Wednesday, February 01, 2006

ABC Spring Line-Up; Spears to Guest Star on NBC's 'Will & Grace'

Late last week ABC announced that mid-season sitcom Sons & Daughters will air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. for six weeks starting March 7. In addition to that, ABC announced some more changes for this spring. First up among the new shows is the unscripted series The Miracle Workers, which debuts at 10 p.m. ET Monday, March 6, a week after The Bachelor: Paris concludes its season. The series follows a team of doctors and nurses who will help people overcome overwhelming medical issues. 4 episodes will air, then starting Monday, April 3, a new drama from J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) titled What About Brian will take over that 10 p.m. slot. What About Brian will get a special preview premiere following an all-new Desperate Housewives on Sunday, April 2 at 10 p.m. Brian stars Barry Watson as a single guy in his 30s whose friends are all married or about to be. Complicating matters, he has a massive crush on his best friend's (Matthew Davis) fiancee (Sarah Lancaster). Sticking to Mondays, ABC announced that Supernanny will return from hiatus and air Mondays at 9 p.m. starting Monday, March 6 (the same night as the premiere of The Miracle Workers).
Moving on to Thursdays, Dancing with the Stars 2 concludes its season on Thursdays on February 23. ABC has not yet announced what will air on Thursday, March 2 and Thursday, March 9, but on March 16 they will premiere another show--the two-hour debut of American Inventor, a series executive produced by American Idol's Simon Cowell. The show will give would-be Edisons a chance to show off their ideas to viewers and a panel of judges, with the winner getting a chance to bring his or her invention to consumers. The show will then move to its regular time period of 9 p.m. starting March 23. So what will air at 8 p.m. then on Thursdays? Well, for four weeks I know what will air there. ABC has made 4 very special episodes of blockbuster hit Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The series of specials featuring the show's team helping disaster victims of Hurricane Katrina will debut in the 8 p.m. hour.
ABC's final midseason entry is The Evidence, a crime procedural from ER executive producer John Wells that debuts at 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 22 (Invasion will go on hiatus and return in late April to finish its season). The show follows two San Francisco detectives (Orlando Jones and Rob Estes) who reconstruct crimes based on the evidence collected at the scene.
Finally, ABC confirmed that Commander in Chief will return on Tuesday, April 18 after a six week hiatus. There are reports that only 18 episodes were made this season due to production issues. So about three episodes or so will air after it returns from hiatus.

So after all this, still there are some questions that need to be answered. The biggest one is Alias. I think we will see it either on Fridays or maybe Thursdays at 8 p.m. after the series of specials of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition finishes. Fridays is a big question mark right now. The high rated Dancing with the Stars: The Results will conclude in late February. Maybe after that they will have Hope & Faith and Less Than Perfect return, followed by Alias at 9 p.m. I am not sure how many episodes of In Justice would have aired by then, but it should be close to the end. Thursday's highest rated sitcom Crumbs is also missing, but I think they will finish the season by Thursday, March 16. After February, eight episodes would have aired. And on Thursday, March 2 and March 9 ABC has not announced what will air, but they can double up on Crumbs those two weeks at 9 p.m. and have like 12 episodes aired. A lot of questions and possibilities. I think Regis Philbin's This Is Your Life series of specials will probably be for May sweeps. And it doesn't look like Jake in Progress will return for the season. Maybe in the summer.

Pop star Britney Spears will join the long list of high-profile guest stars on NBC's Will & Grace this April. Spears will play a new, conservative Christian sidekick on Jack's (Sean Hayes) talk show in an episode scheduled for April. Spears and the cast are set to tape the episode later this month. This marks Britney's second sitcom guest appearance. She appeared as herself in 1999 on an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, April 16

The Conners - "Danny Boy, the Interview, the New Hire, and the Hanging Chad" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Dan sidesteps vulnerable emotions surrounding Roseanne’s death ahead of an upcoming deposition. Meanwhile, Becky prepares for a job interview, and Harris impulsively hires a new server at the Lunch Box.

Abbott Elementary - "Please Touch Museum" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abbott Elementary goes on a schoolwide field trip to the Please Touch Museum, which has some of the older kids skeptical.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 14)

Wednesday, April 16

  • Rashida Jones (Sunny/BlackAF/Duncanville/Angie Tribeca/Unhitched/The Office) - Watch Rashida on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Kate Hudson (Running Point) - Kate is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!) - Alan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Skylar Astin (Ground Floor), Jason Ritter (Another Period/The Class) and Riki Lindhome (Another Period/Enlightened) - Skylar, Jason and Riki are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Hannibal Buress (Broad City/30 Rock) - Hannibal appears on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
  • The cast of Abbott Elementary - E! News chats with the cast of Abbott Elementary at 11pm on E!.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - Michael talks about Sinners on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - NBC's Today has the Citi Concert Series: Hank Azaria & The EZ Street Band in the 9am hour.
  • Yvonne Orji (Insecure) - Yvonne talks about Pop the Balloon on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina the Teenage Witch) - Soleil and Angel Carter Conrad, the late Aaron Carter's twin sister, whose new documentary The Carters gives an intimate look inside the Carter family with never-before-seen footage on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Lake Bell (Bless This Mess/How to Make it in America/Childrens Hospital) - Lake talks about All About Brains: A Book About People on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew for a brand-new Drew's News on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) - Lisa talks Abbott Elementary on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

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