SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Thursday Night Reaching New Lows; Writers of Classic American Series Looking to China

Saturday, November 30, 2013

SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Thursday Night Reaching New Lows; Writers of Classic American Series Looking to China

Happy Thanksgiving weekend, and welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's a slow week for us this week due to the holiday, but we've got all of your regular features as usual. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

NBC is facing a serious dilemma with their Thursday night lineup, as the historically top-rated lineup came in at a historically low sixth place in the ratings race last week, falling behind even The CW in key demographics last week. Could it be time for a major shakeup in this lineup? (LA Times)
Many TV writers of the 70's, 80's, and 90's still interested in working just aren't finding work on today's networks in line with their style, but as it turns out, China may be the perfect place to develop new series like the ones they wrote for in the past. Sitcom writers such as Marilyn Anderson (Murphy Brown and The Jeffersons) and Michael Elias (Head of the Class and The Bill Cosby Show) are just a few among thousands of other writers of past American hit series working with a Chinese production company to bring high quality productions to a nation that is claimed to be lacking in great stories for television. (The Hollywood Reporter)
On Sunday's episode of Family Guy, fans were given one of the most shocking deaths to ever occur in an animated series as one of the major characters was killed off. This has caused quite an outrage from fans on the internet, even inspiring one of the largest online petitions ever revolving around the plot of a TV series. But is it all real, or a complicated publicity stunt to spike ratings? (LA Times)
Actor Jay Leggett, who appeared as a cast member on the final season of In Living Color, died this week at the age of 50. (TV Guide)
MeTV is adding a pair of classic Sid & Marty Krofft series to their Saturday morning lineup beginning December 29, with the addition of H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Just before the April premiere of the sixth season of the Showtime series, Lionsgate is set to release Nurse Jackie - Season Five on DVD and Blu-ray on February 18. As usual, the set will contain plenty of special features.
eOne Entertainment is prepared to bring a somewhat forgotten '80s syndicated gem to DVD with their release of Monsters - The Complete Series. For those unfamiliar with the series, it was a horror anthology series from the same producer who previously brought fans the syndicated series Tales from the Darkside.

RECENT HOME MEDIA REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00E0FW054/ref=nosim/happydaysonline4-20

Family Guy - Volume Eleven: The three-disc set brings all 23 episodes of the 2011-2012 season of the animated Fox series to DVD, along with a few nice special features.
MADtv - The Complete Fourth Season: Shout! Factory's latest release of the late night Fox series that ran for 15 seasons brings fans one of the greatest seasons of the series.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Kunal Nayyar (Twitter), "I play Raj on the Big Bang Theory. I love playing Ping Pong, and long walks on the beach. Thats about all I like doing, especially on the sand."

Claim to Fame: Nayyar was born in London and raised in New Delhi, but came to the United States in 1999 to pursue a degree in finance. While in college, he appeared in a few stage performances and found that was what he really loved, and by 2007, the relatively unknown actor found huge success when he was cast as Raj Koothrappali in the CBS series The Big Bang Theory.

Pick of the Tweets: "FAQ- I can talk to women without alcohol now. On the show as well." (September 26, 2013)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, October 17

The Middle - "Meet the Parents" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Frankie is stoked when Axl invites her and Mike to meet and have dinner with girlfriend Lexie’s rich parents, Tammy (Lisa Rinna) and Bennett. But Frankie is worried that their less then luxurious lifestyle may put a damper on their meeting. Meanwhile, Brick is excited to be a part of the Sophomore Slammer fundraiser, in which fellow classmates fake arrest each other and friends come to pay money – which will go to charity – to bail them out. But Brick soon discovers that no matter how hard he tries, he just can’t get arrested.

Fresh Off the Boat - "Kids" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
With the realization that Eddie is finally mature enough to be left on his own, Louis and Jessica see the light at the end of their parenting tunnel and make plans to spend more time with friends Honey and Marvin. Until their neighbors announce a plan of their own: Marvin is getting his vasectomy reversed so the couple can conceive a baby. The Huangs do their best to dissuade them.

black-ish - "Elder. Scam." (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Ruby gets scammed and Dre begins to suspect that she isn’t as sharp as she used to be, particularly because she was the one who used to scam other people. Zoey’s friend Aaron visits and Diane develops an instant crush on him.

The Mayor - "Buyer's Remorse" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
As Courtney settles into his new role as mayor, he’s faced with a dismal approval rating as the citizens of Fort Grey express their lack of confidence in his ability to lead, as well as those on his own staff. He realizes that he needs to take an unconventional approach when dealing with Councilman Ed Gunt (David Spade) and comes up with a plan to quickly turn public opinion in his favor.

The Mick - "The Haunted House" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Mickey and Jimmy organize a special Halloween party at their mansion, but the party soon goes awry; Sabrina hopes to further her legacy with the party; Mickey becomes determined to give a group of practical jokers a lesson.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - "Halloveen" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When the fifth annual Nine-Nine Halloween Heist begins, everybody scrambles to make a plan to come out on top of the competition, which tests various friendships and relationships as they struggle to earn the title of "Amazing Human Slash Genius."

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 16)

Tuesday, October 17

Paul Shaffer (A Year at the Top) - Paul sits in with Cleto and The Cletones on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Bobby Moynihan (Me, Myself & I) - Bobby is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kate Micucci (Raising Hope/Scrubs) - Kate appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
David Arquette (In Case of Emergency/Parenthood) - David stops by Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Jason Alexander (Seinfeld/Bob Patterson/Listen Up!) - Jason visits The Wendy Williams Show at 2am on BET or on your local stations.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry teaches Harry his signature jump pose on Harry, so check your local listings.
Brandon Micheal Hall (The Mayor) - Brandon is a guest on Harry, so check your local listings.
Jason Ritter (The Class) - Jason talks about his new ABC show Kevin (Probably) Saves the World on the People Now at 8:30am.
Lana Parrilla (Spin City) - Lana appears on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Ron Livingston (Loudermilk) - Ron talks about the Audience Network's Loudermilk on the AOL Build Show at 2pm and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim) - Kimberly talks about the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original Darrow & Darrow on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) - Randall is a guest on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.