A Whole Bunch of News Notes

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Today we have a whole bunch of little news notes for you. Wilmer Valderrama, one of the stars of the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, has signed on to play the role of Ponch on the big screen adaptation of CHiPs. CHiPs will be of course be based on the TV series from the '70s starring Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox. Estrada played the role of Ponch. Warner Bros. Pictures will be developing the movie being written by the writer from the ABC sitcom George Lopez. This now brings the question--will the original series be in the works for a DVD release the time the movie comes? I believe MGM distributed the show, so maybe they have the rights to release it? CHiPs is no longer on cable here in the U.S., but for many years it was on the Turner owned stations (TBS, TNT).
The Hogan Family and Family Ties were classic '80s sitcoms. Both had a Bateman family member in the cast. Jason Bateman in The Hogan Family and Justine Bateman in Family Ties. Now the siblings will get together on Jason Bateman's show Arrested Development. Justine Bateman will guest star on the January 9 episode of the acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development. It'll be the last episode to air for a while as Fox has not decided when to air the remaining episodes after January 9. The acclaimed sitcom is not likely to return to Fox after this season due to poor ratings.
Don't expect former Friends star David Schwimmer to appear on Joey anytime soon (if the show even comes back after December), as Schwimmer will be making his Broadway debut May 7, with previews beginning in April. The show is a revival of Herman Wouk's The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.

ABC has announced the latest batch of stars for Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately we don't have a former sitcom star in the bunch but they do have George Hamilton and Lisa Rinna who are in the television business. Other stars include Academy Award winning actress Tatum O'Neal (who has guest starred on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules before), former NFL star Jerry Rice, rapper Romeo, and ESPN broadcaster Kenny Mayne. Stars premieres Thursday, January 5 with a two-hour premiere on ABC.
CBS has announced that it will move the premiere of its mid-season drama Love Monkey from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17 to avoid the second hour of the American Idol season premiere. Monkey will air at 9 p.m. in the following weeks to come.

Finally, you have asked, now I will answer--TV Land January and Nick@Nite January line-ups will be coming out soon. We should be releasing February by now, but TV Land has been delaying lately in schedules.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, June 30

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Sting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Calvin and Marty send Courtney on a mission to find out information about Fuse Box’s impressive new rival. Meanwhile, Malcolm attends an event for his creative writing program at USC, where he scores a meeting with a book agent, Lisa (Angelique Cabral).

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Your Own Medicine" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Dave’s disastrous attempt to dunk a basketball, Calvin takes care of his injured neighbor. Also, Gemma befriends a cool mom group while babysitting Daphne.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)

Monday, June 30

Don Johnson (Kenan) - Watch Don on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - George appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Christopher Sieber (It's All Relative/Two of a Kind) - Christopher is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kel Mitchell (Game Shakers/Kenan & Kel) and Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Kel and Thomas are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Evan Handler (And Just Like That...) - Evan talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Hugh Jackman (Human Resources) - Hugh chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere/Nightcap) - Jeff talks about Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - NBC's Today has Prompter Wars with Amy in the 10am hour.
Kevin Hart (Lil Kev/Die Hart/The Big House/Undeclared) - NBC's Today catches up with Kevin in the 10am hour.
Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - NBC's Today catches up with Amy, Jillian and Brianne on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Drew is introducing the newest Drew-crew member, Valerie Bertinelli on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, Valerie is making a shrimp and veggie cups recipe from her latest cookbook, Indulge.
Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about Max's And Just Like That... on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Edwin Lee Gibson (The Bear/Unprisoned) - Edwin is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.