TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour: ABC Day 1; Fox Presents The Short-Com Comedy Hour; Style Acquires Gossip Girl

Thursday, July 26, 2012

TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour: ABC Day 1; Fox Presents The Short-Com Comedy Hour; Style Acquires Gossip Girl

Today at the TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour ABC is up for its first of two days. However, the actual ABC primetime series panels and executive session will be tomorrow, so more coverage will be on that day. Today they will be showcasing ABC News (Good Morning America will be featured), the upcoming syndicated talk show Katie with Katie Couric and General Hospital, which will be moving to a new time period during ABC Daytime. Then after lunch, the TCA members will head on to the set of TV's hottest show, Revenge! That's an entire afternoon visit, followed by cocktails with the cast of hip comedies Happy Endings and Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23. Join the cast and executive producers of two of ABC's edgier hit comedies for delicious truck nosh and thirst-quenching cocktails (Whore's Bath, anyone?) inside and outside of the Beverly Hilton's Bar210.
Come on back in this spot if there is anything that is announced today. We expect ABC Fall premiere dates either today or tomorrow for sure, so stay tuned for that! Tomorrow will be the day for the cast announcement for the All-Star season of Dancing with the Stars, so check back with us tomorrow for that!

Stay tuned tomorrow for TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour: ABC Day 2!

Fox will launch The Short-Com Comedy Hour in Summer 2013, building on television's rich past to reinvent comedy for the future. Both a contemporary spin on multi-camera comedy and an alternative development platform, The Short-Com Comedy Hour will feature four unique short-form sitcoms - or "short-coms" - in a fast-paced hour-long broadcast. Each short-com will feature both established and up-and-coming actors and comedians in one-act scenes, creating a comedy showcase brimming with today's best, brightest and freshest voices.
The short-com development process will be as distinct as the end result, featuring hand-picked talent from the world of stand-up comedy. In an effort to open up the traditional development process, Fox will facilitate a creatively open environment for comedy talent to hone their voices and material within the context of their self-produced short-coms. In addition to airing them as part of The Short-Com Comedy Hour, Fox will commission the most fully realized of these scripted vignettes to series, helping to seed the future of the Fox multi-camera brand. Additional details to be announced, stay tuned. If you recall, Fox announced something similar on the animated comedy side for a Saturday late night block. The late-night programming block will air Saturdays from 11:00 PM-12:30 AM ET/PT on Fox and will feature four new animated series per season starting in January 2013.

Gossip Girl

And finally, Style Media has acquired the off-network rights to the hit young drama series Gossip Girl from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The one-hour drama about the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite, executive produced by Josh Schwartz (Chuck, The O.C., Hart of Dixie) and Stephanie Savage (The O.C., Hart of Dixie) will begin airing Wednesday, August 15 at 8pm ET/PT on Style. Viewers can get caught up from the beginning every Wednesday night from 8-11pm ET/PT; additionally Style will air an all-day marathon on Labor Day, Monday, September 3.
This is their second off-network acquisition in recent weeks, as they also now air '90s sitcom Sister, Sister every weekday morning, as we announced.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, November 13

The Conners - "The Separation of Church and Dan" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Geena learns that D.J. hasn’t been taking Mary to church while she’s been away, she insists they go as a family to uphold her traditional values. To make matters worse, Mary refuses to attend without her cousins Harris and Mark, leaving D.J. in the last situation he wants to be in – at the mercy of Darlene. Meanwhile, Mark’s attempt to conduct an unbiased survey on the upcoming election for his school project goes south when Jackie volunteers to help.

The Kids Are Alright - "Peggy's Day Out" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
To hide a mess Eddie made, his girlfriend, Wendi, tries to distract Peggy by insisting she take a day off with a fun day out while they take care of the housework. To everyone’s surprise, Peggy accepts the offer and requests Wendi tag along, with the ulterior motive of teaching her a lesson. Meanwhile, Eddie enlists the help of his brothers to clean up and keep Mike out of the house while Wendi and Peggy are out. Elsewhere, Pat introduces Timmy to his secret dog.

black-ish - "Purple Rain" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The family is shocked to learn that Jack and Diane are not familiar with the iconic music of Prince. One by one, each member of the family works to explain Prince’s tremendous impact on their lives through his music.

Splitting Up Together - "War of the Wagners" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Lena and Martin’s escalating battle for control of the house is put on hold when Milo announces he wants to go to a school for the gifted – to which they think he will not be accepted. Meanwhile, they both meet a contractor for the house, Vlad, but Lena undermines him and scares Vlad away. Things get uglier between Lena and Oliver after she introduces a new member to the family as payback for all the back-and-forth about the house. Elsewhere, Lena and Martin give conflicting advice to Mason on how to deal with his recent breakup.

The Guest Book - "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Mike and his family hate spending every summer in a subpar vacation home far from the beach; in order to afford paying a booking fee for their dream house, the Barefeet Retreat, Mike pulls double shifts and ends up paying more than he bargained for.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 12)

Tuesday, November 13

Jason Mantzoukas (The League) - Catch Jason on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jenifer Lewis (black-ish/The PJs) - Jenifer appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
Taran Killam (Single Parents) - Taran visits E!'s Busy Tonight at 10pm.
Paul Shaffer (A Year at the Top) - Paul stops by The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
The Cast of The Conners - Michael Fishman, John Goodman, Lecy Goranson, Laurie Metcalf and Maya Lynne Robinson are guests on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Jamie Foxx (The Jamie Foxx Show) - Jamie previews the film Robin Hood on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Love That Girl!) - Tatyana talks about her upcoming two Holiday movies for Lifetime and Hallmark on E!'s Daily Pop at 12pm.
Damon Wayans Jr. (Happy Together/Happy Endings/New Girl) - Damon is a guest on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) - Bryan talks about The Upside Down and Network on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Ashley Tisdale (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody/Clipped) - Ashley appears on the BUILD Series at 4pm.