SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Antenna TV January 2026 Schedule; Rewind TV January 2026 Schedule

We mentioned Antenna TV has reacquired Sanford & Son and One Day at a Time, but now we have the full details on the entire schedule. One Day at a Time will air weeknights at 8:00pm & 8:30pm ET/PT and Saturdays at 4:00pm & 4:30pm. Sanford and Son will air weeknights at 10:00pm & 10:30pm ET/PT (and weekdays at 7am & 7:30am) and Saturdays at 3:00pm & 3:30pm. They also will air Rewind TV faves Mad About You, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Mork & Mindy, Head of the Class, Who's the Boss?, NewsRadio and Just Shoot Me! All of these have aired on Antenna TV before and will air on Rewind TV still, too. Also back on the schedule are Three's Company spinoffs The Ropers and Three's a Crowd, along with The Ted Knight Show (aka the last season of Too Close for Comfort) and My Two Dads. All of these readditions are on weekends except Mad About You, which will air weeknights at 2am & 2:30am.

To make room for the new additions, leaving the line-up are The Burns and Allen Show, The Jack Benny Program, McHale's Navy, Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace, Bachelor Father, My Favorite Martian, Silver Spoons and Dear John. Some of these will air on Rewind TV such as Burns & Allen and Dear John.

As for sister network Rewind TV, they have acquired Rules of Engagement starting in January. Rules of Engagement will air weeknights at 12:00am & 12:30am and Saturday from 4-6pm. Antenna TV favorites Archie Bunker's Place, Benson, 227, The Drew Carey Show, and The Burns and Allen Show will now air on Rewind TV. Most of these will still air on Antenna TV too, such as Archie Bunker's Place, Benson, 227 and Drew Carey. Leaving the line-up completely are Diff'rent Strokes, Growing Pains and Welcome Back, Kotter.

Leaving Antenna and Rewind TV completely are The Jack Benny Program, McHale's Navy, Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace, Bachelor Father, My Favorite Martian, Silver Spoons, Diff'rent Strokes, Growing Pains and Welcome Back, Kotter. Some of these may have expired, while the rest are...resting.

Antenna TV Summer 2025 Schedule; Rewind TV Summer 2025 Schedule

Antenna TV's Summer 2025 schedule kicks off with 227 joining the line-up from sister network Rewind TV. 227 is airing weeknights from 6pm-7pm ET | 3pm-4pm PT and on Saturday nights at 10pm-11pm ET | 7pm-8pm PT. 227 will lead into The Jeffersons on weeknights, which is expanding to two hours from 7-9pm ET | 4-6pm PT and also on Saturdays from 3-5pm ET | 12-2pm PT. Three's Company is moving to 4-5pm ET | 1-2pm PT, with an encore in the mornings from 5-6am ET | 2-3am PT. The only other change in the line-up is to weeknights in the overnights from 1am-5am ET | 10pm-2am PT, with back-to-back Drew Carey, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie and Alice.

Stunts on Antenna TV this summer include the Father's Day Too Close for Comfort 45th Anniversary Marathon, the Independence Day McHale's Navy Marathon, I Dream of Jeannie's 60th Anniversary 60 Episode Marathon on 8/16-8/17 and the Labor Day Archie Bunker's Place Marathon. More details on each to come!

Meanwhile, sister network Rewind TV's Summer 2025 schedule kicks off with Designing Women joining the line-up from Antenna TV. So 227 and Designing Women are making the switch. Designing Women is airing weeknights 8-9pm ET | 5-6pm PT and on Sunday mornings from 7-9am ET | 4-6am PT. The rest of the schedule are just minor changes on weekdays, with early mornings now back-to-back The John Larroquette Show and Dear John from 6-8am ET | 3-5am PT and Sabrina the Teenage Witch getting 3-4pm ET | 12-1pm PT.

Netflix's Good Times Animated Comedy Trailer; Too Close for Comfort and Check It Out! Complete Series on DVD

Good Times is back...now as an animated series! In this irreverent reimagining of the TV classic, a new generation of the Evans family keeps their heads above water in a Chicago housing project. An unfiltered adult comedy with the voices of Yvette Nicole Brown, J.B. Smoove, Wanda Sykes, Jay Pharoah, Marsai Martin and more. Add Good Times to your MyList here. From Showrunner Ranada Shepard and Executive Producers Stephen Curry, Norman Lear and Seth MacFarlane, the animated comedy drops on Netflix on Friday, April 12. No word yet on how many episodes will drop.

'80s sitcom Too Close for Comfort will be out with a Complete Series DVD set on April 3 with all 6 seasons consisting of 129 episodes from VEI (Visual Entertainment Inc.) for just $39.99. Just like fellow DLT Entertainment sitcom Three's Company earlier this year. Cartoonist Henry Rush (Ted Knight) and his loving wife, Muriel (Nancy Dussault), have just hit upon a surefire plan to keep their maturing family intact. Daughters Jackie (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) and Sara (Lydia Cornell) may be all grown up, but that doesn't mean these proud parents are ready to sit back and watch them venture out into the big, bad world on their own. Not by a long shot! So when an apartment unexpectedly opens up in their San Francisco row house, logic dictates that they lease it to those that they want to hold dear-and, most importantly-near! But with a sexy blonde bombshell for one daughter and a smart and sassy brunette for the other, the Rushes might be getting far more than they bargained for. Never mind the wacky, ever-present social misfit that they soon have to contend with Monroe Ficus (Jim J. Bullock). Why, it's enough to drive any parent crazy! And though it may have once innocently seemed like a sound solution, this upstairs-downstairs living arrangement may quickly prove that for all involved it's far too easy to be, well, perhaps just a little...Too Close for Comfort!

Purchase Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series on DVD on Amazon.com or VEI.

In addition, another fellow '80s sitcom Check It Out! from DLT Entertainment will be out with a complete series DVD set from VEI with all 3 seasons (66 episodes) on April 8. Check It Out! takes viewers on a riotous romp through Cobbs, a supermarket where Howard Bannister, played by the iconic Don Adams, battles to maintain order amidst the chaos. Alongside him is Edna Moseley (Dinah Christie), his trusty sidekick and love interest, as they face the daily challenges brought on by a cast of quirky characters. From the endearing yet clueless stockboy to the consistently grumpy cashier, each member of the Cobbs team adds to the mayhem with their antics. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, the show delivers a relentless stream of slapstick comedy, witty one-liners, and an abundance of puns that keep the laughs rolling. Inspired by the British sitcom Tripper's Day from comedy writer Brian Cooke, Check It Out! brings its own unique flair to the supermarket setting. Cooke's expertise, honed from his work on US hits like Three's Company and Too Close For Comfort, lays the foundation for this uproarious comedy.

Purchase Check It Out! - The Complete Series on DVD on Amazon.com or VEI.

