Friday, November 11, 2005

Yet More Network Show Orders & Cuts (Cuts Include Arrested Development); TV Titles in the Works for Paramount on DVD

We have so much news for you today! TGIF! I'll get the bad news out of the way first. The FOX sitcom Arrested Development has been cut from the full season order of 22 to only 13 episodes. That is not good news at all. And to make matters worse, FOX has pulled the show for the rest of November sweeps, replacing it with encores of the freshman drama Prison Break. The sitcom that follows Arrested, is also getting 'arrested' -- Kitchen Confidential is also being benched for the rest of sweeps and is not going to get picked up for the rest of the season. There is strong word that FOX will not bring Arrested Development back, so it is all but canceled now...but maybe not totally. There is still a shot it could move to cable next year, possibly on FX. The series is a critical hit, but viewers have not followed. Only 4 million viewers or so tuned into the last episode FOX aired.

Now to some good news! The ABC sitcom Freddie has been picked up for the rest of the season, meaning it will have 22 episodes this season. I was expecting "additional episodes" (more like 18), so this is sort of surprising, since Warner Bros. had a huge job paycut and is reducing costs. Freddie airs right before the mega-hit drama Lost, so that certainly helps. ABC has not announced any details yet on its other new sitcom Hot Properties, which is also a Warner Bros. property. I do expect at least "additional episodes" for this series. Tune in tonight for the famous "Oprah's friend" episode at 9:30 p.m. on ABC and also tune in this Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. for a special night & time airing on ABC!
Warner Bros. has also announced that its new mid-season sitcom for CBS has gone through a title change. Old Christine is now known as The New Adventures of Old Christine.

Now for some DVD news! We are very excited to announced some new titles and returning titles in the works for Paramount Home Entertainment! All of the following mix of sitcoms, dramas, westerns, and even an animated series will be released in early 2006 or so, starting in February: Wings Seasons 1 & 2, The Brady Bunch S5, I Love Lucy S6, JAG S1, The Sentinel S1, Star Trek: Animated, The Phil Silvers Show, Have Gun Will Travel S4, The Beverly Hillbillies, Touched by an Angel S3 Vol 1., NUMB3RS S1. I know for some of these shows TVShowsonDVD.com mentioned, like for NUMB3RS S1 and Touched by an Angel Season 3 Volume 1. Have Gun Will Travel is interesting because season three is not even out yet (it comes out in early January). The Beverly Hillbillies is interesting, too, since MPI will release two volumes of that show, so hopefully Paramount will continue off where they left off? These are the titles they have told me, I'm sure there will be more in early 2006. TVShowsonDVD.com will have more news on all of these for sure when they are officially announced.
A while back we had a Paramount week-long feature and mentioned four shows. Wings, Gomer Pyle, The Love Boat and Melrose Place. Gomer Pyle was penciled in for Jan. 31, and I'm not sure yet if that is still happening. Wings is slated for Feb. 7 with the first two seasons, as I stated above. And Melrose Place and The Love Boat will be in the second half of 2006 (July and August, as of now).

And finally fans of the drama Renegade can relax because Anchor Bay has announced "due to popular demand" they will continue releasing the show on DVD! BOTH Seasons 2 and 3 will be released in one box set on March 21. That's 44 episodes for you! Season 1 was released earlier this year and I think fans wanted to know when season two was coming when they canceled plans for a May 31, 2005 date. Now you'll get two seasons in one set!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, December 20

Shifting Gears - "Nutcracker" (ABC, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
This holiday season, the Parkers discover that romance isn’t always a smooth ride as Matt and Eve are on thin ice, Gabe enlists Riley to help Amelie impress his mom, and Carter seeks help with his “promposal.” Pamela Adlon guest stars.

