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

Monday, March 18

The Neighborhood - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Worth the Cooties" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After Christina kicks Abishola and Dottie out for making light of her pre-pregnancy preparations, Christina bonds with Douglas and Abishola spends a fun day with Dottie. Also, when Bob, Goodwin and Kofo are stumped on a work issue, Bob insists they go out to lunch to loosen up.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 18)

Monday, March 18

  • Christina Applegate (Dead to Me/Up All Night/Samantha Who?/Jesse/Married with Children) - Watch Christina on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock) - Rachel appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and John Hodgman (Up Here/Married) - Sasheer and John are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) - Lisa will be on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
  • Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Married/Go On) - Brett talks about The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
  • William Shatner ($h*! My Dad Says) - NBC's Today catches up with William in the 9am hour.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)

Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Father Knows Best - The Complete Series The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

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