Antenna TV Spring 2023 Schedule; Rewind TV Spring 2023 Schedule

Beginning Monday, March 20, 2023, Antenna TV is making some changes to its schedule for some spring cleaning. The changes are mainly early weekday mornings and Saturday primetime, along with McHale's Navy & Welcome Back, Kotter returning to weekdays. Weekday early mornings now has only one episode each of Burns & Allen and Jack Benny from 5-6am (previously was airing an hour each from 6-8am). I Dream of Jeannie is added to mornings airing 6-7am while Bewitched's morning hour moves to 7-8am (instead of 5-6am). At noon, McHale's Navy returns to weekdays as My Favorite Martian departs weekdays. And also Welcome Back, Kotter returns to weekdays airing 4-5pm replacing Too Close for Comfort, which departs on weekdays. The other changes are to weekends, with Saturday primetime seeing the most changes, One Day at a Time moves up to 8-9pm instead of Alice (moves to 1-2am on Sat), while The Jeffersons gets the 9-10pm hour. The rest of the changes are minor, which includes Kotter Saturday block cut to 7-8pm, as Too Close for Comfort moves to Saturdays 6-7pm. My Favorite Martian retains the Saturday 12pm hour but will also add the Sunday 9am hour, instead of McHale's Navy.

Sister network Rewind TV is making spring changes beginning today - Monday, March 6! The biggest change is that Paid Programming is now gone from 6-9am! Sitcoms will now air 6-9am, with Paid Programming being now only 4-6am. So Rewind TV is only making changes to 3am-9am due to this Paid Progamming change. NewsRadio will air weekdays 3-4am, Head of the Class Saturdays 3-4am and It's a Living Sundays 3-4am. After Paid Programming, weekdays 6-9am will have an hour each of It's a Living, 227 and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, while Saturdays will have an hour of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and two hours of Mork & Mindy. Sundays will have an hour of Head of the Class into two hours of 227. The rest of the Rewind TV schedule remain as it is now, with sitcoms such as Drew Carey, The Facts of Life, and Diff'rent Strokes staying in their current slots.

Hallmark Original Series Sets Cast; Remembering Pat Carroll, Roger E. Mosley and Vin Scully

Chyler Leigh (Supergirl, Grey's Anatomy) has been cast in The Way Home, the network's new, original primetime series slated to begin production later this month for a 2023 premiere on Hallmark Channel. Leigh plays Kat Landry, who moved away from her small, Canadian farm town of Port Haven many years ago following a family tragedy, and remains estranged from her mother Del (Andie MacDowell) to this day. With her marriage coming to an end and having just been laid off from her job, Kat decides to return home after receiving an unexpected letter from Del urging her to come back. Although her 15-year-old daughter Alice is none-too-thrilled, Kat and her daughter arrive at her family's farm, though the reunion isn't what Kat had envisioned. As the three generations of women slowly work on finding their footing as a family, they embark on an enlightening - and surprising - journey none of them could have imagined.

Emmy-winning actress Pat Carroll, who starred as Bunny Halper on The Danny Thomas Show, has died. She died of pneumonia at her home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on July 30. Ms. Carroll was 95.

Carroll made her television debut on the CBS variety show/sitcom The Red Buttons Show in 1953. She appeared in 45 episodes of the NBC sketch comedy series Caesar's Hour from 1954 to 1957. In 1957, she won the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Performance by an Actress for playing various roles. She appeared on The Saturday Night Revue in 1954. She was a regular on the game show Keep Talking from 1958 to 1960.

She starred as Bunny Halper in 40 episodes of The Danny Thomas Show on CBS from 1961 to 1964. Bunny Halper is the wife of Charley Halper (Sid Melton), the owner of the Copa Club where Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) frequently performed. The cast from seasons 9 to 11 included Danny Thomas, Marjorie Lord, Rusty Hamer, Angela Williams and Amanda Randolph.

Carroll starred as Rita Simon on the short-lived 1971-1972 ABC sitcom Getting Together. It starred Bobby Sherman and Wes Stern as Bobby Conway and Lionel Poindexter, a songwriting duo. Jennifer Conway (Susan Neher) is Bobby's 12-year-old sister. Rita is the motherly landlady at an antique shop. Officer Rudy Colcheck (Jack Burns) is her policeman boyfriend.

She portrayed Pearl Markowitz, the mother of Lenny Markowitz (Adam Arkin), on the 1977 CBS sitcom Busting Loose. The series centers on a young man in New York City who has moved out of his parents' house to live on his own for the first time. The cast included Barbara Rhoades, Jack Kruschen, Danny Goldman, Steve Nathan, Greg Antonacci, Paul Sylvan, Paul B. Price, Ralph Wilcox and Louise Williams.

Carroll starred as Gussie Holt, the bubbly mother of Sheriff Hildy Granger (Suzanne Somers), on the 1987-1989 first-run syndicated sitcom She's the Sheriff. The cast included George Wyner, Nicky Rose, Taliesin Jaffe, Lou Richards, Guich Kooch and Leonard Lightfoot.

She starred as Hope Stinson on The Ted Knight Show in first-run syndication from 1986 to 1987. Too Close for Comfort was retitled to The Ted Knight Show for the sixth and final season. Hope is the co-owner the local weekly newspaper, the Bugler. The cast included Ted Knight, Nancy Dussault, Jim J. Bullock (as Jm J. Bullock) and Lisa Antille.

Some of her sitcom guest appearances included The Dennis Day Show, The Mickey Rooney Show, The Ann Sothern Show, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Arnie, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, My Three Sons, Love, American Style (2 episodes), Calucci's Department, Laverne & Shirley (as Lily Feeney, Shirley's mother), Good Heavens, C.P.O. Sharkey, The Love Boat, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, Evening Shade and Designing Women.

She appeared as Rebecca Chadwick in three episodes of ER in 2005. Some of her other drama guest appearances included Police Story, Police Woman, Flying High, Trapper John, M.D. (1985) and Crazy Like a Fox

Carroll was also known for her voice-over work. She portrayed the sea witch Ursula in Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989). Some of her television animated series credits included Galaxy High School, Foofur and Pound Puppies.

Survivors include daughters Kerry Karsian, Tara Karsian and granddaughter Evan Karsian-McCormick.

Ms. Carroll was a talented and funny actress. She had more than 100 television and film credits. We thank her for the laughs and entertainment that she brought us during her long career. She will be deeply missed.

Share your memories on our message board. View photos in our galleries.

Actor Roger E. Mosley, who was best known for his role as the helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin on Magnum, P.I., has died. On August 4, he was involved in a car accident in Lynwood, California, becoming paralyzed from the shoulders down. He died three days later on August 7 from his injuries at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Mosley was 83.

Mosley starred as Theodore "T.C." Calvin on the crime drama Magnum, P.I., which aired on CBS from 1980 to 1988. Theodore "T.C." Calvin runs a one-person local helicopter charter and tour van service called "Island Hoppers", and often finds himself persuaded by Magnum (Tom Selleck) to fly him during various cases. Mosley directed an episode in 1984 and wrote an episode in 1986.

He starred as Michael Kirkland on the short-lived 1990-1991 CBS sitcom You Take the Kids. The series starred Nell Carter, who also performed the theme song "Nobody's Got It Easy". Nell's husband Michael worked as a school bus driver while Nell gave piano lessons at the family home for extra money. It also starred Dante Beze, Caryn Ward, Marlon Taylor, Trent Cameron and Leila Danette.

Mosley had a recurring role as Coach Ricketts in 10 episodes of the first season (1992-1993) of the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. He is the coach of the Oakbridge Penguins boys' basketball team. The cast of the first season included Mark Curry, Holly Robinson (Peete), Dawnn Lewis, Omar Gooding, Marquise Wilson, George Lemore and Christopher Carter.

He starred as Milton 'Milt' Johnson on the second season (1999-2000) of the Showtime comedy Rude Awakening. The cast included Sherilyn Fenn, Lynn Redgrave, Jonathan Penner and Rain Pryor.

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Sanford and Son, That's My Mama, The Love Boat, Night Court (2 episodes), The Sinbad Show, In the House and Arli$$.

He appeared as John Booky, T.C.'s (Stephen Hill) barber, in two episodes of the Magnum, P.I. reboot in 2019 and 2021. Some of his other television drama guest appearances included Cannon, Night Gallery (2 episodes), The Streets of San Francisco, Kung Fu, Kojak, McCloud, Baretta, The Rookies, Delvecchio, The Rockford Files, Starsky and Hutch (2 episodes), RoboCop (1994), Walker, Texas Ranger (2000), The District and Las Vegas.

Some of his film credits included Hit Man (1972), The Mack (1973), Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973), Terminal Island (1974), McQ (1974), Leadbelly (1976), The Greatest (1977), Semi-Tough (1977), Heart Condition (1990), Unlawful Entry (1992) and Pentathlon (1994).

Survivors include his wife, Antoinette (“Toni”) — they were together for nearly 60 years — son Brandonn; daughter Ch-a; grandson Austin; and Rahsan, among his many nieces and nephews.

Mr. Mosley was a solid and dependable actor. He was likable and memorable as T.C. on Magnum, P.I.. Though he was a certified helicopter pilot, he was not allowed to do his own stunts. We thank him for the entertainment that he brought us on television. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Magnum, P.I. message board. View photos in our galleries.

Hall of Fame sportscaster Vin Scully was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located in Brooklyn) and ending in 2016. He died on August 2 at his home in Hidden Hills, California. Mr. Scully was 94.

Scully was the uncredited narrator for the 1966-1967 NBC sitcom Occasional Wife. The lead character was Peter Christopher (Michael Callan), a bachelor who enjoyed the single life, but was blocked from professional advancement by not having a wife. Christopher asked a young hat check girl, Greta Patterson (Patricia Harty), to pose as his wife at company functions. Scully commented on the increasingly complicated problems created by the arrangement between Peter and Greta.

His voice as an announcer was heard in episodes of Mister Ed, The Joey Bishop Show and Brooklyn Bridge. Some of his other television voice credits included General Electric Theater, Michael Shayne, The New Breed, Alcoa Premiere, The Fugitive, Highway to Heaven and The X-Files.

He served as the host for the NBC game show It Takes Two in 1969-1970. He hosted The Vin Scully Show, a weekday afternoon talk-variety show on CBS in 1973. In 1977, he hosted the prime-time Challenge of the Sexes for CBS.

Survivors include his children, Kevin, Todd, Erin, Kelly and Catherine; 21 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Mr. Scully was one of the best baseball announcers of all time. He had so many memorable calls over the years. He was a true professional and a great storyteller. He will be sorely missed.

Share your memories on our message board.

Antenna TV's Father's Day Feast Marathon; HBO Max Renews Our Flag Means Death

Antenna TV invites you to a Father's Day Feast, featuring a marathon of your favorite dads. Watch a smorgasbord of top classic sitcoms featuring your favorite fathers, including Darrin from Bewitched, George from The Jeffersons, Jim from Father Knows Best, Steven from Family Ties, and more. And you'll also see fathers of your favorite sitcom characters dropping by such as Chrissy's father on Three's Company, Mr. Kotter's dad on Welcome Back, Kotter, Henry's father from Too Close for Comfort and Jack Tripper's father on Three's Company. The all-day Father's Day Feast begins at 8 am ET on Sunday, June 19 on Antenna TV and will air through 8pm. Episode info is below:

8:00 AM Father Knows Best Father of the Year 02/06/55
8:30 AM Father Knows Best Proud Father 03/06/55
9:00 AM Bachelor Father The Social Worker 03/02/58
9:30 AM Bachelor Father Bentley, the Proud Father 03/15/59
10:00 AM Dennis the Menace Father's Day for Mr. Wilson 06/18/61
10:30 AM Hazel Natural Athlete 11/29/62
11:00 AM Hazel Vanishing Hero 11/28/63
11:30 AM McHale's Navy A Da Da for Christy 05/19/64
12:00 PM Bewitched A Very Special Delivery 09/23/65
12:30 PM Partridge Family Whatever Happened to the Old Songs? 10/09/70
1:00 PM That Girl That Girl's Daddy 11/20/70
1:30 PM Jeffersons Like Father, Like Son 04/05/75
2:00 PM One Day at a Time A Visit from Dad 12/07/76
2:30 PM Welcome Back Kotter Kotter and Son 01/20/77
3:00 PM Three's Company Chrissy Come Home 02/28/78
3:30 PM Benson Conflict of Interest 10/18/79
4:00 PM Too Close for Comfort Huey 02/24/81
4:30 PM Jeffersons Louise's Father 10/18/81
5:00 PM Family Ties I Never Killed for My Father 11/03/82
5:30 PM Silver Spoons Happy Birthday 10/10/83
6:00 PM Three's Company Like Father, Like Son 11/29/83
6:30 PM Silver Spoons World's Greatest Father 01/21/84
7:00 PM Family Ties Keaton and Son 10/18/84
7:30 PM Dear John Father Knows Best 11/30/89

HBO Max has renewed the comedy series Our Flag Means Death, from creator-showrunner David Jenkins, Emmy®-nominated executive producer and star Taika Waititi and Emmy®-nominated executive producer Garrett Basch, for a second season. Season one was (very) loosely based on the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet, played by Rhys Darby (Wrecked). After trading in the seemingly charmed life of a gentleman for one of a swashbuckling buccaneer, Stede became captain of the pirate ship Revenge. Struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, Stede's fortunes changed after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard, played by Waititi. To their surprise, the wildly different Stede and Blackbeard found more than friendship on the high seas... they found love. Now they have to survive it. In addition to Darby and Waititi, season one starred an ensemble cast that included Nathan Foad, Samson Kayo, Vico Ortiz, Ewen Bremner, Joel Fry, Matt Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O'Neill, Guz Khan, David Fane, Rory Kinnear, Samba Schutte, Nat Faxon, Fred Armisen and Leslie Jones.

Antenna TV's April Fool's Day of Fools Marathon; HBO Max Comedy Hacks Adds More Stars for Season 2

On Friday, April 1, Antenna TV celebrates the standout sitcom sidekick with the "April Fool's Day of Fools Marathon" beginning at 5 am ET. Watch a full day of foolery and plenty of laughs featuring Antenna TV's lineup of classic kooky cohorts including Flo in Alice, Arnold Horshack in Welcome Back, Kotter, Larry Dallas in Three's Company, Phil Fish in Barney Miller, Dwayne Schneider in One Day at a Time, Florence Johnston in The Jeffersons, Monroe Ficus in Too Close for Comfort and more. The "April Fool's Day of Fools Marathon" begins at 5 am ET on Friday, April 1, 2022 on Antenna TV. The episodes air in the regular timeslots.

