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, November 24

Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Hosted by Emmy Award-winning actor Ray Romano and series creator Phil Rosenthal and featuring cast members Brad Garrett, Patricia Heaton, Monica Horan, Madylin Sweeten and Sullivan Sweeten, this new entertainment special celebrates the legacy of the hit comedy with one of television's most beloved families.

DMV - "There Is No I in DMV" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Barb takes the team on a field trip to the rival North Hollywood branch to learn the secrets of their success. She begins to doubt herself after meeting their charismatic manager, Beau (Randall Park). Meanwhile, Gregg and Vic get in Colette’s head that Noa prefers risk-takers.

St. Denis Medical - "A Strong Cup of Coffee" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alex is eager to impress her old charge nurse, Pam, who comes back to St. Denis; Serena and Matt try to solve a patient's mystery illness.

The Paper - "Buddy and the Dude" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned tags along on Mare's consumer sting story after Esmeralda tells him a bunch of things that get in his head; Oscar has to stick his neck out in a budget meeting; Detrick and Nicole play two truths and a lie until it blows up.

TV We Love - "Cheers" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A look back at the Boston bar "where everybody knows your name," with cast and creators of "Cheers" sharing the spark that made it one of TV's greatest comedies.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 24)

Monday, November 24

Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Watch Jim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. Tamron Hall has A DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Jim, a superstar who has taken everyday life and turned it into something unforgettable, so check your local listings. He joins the Tam Fam to talk about his brand-new special Live from the Old Forester: The Bourbon Set, which was filmed live on Louisvilles Whiskey Row, as well as parenting his five kids and more.
Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers) - Daniel appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Merrily We Roll Along on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Taran Killam (Stumble/Single Parents) - Taran is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda sits down with ABC News’ Will Ganss on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ke Huy Quan (Head of the Class/Together We Stand) - Ke stops by to talk Disney's Zootopia 2 on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laurie drops by the studio to talk Little Bear Ridge Road on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - NBC's Today catches up with Hank in the 9am hour.
Lunell (Crutch/Lopez) - Luenell tells Sherri about her role on Tracy Morgan's new Paramount+ show Crutch on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Jake Lacy (High Fidelity/The Office/Better with You) - Jake talks about Peacock's All Her Fault on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.