Friday, January 12, 2007
TCA Cable Winter Press Tour Day 4; Watch 'The Class' Table-Read and Dress Rehearsal LIVE!
And of note, the biggest thing to come out of this TCA Tour I think is NBC Universal creating a new channel called Chiller, a 24-hour entertainment cable channel dedicated to the horror genre. It will launch March 1. Chiller will feature classic horror films and television shows around the clock. At launch, the programming slate will include the television series Friday the 13th, Twin Peaks, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Tales from the Crypt. We will certainly have the schedule when ready to be posted.
USA Network has announced its first new original series for 2007, In Plain Sight, starring Mary McCormack. A weekly one-hour light drama from NBC Universal Television Studio, In Plain Sight was picked up as a pilot with 11 additional episodes ordered.
Bravo has announced Queer Eye will end after 10 new episodes this season. Making it on the air for 5 seasons. Also at Bravo, Award-winning actress, designer and entrepreneur Jaclyn Smith has been named host of Bravo's newest reality competition series Shear Genius. It will premiere in the spring with 8 episodes. Bravo also announced a new docu-series following the unique and multi-faceted Paula Abdul, Hey Paula! (working title). The series will provide a candid real look at the American Idol judge, pop star, choreographer and multi-platinum artist, as she takes two steps forward, and two steps back into the spotlight, giving an inside perspective on her professional and personal life. Bravo has announced much more, but these are the main ones.
Sister net Sci-Fi Channel has also announced a slew of releases. The most notable one is Flash Gordon. Sci-Fi has greenlit production on Flash Gordon, based on the popular comic strip franchise. Production on the 22 one-hour episodes begins in Canada in early 2007. The series, produced by Reunion Pictures, is slated to debut on Sci-Fi in July of '07, with a broadcast syndication window to follow.
GSN's most notable announcement was a pick-up for a sixth season for the popular original game show Lingo, hosted by Chuck Woolery. The sixth season will premiere Monday, April 2 and will air Monday through Friday 7:30-8:00 PM, ET.
Women's network WE tv has greenlighted the new reality show Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter. The series, slated for April, will profile Sandra Scott, a former female wrestler who is now a bounty hunter and a married mother of two in the suburbs of Phoenix.
Looks like that is all. If we have more updates we will add them ASAP. Stay tuned for the broadcast portion of the TCA Tour very shortly.
Struggling new sitcom The Class will give viewers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how the show is made. Next week, Warner Bros. TV will webcast live the table read and the run-through of an episode titled "The Class Springs a Leak," which is slated to air February 19.
The table read is slated for 2pm ET/11am PT Monday, and the run-through -- a full-episode rehearsal -- is scheduled for 4pm ET/1pm PT January 17. Both will be webcast on http://www.theclasstv.com.
The Class, which airs Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS, revolves around eight 28-year-old former third-grade classmates. It is slated to run in originals for the next couple of months, completing its first (and last?) season March 5.
This is certainly cool news. If you are into the world of television and especially the sitcom, this is a cool way to learn how table reads are done and how properly the dress rehearsal goes. So, take your 'class' to The Class field trip if you have school. And if you don't have school, school yourself by learning something from the world of television. Fascinating stuff.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Friday, December 8
CBS announced the new entertainment special Norman Lear: A Life on Television, to air tonight - Friday, Dec. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs). Presented by Entertainment Tonight, this one-hour special features new interviews with stars of the long-running comedies Lear created, including Jimmie Walker from Good Times and Mackenzie Phillips from One Day at a Time, in addition to never-before-seen interviews from the ET vault. Also included with this new footage and interviews is an in-depth sit-down interview with Lear that ET host Kevin Frazier conducted when Lear celebrated his 100th birthday, in which he reflected on his lengthy, groundbreaking career.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)
Friday, December 8
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- John Caponera (The Good Life) - John is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog aka Robert Smigel chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals) and Molly Gordon (Ramy) - Noah and Molly talk about Theater Camp on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Eric Stonestreet (The Santa Clauses/Modern Family) - Eric talks about The Santa Clauses on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan sits down with Sherri to talk about his new book, When I Was Your Age, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
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