Classic '80s Sitcom to Join ABC Family Channel in April; Sitcom News for ABC and Showtime; GSN Honors Knotts, McGavin and Weaver

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Classic '80s Sitcom to Join ABC Family Channel in April; Sitcom News for ABC and Showtime; GSN Honors Knotts, McGavin and Weaver

'Life is such a sweet insanity..." Yes, life IS such a sweet insanity! Because the more you learn, the less you know...well not in this case, because you are ALL about to know what the new sitcom is coming to ABC Family Channel this April! I mentioned last week that a "TBD" slot has been filled in starting April 3 and it clearly had to be a sitcom because ABC Family airs nothing but sitcoms from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. So, if you have not guessed by now with all those clues (and the picture) the sitcom is the 1986-1991 sitcom The Hogan Family. It will air WEEKDAYS @ 12 PM & 12:30 PM starting April 3. They will start with season three, by passing the Valerie years.
The show was titled Valerie in its first two seasons, then Valerie's Family for season three, before being called The Hogan Family by season four. You can read all about that on our Hogan Family website. The series starred Valerie Harper, but she left show by season three. Sandy Duncan replaced her. The series also starred Jason Bateman, who went on to star in Arrested Development.
The series last aired as a regular on PAX some years ago. TV Land aired two episodes this past June for a Warner Bros. 50th Anniversary Weekend marathon. It will be SO good to have this series back on the air again. Now, let's hope we can get '80s gems Mr. Belvedere, Small Wonder, and Perfect Strangers back on the air. For more on ABC Family April 2006, click here!

ABC has announced the return date of third season sitcom Hope & Faith. It will return and air Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. starting March 21. It will replace Rodney, which airs tonight for the last time, since the next two weeks (March 7 & 14) a special According to Jim will air in its slot. No idea yet on when or if ABC will air the remaining 8 episodes of Rodney, as only 14 will have aired by tonight. Hope & Faith has 10 more episodes remaining, as 12 have aired earlier in the season. Still no word yet on when ABC plans to bring back sitcoms Crumbs, Less than Perfect and Jake in Progress. My guess would be in June.
ABC also announced other mid-season plans and changes. Veteran spy-drama Alias will return for its final eight episodes starting Wednesday, April 19 at 8 p.m. replacing sitcoms George Lopez and Freddie, who both would have finished their 22 episode order for the season by then. New J.J. Abrams drama What About Brian has been pushed back two weeks to a Sunday, April 16 premiere following DH, then will air Mondays at 10 p.m. starting the next night. Invasion will return Wednesday, April 19 at 10 p.m., after a four week break to let the new mid-season drama The Evidence air. Invasion is all-new on March 8 and 15--don't miss it, it is by far the best new drama this season! And ABC's new mini-series, a revival of the classic movie The Ten Commandments will air over two nights on Monday, April 10 and Tuesday, April 11 from 9 to 11 p.m. starring Naveen Andrews of Lost. Read all that and more here.

The New York Post is reporting that sitcom Arrested Development is very close to be picked-up by Showtime for 26 episodes. They would divide it by two and have 13 episodes for next season and 13 more the following season. The two-hour finale of the critically-acclaimed series nabbed only 3.3 million viewers when it aired on Feb. 10 on Fox. We certainly will keep you all updated on this as Showtime has not officially said anything on it, but it sure looks good!

In honor of the recent passing of legendary television actors Don Knotts, Darren McGavin and Dennis Weaver, GSN is planning special programming tributes showcasing some of their memorable appearances on classic game shows. GSN is honored to present these acclaimed and award-winning actors as they appeared as themselves on such memorable series as I've Got a Secret (Knotts), Password (McGavin) and Family Feud (Weaver.) To see when these special episodes are airing, click here.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, October 13

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the new Normals" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Johnsons and Butlers face big changes and unexpected challenges as Tina discovers a new passion, Malcolm navigates work and family boundaries and Courtney takes a major step with Marty. Meanwhile, Dave’s tech experiment backfires and Gemma’s parenting plan goes awry.

DMV - "Pilot" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
East Hollywood Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) driving examiner Colette pines for her coworker Noa while enduring teasing from colleagues Gregg, Vic and Ceci. Also, new manager Barb rallies the crew to save their branch from government shutdown.

TV We Love - "I Love Lucy" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT)
A deep dive into "I Love Lucy," widely regarded as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time; exploring the groundbreaking partnership of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, whose comedic brilliance and bold business moves forever changed television.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 13)

Monday, October 13

Kat Dennings (Shifting Gears/Dollface/2 Broke Girls/Raising Dad) - Watch Kat on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building), Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building/Mulaney/I'm a Big Girl Now/The Associates) and Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - Steve, Martin and Selena are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Keanu Reaves (Swedish Dicks) - Keanu and Alex Winter are guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Jason appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Laverne Cox (Clean Slate) - Andy Cohen intervews Laverne on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
Patricia Arquette (High Desert) - Patricia talks about Murdaugh: Death in the Family on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Bradley Whitford (Perfect Harmony/Trophy Wife) - Bradley talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Colin Hanks (Life in Pieces) - Colin chats with the hosts about John Candy: I Like Me on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Michael J. Fox (Family Ties/Spin City/The Michael J. Fox Show) - Michael discusses his new book Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth/The Bear) - Co-host Gayle King sits down with Ayo and Julia Roberts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Tim Meadows (DMV/Schooled/No Activity/Son of Zorn/Mr. Box Office/The Bill Engvall Show) - Tim talks about DMV on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
Brian Baumgartner (The Office) - Brian talks about the We Need A Fourth podcast on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri talks about The Sunshine Queens on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel joins Sherri to talk about the new season of his hit game show Flip Side on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Vanessa Lachey (Truth Be Told/Dads) - Vanessa and Nick Lachey talk about Netflix's Love is Blind on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) - Cristela talks about Netflix's Stay Classy on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is showing Drew how to make the perfect pumpkin spice meatballs on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.