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

Sunday, May 28

The Conners - "Possums, Pregnancy and Patriarchy" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Harris makes a big announcement. Meanwhile, Ben is overwhelmed with family responsibilities.

The Conners - "Hiding In and Moving Out" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Harris takes her anger out on Darlene. Elsewhere, Dan and Louise spend an entire day in bed together.

The Conners - "The Contra Hearings and the Midnight Gambler" (ABC, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mark fights for a spot in the Lanford High chamber orchestra. Elsewhere, Jackie puts a lottery machine in the Lunch Box.

The Conners - "Road Trip and Guilt Trip" (ABC, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dan and Jackie take a road trip to a hardware wholesaler in Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Darlene heads out of town and leaves behind a plethora of to-do notes for Becky and Ben.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 22)

Friday, May 26

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ali Wong (Big Mouth/American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - Ali is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Chris appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Sebastian Maniscalco (How to Be a Bookie) - Sebastian talks about his new film About My Father on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
Issa Rae (Insecure) - Issa is a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Bill Bellamy (Mr. Box Office/Men, Women & Dogs/Cousin Skeeter) - Bill appears on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Ming-Na Wen (The Single Guy) and BD Wong (All-American Girl) - Ming-Na and BD talk about Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Hailee Steinfeld (Dickinson) - Hailee and actor Shameik Moore sit down together to talk about their new film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, in theaters on June 2 on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Leslie Odom Jr. (Love in the Time of Corona/Big Dady) and Nicolette Robinson (Love in the Time of Corona/Perfect Couples) - Leslie and Nicolette chat with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Daniel Wu (American Born Chinese) - Daniel talks about American Born Chinese on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim) - Kimberly is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.