Sunday, September 04, 2005

News Feature: Sitcoms on Local Television, Part II

Continuing our two-part feature on sitcoms on local television, we now focus on the earlier days--the sitcoms of the '50s and '60s.

Let's begin today with the '60s. The '60s was most known for the rural sitcoms and they were all very popular especially The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show. Both shows still rule the airwaves today in reruns, too. But what about some of the rarely seen sitcoms from the '60s? Among them missing from cable and local television today are Car 54 Where Are You?, Dennis the Menace, Donna Reed Show, Family Affair, Flying Nun, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Gidget, Hazel, Joey Bishop Show, Julia, Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Monkees, Patty Duke Show, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and That Girl. The ones that are barely seen on some locals or a rare cable channel include F-Troop (one local and AmericanLife TV), Get Smart (ME-TV in Chicago), Gomer Pyle USMC (few locals), The Lucy Show (few locals), Mayberry RFD (AmericanLife TV), McHale's Navy (two locals), My Favorite Marian (one local and AmericanLife TV), My Three Sons (few locals), and Petticoat Junction (ME-TV).
Shows like Addams Family, Andy Griffith Show, Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, Dick Van Dyke Show, Green Acres, Gilligan's Island, Hogan's Heroes, I Dream of Jeannie, Mr. Ed, and The Munsters are airing a lot on cable and local channels. There are no '60s sitcoms that are just on cable. So, whatever big show that is airing on cable, is also on some or a few local channels as well. There are still a lot of '60s sitcoms not airing at all, though. I think this is a bit worse than the '70s and maybe on par with the '80s.

Moving on to the golden age--the '50s, where the sitcom really started. We think of I Love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver when we think of the '50s. There are a few sitcoms from this era that are not airing at all, they are: Amos 'n' Andy, Ann Sothern Show, Bachelor Father, Bob Cummings Show, December Bride, Father Knows Best, Life of Riley, Our Miss Brooks, Phil Silvers Show, and The Real McCoys. Most of those you probably have not even heard of except for like Father Knows Best or Phil Silvers Show. The ones that are barely seen on some locals or a rare cable channel include Abbott & Costello (one local), Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (some locals), George Burns & Gracie Allen Show (some locals), The Honeymooners (ME-TV), I Married Joan (some locals), Make Room for Daddy (few locals), and My Little Margie (few locals). Most of those are on low budget channels in public domain. Shows like I Love Lucy & Leave it to Beaver are airing a lot on cable and local channels. There are not many '50s sitcoms in general, so I can't say whether this is good or bad. But for sure we need some of these shows on local tv or cable such as Father Knows Best. Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet lasted so long, and is now relegated to low budget locals and public domain, which is quiet sad. While The Honeymooners didn't have a lot of episodes, it is not airing as much as it used to.

Finally, we have gone through the sitcoms of the '50s-'90s and I'd say between the '60s-'80s needs the most work. If we can't get them back on television, I guess DVD is the only other option. Some of the shows that have come out on DVD and are no where seen on television in this country include Too Close for Comfort, ALF, and That's My Mama. Looking at those shows from the '60s that are not airing currently, none of them are on DVD yet. So DVD is probably the answer as it seems local channels are more focusing on talk shows, court shows, and newer sitcoms, while cable channels are leaning toward original programming and newer sitcoms as well. Let's hope the sitcoms that are not airing at all get DVD releases quicker than some of the ones that are airing, but most of the ones that are airing on teleivison have already started coming out on DVD.
I hope everyone enjoyed this piece on sitcoms on local television, and we hope to bring you quite a few more of these features in the future.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, October 7

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 6)

Tuesday, October 7

  • Jennifer Lopez (South Central) - Catch Jennifer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show) - Bill is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Andy Cohen interviews Adam on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri talks about The Sunshine Queens on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Son of Zorn/Suburgatory) - Cheryl talks about Unscripted on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Keanu Reaves (Swedish Dicks) - Keanu and Alex Winter talk about Broadway's Waiting for Godot and the Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Reunion on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel talks about Flip Side on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • John Corbett (And Just Like That.../Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/United States of Tara/Lucky/Sex and the City) - John talks about his film Soul on Fire on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (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

10/07 - The CW's TV We Love Docuseries; Happy's Place Season 2 Trailer
10/06 - Dancing with the Stars Surging in Viewership, Especially Among Younger Viewers; Remembering Kimberly Hébert Gregory of Vice Principals
10/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 6, 2025)
10/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Cancels The Great North; Everybody Loves Raymond Cast Set to Reunite for 30 Year Anniversary
10/03 - MeTV Acquires Everybody Loves Raymond; Hazbin Hotel Season 2 Trailer
10/02 - CBS Presents Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion; Apple TV+ Renews Peanuts Specials Through 2030
10/01 - The CW's Six Brand New Movies Starting November 16; Hulu's Family Guy Halloween Special Details
09/30 - Sarah Sherman HBO Comedy Special in December; Huluween Programming for 2025
09/29 - Netflix Renews Haunted Hotel for Season 2; Christmas Comedy Series Sicilia Express
09/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 29, 2025)
09/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Scrubs Cast Comes Together for First Table Read for Reboot; Monopoly Game Show Moving Ahead
09/26 - Netflix Adds to Cast for Running Point Season 2; Stiller & Meara Apple TV+ Documentary
09/25 - Adam Pally HBO Comedy Special; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Returns with Huge Ratings
09/24 - Weigel's Newest Diginet WEST Launches Monday, September 29; New Baywatch Coming to Fox in 2026-27
09/23 - DMV Trailer for CBS; Mo Amer Returns to Netflix
09/22 - SNL Season 51 Guests for First Episodes; Prime Video's Bat-Fam Series
09/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 22, 2025)
09/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Paper to Get Linear Run on NBC; Saturday Night Live Announces New Hosts
09/19 - NBC Schedules The Paper and Stumble in November; Remembering Patricia (Pat) Crowley of Please Don't Eat the Daisies
09/18 - UPtv Acquires The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Camp Rock 3 Coming Soon to Disney
09/17 - FETV Acquires The Munsters Effective September 29; Apple TV+ The Morning Show Renewed for Season 5
09/16 - Disney's SuperKitties Adds to Voice Cast; Netflix Renews The Hunting Wives for Season 2
09/15 - 77th Primetime Emmy Award Winners; Letterman TV Adds Late Night with David Letterman
09/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 15, 2025)
09/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Paramount Looking to Merge with Warner Bros. Discovery; Samsung TV+ Adds Late Night with David Letterman
09/12 - Emmy Awards to Create Special Moments; Ricky Gervais Netflix Animated Comedy Alley Cats Coming in 2026
09/11 - Remembering Polly Holliday of Alice and Flo; Prime Video's Overcompensating Renewed for Season 2
09/10 - Netflix Renews Leanne for Season 2; Hazbin Hotel Returns October 29
09/09 - HBO Comedy The Chair Company; Trailer for Disney's Vampirina: Teenage Vampire
09/08 - The Paper Renewed for Season 2, NYC Event on Tuesday; Final Season of Bel-Air
09/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 8, 2025)