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, April 2

The Conners - "Fame, Flying Fists and Cold Feet" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners get a taste of fame when their family restaurant is featured in a reality TV show, which inspires Becky to become an influencer. Meanwhile, Jackie and Dan meet with a lawyer, and Darlene connects with someone at The Lobo Lounge.

Abbott Elementary - "Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Abbott teachers turn their open house into a carwash to help raise money for the school.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Wednesday, April 2

Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Watch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Sinners on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Sasheer and Greta are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
Jennifer Lopez (South Central) and Jamie Foxx (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has interviews with Jennifer and Jamie at 11pm on E!.
Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - NBC's Today catches up with Judy in the 9am hour.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - NBC's Today catches up with Glen and Kristin in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) - Tasha, who stars in Netflix's Surival of the Thickest, joins Tamron Hall to discuss how she found her freedom by sharing her story on her own terms and learning to embrace self-love, so check your local listings.
Gabourey Sidibe (Difficult People/The Big C) - Gabourey talks about starring in the new Lifetime movie Give Me Back My Daughter on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Seth is joining Drew to tell her all about his new show The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.