Saturday, December 16, 2017
SitcomsOnline Digest: Disney to Acquire Much of Fox; Roseanne Debut Date Set for ABC
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- It's official: Disney has announced a plan to buy most of then entertainment assets of Fox, which leaves a lot of people wondering what will happen to the broadcast network that uses that name and currently depends upon that studio for most of their big hits. (Deadline)
- There is some speculation that the acquisition of Fox by Disney could hit the network FX the hardest, as it doesn't fit in very well with the expectations of Disney. (Washington Post)
- Let's face it: The Simpsons has been very good at predicting the future, and this merger between Disney and Fox is no exception. (Deadline)
- Mark your calendar for March 27, as that is when Roseanne will be returning to the ABC lineup, complete with John Goodman's character Dan coming back to life. (Entertainment Weekly)
- For over a decade now, NBC has been attempting to develop an American version of the series The IT Crowd (it was envisioned as the perfect companion for their hit series The Office at the time), and it seems that they're still trying to make it happen, so let's hope that ten seasons worth of work that has so far resulting in nothing leads to some success. (Variety)
- Speaking of The Office, despite it being a cult favorite on the NBC lineup, it has been absent in syndication in recent years, but that will change in January as Comedy Central picks up reruns of the series. (Hollywood Reporter)
- Weekend Update hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost now have additional duties as head writers for Saturday Night Live. (New York Daily News)
- Not surprisingly, this week brings even more TV related fallout over sexual harassment scandals: Mario Batali of ABC's The Chew has been fired and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley has been suspended (though not yet fired). (Variety, NPR)
- A trio of sitcoms that have been a long time staple of Antenna TV will be unstapled, but don't worry, you'll still be able to see them if you have getTV. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA RELEASES (DECEMBER 19)
- South Park - The Complete Sixth Season (Blu-ray, $39.98): Comedy Central is bringing even more seasons of this series to Blu-ray, which will actually bring all of the old seasons to the format, with these releases. Also available: Season 7, Season 8, Season 9, Season 10, Season 11.
WEEKLY PLANNER (DECEMBER 16 - DECEMBER 22)
- Antenna TV is celebrating Christmas for four hours tonight beginning at 7:00pm EST, and within that block, you'll see some special sneak previews of Growing Pains, Murphy Brown, and The Hogan Family.
- On Decades, you can enjoy the Weekend Binge of Lost in Space, which ends at 7:00am EST on Monday.
- Saturday Night Live is known for their annual Christmas episodes, and this year, it features Kevin Hart and the Foo Fighters, so make sure to catch it tonight at 11:29pm EST/8:29pm PST on NBC.
- The broadcast networks are mostly on Christmas vacation this week with reruns, but CBS is airing mostly new episodes of their sitcoms (aside from The Big Bang Theory, which will be a rerun of the season premiere) on Monday and Thursday night this week.
- NBC will also have a little bit of new programming this week with two new episodes of Great News on Thursday.
- CBS is airing newly colorized episodes of I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as the colorized Christmas episode of I Love Lucy that has previously aired, on Friday night.
- The Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN, recently added reruns of 227 to their lineup, with binge watching opportunities both today and tomorrow.
- On Hulu, you can catch up with every episode of Blossom, which was recently added to the streaming service.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, November 19
St. Denis Medical - "Weird Stuff You Can't Explain" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Ron hexes the day to prove superstitions aren't real, things at the hospital start getting weird; Joyce and Matt discover an employee's secret.
Night Court - "The Judge's Boyfriend's Dad" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Suspecting Dan might be her boyfriend's father, Abby does some investigating; a blast from Dan's past resurfaces as the court's new prosecutor.
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "All Hands on Deck" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Curtis calls on his family to help work the food truck.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living "Cancel Culture" - (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Sandra wants to switch her college major, but she's afraid to tell her parents; Anastasia enlists Philip to help her build her social media presence.
Churchy - "The Fall" (BET, 10:00PM ET/PT)
After a viral video scandal at his father's church, Corey returns home and finds himself facing difficult personal and professional decisions; Rodney explores a new romance.
Churchy - "Easter" (BET, 10:26PM ET/PT)
Rodney contemplates his need to grow independently; after introspection and a heartfelt conversation with his father, Corey makes a big decision about his future as a pastor.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)
Tuesday, November 19
- Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Catch Keke on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Ted Danson (A Man on the Inside/Mr. Mayor/The Good Place/Bored to Death/Help Me Help You/Becker/Ink/Cheers) - Ted appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He sits down with Kelly and Mark to talk aabout his series A Man on the Inside on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Oscar Montoya (Minx) - Oscar is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show) - Gayle King sits down with Jennifer on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Melissa Rauch (Night Court/The Big Bang Theory) - NBC's Today catches up with Melissa in the 9am hour.
- Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob opens up about being married six times and is sharing all about his new show Landman on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela) - Justine is telling Drew about her viral wardrobe moment with Kathy Bates and shares behind the scenes moments of filming Succession, revealing the cast member she had a crush on, on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara tells Sherri about her new Sirius XM podcast, The Optimist Project, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Jeremy Sisto (Suburgatory) - Jeremy talks about the new season of FBI on CBS on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita talks her new Barbie doll and upcoming 93rd birthday on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts