Sitcom Syndication Update; ABC's 'Stars' Finale on a Sunday; Bonus Episode Titles for Gimme a Break! DVD

Friday, January 27, 2006

Sitcom Syndication Update; ABC's 'Stars' Finale on a Sunday; Bonus Episode Titles for Gimme a Break! DVD

The annual NATPE convention was this week. The CW news was the main talk this year so everything else was really overlooked. We don't have a complete recap yet of what is coming up in syndication this fall, but we will soon. So stay tuned. We do have news on what sitcoms are coming to syndication this fall. 20th TV just announced an 86% clearance for sitcom Still Standing. Stations were not announced however. The show also is coming to cable network Lifetime this fall. Other sitcoms coming this fall to locals: According to Jim, Scrubs, and Reba. Reba will be on that daytime block on The WB, well The CW, or whatever you want to call it. Reba also is coming to Lifetime in August. Scrubs is also coming to cable network Comedy Central this fall. According to Jim is the only real syndication deal here. It will only come to locals this fall (WPIX in NY, WGN Chicago, and KTLA in L.A. are the top three) and it will come to cable a few years later on TBS; that's the way it should work! Having them both come to cable and locals at the same time is a disaster I think. Buena Vista is also selling George Lopez for syndication, but I don't think it'll be ready until fall 2007. Two and a Half Men is also in 2007.

ABC announced that the season finale of Dancing with the Stars will not be on Friday, Feb. 24. Instead we will get the finale on Sunday, Feb. 26! Right before Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy--what a Sunday that will be! It is not confirmed yet if it will be a one-hour finale or a two-hour finale. ABC will air a special two-hour AFV on Friday, Feb. 24. The last Thursday show for Stars will be Feb. 23 from 8 to 9:30 p.m. ABC also confirmed that Jake in Progress will not return on Mon. Feb. 20 afterall. A special two-hour Wife Swap will air instead from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Finally, the Gimme a Break! Season 1 DVD is coming Feb. 14 as we all know. We now have episode titles for the bonus episodes on that set! There are three bonus episodes. One of Kate & Allie, the episode is from season one titled "A Very Loud Family." The second bonus episode is of Charles in Charge, the episode is from season one titled "Extracurricular Activity." And the last bonus episode is from the second season of Gimme a Break!, the episode title is "Nell Goes to Jail."
The Charles in Charge Season 1 DVD is also coming Feb. 14, and that set will have one bonus episode of Charles in Charge from season two. The episode title is still not confirmed, but all bets are on the first episode with the Powell family ("Amytville"). And the Kate & Allie season one DVD is coming this spring! Stay tuned for more news on that.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 15

St. Denis Medical - "A Waste of Time and Marble" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
With the threat of a nurse walkout, Alex is caught between her colleagues and Joyce; Ron and Bruce go above and beyond to help an unexpected patient.

The Paper - "Churnalism" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned takes over Esmeralda's advertorials and assigns the staff to test products themselves, but Esmeralda retaliates and covers one of Ned's stories and finds a scandal; Ken turns Adam into a lab rat; Oscar and Adelola compare pain tolerances.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 15)

Monday, December 15

Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Watch Simu on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Copenhagen Test on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Andy Cohen interviews Kerry on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
Odessa A'zion (I Love LA/Fam) - Odessa talks about Marty Supreme on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti treats us to an EXCLUSIVE festive performance of It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Kate Hudson (Running Point) - Kate talks about Song Sung Blue on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank and The EZ Street Band stop by for a chat and performance on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - NBC's Today catches up with Ana in the 10am hour.
Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie tells Sherri about starring in The Family McMullen, the sequel to The Brothers McMullen, on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap) - Ashley talks about the highly-anticipated fifth season of Emily in Paris on Netflix on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Glen talks about The Running Man on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
William H. Macy (Sports Night) - William talks about Netflix's Train Dreams on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Andy talks about ABC's Dancing with the Stars on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.