The Emmy(R)-winning and critically-acclaimed Max Original comedy series Hacks has added Laurie Metcalf, Martha Kelly and Ming-Na Wen as recurring guest stars and Margaret Cho as a guest star for the highly anticipated second season on HBO Max. In the comedy, the dark mentorship between legendary Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her young, entitled writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) continues to evolve as the two travel across the country workshopping Deborah's new stand-up act. Jean Smart, an Emmy(R) winner for her performance in season one of the series, is set to return with Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins and Jane Adams, who were all nominated for Emmys for season one. Christopher McDonald, Kaitlin Olson, Paul W. Downs, Poppy Liu, Rose Abdoo, Mark Indelicato, Meg Stalter, Angela E. Gibbs, Luenell, Johnny Sibilly, Joe Mande, Ally Maki and Lorenza Izzo also star.

Antenna TV February 2022 Schedule; GAC Family Acquires Full House

Antenna TV is making some timeslot changes starting on Monday (Feb. 7). The only thing major is Too Close for Comfort is back on weekdays (airing 4-5pm), while It's a Living returns to the schedule (weekends 4-5pm and will still air weekday mornings on sister network Rewind TV at 5am). Antenna TV's core weeknight line-up from 5pm-12am remains unchanged, with Welcome Back Kotter, One Day at a Time, Three's Company, Barney Miller, The Jeffersons, Johnny Carson and Alice airing. The weekday daytime line-up just has timeslot changes with the same shows between 8am-4pm such as Bachelor Father moving to 8-9am. In late fringe, Maude and Archie Bunker's Place have switched timeslots at 12am & 1am, while Mork & Mindy is off the overnight line-up (the series still airs on sister network Rewind TV seven days a week). The weekend changes are more timeslot shifting, such as the second hour of Benny Hill now moving to Saturday nights after the first hour to form a Saturday 12-2am block. See the full schedule below so you do not miss any of your favorite shows!

First it was digital broadcast station MeTV that acquired Full House, now cable network GAC Family has acquired the popular family sitcom. Warner Bros. owned Full House joins the GAC Family's line-up filled with Sony Pictures sitcoms starting Monday, February 7. The sitcom will air weekdays 9am-12pm and again in primetime from 6pm-10pm. The rest of the weekday line-up features Who's the Boss? 6am-9am, Bewitched 12pm-3pm, more Who's the Boss? from 3pm-6pm, more Who's the Boss? from 10pm-1am, I Dream of Jeannie from 1am-3:30am and more Bewitched from 3:30am-6am. On weekends, Saturdays will have a full day of Full House from 6am-6pm, leading into movies at 6pm-12am. More Full House will air from 12am-6am. On Sundays, it's all Who's the Boss? all day from 6am-12am. As of now, it looks like Father Knows Best, Hazel and Silver Spoons will be off the line-up.

Antenna TV Fall 2021 Schedule; Rewind TV Launch Schedule Beginning September 1

It's time to gear up for the Fall! Antenna TV and its new companion network Rewind TV have announced their Fall schedules. Let's start with Antenna TV. Their new lineup begins on Monday, August 30 and there is one new series joining the lineup, as they have re-acquired Too Close for Comfort. That series will air on weekends, airing 3pm & 3:30pm. Most of the weekday schedule remains intact, however late fringe will get a makeover. Archie Bunker's Place and Maude return to weekdays and will air 12-1am & 1-2am. In the overnight, Family Ties and Mork & Mindy return to weekdays, and will air 3-4am and 4-5am. Mork is returning from hiatus and will also air on Rewind TV. The rest of the ATV changes are on the weekends, with the addition of Too Close for Comfort, along with the return from hiatus The Partridge Family (weekends 11am-12pm) and Mork & Mindy (weekends 6-7pm). A lot of the weekend shows on Antenna TV are moving to Rewind TV (i.e. The Hogan Family, Head of the Class, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, etc). Check the full Antenna TV Fall 2021 schedule image for full details.

Stunts and future programming wise, there is a lot to come. On Labor Day, there will be an Alice marathon. On Halloween there will be a Bewitched marathon, while a Coach binge will air on Thanksgiving weekend. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it's Antenna TV's annual Classic Christmas Collection marathon and Christmas Through the Years stunt. And finally, New Year's Eve will once again feature dance party episodes. More details on each stunt as we get closer to the dates. As we mentioned, AnTENna TV's final two months for their birthday blowout will have 10 episodes of Three's Company on Sept. 10 from 5pm-10pm and Hazel on Oct. 10 from 5pm-10pm. As for future programming, Antenna TV has reacquired Welcome Back, Kotter and it will begin this January, 2022. We hinted two shows returning to Antenna TV, and those are now announced: Too Close for Comfort and Welcome Back, Kotter.

Moving on to new Antenna TV companion network, Rewind TV. They will launch on Wednesday, September 1. The lineup will be seven days a week. Check the full Rewind TV launch schedule image for full details, but some highlights include: new acquisition Caroline in the City (12-1am), series moving from Rewind to Antenna like Diff'rent Strokes (5-6am and 1-2pm), The Facts of Life (6-7am and 12-1pm), Who's the Boss? (8-9am and 4-5pm), Head of the Class (3-4pm and 2-3am), along with series airing on both Antenna TV and Rewind TV like Mork & Mindy (11am-12pm on Rewind) and Family Ties (6-7pm on Rewind). Full list of launch shows: Caroline in the City, 227, Becker, Dear John, Designing Women, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Growing Pains, Head of the Class, The Hogan Family, Mork & Mindy, Murphy Brown, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Who's the Boss, and Wings.

No details on if there will be any stunts yet, but there are plenty of series coming to Rewind TV in the next couple years, with most that were already announced to join. The Drew Carey Show launches first this December. The John Larroquette Show, My Two Dads, NewsRadio and Suddenly Susan will join in early 2022, while Just Shoot Me! and Mad About You launch sometime in 2023. More details to come on these as we get closer to the dates.

SitcomsOnline Digest: Amazon Gets Streaming Rights to Mad Men; Too Close for Comfort on Pluto TV

• Amazon has picked up the steaming rights to Mad Men. (Deadline) 
• Once again, current events are affecting classic TV series, with Hulu removing a Golden Girls episode with a blackface joke that wasn't exactly blackface. (Vulture)
• Don't worry about Days of Our Lives, the series is set to return to production on September 1. (Deadline) 
• The first guest hosts for Jimmy Kimmel's vacation have been announced. (TVLine)
• Hugh Downs, who is known for sitting next to Barbara Walters throughout the 90s on 20/20 (right after TGIF), has died at age 99. (CNN)
• Carl Reiner died this past week, and there are plenty of tributes to him planned (including one that aired on CBS last night). (SitcomsOnline) 

WEEKLY PLANNER (JULY 4- JULY 10)

• Syfy may have abandoned their tradition of showing Twilight Zone during Independence Day weekend, but Decades has you covered if you want that.
• Too Close for Comfort is available to watch now on TV Land Sitcoms, but not the cable channel, but the free streaming version on Pluto TV.

