Trio TV Discontinued; Lifetime Nabs 'Medium' for Fall 2009; Classic 80s Sitcoms from Universal and Sony

Monday, November 21, 2005

Trio TV Discontinued; Lifetime Nabs 'Medium' for Fall 2009; Classic 80s Sitcoms from Universal and Sony

We have a lot of good news to say today. Let me just start off with some bad news just to get that out of the way. Trio TV will be discontinued effective January 1. This is very sad news as they brought us lot of rare classic TV airings over the years. They will still be around in a broadband initiative way on bravotv.com, so we will still see their popular "Brilliant, But Cancelled" block this way. Although that is good, it still isn't as good as having a full TV network. You can read about the demise of Trio TV here. You can also discuss and post your comments there.

Lifetime TV has secured cable rights to the current NBC drama Medium starting in Fall 2009. The drama is currently in its second season on the air and has enjoyed steady ratings Monday nights on NBC. Medium will join a roster of shows including Will & Grace and The Golden Girls, with shows like Frasier, Reba and Still Standing still to come. You can read the press release about the buying of Medium here.

Now to the very big news. I'll start off with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. We already broke you the news that Diff'rent Strokes Season 2 was coming January 31, well, today Sony made it official! It will be a 3-disc set featuring all 26 half hours (we are not sure yet how the multiple part episodes will be handled, either in two parts or the full hour format). 650 minutes of Arnold at his best! No idea yet if any special features will be included again, but I doubt there will be any.
Sony also made it official today that season one of Archie Bunker's Place is coming the same day! Another 3-disc set featuring all 24 half hours running 590 minutes long. We were told Maude would be possibly paired with this show, but looks like it won't happen on this date. But I know Maude is coming soon, but no idea yet exactly when. So be patient Maude fans--you'll get Bea Arthur soon!
Now to the suprise of the day! Universal Home Video announced today that on Valentine's Day 2006 (Feb. 14) they will release two classic '80s sitcoms! Join the late Nell Carter in Gimme a Break! and Scott Baio in Charles in Charge for the first time on DVD! This was a great surprise to wake up to on a Monday morning. Universal made it official today with cover art! Get your first look at the full size cover art for BOTH sitcoms here. TVShowsonDVD.com has details on both sets, for Charles in Charge click here, for Gimme a Break! click here. This is very exciting and we hope Universal continues to release sitcoms. As of now they had only released The Munsters and Dream On, with Leave it to Beaver coming out tomorrow. Universal is known more for its movies and TV dramas, but they also have some good sitcoms. Let's hope and pray we get subsequent seasons of these two shows and they start releasing other sitcoms such as Coach, Amen, McHale's Navy, Out of this World, My Secret Identity, Major Dad, Harper Valley PTA, and the short lived Something So Right and Parenthood. This is a step in the right direction for Universal--please buy Gimme a Break! and Charles in Charge when they come out. It will make a big difference.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, January 21

Shifting Gears - "Toys" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley’s new relationship feels perfect until Matt crashes in, throwing some unexpected obstacles her way. Meanwhile, Matt’s toy car project is derailed when he and Gabe are tasked with working together. Jesse Williams and Maria Bamford guest star.

Abbott Elementary - "Mall Part 3: Heroes" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After the faculty finds surprising success operating the school in the mall, they quickly realize they are being taken advantage of. Meanwhile, a new custodian arrives to join Mr. Johnson.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 19)

Wednesday, January 21

Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building/Mulaney/I'm a Big Girl Now/The Associates) - Watch Martin on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jackson White (Mrs. Fletcher) - Jackson appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - Jane is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jessica Williams (Shrinking/Love Life/Just for Kicks) - Jessica stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Bert Kreischer (Free Bert) - Bert appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also chats about Unfunny Bunny and Saturday Night Live with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Simu is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan share details of his new children’s book, Unfunny Bunny, and more on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Scott Foley (The Goodwin Games/A.U.S.A./Scrubs) - Scott talks about Will Trent and It's Not Like That on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Sarah Jessica Parker (And Just Like That.../Divorce/Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Sarah discusses her love of reading and protecting her vision with Lara Spencer on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Jennette McCurdy (Sam & Cat/iCarly) - Jennette talks about Half Her Age on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Arden Myrin (Free Bert/Working/Still the King) - Arden dishes about her new Netflix series Free Bert on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) and Meaghan Rath (Children Ruin Everything/Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life/The Assistants) - Jason and Meagahn talk about their film Untitled Home Invasion Romance on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim talks about Netflix's The Upshaws on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.