TV Land Orders New Sitcom Starring Jim Gaffigan; FX Laughs It Up on Monday Nights with Sheen, Grammer and Lawrence

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

TV Land Orders New Sitcom Starring Jim Gaffigan; FX Laughs It Up on Monday Nights with Sheen, Grammer and Lawrence

TV Land has picked up The Gaffigan Show, created by Peter Tolan and Jim Gaffigan. The network has ordered 10 episodes. Jim Gaffigan is The New York Times best-selling author of Dad is Fat. The single-camera series is inspired by Gaffigan's real life, exploring one man's struggle in New York City to find a balance between fatherhood, stand-up comedy and an insatiable appetite. The Gaffigan Show will shoot in New York and premiere on TV Land in 2015. Peter Tolan (The Larry Sanders Show) will serve as executive producer alongside Jim Gaffigan and Jeannie Gaffigan. Brillstein Entertainment Partners' Alex Murray and Sandy Wernick will also executive produce along with Michael Wimer of Fedora Entertainment. Seth Gordon (The Goldbergs) directed the pilot episode.

The series will also air on Comedy Central, a sister Viacom network, within one week after its TV Land premiere. Gaffigan has a large, loyal fan base on Comedy Central with his stand-up specials and on social media with over two million Twitter followers. Ashley Williams (How I Met Your Mother) will co-star in The Gaffigan Show as Jim’s wife. Cult comedy favorites Adam Goldberg (Fargo) and Michael Ian Black (Ed) also star as Jim's best friend and his wife's meddling confidante, respectively.

Charlie Sheen

FX will serve up original Monday laughs in late summer. Charlie Sheen returns to Monday nights in original back-to-back episodes of Anger Management beginning Monday, August 4 at 10:00 PM ET/PT on FX. The series will follow the double-episode 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT premiere of FX's new 10/90 sitcom Partners, starring Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence. Both Lionsgate-produced comedies will air back-to-back episodes for five consecutive weeks. Anger Management has now completed 80 episodes of its 100-episode order and will enter syndication this fall (check local listings for time and station). Partners, also crafted using the unique 10/90 syndication model pioneered by Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury, is now commencing its initial 10-episode run.

In the first new episode of Anger Management airing August 4, Charlie Goodson (Charlie Sheen) struggles to resist the advances of his friend Sean's (Brian Austin Green) gorgeous younger sister and in the second, he deals with the unexpected consequences of meeting his girlfriend's best friend. The series ensemble also includes Shawnee Smith, Laura Bell Bundy, Noureen DeWulf, Michael Arden, Derek Richardson, Barry Corbin, Brett Butler and Daniela Bobadilla.

Partners - Martin Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer

Partners opens after Allen Braddock (Kelsey Grammer), a blue-blood Chicago lawyer, is fired from his father's law firm for his questionable ethics and is brought down to the courthouse to be punished. There he runs into Marcus Jackson (Martin Lawrence), a man-of-the-people community lawyer who is representing himself in his own divorce settlement hearing. The two men strike a deal and end up forming an unexpected partnership. In the second episode, the partners suspect that a high-end wedding planner is taking advantage of same-sex couples and while Marcus sees this as an opportunity to help a young couple that was duped, Allen focuses on the lucrative potential in cornering the market on future same-sex divorces. When they pose as a couple to get evidence, it shines a light on the problems in their own relationship. Other series regulars include Telma Hopkins, Rory O'Malley, McKaley Miller, Edi Patterson and Danièle Watts.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, May 22

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Kerry Washington joins “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons,’” the live sitcom special coming from late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and television icon Norman Lear. Washington is set to play Helen Willis in the special, airing live WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 (8:00-9:31 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. This historic event will take viewers down memory lane, recreating an original episode from each of the Emmy® Award-winning series “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.” This legendary night of television will be hosted by Lear and Kimmel, directed by 10-time Emmy winner James Burrows and produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Previously announced stars include Woody Harrelson (Archie Bunker), Marisa Tomei (Edith Bunker), Jamie Foxx (George Jefferson), Wanda Sykes (Louise Jefferson), Ellie Kemper (Gloria Stivic), Will Ferrell (Tom Willis), Justina Machado (Florence Johnston), Ike Barinholtz (Meathead), Sean Hayes (Mr. Lorenzo), Amber Stevens West (Jenny Willis Jefferson), Jovan Adepo (Lionel Jefferson), Anthony Anderson (Uncle Henry), Stephen Tobolowsky (Mr. Bentley) and Jackée Harry (Diane Stockwell).

All About "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After the star-studded live sitcom special “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons,’” “Nightline” will take a special look at the cultural and historical significance of the two iconic series. Participants in the live sitcom special along with modern-day comedians, television stars and journalists reminisce about each show’s groundbreaking impact and legacy.“Nightline” Presents “All About ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’” airs WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 (9:31–10:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network.

The prime-time special features interviews with “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” creator Norman Lear; host and executive producer Jimmy Kimmel and stars Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Jackée Harry, Ellie Kemper and Kerry Washington; comedians and actors Raven-Symoné, David Alan Grier, Lil’ Rel and John Amos; original “The Jeffersons” cast member Marla Gibbs; and journalists Deborah Roberts, Chris Connelly, Marc Lamont Hill and Joe Levy.

What We Do in the Shadows - "The Orgy" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Tensions run high as the vampires prepare to host the Biannual Vampire Orgy.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 20)

Wednesday, May 22

John Travolta (Welcome Back, Kotter) - Watch John and his daughter Ella Bleu on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kaitlyn Dever (Last Man Standing) - Kaitlyn appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She also talks about Booksmart on the BUILD Series at 1pm.
John Lithgow (Trial & Error/Twenty Good Years/3rd Rock from the Sun) - John stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Beanie Feldstein (What We Do in the Shadows) - Beanie is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about Booksmart on the BUILD Series at 1pm.
Elizabeth Banks (Scrubs/30 Rock) - Elizabeth visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Bradley Whitford (Happyish/Trophy Wife) - Bradley drops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Billy Ray Cyrus (Still the King) - Billy Ray appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Logan Browning (Dear White People/Meet the Browns) - Logan is a guest on Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Lisa Kudrow (Friends/The Comeback/Web Therapy) - Lisa stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Tracy Pollan (Family Ties) - Tracy appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - Eric chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Kevin talks about The Secret Life of Pets 2 on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour and on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Jenny Slate (Married/Parks and Recreation) and Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Jenny and Patton talk about The Secret Life of Pets 2 on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Ed Asner (Dead to Me/Center of the Universe/Thunder Alley/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - Ed and his son Matt are guests on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.