Monday, July 05, 2010
IFC Acquires Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared; Final 2 Episodes of happy town on ABC.com
Continuing to build on its strategy of showcasing "slightly off" comedies that appeal to its young male audience, IFC (Independent Film Channel) announced it has acquired the complete series of Judd Apatow's Emmy®-winning high school comedy Freaks and Geeks (18 episodes) and college spinoff Undeclared (17 episodes) from Paramount Pictures Corporation. These two cult TV short-lived series helped launch the careers of Jay Baruchel, Jenna Fischer, James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel, among other young stars. Freaks and Geeks airs on IFC on Fridays at 11:00pm, et/pt, and encore on Mondays (so tonight!) at 11:00pm and Sundays at 10:00pm. Undeclared will debut on IFC this fall. A previously unaired episode of Undeclared will make its U.S. television debut on IFC.
Freaks and Geeks is set in the 1980s at McKinley High where there are two different groups of teenagers: the Freaks with cool and charismatic Daniel Desario (James Franco) and tomboy Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini, ER), and the Geeks with Lindsay's shy younger brother Sam (John Francis Daley, Bones), gentle Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr), and self-proclaimed ladies' man Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine). The series was executive produced by Judd Apatow; series writers include Paul Feig (The Office) and series directors include Jake Kasdan. It was produced by Apatow Productions in association with DreamWorks Television and aired for one season on NBC (1999-2000) and also starred Seth Rogen and Jason Segel in supporting roles.
Undeclared paired creator and executive producer Apatow with directors such as Kasdan together again along with stars Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. The series, which was also produced by Apatow Productions in association with DreamWorks Television, aired on Fox for one season (2001-2002). The comedy series follows an eclectic group of college freshmen as they experience their first year at the University of North Eastern California (UNEC). College life is seen through the eyes of the new and improved Steven Karp (Jay Baruchel), who goes from scrawny high school nerd to potentially handsome college guy over the course of one summer. The series also features Jenna Fischer (The Office), Carla Gallo and Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy).
As we wait for the final 2 episodes of canceled series Better Off Ted, Romantically Challenged and Eastwick to be scheduled, the final two episodes of ABC's canceled happy town are now available on abc.com. The series was pulled from the Wednesday schedule after its June 16 airing due to low ratings. The two episodes are "Dallas Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and "Blame It On Rio Bravo." These will not air on TV, so it will be your only shot of watching it. I suggest you watch it if you were watching the show, so you have an ending because there is an actual ending to the show. Click below to watch the final 2 episodes of this mystery drama!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 22
Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.
Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Wednesday, January 22
- Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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