ABC Pulls Knights and The Nine; TV Legend Merv Griffin Passes Away

Sunday, August 12, 2007

ABC Pulls Knights and The Nine; TV Legend Merv Griffin Passes Away

Effective this Wednesday, ABC has pulled the burn-off episodes of the sitcom The Knights of Prosperity and drama The Nine. Knights returned last Wednesday with two all-new episodes. Two all-new episodes still remain in the vault. As for The Nine, it aired an episode each the last two Wednesdays, and four still remain in the can. ABC will replace The Knights with an extra repeat of According to Jim at 8:30, while The Nine essentially will get replaced by Primetime: Outsiders at 9pm, moving the new upcoming Primetime series NASCAR in Primetime from 9pm to 10pm, where The Nine was airing.
As for those remaining episodes of The Knights and The Nine, we can expect the remaining episodes to appear on abc.com. We are not sure how they will roll-out, but it will probably be every Wednesday until they finish, similar to what ABC did with Six Degrees and Day Break. We'll let you know...but it is too bad about The Knights, that was one good funny sitcom. It almost came back for a second season, but Ray Romano didn't sign on unfortunately.

We have some breaking news just in to SitcomsOnline, TV legend Merv Griffin just passed away this morning. Griffin died of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his the family that was released by Marcia Newberger, spokeswoman for The Griffin Group/Merv Griffin Entertainment. Griffin was recently hospitalized for a recurrence of the disease, which had been treated successfully more than 10 years ago.
Merv of course is known for his talk show The Merv Griffin Show that ran from 1962-1986 and for creating the hit game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Let's watch both of those shows tomorrow and see if they do a little tribute...both shows are on summer hiatus though, and will return with new episodes in September. Merv has appeared as himself on several sitcoms like Sanford & Son, Golden Girls, Hope & Gloria, and Newhart. Merv also produced the new Lifetime series Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead. He was recently seen on TV Land Moguls as the host, appeared on TV Land's ALF's Hit Talk Show, and appeared on Fat Actress.
He will be deeply missed and you can catch his newly produced series Merv Griffin's Crosswords in first-run syndication this fall. Hopefully that will still be coming on air as a tribute to him. Mr. Griffin was 82.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, November 13

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Pregnancy Test and an Old Man’s Gallbladder" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie’s jealousy rears its head when Mandy gets sent on an overnight work trip with her ex and current boss, Scott (Christopher Gorham). Meanwhile, Jim and Audrey panic when they find a pregnancy test in Connor’s trash.

Ghosts - "T-Daddy" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor’s relationship with his daughter is strained when he pushes her to follow a career in finance over poetry. Meanwhile, Jay confronts labor unrest at the restaurant.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 10)

Thursday, November 13

The Jonas Brothers (Jonas/Jonas LA) - The Jonas Brothers are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob swings by the studio on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Olivia Holt (I Didn't Do It/Shake It Up) - Olivia appears on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Alicia Silverstone (American Woman) - Alicia talks about A Merry Little Ex-Mas on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Glen talks about The Running Man on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jake Lacy (High Fidelity/The Office/Better with You) - NBC's Today catches up with Jake in the 9am hour.
Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement/My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star) - Oliver talks about Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Karen Pittman (And Just Like That...) - Karen talks about The Morning Show on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie joins the Tam Fam in a daytime exclusive to celebrate the new season of her hit show Elsbeth on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine talks about her new film Eternity on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Woody Harrelson (Cheers), Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb), Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) and Ariana Greenblatt (Stuck in the Middle) - The Now You See Me: Now You Don't cast including Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher Jesse Eisenberg, Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa join Drew to dish all about the third installment of the hit franchise on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Lake Bell (Bless This Mess/How to Make it in America/Childrens Hospital) - Lake talks about HBO Max's The Chair Company on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.