Too Close for Comfort Heads to Logo; A Day of Grey's, As Series Celebrates Episode #300

Antenna TV January 2016 Schedule with Johnny Carson; Amazon Announces Many Series Orders

Antenna TV Spring 2014 Schedule; Hulu's Deal with NBC Universal for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Mindy Project

Three's Company, Too Close for Comfort Returning to Antenna TV; NBC Midseason Pilot Review: About a Boy - Premieres Saturday After the Olympics

Antenna TV Spring 2012 Schedule With Addition Of WKRP; TLC's Docu-Sitcom Leave it to Niecy New Premiere Date

Antenna TV In Cleveland Soars In Ratings; Remembering All in the Family Director John Rich and Seinfeld's "Mr. Pitt"

The Hub Fall 2011 Schedule; Remembering Don Taffner of DLT Entertainment

Donald Taffner Sr., a 40-year veteran of the television industry and an inventive executive who helped bring Three's Company, Too Close for Comfort and The Benny Hill Show to the American public, died on September 6 after a brief illness. His daughter, Karen Butler, spoke to the St. John's University newspaper The Torch and said that the doctors believe the cause of death was a "cataclysmic heart event, like an aneurysm or clot.” Mr. Taffner was 80.

Taffner and his wife, Eleanor, founded D.L. Taffner Ltd. in 1963. The couple later changed the name to Taffner Enterprises before it became known as DLT Entertainment. The company was originally formed to help international broadcasters looking for American television shows for their schedules, but they later started to sell overseas shows to the U.S. networks. They helped bring the ABC sitcoms Three's Company, its spinoff Three's a Crowd and Too Close for Comfort to American audiences. DLT Entertainment also brought us the 1985-88 Canadian sitcom Check It Out! which starred Don Adams; the BBC sitcoms My Family and As Time Goes By; and various cartoons that featured the Beatles, Crazy Cat, Barney Google and Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. In 1986, he received the International Emmy Founders Award "for setting new levels of creativity in the worldwide exchange of television programs."

You can read more about his career and view a video interview at the Archive of American Television. Mr. Taffner's wife, Eleanor, passed away from natural causes on September 15, 2010 in New York. He is survived by a son, producer Donald L. Taffner Jr.; two daughters, Karen Butler and Rhonda Taffner Cantor; and three grandchildren, John, Henry and Tom Butler. We thank him for bringing us Three's Company and Too Close for Comfort. He will be missed.

Antenna TV Launch Schedule Starting January 2011; Chiller Acquires Buffy

New Digital Station Antenna TV Coming in January 2011; CMT Fall 2010, Hallmark Channel Update

SitcomsOnline.com Exclusive: Interview with Lydia Cornell; And Lydia Unleashed

We have a very exciting interview for you today. We have an interview with Lydia Cornell...one of the stars on the '80s sitcom Too Close for Comfort and now she is on the radio dial on her talk show Basham and Cornell Radio Live. Catch Too Close for Comfort tonight at 8pm ET/5pm PT on WGN America! As always with our interviews, it is in Seven Questions form!

We had the pleasure to interview Lydia Cornell - actress, writer, author, producer and radio host. Is there anything this woman can't do? She co-starred as Ted Knight's daughter in the role of Sara Rush on the ABC television situation comedy Too Close for Comfort, where she won a People's Choice Award, and most recently appeared on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. Cornell was a Best Actress nominee at Method Fest, which honors outstanding acting performances, for her leading role in the AFI indie Miss Supreme Queen.

We thank Lydia for taking the time to answer some of the most interesting questions we have for her...and her responses were so amazing that we gave her more space on our blog at the end in "Lydia Unleashed." So it is time for another installment of SitcomsOnline's Seven Questions Series! We seriously STILL need a jingle. Any takers out there? How about a Too Close for Comfort style jingle?

"Seven Questions with Lydia Cornell"

SitcomsOnline: We thank you for your time and it is an honor to speak with you! You are of course most remembered by TV fans for your role as Sara Rush, the sexy & beautiful daughter of Ted Knight's Henry Rush on the ABC sitcom Too Close for Comfort. Can you share with us how you got the role?
Lydia Cornell: Thank you! It's great to speak with you, too. I really love SitcomsOnline. My audition for Too Close for Comfort was a comedy of errors. I was half an hour late; it had been raining, I had taken the wrong bus -- and by the time I got there the producers were ready to go home. They had seen 400 girls already for the part of Sara Rush (formerly called "Susan") and they were burned out. I was literally the last girl they saw.
When I walked into the office, the casting director told me I was too late -- that they had already picked four girls for the final callback the next day at the network. I was on the verge of tears when the producer Arne Sultan, came out, took one look at me and said, "What the hell, let her read!" He must have felt sorry for me -- bedraggled, soaking wet. I followed him into an office where there were two other executive producers, one of whom introduced himself as Tom Werner of ABC.
At the end of my reading, there was a direction in the script that said: "Sara gives dad a raspberry." So I picked up an imaginary raspberry and thrust it at Mr. Sultan who was reading lines with me. He looked at me like I was from outer space and said, "What the f--- are you handing me? What the hell is this?" I said, "It's a raspberry. I'm giving you a raspberry like it says in the script." He started cracking up, "Where are you from -- did you just fall off the turnip truck? Don't you know what a raspberry is in show business?" He proceeded to put his lips together, stick his tongue out and blow out the most obnoxious sound. "It's a Bronx cheer!" They all laughed and one of them said, "This girl is exactly what we're looking for. We want you to come into ABC tomorrow for the final callback."
The next day I went to the network wearing a very sweet, virginal-looking flowered dress. All the other girls were in extremely tight T-shirts with their nipples showing. When the casting director called me into the room, I was awestruck to see Ted Knight sitting on the couch, along with several network executives. I hadn't been around Hollywood long enough to realize how scary this was standing in front of a firing squad. Imagine several characters like "Ari" from Entourage sitting there judging you. Ted got up, introduced himself and said "Let's read together, shall we?" I don't remember how I got the lines out, but there were huge laughs at each line I read, at the end there was a burst of applause. Arne Sultan said, "Will you please wait outside." A few minutes later they ushered me back in and said, "It's not protocol to tell an actor without telling her agent first, but we want you to know you got the part!"


