NATPE 2011: Day 2 Has Original Sitcoms; CBS Moves Up Mad Love Premiere

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

NATPE 2011: Day 2 Has Original Sitcoms; CBS Moves Up Mad Love Premiere

It's day two of the 2011 NATPE and still it is pretty light in terms of updates, but we have some sitcom updates! But first, THR reports that Father Alberto Cutie, a bestselling author of self-help books and radio talk show host as well as a former Roman Catholic priest, will join the ranks of talk shows and host a daily syndie strip devoted to life matters. The show is being licensed by Debmar-Mercury and the first station group to step up for a launch test is Fox. The show will preview on a number of as yet unspecified Fox stations this summer. The Fox test markets will include N.Y. and L.A., the country's top two markets. Other non-Fox outlets may be invited to join the test as well.
Sitcom wise, CABLEready is entering the scripted programming arena for the first time, offering up two sitcoms, including one with Married... with Children's David Faustino! The two original comedies are being produced by Dan Garcia Productions. Things We Do For Love is a half-hour multi-camera sitcom with a cast that includes Alfonso Ribeiro, Maria Conchita Alonzo, Tamara Mowry and James Avery. Darren (Alfonso Ribeiro) and his lovely wife Lourdes (Tamara Mowry) have recently been married. They struggle with life as newlyweds sustaining a family owned business. Once their zany in-laws move in (Lourdes' mom and Darren's father), their lives change forever. 5 episodes have been ordered and taped. Clunkers is a half-hour semi-scripted, single-camera comedy with Carl Anthony Payne, David Faustino, Katherine Rose and Sherman Hemsley. The comedy reunites high school best friends Ritchie (Carl Anthony Payne) and Shaun (David Faustino) at a used car lot in the deep south. With a feel of Curb Your Enthusiasm meets Sanford and Son, the show revolves around a former local baseball star, Ritchie, who must swallow his pride and return to his hometown after an injury keeps him from making it in the major leagues. 9 episodes have been ordered and shot. Hopefully more news on these two potential sitcoms will come soon, including what cable networks will pick these up. Our buddy Sean Compton, President of Programming at Tribune, wants original sitcoms in first-run syndication, so these two would be a great start for that even though they are being offered for cable. Stay tuned for further updates!
We hope to have our annual list of what is available for Fall 2011 by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, CBS has moved the premiere date of mid-season sitcom Mad Love to Valentine's Day (Monday, Feb. 14) at 8:30pm. The series was originally slated to premiere a week later on Monday, Feb. 21. This means Rules of Engagement will have its last Monday airing on Feb. 7 now but it will still move to Thursdays at 8:30pm starting Feb. 24. 13 episodes of Mad Love will air, while Rules of Engagement will have 9 episodes to air (from its 24 episode order) on its new night of Thursday.
The sitcom stars Jason Biggs, Sarah Chalke, Tyler Labine and Judy Greer. Matt Tarses and Jamie Tarses are executive producers for Sony Pictures Television in association with CBS Television Studios. Look for our review of the pilot closer to premiere date.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, November 20

The Conners - "Miracles" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Life-changing news lands in the Conner household when a member of the family makes an announcement that no one saw coming. Meanwhile, Dan is suspicious that Becky isn’t sticking to her end of the deal when it comes to her drinking. Darlene continues her job search, and Jackie offers English lessons to a Casita Bonita busboy in need.

The Kids Are Alright - "Boxing" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Frank announces that he has decided to compete in the church boxing tournament, making it obvious that he’s playing for Mike’s affections. When Frank can’t cut it, Timmy steps in and takes up boxing in order to bond with his dad and get his approval. Ultimately, he has to choose between his dad’s dreams for him and his own dreams of showbiz glory. Elsewhere, feeling rusty after being at the seminary for so long, Lawrence asks Eddie to help prepare him for a date by taking him on a “practice date”.

black-ish - "Good Grief" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Bow’s mom, Alicia, visits the family for the first time since the loss of Bow’s dad, and she is still heavily grieving. Bow decides to throw a big luau-themed party for what would have been her dad’s next birthday. Meanwhile, Mason has an extra ticket to an MMA fight and invites Diane on the same night as the party.

Splitting Up Together - "Yes, Deer" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Vlad, the new contractor for the house, arrives with his crew and Lena immediately begins to clash with him over his methods of repairing the house. Martin, on the other hand, feels that Lena should let them do what they were hired to do. After overhearing that she’s too uptight, Lena calls up an old friend to help her let out her frustrations. Elsewhere, Martin takes Mason camping to help him get over his breakup with Hazel and to teach him how to be a man, only to learn from him that it is okay to express his emotions.

The Guest Book - "Invisible Son" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Clem asks a stripper to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to convince his vacationing family that he is normal; once they get to Barefeet Retreat, it is discovered that Clem's fake girlfriend isn't the only thing he's been lying about.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 19)

Tuesday, November 20

Michael Strahan (Brothers) - Catch Michael on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Michael visits The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided) - Judy appears on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place) - D'Arcy stops by E!'s Busy Tonight at 10pm.
Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown) - Candice chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Jenifer Lewis (black-ish/The PJs) - Jenifer is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti talks about Christmas Everlasting on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan (check your listings) and on People Now at 12pm.
Mario Cantone (Sex and the City) - Mario stops by The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Jane Lynch (Angel from Hell) - Jane is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Second Generation Wayans) - Tatyana talks about Christmas Everlasting on People Now at 12pm.
Marlo Thomas (That Girl) - Marlo will be on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Tisha Campbell-Martin (Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) and Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood/Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) - Tisha and Tichina talk about BET Presents: 2018 Soul Train Awards on ABC's GMA Day at 1pm. They also talk about The Neighborhood on the BUILD Series at 1pm.
Alicia Witt (Cybill) and Colin Ferguson (Then Came You) - Alicia and Colin talk about their Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.