Wednesday, January 17, 2007
TCA Winter Press Tour: NBC; More NATPE News; 'Growing Pains' Delayed on Nick@Nite; Mid-Week Notes
With this piece of news, NBC had to cut an hour from their daytime line-up. So, what is gone? Soap opera Passions will be canceled after August.
Heading into primetime, NBC made announcements that it has renewed some of their shows for next season (2007-08). The four series that received an early pick-up for next season are: Heroes, The Office, My Name is Earl, and Law & Order: SVU. All four will likely have at least 22 episodes next season.
NBC has picked up its popular game show Identity – hosted for one week before Christmas by Emmy Award-winning comedian-magician Penn Jillette -- for a series return in March. Seven episodes have been ordered. No timeslot or day as of yet, but it could be coming to Sundays at 8, when Grease is finished in late March. Speaking of Grease, NBC has announced two more additional episodes have been picked-up, raising it to 11 episodes.
Also at NBC will be a new reality improv-comedy. NBC has ordered six one-hour episodes of Thank God You're Here. Hosted by David Alan Grier, and presided over by judge Dave Foley, each episode of Thank God You're Here showcases the improvisational skills of a group of fearless celebrities as they compete in a battle of wits and laughter to outdo each other's performance in various unexpected situations. Jennifer Coolidge, Bryan Cranston, Joel McHale and Wayne Knight star in the pilot episode. Production on the remaining episodes is expected to resume in February with a launch set for in the spring.
Finally, Dateline: To Catch a Predator (yet again) returns for six weeks Tuesdays at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 30.
NBC has still not announced yet when mid-season sitcoms The Singles Table and Andy Barker, P.I. will be airing. Black Donnellys and Raines are still on target for their premieres on Mondays at 10 and Fridays at 9.
Coming up next are CBS, Fox, and The CW. CBS and Fox had some news today, but we'll make it official when they go at their respected TCA tours. So come back for that.
Just one NATPE note today. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has pulled its high-profile Celebrity Jury court strip off the market for this fall after failing to come to terms with the Fox station group on price. But the project may not be dead entirely and could make a comeback sometime later, perhaps in 2008.
Nick at Nite has announced that it will NOT premiere Growing Pains this coming Sunday now. Instead the show will now launch on Monday, February 12. No idea why the delay, but there will now be a Roseanne week next week. Jan. 22-28, nothing but Roseanne. We're also not sure yet what slots Growing Pains will air, but it is likely the same slots we reported when it was supposed to launch Jan. 21. Full House will not air at 8:30 p.m. now until Feb. 12. It was slated to air there on Jan. 22.
Also, Nick at Nite will air the Tuesday night movies in February. It was slated to start Jan. 9. with Crocodile Dundee, but they backed out.
We'll keep you updated when we get more information on the Growing Pains situation.
Now time for some mid-week notes. This is a lightning round of short news items. First and foremost, don't forget the third episode each of hilarious sitcoms The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Tonight the Knights hire a security expert to help them get passed the bodyguards. Should be fun!
The Super Bowl airs Sunday, Feb. 4 on CBS, but CBS will have Super Monday the next night with NFL legends (and Dancing with the Stars alums) Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice guest starring on the opening hour sitcoms. Emmitt on How I Met Your Mother and Jerry on The Class. Emmitt will play himself in the episode when a star-struck Barney (Neil Patrick Thomas) recognizes the former NFL great on the street. As for Jerry Rice's appearance, Duncan (Jon Bernthal) is shocked when he visits Nicole (Andrea Anders) and finds Rice and former pro-football player Yonk Allen (David Keith) working on a charity event speech together.
The CW Network and CBS Paramount Television will stream a never-before-seen episode of the critically acclaimed comedy Everybody Hates Chris on Yahoo! TV (http://tv.yahoo.com/) for one week prior to its network debut on Jan. 22. The episode, entitled "Everybody Hates Eggs," will be offered free-of-charge and without commercial interruption on Yahoo! beginning NOW. In the episode, which airs on The CW on Monday, January 22 (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET), Chris (Tyler James Williams) and Greg (Vincent Martella) get a classroom lesson on parenting when they are each assigned an egg to care for as if it were their own child.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Wednesday, January 27
The Goldbergs - "Cocoon" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Beverly enlists the help of Erica, who has recently declared pre-law as her major, to sue her cookbook publisher after finding her book in the bargain bin at a bookstore. Meanwhile, Adam and Pops bond while taking a trip on the wild side after Adam convinces Pops to fall back into some youthful adventures.
American Housewife - "Under Pressure" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Greg ropes Katie into a double date with Principal Ablin (Jerry Lambert) and Maria (Julie Meyer) in an attempt to further his political aspirations. Meanwhile, Anna-Kat’s new found popularity at school proves to be overwhelming.
The Conners - "Promotions, Podcasts and Magic Tea" (ABC,
9:00PM ET/PT)
Darlene earns a promotion at Wellman Plastics, while Ben decides on a new career path. Meanwhile, Jackie tries an herbal tea leading to an emotional revelation.
Call Your Mother - "Quaran-Jean (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After the secret gets out that Jean came to L.A. to check on Freddie but not Jackie during quarantine, Jean plans a girls’ night for just her and Jackie to bond, but it doesn’t go as smoothly as planned. Meanwhile, Celia grows frustrated with Freddie always counting on his mother to take care of him and confronts him for taking Jean’s advice over hers.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 25)
Wednesday, January 27
- Leslie Odom Jr. (Central Park/Big Day) - Watch Leslie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Rami Malek (The War at Home) - Rami appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Billy is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Adam DeVine (Workaholics/Modern Family) - Adam appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ted Danson (Mr. Mayor/The Good Place/Becker/Cheers) - Ted appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show/The Good Life) - Drew plays fan-favorite Clock Game for members of her VFFs for a chance to win cash and prizes on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Nico Santos (Superstore) - Nico talks about the new season of Superstore on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
- Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara talks about Freeform's grown-ish on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
- Gina Yashere (Bob Hearts Abishola) - Gina talks about Bob Hearts Abishola on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-January)
09/01 - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 14
09/01 - What We Do in the Shadows - The Complete Second Season
09/01 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray)
09/15 - Mom - The Complete Seventh Season
09/15 - South Side - Season 1
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Second Season
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Third Season
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Fourth Season
09/22 - Man with a Plan - Season Three
09/29 - The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete Series (2020 Release)
10/13 - The Jetsons - The Complete Series (Diamond Collection)
10/13 - Our Cartoon President - Season Two
10/23 - Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - The Complete Collection
10/27 - The Flintstones - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/27 - Head of the Class - The Complete Second Season (WBShop.com)
11/10 - Letterkenny - Seasons 5 & 6
11/10 - The Office - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/10 - Schitt's Creek - The Complete Collection
11/17 - Carol's Second Act - The Complete Series
11/17 - Robbie - Season 1
11/24 - Corporate - Season 1
11/26 - Man with a Plan - Season Four
12/01 - The Neighborhood - Season Two
12/15 - Avenue 5 - The Complete First Season
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