SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

We have Spike TV's Fall 2011 schedule for you and they will be adding two sitcoms to the line-up! One of them is The King of Queens, which we first reported about them acquiring it last fall. The Kevin James comedy will be shared with TBS, which has been airing the comedy since 2006 and has rights until 2019. Spike TV will air the series for at least two years then it will move to sister network TV Land in 2013, if all goes planned. Spike TV will have primetime and late night rights, as TBS will have daytime and afternoons. Spike TV will launch the popular sitcom with a launch marathon on Sunday, October 2, 2011 from 8pm-3am. The series will then join the regular line-up the very next day (Monday, October 3, 2011), airing weeknights (except Tuesdays) at 8:00pm & 8:30pm. The series will also air every weekday at 12 midnight & 12:30am. In addition, The King of Queens will air in a Sunday primetime block from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. We'll have its timings on TBS when we reveal their fall 2011 schedule by next week.
The other sitcom addition is a new comedy to syndication, but will be getting a second cable home. It's the Brad Garrett comedy 'Til Death, which is also coming on cable to WGN America and local broadcast stations this fall. As we reported earlier this week, the sitcom will air on WGN America in the overnight (3-4am). And Spike TV will be airing it late night as well, however they will just air it a bit earlier. 'Til Death joins the line-up on Monday, October 3, 2011 and will air weeknights (except Wednesday ans Thursday nights) at 1:00am & 1:30am, following The King of Queens. The sitcom lasted four seasons but the last two seasons really were ordered to get a syndication deal, so they mass-produced a bulk of episodes which Fox just simply burned-off, so most of these episodes will be new to everyone as they have aired just once and during weird times and nights (like Christmas Day 2009).
The rest of the Spike TV line-up will be pretty much the same as it is now, with CSI: NY weekdays at 9am, followed by a block of CSI from 10pm-1pm, another CSI: NY at 1pm and another CSI at 2pm. Reality stacks will air from 3pm-8pm with series like Jail, Auction Hunters, 1000 Ways to Die, and UFC Unleashed. The Friday schedule has a marathon of Gangland from 9am-8pm. In primetime, we mentioned The King of Queens from 8-9pm, original series/reality follows until 12 midnight. After The King of Queens and 'Til Death from 12-2am, at 2am will be Spike's Most Amazing Videos from Mon-Wed, The Shield on Thursdays and Son of the Beach on Fridays. At 3am, Spike TV will air Entourage seven days a week, which is leaving broadcast syndication and WGN America this fall, but it will remain on cable on Spike TV. MANswers follows at 3:30am to close the night off. Weekends will have a mix of movies and marathons, with a block of The King of Queens in prime on Sunday nights as I mentioned earlier.
It looks like some series like Walker Texas Ranger and Unsolved Mysteries will be leaving, but those have been airing recently once or twice a week in late night.
View the Spike TV Fall 2011 schedule. Come on back on Monday and every weekday for the rest of the summer for some fall 2011 schedules!

Onto to the TCA Summer 2011 press tour, yesterday Hallmark Channel, GMC, and Lifetime were among the notable networks to present. There wasn't anything big to announce, but we will share news anyway. For Hallmark, their new daytime entry, Emeril's Table, featuring Chef Emeril Lagasse, will debut Monday, September 26 at 11:00 am ET and will air weekdays at 11am ET. Hallmark Channel also announced the September 26 debut of season two of Martha Bakes, a Hallmark Channel Original Series and part of the Hallmark Channel Home block. The 13-episode series airs Mondays at 11:30 a.m. ET/PT.
At Hallmark Channel, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! During the holidays, there is not a more popular retail destination than Hallmark, and for family holiday entertainment, the most popular viewing destination on television is Hallmark Channel. Hallmark Channel announces its most highly anticipated seasonal event, "Countdown to Christmas," will commence on November 12. For those who cannot wait for Christmas, the network is whetting appetites with a sneak peek of its "Countdown to Christmas" campaign with the World Premiere of Mistletoe Over Manhattan, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie starring Tricia Hefler and Greg Bryk on Sunday, November 6 (8 p.m. ET/PT). Before the holiday 2011 season ends, Hallmark Channel will air more than 1300-plus hours of holiday-themed programming, making it America's premier holiday destination on television. Hallmark Channel's programming slate includes 14 Hallmark Channel Original Movies and one-of-a-kind Hallmark Channel Original Animated Specials, like the first-ever, interactive entertainment program Jingle All the Way, starring Hallmark's Jingle, the Husky Pup.(TM) The campaign also includes hours of holiday-themed programs in its daytime block, including episodes of The Martha Stewart Show, Emeril's Table, Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn and Martha Bakes, a Martha Stewart primetime original Christmas special, and the 123rd Tournament of Roses Parade. Among the stars in the Hallmark Channel Original Movies this season are Nancy McKeon, Wes Brown, Julie Mond, Cheryl Ladd, Bruce Boxleitner, Kim Delaney, Martin Mull, Rhea Perlman, Catherine Bell, Chris Potter, Elizabeth Berkley, Judd Nelson, Dean Cain, Rachel Blanchard, Tom Cavanagh, Faith Ford, Sir Roger Moore, Maria Thayer, Vivica A. Fox, Sam Page, Ryan Bittle, Vicki Lawrence, Melissa Gilbert, and Billy Ray Cyrus.

There was nothing noteworthy to report from Lifetime and GMC. Stay tuned tomorrow for more updates from the cable portion.