SitcomsOnline Digest: Can CMT Afford to Revive Last Man Standing?; NBC Yanks Episode of The Carmichael Show

Saturday, June 17, 2017

SitcomsOnline Digest: Can CMT Afford to Revive Last Man Standing?; NBC Yanks Episode of The Carmichael Show

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This is a very busy week of news, where we have about twice as many headlines as usual, and it is also like our "very special episode" week. It has, bizarrely, been a week full of controversy (oddly much of it having some connection to NBC in some way), with a mistrial in the Bill Cosby (former major NBC star, of course) criminal trial, the pulling of an episode of The Carmichael Show about a mass shooting, and an interview that NBC insists will air tomorrow night no matter what that has been nothing short of a public relations nightmare for the network. But it isn't just NBC involved in controversy this week, as a popular ABC reality series is facing a huge disaster as well. And we promise, there are a few things that aren't so controversial this week as well, though not much. Let's have a little controversy and let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

ABC's Last Man Standing was cancelled last month, and it was said that the studio that produces the series was looking for a new network. Now, it looks like CMT, which already airs reruns of the series, may be interested in new episodes, though some are already calling that a longshot since the series was already deemed to be too expensive for a major broadcast network and would likely be much more out of reach for a smaller cable network. (Hollywood Reporter)
Controversy seems to be the key theme going in entertainment news this week, and there was some of that at NBC as they pulled an episode of The Carmichael Show (which, to be fair, is one of the first sitcoms to decades to make every episode a controversial "very special episode") on Wednesday night involving a mass shooting... and the star of the show is not happy at all. (Deadline)
Netflix has renewed Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for a fourth season. (Variety)
Compared to ABC's The View, CBS's The Talk has had considerably more stability in their hosts (though there have still been some shifts), but this week Aisha Tyler announced she would be leaving the show at the end of the current season. (Hollywood Reporter)
While we typically don't report the ongoing details of courts cases involving TV actors, we do point out key moments when it is a prominent sitcom star, and today, a mistrial was declared in the Bill Cosby case; however, the prosecution has made it clear that they plan to start over again, so the case is far from over. (Variety)
In even more "controversial" news this week involving NBC (which by now would probably make some think that NBC is an abbreviation for Nothing But Controversy), the network still insists that they'll be airing a Megyn Kelly interview with the highly controversial conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Sunday night despite an advertiser revolt and at least one affiliate refusing to air it, but the entire saga has gotten even more bizarre as Alex Jones is preemptively trying to discredit the interview and Megyn Kelly ahead of the airing by releasing secretly recorded conversations online. (ABC News)
Just a little bit more controversy for you this week, this time at ABC, as production of the series Bachelor in Paradise (which has been slated to air later this summer) was shut down early over allegations of "serious misconduct" that haven't quite been clearly specified, but is believed to involve sexual assault. (CNNMoney)
If you believe the Nielsen ratings, NBC ditched their 6:30 PM program called NBC Nightly News this week and replaced it with NBC Nitely News, and much of it has to do with rigging numbers to stay on top of ratings against ABC World News Tonight (which has also played this game before itself, as ABC WRLD NEWS TNT). (Deadline)
In what is NOT a controversial story (unless, of course, somebody rigged the online voting), viewers of Antenna TV have chosen their "Top Pop" for their Father's Day marathon, and you can tune in tomorrow to see who it is, or if you want a spoiler, we've got that for you too. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

It was over a decade ago that Sony released the first season of Ned and Stacey, but the second (and final) one never followed. Now, Shout! Factory is bringing the entire series together with Ned and Stacey - The Complete Series, which will be released on September 26.

TUESDAY (JUNE 20) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Workaholics - The Final (Seventh) Season (DVD, $19.99): The popular Comedy Central series comes to an end with this release, though if you haven't picked up other seasons, you can just get the complete series (also arriving on Tuesday) for the same price as just two seasons of the series.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: David Walton (Twitter), "Hurtling through space on a massive rock"

Claim to Fame: We're getting a little bit of a kick start on some of the stars of the fall sitcoms this week, even though the season doesn't start for another three months and some of these series may not even last three months (though networks have been a little more generous in recent years before hitting the cancel button). David Walton will be appearing in the CBS series 9JKL this fall, but it isn't his first starring role. He starred in the NBC drama Heist (cancelled after 5 episodes). Then, he moved on to starring in NBC comedies such as Perfect Couples (cancelled after 11 episodes), 100 Questions (cancelled after 6 episodes), Bent (cancelled after 6 episodes), and most recently About a Boy (cancelled after 27 episodes). Now, to be fair we're not suggesting that he is the next Ted McGinley (who is actually a decent actor who just had a tendency to get cast on series when they were coming to an end anyway), and perhaps now that he has moved away from NBC (which has been known for not doing particularly well on scripted series for the past decade or so anyway) and over to CBS, he'll have something that works this time. It is worth pointing out that he did have a recurring role on the Fox series New Girl, and that role actually worked out just fine for him, so we're inclined to believe that he will succeed if cast in a quality series.

Pick of the Tweets: "Don't be fooled. @iamgreenfield rubs my leg as soon as the camera pans up. Every time.… (pic)" (May 3, 2016)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 15

St. Denis Medical - "Listen to Your Ladybugs" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Joyce launches a women's health initiative to unexpected results; Ron treats a patient who has all the answers; Bruce has an existential crisis.

Night Court - "A Little Night Court Music" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
At the behest of producer Sy Hoffman, Dan and Abby work together to turn Dan's memoir into a musical; Wyatt tries to help Julianne stay cool when her ex-lover turns up at the courthouse.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Houston, We've Got a Problem" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Calvin struggles with Tracey's decision to relocate Calvin Jr. to Houston; Malik hosts an impromptu election night watch party with a nervous Councilman Dustman.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Bye Bye Bye" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After losing his job, Jeremy decides to move to the backwoods of Georgia to help his grandfather, who has purchased a rundown home for the elderly.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 14)

Tuesday, April 15

Randall Park (Young Rock/Blockbuster/Fresh Off the Boat/Veep/Supah Ninjas) - Catch Randall on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
David Oyelowo (Government Cheese) - David appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) and Tien Tran (Mr. Throwback/How I Met Your Father) - Andy and Tien are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina the Teenage Witch) - Soleil talks about Paramount+'s The Carters on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
Lake Bell (Bless This Mess/How to Make it in America/Childrens Hospital) - Lake talks about All About Brains: A Book About People on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
James Brolin (Life in Pieces) - NBC's Today catches up with James in the 9am hour.
Mindy Kaling (Running Point/The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy talks about Running Point on a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Danielle Pinnock (Ghosts/Young Sheldon) - Danielle talks about the new season of Ghosts on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her hit new movie One of Them Days on Sherri, so check your local listings.