Monday, January 07, 2013

TCA Winter 2013 Press Tour: NBC; Chiller Acquires Pushing Daisies, R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room

NBC kicked off the broadcast portion of the TCA Winter 2013 press tour yesterday. It started off with breakfast with the cast of the upcoming Celebrity Apprentice: All-Stars, which includes Trace Adkins, Stephen Baldwin, Gary Busey, Penn Jillette, Marilu Henner, Lil Jon, Omarosa and Lisa Rinna, premieres March 3. Then it was the all-important executive session with Robert Greenblatt (Chairman, NBC Entertainment) and Jennifer Salke (President, NBC Entertainment). Among the things we learned was that NBC has picked-up a new drama for summer called Camp. In the tradition of Meatballs and Dazed and Confused, Little Hawk Family Camp is a wicked slice of lake-side heaven. In the one-hour drama, parents decompress with gin while teenagers make gleeful mischief and fall in and out of love. Little Hawk Family Camp – where mother nature and human nature collide. Casting will be named at a later date. Production is scheduled to begin in Australia in March.
Among the other notes, NBC still is keeping Jay Leno for the foreseeable future (no surprise, I guess) and that Community, which returns in February for its fourth season, could still come back next season depending on ratings. The Office will have a one-hour series finale in May, but no exact date has been announced and likely will not feature a return of Steve Carell. Still no word on an exact date for the return of Up all Night, which is now going to be a multi-camera sitcom and now has lost its creator, Emily Spivey. Also, like canned before it aired comedy Next Caller, reality series Surprise with Jenny McCarthy has been canned before it even premieres. And finally, NBC still hasn't announced plans for Hannibal or comedy Save Me, but both could be saved for summer or just before that and NBC has already a few shows that are being scheduled for next fall including Michael J. Fox's new comedy and Dracula, while Crossbones could be late summer.

After that session, it was time for panels with cast and crew of NBC series. First up was Revolution, which returns on March 25. The series will only be 20 episodes now instead of 22 episodes since NBC doesn't have room to air 22. This means the series will air for 10 weeks when it returns. Then it was time for lunch with the cast of upcoming comedy 1600 Penn, which previewed on Dec. 17 but the ratings were not so presidential so far. New series Deception, which premieres tonight at 10, was the next series to have a panel. NBC announced it has cut its order from 13 to 11 as well,so they can fit every episode and have a seamless transition into Revolution when it returns. Then the next panel was for sophomore drama Grimm, which also is on a hiatus and won't return until March 8. It seems like all of NBC's series that do well are on hiatus this winter. However, the next panel was for a new NBC drama that premieres Jan. 31: Do No Harm. NBC has 12 episodes of this series to air on Thursdays at 10. Up next, there was a panel for The Biggest Loser, which returned last night with part one of its season premiere, along with the return of Jillian Michaels. And the final panel for the day was for NBC's Smash, which returns Feb. 5 at 10pm with guest stars like Jennifer Hudson, to take the place of Parenthood. Then finally, it was time for the reception to close the day's schedule.

Up today at the TCA Winter 2013 press tour will be cable networks for NBC Universal. Among the networks going are USA Network, Oxygen, Golf Channel, E!, CNBC and Syfy. Stay tuned for any updates, if anything is of note for us. And tomorrow we will have Fox up at the TCA Winter 2013 press tour, as they will be second among broadcast to go.


Pushing Daisies

Sticking with the NBC Universal theme, we have some news on cable network Chiller. Chiller kicks off a new year of scary good programming with the debut of its first original special of 2013, Chiller 13: Most Horrifying Hookups. In addition, this winter the network will feature two new-to-Chiller debuts with R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room and cult favorite Pushing Daisies, which marks the first re-air of this series since its original run on ABC in 2007-09. First up R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room, this 2001-02 anthology series from Goosebumps author R.L. Stine proves that our childhood fears never quite leave us. Three episodes air back-to-back every Monday in January beginning tonight (Jan, 7) at 8pm. 13 episodes were produced for Kids' WB and featured stars like Amanda Bynes, Shia LaBeouf, Kaley Cuoco, Dan Byrd, Frankie Muniz and Danielle Fishel popping in.

As for Pushing Daisies, the critically acclaimed series premieres Tuesday, March 5 at 9:00pm. This dark comedy centers on a pie-maker (Lee Pace), with the power to bring dead people back to life. He solves mysteries with his alive-again childhood sweetheart (Anna Friel), a cynical private investigator (Chi McBride), and a lovesick waitress (Kristin Chenoweth). Pushing Daisies was nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three. Chiller brings both seasons (22 total episodes) back for the first time since the series' original run with two back-to-back episodes airing Tuesdays at 9pm, starting March 5. And finally, the special Chiller 13: Most Horrifying Hookups, premieres Friday, February 8 at 8:00pm. Chiller's popular countdown franchise returns with this newest installment, just in time for Valentine's Day! CJ Thomason (Harper's Island), Colin Ferguson (Eureka), Magda Apanowicz (Caprica, Kyle XY) and Judah Friedlander (30 Rock) count down Hollywood's most fatal attractions of all time. Chiller 13 is produced by Emmy Award-winning company Associated Television International.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, March 19

Night Court - "The Duke's a Hazard" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Gurgs' royal boyfriend pays a surprise visit, she questions their compatibility; Dan defends his family's honor after he discovers a feud that dates back centuries.

Extended Family - "The Consequences of Being Irish" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Jim learns of Trey's St. Patrick's Day fundraiser plans, he offers his expertise in an effort to save Trey and the Celtics from embarrassment.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 18)

Tuesday, March 19

  • Tracy Morgan (The Last O.G./30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Catch Tracy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso), Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) and Zainab Johnson (Upload) - Brendan, Marc and Zainab are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Hilary Swank (Camp Wilder) - NBC's Today catches up with Hilary in the 10am hour.
  • The cast of Girls5eva) - Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Sara Bareilles are guests on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse talks about his podcast Dinner's On Me on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Annie Potts (Young Sheldon/Over the Top/Love & War/Designing Women/Goodtime Girls) - Annie talks about her legendary career and new film, Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire, on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Joe stops by Tamron hall to chat about hosting the new Deal or No Deal Island, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)

Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Father Knows Best - The Complete Series The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (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)

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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