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'House of Payne' Coming to TBS And Locals With New Episodes; TV Land October Highlights; More Notes

After a tremendously successful test run in ten major markets earlier this summer, Debmar-Mercury, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lionsgate, has announced plans for the national launch of first-run sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Beginning June 2007, TBS will have access to an unprecedented 100 fully produced episodes provided upfront. Broadcast syndication will follow in September of 2008, led by FOX-owned stations on WWOR-My9 New York, KTXH CH 20 Houston, KDFI-TV CH 27 Dallas, and WDCA-TV CH 20 Washington, D.C. And Weigel's WCIU-TV Chicago has also picked it up. The terms of the four-year deals with FOX and Weigel are cash plus barter, and will begin airing in September of 2008, concurrent with the TBS run, which will continue throughout the term.
According to TBS's deal with Debmar-Mercury, TBS will begin airing episodes in primetime beginning in June of 2007, with the network having exclusive rights to the episodes before they become available to local stations through syndication in September 2008.
Another test of a Perry series, expected to be based on his theatrical play Meet the Browns, could take place in 2007 or ’08, according to Debmar-Mercury President Mort Marcus. While the plans haven’t been finalized, Marcus said if they wait to fall 2008, it would likely be a 10-day replacement test on some stations similar to the one for House of Payne.

TV Land has announced their October schedule. There is no change to the regular schedule except I Love Lucy replaces Addams Family, which expires after September. Among the higlights for the month include a 48-hour A-Team marathon to help promote Mr. T's new show I Pity the Fool which will air Wednesdays at 10 starting October 11. and finally spend Halloween and the end of Daylight Savings with The Munsters in a 25-hour marathon on Oct. 28. The Munsters is expiring at the end of the month, so if they don't renew this could be sort of like a farewell marathon. We will have more on its future status at a later date. Click HERE to view all the October highlights for TV Land.

We mentioned that CBS was adding about six series to its innertube website, now they have announced six more, and a few sitcoms included, too! To gain additional exposure for some key freshman and sophomore series during the important fall launch period, CBS announced plans to stream episodes of several of the Network's primetime shows produced by Warner Bros. Television and Twentieth Century Fox Television free of charge on CBS's broadband channel innertube.
Starting in September, the series being offered on innertube include: from Twentieth Century Fox Television, the freshman series Shark, as well as the sophomore sitcom How I Met Your Mother and drama The Unit; and from Warner Bros. Television, the freshman series The Class and new drama Smith, as well as the sophomore sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine, starring Emmy nominated Julia Louis-Dreyfus. With all six shows, each of the first four original episodes of the season will be available for viewers to watch for free on innertube for a week following its Network broadcast.

Finally, ABC has announced plans for the post Dancing with the Stars Wednesday slot for Sept. 13 and 20. ABC will air two fall preview specials on Sept. 13 at 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. The 9 p.m. airing will showcase the dramas titled, ABC Sneak Peeks: The Dramas. At 9:30 p.m. will be ABC Sneak Peeks: Comedy & Reality. Make sure you watch these and the half-hour affiliate specials of Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Lost premiering this weekend on your local ABC affiliates. Check local listings for time and day for those. After the two half-hour specials on Sept. 13 will be Jimmy Kimmel Live’s All-Star Salute to Jimmy Kimmel Live at 10 p.m.
On September 20, ABC will re-air part two of the second season finale for Grey's Anatomy from 9 to 11 p.m. Part one of the finale is re-airing Thursday, September 14 at 9 p.m. It is a good move reairing the finale a day before the season premiere (Thursday, September 21). So what is airing in these slots on September 27? They haven't announced that yet, but I would assume the two-hour Lost season finale? Lost returns to its slot on October 4 with all-new episodes.