Saturday, December 10, 2005

TV Week's TV Land Article; ABC Family Channel Announces Marathons for January

TV Week had an excellent article on TV Land earlier this week. I saved it to show you all today. They mention that the recent acquisitions of Good Times and What's Happening!! has brought TV Land high ratings and also even higher ratings among African Americans. TV Land has aired black sitcoms in the past such as The Jeffersons and Sanford & Son (which is still a staple today), but now they have a nice little African American sitcom block with Sanford & Son, Good Times and What's Happening!!. No, TV Land is NOT trying to become the home of African American sitcoms, it just happens to be that those two new acquisitions have done very well. TV Land has also added Night Court this year, which showcases two supporting black stars (Charles Robinson and Marsha Warfield), but they also have added a pure white show in the drama Little House on the Prairie. Both have done well, especially Little House. All have done well because of how broad their popularity is, especially Good Times. Good Times is clearly becoming the new staple for TV Land, which The Andy Griffith Show was for TV Land for many years. Andy still does well, but the Good Times marathon broke a lot of records for TV Land and brought TV Land to its highest ratings ever. Andy remains the only pre '70s show in primetime, the rest of the pre '70s shows can still be found in the mornings.
More African American-led fare is on its way. TV Land will produce a three-hour Black History Month special to run in February. Recently TV Land announced it has ordered a reality show pilot starring Mr. T, and more acquisitions of African American-led shows are being considered, such as Benson in June. They will also add Miami Vice and The A-Team to weekends in January. Both '80s dramas had a black star in the cast.
Lucy, Munsters, and the rest of your favorite '50s and '60s shows are being cut down to morning slots because the broad popularity and ratings for the '70s sitcoms have done very well for TV Land. TV Land's focus is viewers 25-54, and they want to cut their median age of 52 way down, so '70s laughers are the right start. In fact, the '70s sitcoms don't just mean black sitcoms, because Three's Company and All in the Family have also done very well for them. Now if TV Land can bring us The Jeffersons, Alice, One Day at a Time, and Maude we can all party like it's 1977!

You can read the full text of the article here. You can also post your thoughts there as well.

ABC Family Channel won't be making any changes to its regular line-up in January but they have a lot of marathons in the works! Start off the New Year with some home improvement during the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Marathon. Seven self-contained episodes of award winning series will be aired back-to-back with each episode featuring a team of designers, contractors and several hundred workers who have just seven days to rebuild an entire house for one deserving family. Airs Sunday, January 1 from 12 noon to 7 p.m.
Spend a whole day with Kris, Junior, Dani and Matt in this all day Wildfire marathon. Relive all the drama, secrets and seductions from season one from the beginning, where Kris finds her way to Raintree, to the very end – with Kris in a neck-and-neck race during the Sandpiper Classic on Wildfire. Stay tuned for the second season premiere of Wildfire following the all-day marathon. The marathons Airs Monday, January 2 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET/PT. Followed by the second season premiere at 8 p.m.: ABC Family's highest rated adult-targeted primetime drama, returns for an exciting new season. The episode opens at last year’s cliff hanger with Kris riding Wildfire in the Sandpiper Classic. In a nose-to-nose race, Wildfire and Kris are distracted by rival jockey Tina Sharp and end up losing the race to Avatar. Despite the loss, Kris becomes a local celebrity as a jockey, and well-known sports agent, Kerry O'Connell tries to convince her to become his client.
Have you ever wondered whether the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? Two wives discover that it often isn't when they hand over the keys to their homes and literally switch families for two weeks on the reality show Wife Swap. In the first week of the swap, the wives move in with their new family and adopt their very different lifestyle. They agree to follow a manual written by the departing wife that sets out the rules of their new household. But then, in the second week, everything changes. The new wives take charge and introduce their own set of rules and run the new household their way. At the end of the show, the two couples meet for the first time. In a highly-charged exchange of views, both couples make a frank assessment of each other and talk about what they've learned from the experience. Catch the Wife Swap marathon on Sunday, January 15 from 12 noon to 7 p.m. ET/PT.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, July 15

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 14)

Tuesday, July 15

  • Chris Distefano (Benders) - Chris guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Catch Julie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Megan Stalter (Too Much/Hacks) - Megan appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She also talks about Too Much on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) and Mark Consuelos (Alpha House/Hope & Faith) - Kelly and Mark are guests on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens), Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls/The Office) and Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) - Patton, Ed and Sasheer are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) - Miley discusses her new documentary Something Beautiful on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Meg talks about Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) - Mary-Louise chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • John Goodman (The Conners/The Righteous Gemstones/Roseanne/Center of the Universe/Normal, Ohio) - John talks about Smurfs on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • The Jonas Brothers (Jonas/Jonas LA) - The Jonas Brothers are interviewed on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - Nick talks about Smurfs on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) and Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) - Valerie and Oliver will be on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, 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)

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

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07/07 - Digman! Season Premiere Moved to July 23; Hulu's Reasonable Doubt Returns September 18
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06/26 - The CW's Fall Movie of the Week; First Look at New York Comic Con 2025
06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
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06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
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