Tuesday, October 14, 2014
ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas 2014; Fox Picks Up Gotham for Full Season
ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas," cable's biggest programming event of the year, returns with 25-continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family. From December 1 – 25, viewers can ring in the holidays with new holiday episodes of original series, holiday specials and returning favorites. This year, "25 Days of Christmas" will feature original holiday episodes of comedy series Melissa and Joey, and Baby Daddy. And for the first time, holiday episodes of drama series Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters, Switched at Birth, and Chasing Life will also make their debut during the week of December 8. The holiday cheer continues with the network-television premiere of the delightful holiday movie Arthur Christmas, featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie and Jim Broadbent as Santa, on Saturday, December 6 from 9:00-11:00 PM ET/PT and the ABC Family debut of the new Christmas special Toy Story That Time Forgot on Sunday, December 7 from 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT.
On Sunday, December 21, the network will air a Rankin Bass holiday classics marathon, featuring such beloved programs as The Little Drummer Boy at 1:00PM ET/PT, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town at 3:00PM ET/PT, and The Year Without a Santa Claus at 4:00PM ET/PT. Other returning favorites include National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Monday, December 1 from 6:00–8:00 PM, holiday classic Elf on Monday, December 1 from 8:00–10:00 PM ET/PT, and a The Santa Clause & The Santa Clause 3 double feature begins Tuesday, December 2, at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Other highlights for the month include A Very Brady Christmas, The Polar Express, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Holiday in Handcuffs, Prep & Landing, Home Alone, Christmas Cupid and Santa Baby.
Fox has ordered six more episodes of this fall's breakout new drama series, Gotham. The announcement raises the series order to 22 episodes. According to Fox, Gotham is tied as Monday night's No. 1 drama among Adults 18-49 and is this season's No. 1 broadcast drama overall among Men 18-49 - a full rating point ahead of the No. 2 drama in that demographic. The debut episode, which exploded into Premiere Week with a 6.0/18 rating among Adults 18-49 (Live+7), outperformed Blacklist and Scorpion and delivered Fox's highest-rated fall drama debut in 14 years. This Live +7 rating reflects the largest post-three-day ratings gain (+0.9) of any broadcast drama, ever. In addition, Gotham's premiere drew 14.1 million viewers in the first seven days and has been streamed more than two million times to date on FOX NOW and Hulu. The show's second and third episodes continued this positive trend, each delivering a 4.0 rating or higher in just the first three days, making it one of the Top Three dramas overall on broadcast television this season. The series is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (The Mentalist, Rome), Gotham follows one cop's rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering between good and evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time. The entirely new, untold chapter stars Ben McKenzie (Southland, The O.C.), Donal Logue (Vikings, Sons of Anarchy) and Jada Pinkett Smith (Hawthorne, Collateral).
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.
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)
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)
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