Shifting Gears - "Danger" (ABC, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When a raccoon appears in the Parkers’ yard, Matt sees a chance to teach Carter a lesson about facing his fears. Meanwhile, Riley struggles to navigate the world of dating apps and goes on her first post-divorce date.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 15)

Friday, December 19

  • Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Watch Regina on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) - Matt appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Rickey Smiley (The Rickey Smiley Show) - Rickey is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Bradley Cooper (Kitchen Confidential) and Will Arnett (Murderville/Arrested Development/Flaked/The Millers/Up All Night/Running Wilde) - Bradley and Will discuss Is Thing On? on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. Will tells Drew about playing a dramatic role in new film Is This Thing On? working with Bradley Cooper, and his podcast with pals Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Kumail chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • James Van Der Beek (Friends with Better Lives/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - James opens up on his cancer battle on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Star Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - NBC's Today catches up with Neil in the 9am hour.
  • Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul and Jack Black talk about Anaconda on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Robby Hoffman (Hacks) - Robby covers the news with Drew on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) - Zooey and Charlie Cox talk about their new film Merv with the doggie star of the film on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series (DVD)
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two (DVD)
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season (DVD)
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 (DVD)
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)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

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

12/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Historical 19th Century Comedy in the Works at CBS; Bowen Yang Leaving Saturday Night Live After Tonight
12/19 - The Muppet Show 50th Anniversary Event in February on ABC & Disney+; Adult Swim Renews Haha, You Clowns for 2 More Seasons
12/18 - The Oscars Moving to YouTube in 2029; Celebs for Hollywood Squares Season 2
12/17 - MeTV Remembers Rob Reiner with Tribute Marathon; MGM+ to Make New The Magnificent Seven Series
12/16 - The Rob Reiner Story: A Hollywood Tragedy – ABC News Special; Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Part 2 on CBS
12/15 - Remembering the Legendary Rob Reiner of All in the Family; Trailer for Netflix's His & Hers
12/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 15, 2025)
12/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner/Netflix Merger Gets Complicated; Steve Carell Comedy Rooster Coming to HBO Max in March
12/12 - Survival of the Thickest Final Season Guest Stars; Ted Season 2 Returns in March
12/11 - The Upshaws Final Season Premieres January 15; Mike Epps Gets 5th Netflix Special
12/10 - HBO's Rooster Premieres in March; Fox's Updated Winter 2026 Schedule
12/09 - 83rd Golden Globe Nominations; Paradise Returns on Hulu in February
12/08 - First Look at Bert Kreischer Netflix Comedy Free Bert; School Spirits Season 3
12/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 8, 2025)
12/06 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair; Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery
12/05 - FETV Acquires The Carol Burnett Show Uncut; Hey A.J.! Coming to Disney Jr.
12/04 - COZI TV Acquires The Jeff Foxworthy Show; Hulu Renews Chad Powers for Season 2
12/03 - MeTV January 2026 Schedule; Netflix's My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Season 6 Guests
12/02 - MeTV Acquires Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart & Hawaii Five-O; Apple TV's The First Snow of Fraggle Rock Trailer
12/01 - MeTV to Announce Four New Shows; Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Draws 25 Million Viewers on NBC
11/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 1, 2025)
11/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Scrubs Reboot; Mad Men Coming to HBO Max
11/28 - Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Encores Tonight (11/28); Hulu's Smash Hit Renewed for Quick 4th Season
11/27 - 2025 Thanksgiving TV Marathons
11/26 - ABC's Scrubs First Teaser During Dancing with the Stars Finale; Eva Green Joins Wednesday Season 3
11/25 - COZI TV Acquires Malcolm & Eddie and The Steve Harvey Show; 53rd International Emmy® Awards Winners
11/24 - Antenna TV's All-You-Can Eat Wings for Thanksgiving Marathon; Rewind TV's Serving Up the Seavers with a Thanksgiving Day Growing Pains Marathon
11/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 24, 2025)
11/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Disney+ Offers New Simpsons Streaming Channel; Final Eight Unaired Episodes of Joey on YouTube
11/21 - HBO Renews Comedies The Chair Company and I Love LA; Kelly and Mark to Host International Emmy® Awards
11/20 - The CW Midseason 2026 Schedule; Sarah Sherman HBO Max Special