Wednesday, March 07, 2012
ABC Family Acquires The Middle For Fall 2013, Also In Local Syndication; TV One's March Sitcom Madness
Warner Bros. Television has sold the ABC hit family sitcom The Middle into broadcast syndication and cable for Fall 2013! In broadcast syndication, Tribune Broadcasting stations will air it in 11 markets, including WPIX-CW New York, KTLA-CW Los Angeles and WGN-CW Chicago. Also, Sinclair Broadcast Group has picked up the sitcom in 19 markets, including Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The Middle has been cleared on stations reaching 92% of TV homes so far, having also been sold to stations owned by CBS, Communications Corp., Raycom, Newport, Belo, Cox, Local TV, New Age Media, Titan, Grant, News Press & Gazette, Barrington, Mission, Venture, LIN, Pappas, Weigel, Acme, and others. A full list of stations will be available closer to fall 2013. More clearances will come.
As for cable, The Middle has been acquired by ABC Family for also fall 2013. This marks the first major current sitcom acquisition by the network, as the other comedies they previously acquired were of canceled sitcoms like My Wife & Kids and 8 Simple Rules or older comedies like That '70s Show and Full House. The hit family sitcom will likely air in the early evenings, probably sometime between 6-8pm during family time. We'll have more on that as we get closer to fall 2013, as we are still a while away!
The series premiered in fall 2009 on ABC (Wednesdays at 8PM) and is currently in its third season. By the time the series hits syndication, it will have four full seasons of episodes to air five-days-a-week. Two-time Emmy winner Patricia Heaton stars in this warm and witty single-camera comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations. Middle-aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country in Orson, Indiana, Frankie Heck is a harried wife and working mother of three who uses her wry wit and sense of humor in an attempt to get her family through each day intact. The Middle stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob. It is created and is executive produced by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline.
It's March and sports fans know that March means it's time for March Madness (the college basketball tournament). TV One will have its own March Madness with Sitcom Madness! TV One will air sitcom marathons every weekday all-month long from 11am-5pm. The stunt started this week on Monday (March 5) and will continue through Friday, March 30, so you have plenty of time to join the Sitcom Madness! On Mondays, TV One will air six hours of Martin in March. On Tuesdays, spend the day with twelve helpings of The Jeffersons from 11am-5pm. The sitcoms continue mid-week with Good Times on Wednesdays. On Thursday, it's not a half marathon but we get a Half & Half marathon. And close the week out on Fridays with Eve. That's five different sitcoms, so what show do you think is the best show from these five if TV One were doing a bracket style elimination? Luckily they're not, so you can watch all five series if you like them!
Everything else on TV One in March will remain as it is, as the 11am-5pm portion is preempted this month for these marathons. No other stunts are planned, so it's all about the Sitcom Madness in March!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, April 17
The Conners - "Toilet Hacks and the Management Track" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After feeling the cafeteria staff could use some organization, Darlene seeks to be manager of food services at Mark’s college. Elsewhere, Dan teaches housewives the basics of DIY home projects to make some extra money toward paying off the house.
Not Dead Yet - "Not You Yet" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Nell, Lexi and Cricket take Sam out on a "divorce day" to celebrate her singlehood, while Nell makes plans for her future.
Abbott Elementary - "2 Ava 2 Fest" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Ava Fest is back, and with the help of the teachers, Ava’s set on outdoing last year by any means necessary. After Janine accepts the offer for a full-time position at the district, she just has to check off one last thing to make it official.
Animal Control - "Bunnies and Veggies" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Frank gets frustrated trying to meet women on dating apps, he asks Emily to set him up on an old-fashioned meet-in-person date; Shred and Patel decide to start renovations on their investment property themselves.
Family Guy - "Faith No More" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Brian becomes romantically interested in someone and it inspires him to use Stewie's time machine, strange consequences result from their journey.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 15)
Wednesday, April 17
- Rob McElhenney (Mythic Quest/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Watch Rob on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- John Lithgow (Trial & Error/Twenty Good Years/3rd Rock from the Sun) - John appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed) and Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous) - Betsy and Utkarsh are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood/New Girl) - Max appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
- Pam Grier (Bless This Mess) - Pam is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
- Dulcé Sloan (The Great North) - Dulcé hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Zendaya (K.C. Undercover/Shake It Up) and Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Zendaya and Idris are guests on E! News at 11pm on E!.
- Nicole Richie (Great News) - Nicole is chatting with Drew about her new nephew, being a mom to a teenage girl and being a huge fan of the original film she's now starring in on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace discusses her new film Unsung Hero on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- George Takei (Supah Ninjas) - George talks about My Lost Freedom on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- The Cast of A Different World - ABC's The View has the 35th-anniversary reunion with the cast of A Different World, including Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Cree Summer, Darryl Bell and Debbie Allen at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
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