Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Day 23: WGA's Strike; USA Network Acquires Becker, Drops Coach; More on ION's Drew Carey Show Deal

It is now day 23 of the strike and still no announcements on whether the strike is over or not. Hopefully soon. But we have some network news. NBC has picked up the freshman dramas Chuck (Mondays, 8-9 p.m. ET) and Life (Wednesdays, 10-11 p.m. ET) for nine more episodes -- for a full 22 episode season, of course all depending on the strike. NBC will most likely cancel dramas Journeyman and Bionic Woman, so whatever has been shot, looks to be it so far.
In order to boost Fridays a bit, Fox will switch timeslots for reality shows The Next Great American Band and Don't Forget the Lyrics! starting December 7. Band has done terrible at 8pm and Lyrics! has done much better, so let's see if this will benedit both shows.

USA Network has acquired the Ted Danson sitcom Becker for morning play starting in January. To introduce the show to the USA Network line-up, Becker will have two mini morning marathons on Wednesday, January 2 from 6am-12pm and Thursday, January 3 from 6am-12pm. The show will be airing Monday-Friday at 8am and 8:30am thereafter starting January 7, so JAG will move from 7-9am to 6-8am. '90s sitcom Coach will be off the line-up as a result. The show could be back soon, but they haven't lost the rights it seems. As for Becker, it looks like Superstation WGN will also continue to run it late nights. Becker will also air as late night fillers or general fillers like Coach does.

ION Television formally announced today that it has obtained from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution the rights to air the beloved, long-running sitcom, The Drew Carey Show. ION Television will launch the Emmy-nominated series with a New Year's Eve marathon from 7:00-11:00 pm (ET), and then add it to the network's weeknight primetime lineup New Year's Day with airings Mondays through Thursdays at 9:00 pm and 9:30 pm (ET). That will mean Who's the Boss?, the current time slot holder at 9:00 and 9:30 will either be moved or off the line-up. We will know when the January schedule is released and will let you know. We still haven't forgotten our promise to deliver the ION December holiday highlights. We are just waiting word on a few days, but it doesn't look to be a big deal like last year when we got shows like holiday episodes of McHale's Navy, Kate & Allie, and others. Stay tuned for that and more on Drew!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, March 23

Animal Control - "Skunks and Llamas" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Emily and Victoria assist Dr. Summers with an alpaca birth; Frank and Patel visit Frank's dad.

Call Me Kat - "Call Me Uncle Dad" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Carter hosts a Halloween Octoberfest party at The Middle C, but struggles to get customers in; Kat continues her journey to find a donor; Phil has a great night with a potential love interest.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 20)

Thursday, March 23

  • Jeff Goldblum (Search Party) - Catch Jeff on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Regina Hall (Black Monday/Insecure/Grandfathered/Second Generation Wayans) - Regina is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men/Togetherness) - Melanie appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10:15pm on Bravo. She will also be on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Al Franken (LateLine) - Al guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Dove Cameron (Schmigadoon!/Liv and Maddie) - Dove unpacks what to expect on the new season of Schmigadoon! on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
  • Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) and Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie/Malibu Country) - Jane and Lily are chatting with Drew all about meeting her as a kid, their new film, Moving On, their secrets to a lasting friendship and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike is joining Drew and talking about how he met his wife in Las Vegas, his new show and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Danielle Jalade (Saturdays) - Danielle chats about her new Disney Channel series Saturdays, a coming-of-age roller-skating comedy, on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Halle Bailey (grown-ish) - Halle discusses her upcoming projects on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Julie talks about Disney+'s Prom Pact on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)

Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Ghosts - Season One Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Ten Growing Pains - The Complete Series

11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/08 - Young Rock - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/15 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Seven / The Complete Season Eight
11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

03/22 - Game Show Network Orders Tom Cavanagh Hosted Game Show; A Black Lady Sketch Show Returns for Season 4
03/21 - All That Stars to Reunite for Good Burger 2; Jim Belushi Returns For Another Season of Growing Belushi
03/20 - 2023 90s Con Recap in Hartford; Bel-Air Gets Season 3 on Peacock
03/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 20, 2023)
03/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New Sitcoms for Terry Crews and Wendi McLendon-Covey; Zachary Levi Holding Out Hope for Chuck Movie
03/17 - AXS TV Acquires The Monkees for Retro Night Block; HBO Max's The Other Two Returns in May
03/16 - Monk Returns with One Final Case on Peacock; John Mulaney Gets 3rd Netflix Comedy Special
03/15 - Apple TV+ Orders Comedy with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey; CBS 2023 Season Finale Dates
03/14 - Disney+ Comedy American Born Chinese Premieres May 24; Tim Robinson Comedy to Return May 30 on Netflix
03/13 - New Girl Coming to Hulu and Peacock; Apple TV+ Renews Shrinking for Season 2
03/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 13, 2023)
03/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Beavis and Butt-Head Gets Second Season Renewal; Roles Cast in Bedrock Series
03/10 - Act Your Age Opens as Biggest Launch in Bounce History; Starz Comedy Blindspotting Returns April 14
03/09 - Mary Tyler Moore Film Premieres This May on HBO; Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head Returns for Season 2
03/08 - HBO's Barry Returns April 16; Schmigadoon! Trailer for Season 2
03/07 - American Dad! Season 18 Premieres March 27; Hulu's Tiny Beautiful Things Launches April 7
03/06 - Antenna TV Spring 2023 Schedule; Rewind TV Spring 2023 Schedule
03/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 6, 2023)
03/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Rachael Ray to End After 17 Seasons; Fox Renews Krapopolis for Third Season
03/03 - The Thundermans Return; TMZ's New Game Show
03/02 - Fox Renews Krapopolis for Season 3; Disney Channel's New Comedy Saturdays
03/01 - HBO Max Chuck Lorre Comedy Sets Production; New Shonda Rhimes White House Series
02/28 - Apple TV+ Releases Trailer for Ted Lasso S3; More on Chris Rock's Netflix Special
02/27 - Modern Family Star Heads to Season 2 of The Santa Clauses; 29th Annual SAG Awards Winners
02/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 27, 2023)
02/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Goldbergs to End After 10 Seasons; Decades to Rebrand as Catchy Comedy
02/24 - BUZZR's African American Greats Marathon; Hulu and Onyx Collective Comedy Completes Cast
02/23 - Kerry Washington Comedy on Hulu March 10; Mo'Nique's Comedy Special Premieres April 4 on Netflix
02/22 - CBS Renews 9 More Series for 2023-24; Not Dead Yet Scores Big in Delayed 7-Day MP Viewing