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

Tuesday, August 14

Younger - "Girls on the Side" (TV Land, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Liza is distressed when she meets Caitlin’s middle-aged boyfriend. Diana refuses to back down from a challenge. Josh rebrands.

Teachers - "Hot Deadly Dad" (TV Land, 10:34PM ET/PT)
Ms. Snap convinces Ms. Bennigan that Hot Dad is a serial killer who is still at large in Chicago. Ms. Watson attempts to teach her “dirtbag” student to be upper class, while Ms. Cannon wears leggings that leave little to the imagination.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 13)

Tuesday, August 14

Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Girlfriends) - Catch Tracee on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Rhea Seehorn (Whitney/I'm with Her) - Rhea visits Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about Better Call Saul on the BUILD Series at 1pm.
Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory/Blossom) - Mayim stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Stark Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil appears on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
NeNe Leakes (The New Normal) - NeNe is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Anne Heche (Save Me/The Michael J. Fox Show) - Anne appears on a repeat of Harry, so check your local listings.
Meagan Good (Cousin Skeeter/Raising Dad) - Meagan is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay appears on a repeat The Real, so check your local listings.
Tom Arnold (Roseanne/The Tom Show/Tom) -
Colin Ferguson (You're the Worst/Coupling) - Colin guest co-hosts Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
Melora Hardin (The Office) - Melora talks about The Bold Type on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
Emeril Lagasse (Emeril) - Emeril makes blue-cheese-stuffed burgers on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Ali Wentworth (Nightcap) - Ali gives relationship advice on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat) and Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Constance and Ken talk about Crazy Rich Asians on the BUILD Series at 2pm.
Nick Kroll (The League/Cavemen) - Nick talks about Operation Finale on the BUILD Series at 3pm.