SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

ABC Changes Name for Applegate Sitcom; More Summer Shows; ION RHI Movie Weekend Release

Clearance issues with the estate of Dr. Seuss has caused ABC to change the name for the upcoming Christina Applegate ABC sitcom coming this fall. The previous title was Sam I Am. The title played on the fact that Applegate's character, Samantha Newly, has amnesia and can't remember anything about her life.
As good as the title may have been, it also drew on the first lines of the classic Dr. Seuss work "Green Eggs and Ham." It's believed the Seuss estate didn't take kindly to ABC's literary allusion.
So now, ABC has opted to call the show Samantha Be Good.
The new title may not have the same ring as Sam I Am, but it still reflects one of the show's themes. Turns out that, before she lost her memory, Applegate's character was a not very nice person. Now that she's got a chance to start over, she'll be trying to be good.
I have seen the pilot, it is quite good. Look for our review later this summer, as we get closer to the fall season.

Moving on to new summer series news, in addition to all the new summer series airing already, CBS, Fox and ABC will have one more each. Let's start with Fox. Fox will add a new talent game show starting July 10. Wayne Brady will host this series that will be called Don't Forget the Lyrics!. The half-hour series will air twice a week--Wednesdays at 9:30PM and Thursdays at 8:30PM. Contestants will choose songs from different genres, decades and musical artists. Then they'll take center stage to sing alongside the studio band as the lyrics are projected on screen but suddenly the music will stop and the words will disappear. Will the contestants belt out the correct missing lyric, or freeze under pressure?
Moving on to ABC, they will launch a new hidden-camera comedy type show called Just for Laughs on Tuesday, July 17. Comedian Sinbad will host. It is based on the popular Canadian series by the same name. ABC will air this series Tuesdays at 8:30PM following encores of George Lopez. The premiere episode will be from 8 to 9PM however.
Finally, CBS will launch a new game show in August hosted by Drew Carey. So we are three for three in brand name hosts today. Power Of 10, a high-stakes, primetime game show where contestants compete for the chance to win $10 million, will have a special broadcast premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 8:00PM. The series then moves to its regular time period on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 8:00PM. The contestant who can most accurately predict the American public's response to intriguing poll questions could walk away winning millions. Power Of 10 reaches out across America to poll thousands of people and ask them, well, just about everything - from "What percentage of Americans said they were virgins the day they got married?" to "How many Americans believe they are smarter than president George W. Bush?" Each week contestants will be tested to see if they have their finger on the pulse of the people and can accurately predict the results of the nationwide surveys. With the first question worth $1,000 and only five questions to answer, and each one increasing 10 times in value, the contestant who has the best take on the American mindset could walk away with a $10 million payday.

Finally, we detailed ION Television's July line-up nearly two weeks ago, but today they issued a press release on their new RHI Weekend programming that will start June 29 airing Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays from 7-11PM. RHI’s exciting lineup of programming for ION will include the creation of exclusive original programming as well as quality library titles. The first of 12 originals is Killer Wave, an action-packed thriller in which nature’s deadliest ocean phenomenon-massive tidal waves-meet the dark nature of man by way of a terrorist plot.
The premiere of RHI/ION weekend features Broken Vows (Friday, June 29), starring Tommy Lee Jones and Annette O’Toole; Lonesome Dove, a digitally re-mastered edition of the blockbuster miniseries whose all-star cast includes Robert Duvall, Anjelica Huston, Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Lane, Danny Glover and Chris Cooper; and Cleopatra, the lavish miniseries that stars Timothy Dalton and Billy Zane, with Leonor Varela in the title role.
For the entire press release highlight click HERE.