SitcomsOnline: Wow, what a story that was! Do you have good memories from the show and do you have a few favorite episodes that you can share? It seems that the cast still gets together and has fun as we saw on the DVD special features?
Lydia Cornell: I have great memories of the show and lots of hilarious ones. I used to have a crush on Jim Bullock and would go to work every day with butterflies in my stomach. (I heard it's okay to have butterflies in your stomach as long as they're flying in formation.) Laughter is my favorite drug and Jimmy made me laugh until I couldn't see straight. I was crushed when I found out he was gay, but then we became the best of friends.
Not long ago, I guest-starred on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm with Seinfeld creator Larry David -- who made me laugh so hard I almost couldn't speak; he's a comic genius. So was Ted Knight, of course. He taught me wondrous things, like how to do a "spit-take" without drooling. It's similar to a double take, while holding a cup to your lips.
Deborah and I were very close from day one. I met her at the network audition. She told me she had worked in New York City for a certain shipping company. It turned out she had worked for my dad -- although we lived in Holland at the time. We were both blown away when we discovered that she had been working with my dad via telex in Holland on a daily basis. Out of all the millions of people and jobs in New York City! Of course there are no coincidences.
I recently wrote and produced a film called Venus Conspiracy with Deborah Van Valkenburgh starring as my abusive therapist sister. We got to finish fighting from the old days - with dialogue that was really juicy. Deb and I could not stop laughing; we have such great chemistry and she said the lines EXACTLY as I had imagined them. I want to make the feature film and a series based on this movie with both of us playing sisters again!
Even though we had a love-hate relationship, I really miss Ted, who died of prostate cancer in the last year of our show. At Ted's funeral I sat on the first row and sobbed uncontrollably as Mary Tyler Moore spoke. And I also miss John Ritter, who used to pop his head in and make us laugh between rehearsals for the Three's Company spin-off, Three's a Crowd. And then there was the legendary Audrey Meadows who played my grandmother. She had starred as Jackie Gleason's wife Alice in The Honeymooners. It's hard to believe all these great comedic actors are gone.
As for my favorite episodes, I love the one in which Jackie and Sara have a pizza fight. She scratches my records and I smear her dry cleaning with pizza. That was a great show because the we got to have several scenes without the grownups.
We heard that it worried Ted that we had so many big scenes without him. The producers were afraid we were developing our own following, which might lead the network to develop a "Jackie and Sara" show someday. They used us to raise the ratings with younger viewers. From then on, they tried to marginalize our roles. That's when they came up with a baby for Ted and Nancy. They also beefed up Jim Bullock's role - so the girls were expendable. Monroe was the perfect foil to Henry Rush. I always think that Ted enjoyed having Jim as the "idiot punching bag" as he been the same kind of punching bag as bumbling newscaster Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But I can't believe they didn't realize they could have built up a successful franchise with the Jackie and Sara characters.
I like the episode with the live lion. Monroe and I are making a movie in our house and we bring in animals. The cookie episode where we start a cookie business is another goodie. The one where I get a job as a waitress and have to wear lamb chop underwear with ruffles is another favorite. I hold a pillow over my skirt to hide from Ted. The one where I am the weathergirl and can't get my states right. I love the part when I popped someone on the head with a lint brush. I also loved the episode where Sara tries out for the newscaster job and has to comment about Middle East peace talks by saying: "We could have a war on our hands if these peace talks don't get started. And that is only going to drive up the price of bagels and gasoline."
And yes we do reunite often! Deb and I just went to the Too Close for Comfort reunion party hosted by Arne Sultan and Leonard Stern's long-time assistant Donna. Jim, Deb and I just got together for Jim's summer party in August. Pink Flamingos was the motif. He is as funny as ever. Just got an email from him -- he's in Kansas doing a play.

SitcomsOnline: It is too bad that the show is not in syndication anymore (however, you can watch four episodes TONIGHT on WGN America from 8-10pm ET/5-7pm PT) and the DVDs were halted after just two seasons, any reason why? Have you heard any new rumblings on at least when we can expect the DVDs to continue? I think you told me before that you guys had shot the extras for the next set or two?
Lydia Cornell: The truth is, I have no idea. It feels as if Don Taffner (DLT Entertainment) has deliberately stopped syndicating our show. It's from a more innocent time in history, which I think would be a nice change right now for younger kids. I mean Saved by the Bell is still on and it sure looks dated! I don't see why they won't syndicate our show on Nick at Nite or some other network.
I heard that Rhino, the division of Warner Home Media that produced our DVDs, folded and was absorbed into the parent company. But I wish they'd release the rest of the DVDs. Another theory is this: Maybe the Ted Knight estate owns such a large percentage of the show that it isn't profitable for Don Taffner or any DVD company to produce it anyway. Maybe the profit split would be unprofitable for them. It's always about money.
Deborah, Jim and I did commentary on Season 3 - which is my favorite season. It's odd that they didn't really promote our DVD release. But what I find odd is that Rhino was only interested in promoting Jim Bullock on all the postcards and giveaways. Deborah and I have been available to do PR and advertising. Here's what's going to happen: once my book comes out (more on this below in our "Lydia Unleashed" story), the movie is launched (Venus Conspiracy) and our show starts filming (based on the movie), Too Close for Comfort will come back.
In May of 2008, Paramount/Viacom called us to do a Too Close For Comfort Reunion Show for Entertainment Tonight. But then they suddenly cancelled the reunion.


SitcomsOnline: Last question on Too Close for Comfort...what was the deal that you and Deborah Van Valkenburgh were written out of the show for the last season when Henry and Muriel moved out of San Francisco to a newspaper in Marin County and was retitled The Ted Knight Show? If Monroe (Jim Bullock) got to go, why not you and Deborah? Unfortunately, Ted Knight passed away at the end of that season, do you remember your last memories of Ted and what your thoughts are of him in general?
Lydia Cornell: That was a horrible decision on the producers' part. First, Deb dropped out and didn't want to do a final year. She was always more interested in doing theater and darker roles. But I loved comedy and wanted to stay on. Then Arne Sultan died and new producers came on board whose sole purpose was to satisfy Ted - who had an ownership stake. Since the network never got to develop the Jackie and Sara characters, and our value had been diminished in the last couple of years - the new producers were simply resistant to upsetting Ted. And they didn't realize the value of the Sara character without Jackie. It was like willful ignorance. But to be honest, we had the hardest time ever feeling like they cared about "the girls" on that show. They were constantly trying to push us aside and make us feel expendable. I remember we had these amazing writers for one season - Jeff Reno and Ron Osbourne - who wrote great shows for Sara and Jackie. They were fired for being too talented! They went on to write and create Moonlighting. I have the greatest respect for writers. All the writers on the show were wonderful -- especially Earl Barret and Arne Sultan. Also we were honored to have the gifted and amazing duo of Rocky and Irma Kalish, they wrote Gilligan's Island, Bob Newhart, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis shows, Facts of Life, and tons of classic sitcoms. Irma was President of Writer's Guild America West and is one of the first women to become a producer of a TV show... a woman's activist. We also had Doug Arango and Phil Doran -- who had written All in the Family.
The funny thing is, I would have done the show for free - but my managers at the time were negotiating my contract for more money. I cringed over this, begging them to stop. The producers were so mad they started playing games and wrote me out of one episode - the one with Cousin April and guest star Robert Mandan, who played Ted's brother.
I think that once Arne died, Ted was free to design the show his way. Originally I was so hurt. I thought they decided to get rid of the girls because Ted Knight didn't particularly like us having any clout and a possible spin-off. Who knows? I have grown to forgive and love Ted, but I think the new producers made a mistake.

