Thursday, November 15, 2007

Day 11: WGA's Writers' Strike; In2TV to Re-Launch; M*A*S*H Marathon Score for TV Land

We are now on day 11 of the writers' strike. Reality/game shows will dominate the schedule soon when originals of scripted series run out. The Office runs out after tonight's airing. CBS's new sitcom The Big Bang Theory ran out of new episodes this past Monday. Rules of Engagement looks like will run out of episodes after its airing this Monday. Which means half of CBS's Monday sitcom line-up would have ended...the other two are expected to end after their Monday, Nov. 26 airings.
NBC has announced that its struggling new series Life, which airs Wednesdays at 10, will have a special two-part episode which will air following the finale of Heroes on December 3 at 10pm. Part two will air in its regular timeslot on Dec. 5. NBC will also have a special three night Deal or No Deal stunt a week later, on Dec. 10-12 starting at 8pm. Following that NBC will launch the new series Clash of the Choirs, which will air Dec. 17-21 at 8pm. Michael Bolton, Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Kelly Rowland and Blake Shelton will embark on a musical challenge as they return to their hometowns to assemble an amateur choir and prepare them to compete live in studio for the title of America's best choir. ABC will counteract with a new gameshow called Duel the same four nights, but with also an airing on Sunday, Dec. 23 at 8pm. Duel is a tournament style competition featuring head-to-head matches with nerve rattling game play rewarding contestants who embrace shrewdness and manipulation to win. If a contestant can react quickly under pressure and outsmart their opponent using strategy and deception, intellect and skill, they could walk away with up to $2 million.
We gave you ABC's holiday plans (with more coming probably), now we will give you CBS's. The classic holiday special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer will air Tuesday, December 4 from 8-9pm on CBS, head-to-head against ABC's Santa Claus is Coming to Town. CBS will also air the classic special Frosty the Snowman on Friday, December 7 at 8pm, followed by Frosty Returns at 8:30. CBS will also air the holiday movie Elf on Saturday, Dec. 22.

MediaPost is reporting that AOL/Warner Bros. plan to relaunch their In2TV co-venture sometime next year, as the broadband network with full episodes of old-time hits has failed to gain traction since debuting in early 2006. They said it would be "reinvented" by the second quarter next year. A redesign and the addition of some sort of social networking capabilities are expected. The service's section, with memorable show theme songs, might also be an untapped resource. The site's experience is "not immersive" enough.
The coming relaunch is an example of the commitment of the studio--which produces a run of current prime-time hits--to exploiting its library via new distribution channels.
Also next spring, the company has said it will launch TWorks.com--a site focusing on animation with shows such as Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera series. The company said the venture, which will have original content produced by Warner Bros., will also include games and virtual worlds.
So what does this mean? We are not 100% sure...but let's hope they don't remove all of the classic TV on In2TV. So this is the reason why there have not been many new episodes for series on In2TV. They started by giving us 4 new episodes a month, but that hasn't happened in many months now. We will keep you up to date on any further development.

TV Land's M*A*S*H Mail Call Marathon averaged big gains across several key categories during the programming event, which aired on Saturday, November 10 and Sunday, November 11, in honor of Veteran's Day. The eighteen episode programming salute scored double-digit gains in rating and delivery among its target A25-54 audience and total viewers over last year while doubling delivery among its core audience of A40-54. The M*A*S*H Mail Call featured episodes about members of the 4077th sending and receiving letters from loved ones. M*A*S*H averaged a 0.5/524,000 among A25-54, representing a +67% lift in ratings and +95% increase in delivery over the same period last year. TV Land averaged over 1 million total viewers, an increase of +79% over YAGO. Among its core audience, Adults 40-54, TV Land secured substantial gains in rating and delivery, averaging a 0.7/404,000, representing a rise of +75% in rating and +108% in delivery.
In other TV Land news, starting in December Mondays 4-5PM will now be Sanford & Son, thus it will be Mon-Fri instead of Tues-Fri. Gunsmoke will be 2-4pm on Mondays now, with Bonanza 11a-2p Mondays.
On Saturday, Dec. 8, the 12PM encore of the movie Beaches will be replaced by I Love Lucy from 12pm-2:30pm. I Love Lucy's morning airing that morning from 10a-12p will be Designing Women instead. On Saturday, December 15, encores of the movie Wall Street are canceled in the afternoon, so we will get a Three's Company marathon from 1-5pm. Wall Street encore will now air from 7-9:30pm, with Andy Griffith following at 9:30pm.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 9

Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.

Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.

Abbott Elementary - "Volunteers" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava announces the school district is sending a group of volunteers to help out at Abbott; however, when they arrive, things don’t go as planned.

Abbott Elementary - "100th Day of School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
During Abbott’s 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter. Melissa, Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Months after the Gang visited, Abbott's Principal Ava walks viewers through some of the unseen footage of the Gang's volunteerism and reveals their true intentions.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank Is in a Coma" (FXX and FX, 9:33PM ET/PT)
The five stages of grief set in for Dee as Frank lies on his deathbed; the Guys plot their new path forward by pitching their business ventures to Philadelphia's elite.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Wednesday, July 9

  • Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Cole Escola (Human Resources/Search Party/Mozart in the Jungle/Difficult People) - Cole appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Richie, Betsy and Punam are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/Final Space/The Game) - Tika sits down with the Tam Fam to talk about her new children's book I Got It From My Mama a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela chats about her film Superman on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Mindy Project) and Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Anna and Justin discuss their film Nuked on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) - Simon talks about Peacock's Poker Face on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

07/09 - New Girl Summer on Hulu; Vir Das Gets Brand New Netflix Special
07/08 - Tubi Comedy Series Demascus Premieres in August; LEGO Masters Jr. Lines Up Celebs for 4-Week Event
07/07 - Digman! Season Premiere Moved to July 23; Hulu's Reasonable Doubt Returns September 18
07/06 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of July 7, 2025)
07/05 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Comedy Central Delays South Park and Digman! Season Premieres; Jackée to Appear in Guest Role in Netflix Series
07/04 - Happy 4th of July; Antenna TV's McHale's Navy Red, White and Navy Independence Day Marathon
07/03 - The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 3 Premieres August 6; South Park New Season Moves by Two Weeks
07/02 - FETV Acquires The Rookies; Hulu Renews The Bear for Season 5
07/01 - Bert Kreischer Gets Netflix Sitcom; NBC Gets Into Survival Mode This Summer
06/30 - The Comeback Makes Another...Comeback; First Look at Black Rabbit at Netflix
06/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 30, 2025)
06/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Comeback Returning for a Third and Final Season; South Park to Remain on HBO Max
06/27 - The White Lotus Star Teams Up with Netflix; Remembering Bobby Sherman, Lynn Hamilton, and Rick Hurst
06/26 - The CW's Fall Movie of the Week; First Look at New York Comic Con 2025
06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
06/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 23, 2025)
06/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Officially Dead After Not Finding New Home; Weigel Announces New WEST Network
06/20 - Great American Media Announces New Danica McKellar Movie; Jennifer Love Hewitt ID True Crime Series
06/19 - Bad Thoughts Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix; Zarna Garg Gets Hulu Special This July
06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
06/17 - Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife on A&E Series; Digman! Returns July 9 on Comedy Central
06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
06/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 16, 2025)
06/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Mulls Airing The Paper on Primetime Lineup; Fox Revives Baywatch Reboot Talk
06/13 - My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Renewed for 2 More Seasons; Hanna-Barbera Developing Adult Animated Series
06/12 - Comedy Superstar Jack Black Is the King of Comedy at Nickelodeon; Doc Adds Felicity Huffman
06/11 - Celebrities for Celebrity Family Feud Season 11; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Starts Production
06/10 - Warner Bros. Discovery Separates Company; Peacock's Jennifer Garner Series Adds to Cast
06/09 - Comedian Ms. Pat Gets Season 3 of Courtroom Series; Disney Branded Television Animated Slate