SitcomsOnline Digest: MacGyver Reboot Officially Picked Up; New NBC Comedies from Tina Fey and Marlon Wayans

Saturday, May 14, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: MacGyver Reboot Officially Picked Up; New NBC Comedies from Tina Fey and Marlon Wayans

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This is that time of the year (specifically this week) where just about all of the news is about what has been cancelled, what has been renewed, and what new series we'll be seeing in the fall, so not surprisingly, most of our news this week relates to these issues. But we also have a few other things, including the passing of more sitcom stars and the retirement of a 60 Minutes correspondent. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

It seems like we've been hearing about it forever, but now it is official, CBS has picked up the reboot of MacGyver. (USA Today)
Even though they've cancelled much of their comedy slate aside from The Carmichael Show and Superstore (the first one hasn't been renewed yet but is expected to be, while the second has been renewed), NBC is making an attempt to make themselves a destination for great comedy once again, with pickups of new comedies from Tina Fey (Great News) and Marlon Wayans (Marlon). (Entertainment Weekly)
Since October 2000, one thing that you could count on is CBS having some version of CSI on the air, but don't count on that much longer, as the last piece of that legacy (and, if you ask many of the fans, one of the worst) has been cancelled. (Hollywood Reporter)
You could count on him being there Sunday nights on 60 Minutes for years, but Morley Safer is now preparing to retire. (The Daily Beast)
Tonita Castro isn't exactly a household name, but she essentially started her acting career in the past decade when she was in her 50s, and most recently landed roles on Go On and Dads. Unfortunately, she died this week at age 63. (Entertainment Weekly)
William Schallert of The Patty Duke Show died this week, and is also the third former SAG president to die in the past two months (after Ken Howard and Patty Duke). (New York Times)
There were more cancellations this week, including the somewhat surprising cancellation of the long-running Castle just days before the planned season finale and the cancellation of every new Fox comedy from the past season. (SitcomsOnline)

TUESDAY (MAY 17) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

The Facts of Life - The Final (Ninth) Season (DVD, $29.93): For those interested in having all of the "facts" on DVD, Shout! Factory wraps up the individual season releases with this release.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Greg Evigan (Twitter), "Actor, writer, producer, director, singer"

Claim to Fame: We've spent the past two weeks doing Mad About You stars as our Follow Me, and as we often do, we're using last week to pivot into this week with Paul Reiser's co-star from his earlier series My Two Dads: Greg Evigan. While Evigan may be known to (slightly) younger people from his role on that short-lived (but memorable) series, his bigger claim to fame came a decade earlier in another short-lived (but very memorable) series, BJ and the Bear. After My Two Dads, he had another role on yet another short-lived (but memorable) series, TekWar. He has never been on a series that has lasted more than three seasons, but despite that, the series that he has appeared on have been memorable ones. He still does some acting these days, most recently appearing in a Hallmark Channel film with his own daughter Briana Evigan, Once Upon a Holiday. He also has another acting daughter, Vanessa Evigan, with whom he is also appearing in movie roles.

Pick of the Tweets: "We're on our way to Hollywood Today Live! @OfficialHTL to talk about @onlygodcanmovie @VanessaEvigan and I (pic)" (April 22, 2016)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, December 16

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 10)

Friday, December 14

Karen Gillan (Selfie) - Watch Karen on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She talks about The Party's Just Beginning on the BUILD Series at 2pm.
Tony Shalhoub (Wings/We Are Men) - Watch Tony on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle, Laura Linney (The Big C) and Nick Kroll (The League/Cavemen) - Bryan, Laura and Nick make special guest appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Bill Burr (F Is for Family/Townies) - Bill is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Busy Philipps (Vice Principals/Cougar Town) - Busy appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Romany Malco (Weeds/Blunt Talk) - Romany is a guest on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Kathryn Hahn (I Love Dick/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn talks about the film Private Life on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Office) - Ellie appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Minnie Driver (Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Leah Remini (Kevin Can Wait/The Exes/Family Tools/The King of Queens/Fired Up) - Leah visits The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Angela Kinsey (The Office/Haters Back Off/Your Family or Mine/The Hotwives of Orlando) - Angela and her husband Joshua Snyder serve up monkey bread and chocolate peppermint cupcakes on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Vanessa Hudgens (Powerless) - Vanessa talks about Second Act on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Chris Elliott (Schitt's Creek/Get a Life) - Chris talks about Clara's Ghost on Couch Surfing at 8am.
Tia Mowry (Instant Mom/The Game/Sister, Sister) - Tia talks about Hallmark Channel's A Gingerbread Romance on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
Christine Lakin (Hollywood Darlings/Step by Step) - Christine is a guest on Steve, so check your local listings.