SitcomsOnline: During and after your stint on Too Close for Comfort you had some memorable guest starring roles on series like The A-Team and Knight Rider for an episode. And my were you stunning on those shows (who could forget that blue outfit on The A-Team!)! How was it being a sex symbol in the '80s? And you still are a sex symbol!
Lydia Cornell: Thank you so much! That is very sweet of you. I was so shy, it was difficult wearing those short-shorts and high heels. It's hard to be a woman in Hollywood unless you're lucky enough to thrive on humiliation. But laughing at myself and writing comedy kept me sane.
I really loved doing action shows. I wish Steven J. Cannell and Don Bellisario would clone themselves, come back and do more of these. I also played a race car owner in the Duke of Hazzard 2-hour CBS movie.
It's weird but David Hemmings, the iconic actor from films like Blow Up and Gladiator directed me in three action shows: A-Team, Hardball and the pilot for Quantum Leap. I was such a pushover I was talked into doing my own stunts on all these shows.
On A-Team Hemmings talked me letting the helicopter come so close to my head it was frightening. He said I didn't need a stuntwoman. Quantum Leap was a wild experience. When I got the part, no one told me we'd be staying out in Lancaster at Edwards Airforce Base for two weeks (where we hung out with the Blue Angels and got a sneak peak at the Stealth Bomber) so all I brought was my toothbrush. When the Teamsters van picked me up at Universal Studios at 5 AM, I wondered why everyone else had so much luggage. When we got there they took me shopping at Target for pajamas and stuff. I had dark hair at the time, long chocolate-colored hair down my back. The first day of shooting, Don Bellisario comes in the makeup trailer and says: "I need all the women to have short hair. This takes place in the 1950's and women didn't have long hair." None of us could believe he didn't mention this earlier - and none of us wanted to cut our hair off. So the hairstylist searched all over Lancaster for a wig shop. We finally found a short dark wig, which I wore in the film.
I also did Hunter -- where the director James Whitmore, Jr., talked me into doing my own stunts. I had to dive into icy Lake Malibu and swim up to the boat that Fred Dreyer and I would have our make-out scene on. What was really annoying was they forgot to put a ladder down so I could gracefully climb out of the water and into the boat. There was a camera on me from another boat, aimed right at my butt. As I swam up, my feet couldn't find any ladder so I got sucked under the boat, then had to grapple around, pull my body up and throw one leg onto the deck while wiggling on board - trying to appear attractive from behind! As I'm about to drown all I'm thinking about is how my ass looks!

SitcomsOnline: It has been known that you had a drinking problem but it is so good to hear that you are now a recovering alcoholic and had your last drink in 1994. How did this affect you personally and in your career having this drinking problem?
Lydia Cornell: I never drank when I was working (except during Christmas with David Hasselhoff when we were filming Knight Rider) but I had a few close calls on auditions. I actually fell down on top of a major director! Auditions made me so nervous.
My book will describe the crash, burn and surrender - and how I got to the other side. I had a catastrophic spiritual awakening and haven't had a drink or a craving to drink since September 11, 1994 - when I walked into a women's recovery group meeting. You will not believe the amazing thing that happened to me that day. It's hard to talk about this because it appears to exist in the realm of the magical - but this gave me concrete, tangible evidence of a loving force in the universe. And now I've finally figured out the key to activating these miracles, which are really natural laws.
I have now been sober for 14 years - the same age as my son. When I say sober, I mean "spiritually whole" in a way you cannot be when you try to just quit drinking by "white-knuckling" it, so to speak. The amazing thing is the gift of helping others stay sober too. We are all plagued by the "fame" drug.
It has been the best thing that ever happened to me. Now I am grateful for each day - and though the demons come back at times, I now have an unshakable higher power to lean on - the guiding principle of the universe.
I've never publicly spoken about this to anyone outside of recovery circles, but I've often stopped to wonder 'how did these seemingly miraculous events happen?' There was one common element: surrender. When I gave up fighting, the outside picture totally changed. But what is the metaphysics of surrender? How did an inner change affect an outer result? As Einstein said, "No problem can be solved at the same level it was created on." You can't fight fire with fire; you can't cure alcoholism with more alcohol or drugs - you have to go to a spiritual or diplomatic solution. Or as George Carlin put it, "Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity."


SitcomsOnline: Finally, I must say you have become very successful in your new career! The radio show Basham and Cornell Radio Live in Las Vegas is a success and shows off how smart you really are. It is big in Las Vegas and also nationwide on the Internet at BashamandCornell.com. How did you get involved with politics and this radio program? Do you see yourself doing this for the rest of your life and do you still plan on acting from time to time? And to everyone, Lydia has her own website and blog as well at LydiaCornell.com and also has written a novel, if you can share a bit on those as well.
Lydia Cornell: Thank you! Our show is amazing. We hope to have Richard Belzer on next week and Larry Charles soon. He directed Borat, Religulous and lots of Seinfeld episodes. Recent guests on our show include: CNN's Paul Begala, (Senior Clinton Advisor); MSNBC's Pat Buchanan (Former Reagan advisor) John Dean, Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie Savage, Senator Tom Daschle, Bill Press, NBC Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv Martin Fletcher, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, John & Elizabeth Edwards, Rep. Dennis & Elizabeth Kucinich, Congressman Charlie Rangel,Valerie Plame, Vincent Bugliosi, Christine Pelosi, Senator Mike Gravel; Senator Byron Dorgan; bestselling authors, celebrities and more.
Yes, I will continue to act! I was just up for a couple of roles on Entourage. I am writing a trilogy of funny books, a TV series and the big movie version of Venus Conspiracy. Like My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Nia Vardalos, I plan to play a role in this.
I also do standup and am co-starring in a new comedy show I wrote with Stephanie Hodge (Unhappily Ever After, Nurses) and Destiny (The Tonight Show, VH-1, MTV) called Pain is Inevitable, Sex Optional” We had our first stage show on Saturday night and it was great!
The novel is an historical thriller called The Sylvia Plan which has taken me several lifetimes to finish. It is about the Trotsky assassination, the Spanish Civil War and a love triangle. Right now it's on the back burner, but will definitely be out after the other books are published.

Our thanks to Lydia Cornell for her time and this opportunity. You can listen to her every weekday morning on Basham and Cornell Radio Live at 8am PT on KLAV or nationwide on http://www.bashamandcornell.com/, and check out Lydia's own website and blog at http://www.lydiacornell.com/.
And don't forget to watch Too Close for Comfort tonight on WGN America from 8-10pm ET (5-7pm PT). If you've never watched it, you are in for a treat...good writing, good comedy, and Lydia Cornell. Enough said! Stay tuned right here on the blog for continued news on Lydia and Too Close for Comfort!


Holy continuation, Batman! Lydia Cornell is not done yet! We have more from Lydia as she was very nice enough to share more stories and insight. So we're calling this "Lydia Unleashed." She is sharing some stories for the first time ever, so you will want to read more from Lydia! Holy exclusives! Time to get unleashed with Lydia Cornell. That is good thing! Unleash the hounds!

Lydia Cornell Unleashed


Lydia on her relationship with Ted Knight...
I had grown up watching Ted Knight on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and I was star-struck by him. He was a comedy legend and I was blessed to have learned the ropes from him. But Ted was hostile toward me and I didn't know why at the time. During our dialogue scenes I was afraid to look him in the eyes, so I'd look at his forehead. He'd stand on his toes to get into my line of vision. I was so nervous I'd fidget and one time I scratched my nose on his punch line. He would yell to the director's booth, "Why is she moving on my line!" They had to stop taping. From then on whenever anybody spoke, I froze. The director became upset that I was too stiff and Ted started a rumor that they were going to replace me with a prop. The National Enquirer sent spies to the set. One time Ted was yelling that I was late to the set, but the truth was that Violet, our wonderful wardrobe designer, was trying to button the pearl buttons on my blouse and it was taking too long. In the tabloids the next week I was accused of holding up production on the set because I was "primping" when I was actually crying while she was buttoning me up!
I have a really funny Merv Griffin story when the whole cast was on his show. Deborah and I were so nervous being on our first talk show we got into a lot of trouble. Deb blurted out a weird secret about Ted and Merv exploded with his lascivious laugh, warning: "Stay tuned and we'll find out what Deborah means when Lydia Cornell, the youngest member of the Rush family comes out!" Then I came out and made it worse! Ted's jaw dropped open in horror and they had to stop taping. Sorry but you'll have to wait another day for the conclusion of this...

