Cable Deals for 'Two and a Half Men' & 'Grey's Anatomy' Will Be Done Soon; 'Grey's' Thursday Summer Slot Delayed

Monday, June 12, 2006

Cable Deals for 'Two and a Half Men' & 'Grey's Anatomy' Will Be Done Soon; 'Grey's' Thursday Summer Slot Delayed

Warner Bros. Domestic Cable TV Distribution is seeking Two and a Half Men reruns for cable, according to Broadcasting & Cable. The show will be going to local channels (and their websites!) in fall 2007, but Warner Bros. was also trying to sell it to cable the same year. That looks like won't happen, instead we will see the show on cable around fall 2010 (the normal fourth year cable deal). TBS seems to be the front-runner in acquiring the sitcom. USA Network could also be interested. Viacom nets Comedy Central and Nick@Nite are also in the run. Comedy Central (and WGN) starts reruns of Scrubs this fall. Meanwhile, Buena Vista Television is seeking a cable network buyer for the red hot ABC show Grey's Anatomy. They have added a repurposing window to Grey’s Anatomy that, starting in January, will allow the Touchstone hit drama to run on cable a few days after its ABC run. The syndication deal would start in 2009, with the repurposed episodes obviously airing sooner than that--Touchstone could get between $700,000 to 1 million per episode. Desperate Housewives recently went to Lifetime for a 2008 start at $500,000 per episode. Buena Vista is also looking for a cable deal for the short three-season sitcom Hope & Faith. No cable or local channels on Lost yet, but TNT would be so perfect for that show. Frontrunner to get cable rights for Grey's Anatomy right now is TNT. But USA Network, ABC Family and Oxygen are also in the running. It would be interesting if Lifetime tries to get this show, too, as they already have Desperate Housewives. Let the bidding begin!

In other Grey's Anatomy news, ABC has quietly taken the Thursday at 9 p.m. season one airings off the line-up "for now." It was slated to air repeats starting June 29, but a special Primetime will air in that slot instead. No idea yet when GA will make the move to its new Thursday slot, but it looks like it won't happen until August or early September.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, June 30

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Sting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Calvin and Marty send Courtney on a mission to find out information about Fuse Box’s impressive new rival. Meanwhile, Malcolm attends an event for his creative writing program at USC, where he scores a meeting with a book agent, Lisa (Angelique Cabral).

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Your Own Medicine" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Dave’s disastrous attempt to dunk a basketball, Calvin takes care of his injured neighbor. Also, Gemma befriends a cool mom group while babysitting Daphne.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)

Monday, June 30

Don Johnson (Kenan) - Watch Don on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - George appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Christopher Sieber (It's All Relative/Two of a Kind) - Christopher is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kel Mitchell (Game Shakers/Kenan & Kel) and Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Kel and Thomas are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Evan Handler (And Just Like That...) - Evan talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Hugh Jackman (Human Resources) - Hugh chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere/Nightcap) - Jeff talks about Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - NBC's Today has Prompter Wars with Amy in the 10am hour.
Kevin Hart (Lil Kev/Die Hart/The Big House/Undeclared) - NBC's Today catches up with Kevin in the 10am hour.
Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - NBC's Today catches up with Amy, Jillian and Brianne on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Drew is introducing the newest Drew-crew member, Valerie Bertinelli on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, Valerie is making a shrimp and veggie cups recipe from her latest cookbook, Indulge.
Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about Max's And Just Like That... on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Edwin Lee Gibson (The Bear/Unprisoned) - Edwin is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.