Monday, July 10, 2006

NBC Improv Comedy Series This Fall; TCA Tour Cable: Day 1

NBC stations are set to air an improv comedy series called Sports Action Team following the network's Sunday night telecasts of NFL games starting in the fall, the Hollywood Reporter reports. Improv actors and comedians will play a hapless team of sports reporters. Every week, they will interact with real-world professional and amateur athletes, managers, fans and celebrities. The series stars Kevin Fleming, Steven Fleming, Niki Lindgren, Antoine McKay, Katie Nahnsen and Al Samuels. Chicago-based production company Towers Productions Inc., which developed the show in association with NBC owned WMAQ in Chicago, said on Friday it will produce 17 half-hour episodes. The show will air via NBC's West Coast and Rocky Mountain feeds as well as on other NBC-owned outlets and affiliates. It will all have online features including outtakes, bonus materials, blogs and video blogs -- set to be available at http://www.sportsactionteam.com and on NBC station Web sites.

Today was the first day of the TCA Summer tour for cable. We have four more days to go before broadcast takes over for the next two weeks. ABC Family and HDnet both so far have announced information. ABC Family is counting on a slate of new series to bring back the family drama, including the heavily promoted Kyle XY (8 p.m. Monday), about the anatomically incorrect teenage boy who is given a home by a social worker and her family and soon displays extraordinary abilities.
Fallen, a new high quality TV-movie makes its debut July 23 at 8 p.m. Based on the teen thriller books of veteran comic book writer Tom Sniegoski (Batman, Hellboy), Fallen involves a teenager who discovers he is a fallen angel and becomes involved in a war between angels both good and evil. Fallen airs as a two-hour movie but ABC Family is already confident it can build a franchise. It has committed to another four hours next summer and, to bridge the gap between segments, it will create an alternative reality game online. The game will be heavily promoted at the end of the two-hour film, including clues for how to play it.
Three Moons Over Milford, debuting 8 p.m., Aug. 6, stars Elizabeth McGovern, Nora Dunn and Rob Boltin in the tale of how the town's residents respond when faced with a cosmic crisis: An explosion has split the moon into three pieces, perhaps portending the world's demise. They decide to live like there's no tomorrow, quitting their jobs and indulging their whims (or vices).
Other original shows airing on ABC Family are the racehorse saga Wildfire, starting production on its third season, and Falcon Beach (9 p.m. Monday), a soap opera about locals vs. rich kids in a New England summer resort town.
Coming in early 2007 is the channel's boldest bet, Lincoln Heights, about a black lawman who returns to his crime-filled neighborhood. He's determined to make a difference but his family is put under stress by the move. Russell Hornsby and Nicki Micheaux star in the drama from executive producers Kevin Hooks and Kathleen McGhee Anderson. Black family dramas are rare on TV. ABC Family says the show fits with the channel's goal of putting on "high-quality shows about today's families, not yesterday's." Series with Hispanic characters are in development. Its "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas," packaged holiday programming, are an ongoing part of the schedule and will continue this year, too. They also have reruns of Everwood coming this fall, to join 7th Heaven and Gilmore Girls, which do very well for the network.
As for HDnet, they officially announced that they have brought in Dan Rather from CBS! Rather just left CBS three weeks ago and now he will be coming to HDnet for his own show. A formal announcement of the show, to be called Dan Rather Reports, was planned for Tuesday at the TCA tour in Pasadena, California. The press release is not out yet. Rather's program will debut in October but HDnet declined to give further details before a presentation expected to be attended by Rather and billionaire media investor Mark Cuban, who owns HDNet and professional basketball's Dallas Mavericks.
We will have more on today's news from the tour tomorrow, along with updates from tomorrow's portion. This is a fun week! Fun three weeks, I should say!

TV Land and Nick@Nite go on Thursday--I got a lot of questions on when they go.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, June 6

Happy's Place - "Ladies' Night" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Gabby's latest heartbreak, Bobbie and Isabella throw a Ladies' Night at the tavern to show Gabby she doesn't need a man to be happy, but things don't go as planned; Steve and Takoda tease Emmett about his sudden interest in dating apps.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 1)

Friday, June 6

  • Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Watch Paul on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • David Oyelowo (Government Cheese), Bokeem Woodbine (Government Cheese/Battery Park) and Simone Missick (Government Cheese) - David, Bokeem and Simone are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney appears on Real Time with Bill Maher at 10pm on HBO.
  • Sarita Choudhury (And Just Like That...) - Sarita talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) - Mark chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Brianne Howey (Dollface) - Brianne chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Steve Guttenberg (No Soap, Radio/Billy) - Steve talks about Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andrew talks about I Don't Understand You on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Lena Waithe (Master of None) and Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show/Cosby) - Lena and Phylicia talk about The Chi on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) - NBC's Today catches up with Mark in the 9am hour.
  • Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone/Insecure) - Natasha talks about The White Lotus on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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06/05 - Disney's Electric Bloom Gets Premiere Date; Conan to Guest on NBC's Late Night
06/04 - Netflix Announces Haunted Hotel with Comedic Voices; Prime Video Unveils Trailer for Thriller
06/03 - Netflix's Nobody Wants This Returns October 23; The CW Renews All American for Final Season
06/02 - Remembering Loretta Swit of M*A*S*H, Valerie Mahaffey of Young Sheldon, and The Simpsons Composer Alf Clausen
06/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 2, 2025)
05/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New King of the Hill Reboot Details; CBS Makes Late Night Changes
05/30 - FX's Adults Pilot Available on Social Platforms; BET and BET+ Premiere New Tyler Perry Series in June
05/29 - Netflix's New Chuck Lorre Sitcom Leanne; Apple TV+ Season 4 Premiere of The Morning Show
05/28 - Max Renews Hacks for Season 5; Byron Allen Coming Back to CBS Late Night
05/27 - Antenna TV Summer 2025 Schedule; Rewind TV Summer 2025 Schedule
05/26 - Memorial Day 2025 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 26, 2025)
05/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Zach Braff Joins Scrubs Reboot; 7th Heaven Reboot in the Works
05/23 - Discovery Channel's Shark Week with Tom Bergeron; Apple TV+ Season 2 of Hit Series
05/22 - TV Legend Henry Winkler's New HISTORY Series; The CW Renews Family Law
05/21 - Remembering George Wendt of Cheers; Platonic Season 2 First Look
05/20 - The CW Renews Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble; Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life on Netflix May 26
05/19 - North to Shore Festival Returns This June in NJ; S.W.A.T. Sets Spinoff Series
05/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 19, 2025)
05/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Picks Up New Dan Levy Comedy; First Look at King of the Hill Reboot Artwork
05/16 - Michael J. Fox to Guest Star on Shrinking; The CW Picks Up Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
05/15 - 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront; 2025 Netflix Upfront
05/14 - Chad Powers Premieres September 30 on Hulu; Upfront Premiere Dates for FX on Hulu
05/13 - ABC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Ted: The Animated Series Coming to Peacock
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Fox Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule
05/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 12, 2025)
05/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Cancels Night Court and Lopez vs. Lopez; ABC Renews Duo of Game Shows
05/09 - Peacock Orders Dig from Amy Poehler; Apple TV+ Comedy Stick Premieres June 4; Remembering Ruth Buzzi
05/08 - CBS 2025-26 Schedule; Animal Control and Going Dutch Renewed by Fox
05/07 - Netflix's A Man on the Inside Bulks Up Cast for Season 2; The Studio Renewed by Apple TV+
05/06 - Netflix's Long Story Short Announces Cast; NBC Renews All Chicago Series for 2025-26