Lydia on going to Beirut on a USO tour...
Audrey Meadows is the one who convinced me to go to Beirut, Lebanon on a USO tour with Johnny Grant, the Mayor of Hollywood, during Christmas 1982. Bob Hope had eye trouble that year. This was the most amazing experience - flying into a war zone, being picked up by paratroopers during a blackout, driving through mine fields during a blackout, being choppered onto aircraft carriers and staying above the bombed out remains of the Beirut Carlton. I met Capt. Dale Dye and sang Christmas carols with all the sailors and Marines.
After we left the Middle East, a suicide bomber drove a truck into the Marine barracks and blew up 251 of the best and brightest of the 24th MAU. I received letters from the sons of these soldiers, and years later I got a letter that broke my heart. It was from a 13-year-old boy who had been a toddler when his dad died, and the boy himself was now dying of cancer. He thought I might have met his father before the bombing, and wanted any memories I might have. A disabled combat marine vet sent me his Purple Heart last year for writing that article about Ann Coulter. (More about this below.)

Lydia on the daily happenings on the Too Close for Comfort set...

There is something about seeing yourself on TV for the first time that makes you want to put a bag over your head and jump off a cliff. Contrary to what people believed, I never used drugs on the set, just Liquid Paper to whiten my teeth. This was before teeth whiteners. One day Ted Knight came into my dressing room and caught me blow-drying my teeth. This was the 80's, the era of giant shoulder pads and aircraft carrier hairdos. You could land a plane on my head. In fact, it looked like a 747 was permanently parked there, the wingspan was so huge.
I was supposed to be the blonde bombshell of our show, so I had to stay very thin. Backstage, as on every film and TV set, there was a huge buffet of food they kept replenishing. It was covered with bagels, donuts, cookies, coffee cake, popcorn, chips, ice cream and soft drinks - but I wasn't allowed to eat any of it. There were spies everywhere. One day I left the soundstage, ventured into the outside world and bought a burrito, a taco, and bag of M&M's. I was sneaking back to my dressing room when Arne Sultan appeared out of nowhere. He caught me with all the food and yelled, "Don't you know you're a sex symbol!? You can't eat starch!" (This was before the word 'carbs.') The food went flying into the air and landed all over both of us.
After the first episode aired, the producers took me aside and said my face looked chubby. To make it look thinner, for the second episode I used lift tape to pull up my cheeks until I looked practically Chinese. I think it lifted my vocal chords in the process because my voice got higher and higher until I sounded like Minnie Mouse. But maybe this was just nerves.
I am writing a book about all my humiliating adventures in Hollywood and on the show, and there are so many funny ones to choose from. We were all very immature (as most comic actors are) and we would goof around during rehearsals. One day Ted, Jim, Nancy, Deb and I got into a conversation about sex. I think John Ritter had come to visit that day. By the time we got around to discussing the sex lives of goats and sheep, we were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. My stomach actually hurt from laughing, as if I'd done 300 situps. Then the director came in and we were all in trouble for not rehearsing. They couldn't leave us alone for one minute without all hell breaking loose.
On Wednesdays Ted would be all freaked out because the network would come down and watch the run-through with the producers. All of us hated being judged by the "suits." Usually they'd change the jokes and lines so we'd have new pages to memorize each day. We'd do two tapings on Fridays - one with a live audience.

Lydia on the publicity back then...

To bring in male viewers ABC promoted me as a sex symbol. They created posters and publicity shots in which I had to crawl on all fours in a sequined bathing suit. This was so embarrassing! Ted was anxious to have another hit series because after The Mary Tyler Moore Show he was typecast and every show he tried failed, including his own series, The Ted Knight Show (1978). This always happens after you have a hit show. Sometimes it takes years. But Ted felt that Too Close for Comfort was his last chance. So he went along with the network exploiting me in cheesecake bikini photos (anything to raise the ratings) until he saw a magazine on the newsstand one day - this magazine had my face taking up the entire cover with just a tiny photo of him in the right-hand corner. The implication was that I was the star of the show, and the headline was "Lydia is a Daddy's Girl" - in reference to the fact that he played my father. Ted brought the magazine to work and literally threw it at me, yelling "I'M the star of this show! And don't you ever forget it!" There was also a tiny picture of Princess Diana and Prince Charles in the upper left hand corner, announcing their engagement.
From that point on I shunned publicity and did everything in my power to lay low. All I wanted was Ted's approval - but the more I sought it, the more it eluded me. This was the beginning of a terrible time. It seemed there was a concerted effort to diminish my role and make me feel unimportant. At one point, the producers actually went so far as to hide my fan mail. They didn't want my head to get too big. Little did they know the depths of my low self-esteem.

Lydia on her feud with Ann Coulter...
In 2006, I had a public feud with Ann Coulter, America's preeminent hate-monger and "extermination speaker" - who said "the best way to speak to a Democrat is with a baseball bat," and who called for the assassination of Supreme Court Justice Stevens because he is pro-choice... and who helped bring down Bill Clinton with her book High Crimes and Misdemeanors. She also said he should be killed. She was the rock star of the conservative movement for awhile - and got paid $30,000 per speaking engagement at universities.
I was bewildered by her so-called "Christianity" which omits the Golden Rule. Right after she said Bush should "nuke" North Korea, she was the featured pro-life speaker at a Moral Reformation conference! I found this unbelievable. So after she called to revoke the right of women to vote, I sent her an e-mail asking her if she was just kidding or serious. I asked her for an interview, attaching my private home info and home number and asking for an interview. I assumed she was just using humor as a weapon and this was just her "schtick." But she never wrote me back.
Then my article "Death is Sexier than Sex to Ann Coulter" was published and I received 300,000 hits on my website and the publisher's site. Ann Coulter then published my home number and private info on her site and I began receiving death threats, hate mail and a stranger pounding on our door. My kids almost answered the door, and I had to grab them in the nick of time. We lived in mortal terror during Christmas. I did 27 radio shows in 2 weeks, one of which was Basham Radio in Vegas.
At the same time, I was receiving hundreds of love letters and several phone calls at home thanking me for speaking out against this bizarre war-loving, hatemongering form of "Christianity."
I was set to write a book about Coulter, a spiritual-progressive book, but decided I didn't need the negative attention. I wrote the book but there is such a wide cultural chasm in America now - I'd rather bring people together instead of being divisive. So I'm releasing my showbiz and humor books first. The Coulter saga doesn't end here. I have some highly classified details I can't reveal yet, which will come out soon. There is a lot more to this story, and it's pretty scary.

Lydia on raising children...
I interviewed Valerie Bertinelli on my radio show, and we were talking about our kids. I confided that I had been spying on my 14-year-old son's chat room and discovered he was talking about losing his virginity with a girl at school. Needless to say, I am completely freaked out. Valerie said she was nervous about her son Wolfie too. Neither of us can believe we are coping with things like this, since we both barely feel like grownups ourselves. She said that writing her book helped her "purge the shame" of her life. All the things she had been hiding and covering up were finally out in the light of day - and somehow this enabled her to get that lightness of being she was looking for. That's what I'm finally doing - not hiding anymore.