Hallmark Dumps The Good Wife; Remembering Ben Starr Co-Creator of The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Hallmark Dumps The Good Wife; Remembering Ben Starr Co-Creator of The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons

The Hallmark Channel has pulled The Good Wife completely from its line-up effective today (Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014). The series started a few weeks ago by airing weekdays from 6-10pm but after just a week it was reduced to 8-10pm and now it is gone completely. The Waltons will now air in primetime from 8-10pm, so its 2-4pm airings will be replaced by Home Improvement. Hallmark will replace the 6-8pm Home Improvement block with the return of Little House on the Prairie. Classic '70s and '80s family dramas from 6-10pm trump over The Good Wife in the ratings for Hallmark it seems. Hallmark has a quick axe usually on shows that do not deliver in ratings, but for a big acquisition like this, it might have been too quick to pull. We'll let you know if and when it returns to the line-up. The rest of the Hallmark Channel weekday schedule will remain as is, with I Love Lucy from 5-8am, The Golden Girls from 8-10am, a new and encore of Home & Family from 10am-2pm, the aforementioned Home Improvement from 2-4pm, The Brady Bunch from 4-6pm into the classic dramas from 6-10pm (Little House & The Waltons). Comedies will rule in late night still with Frasier from 10pm-12am, The Golden Girls from 12-2am, Cheers from 2-3am, and more Frasier from 3-5am.

Ben Starr

Television writer and producer Ben Starr, who helped create The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons, has died. He died on January 19 at his home in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure. Mr. Starr was 92.

Starr's early sitcom writing credits included Duffy's Tavern, My Hero, I Married Joan, The Ray Milland, December Bride, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Bachelor Father. He wrote 40 episodes of Mister Ed from 1961-1963. Other sitcoms he wrote multiple episodes of included My Favorite Martian, Petticoat Junction, The Brady Bunch, Chico and the Man and All in the Family.

He worked as a writer and producer for Diff'rent Strokes from 1978-1982. He was instrumental in inadvertently coining the famous "Whatchu talking 'bout Willis?" catchphrase by Gary Coleman. The line was originally written as "What are you talking about, Willis?" before Coleman gave his classic delivery. He was interviewed in the E! True Hollywood Story specials on Diff'rent Strokes and Dana Plato in 1998 and 1999. In 1979, he helped develop the spin-off series The Facts of Life with Howard Leeds and Jerry Mayer. The popular series aired on NBC for 9 seasons and 209 episodes. Starr later helped create Silver Spoons with Leeds and Martin Cohan in 1982. The series, starring Ricky Schroder, Joel Higgins and Erin Gray, aired for five seasons (four on NBC and one in first-run syndication).

The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with him on November 9, 2009. Survivors include three children and three grandchildren and nephew Andy Kaplan, who heads international channels for Sony Pictures TV. We thank him for bringing us the classic 1980s sitcoms The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons. He will be greatly missed.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, April 26

The Big Bang Theory - "The Monetary Insufficiency" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon goes to Vegas to win money for science. Also, Penny and Bernadette take Amy wedding dress shopping, but her terrible choice entangles them in a web of lies.

Young Sheldon - "A Dog, A Squirrel, and a Fish Named Fish" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
A battle erupts between the Coopers and Sparks when the Sparks’ new dog terrorizes Sheldon.

Mom - "A Taco Bowl and a Tubby Seamstress" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Christy is concerned that she and Bonnie might lose their apartment when Bonnie locks horns with the tough new building owner, Rita (Patti Lupone).

Life in Pieces - "#TBT: House Destiny Introduction Retirement" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The Short family’s quirky history is revealed with stories of when Tim met Heather’s family for the first time; when Jen and Greg bought their dream home; when Matt got sidetracked after he saw Colleen while waiting for a blind date; and John’s last flight before retiring.

Superstore - "Aftermath" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Amy (America Ferrera) and Jonah (Ben Feldman) deal with the consequences of their recent interactions. Meanwhile Glenn (Mark McKinney) and Dina (Lauren Ash) enlist Garrett's (Colton Dunn) help to win the store a visit from Cloud 9's CEO.

A.P. Bio - "Walleye" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Jack (Glenn Howerton) successfully convinces Miles (Tom Bennett) that Devin (Jacob McCarthy) is his illegitimate son. Durbin (Patton Oswalt), Mary (Mary Sohn), Stef (Lyric Lewis) and Michelle (Jean Villepique) clash on the Sadie Hawkins dance theme.

Will & Grace - "Staten Island Fairy" (NBC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Jack's (Sean Hayes) intimacy issues are challenged by a closeted boyfriend. Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) sell their new line of bedding on TV.

Champions - "Nepotism" (NBC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
As Michael waits to hear if the musical he wrote will be picked for the freshman show, Vince is accused of treating some staff members better than others.

Nobodies - "Kristen's Wiig" (TV Land, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Rachel and Larry attempt to convince Kristen Wiig to play Jen in the pilot for "Open Dorf Policy"; Hugh gets put in an uncomfortable position when an accident lands Sam in the hospital.

Atlanta - "North of the Border" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
The possibility arises to make a move; it is believed Paper Boi will be at a pajama party.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 23)

Thursday, April 26

Don Cheadle (House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Catch Don on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Method Man (Method & Red) - Method Mani s a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Adam Pally (Making History/Happy Endings/The Mindy Project) - Adam appears on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Chris visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Jason Biggs (Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason and his wife Jenny Mollen are guests on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Dylan McDermott (LA to Vegas) - Dylan reveals role he lost to Harry Connick, Jr. on a repeat of Harry, so check your local listings.
Rob Riggle (Golan the Insatiable/Gary Unmarried) - Rob is a guest on Good Mythical Morning with Rhett & Link on YouTube.