ABC premiered its comedies.

Living has acquired the rights to Courteney Cox-fronted Cougar Town from ABC Studios.

The Virgin Media Television-owned channel has bought 13 half-hour episodes of the comedy series to air in its peak time schedule next year.

Amy Barham, Head of Acquisitions at Virgin Media Television said: “Cougar Town was a stand-out show for us at this year’s LA Screenings. Hugely entertaining, Cox is on top comedic form with a fantastic supporting cast. We think the show sits perfectly on Living and will really resonate with our audience.”

A spokesperson for ABC added: “With Cougar Town, Bill Lawrence has shone the spotlight on the forty-something woman to produce a fast-paced, lively comedy with wide appeal.

“Of course, Courteney Cox’s fan base and draw is as powerful as ever, not least in the UK – her return to TV comedy is well matched for the Living audience.”

The show recently launched to a decent 11.44m in the US.