Day 33: WGA's Strike; Wayans Bros. to Develop VH1 Sitcom Starring Family Matters Star; RTN Comes to Charlotte

Friday, December 07, 2007

Day 33: WGA's Strike; Wayans Bros. to Develop VH1 Sitcom Starring Family Matters Star; RTN Comes to Charlotte

Today is day 33 of the strike. This week has been very quiet in terms of the outcomes. Last Friday a deal was proposed and the WGA quickly rejected it. The latest details were issued on Wednesday by the WGA. Click HERE to view their statement. We'll keep you updated. Also if any other networks plan to change the schedules. ABC has yet to announce anything really for January, while NBC, Fox, and CBS have.
The WGA have announced that nominations for outstanding achievement in television and radio writing during the 2007 season for the upcoming 2008 Writers Guild Awards will be released on Thursday, December 13. The 2008 Writers Guild Awards are slated to be held on Saturday, February 9, 2008, simultaneously at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Broadway Millennium Hotel in New York City.

VH1 has given the green light to a new pilot from Keenen Ivory, Marlon and Shawn Wayans for their new comedy, The Life and Times of Marcus 'Felony' Brown. The premise surrounds burgeoning, hard core, East Coast rapper Brown (Darius McCrary, Eddie Winslow from Family Matters) who blows up after his debut album goes platinum and heads to Los Angeles to record the follow up. Along for the ride are his self-hyping hype man, E-Z (Vince Green); jet-setting manager, Cash (Jon Abrahams); and hard-partying bodyguard, Tiny (Marcello Thedford). Affion Crockett plays Seville, Marcus' personal barber, while Toni Trucks is Tia, Marcus' assistant.
Marlon and Shawn Wayans developed the pilot with producing partner Rick Alvarez. The three will serve as executive producers along with Keenen Ivory Wayans. The pilot just wrapped principal photography.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will be adding a second Capitol Broadcasting Company station as an RTN affiliate. RTN will launch on a digital stream of WMYT (My-12) in Charlotte, NC, the nation's 25th largest television market, in 2008. The 'Primetime All The Time' line-up, including Perry Mason, Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I. and Mission: Impossible, will hit the airwaves of Charlotte shortly.

Come on back tomorrow for an exclusive. We have gotten special rights to publish some great classic TV essays that will be coming out in 2009 on a nice book by author Lou Orfanella!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, April 20

The Neighorhood - "Welcome to Purse Dog" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin reluctantly agrees to dog-sit a glamorous little companion, only to face an awkward twist when someone else lays claim to it. Meanwhile, a joint celebration prompts Malcolm to question whether he and Mercedes are moving too fast. Amber Stevens West guest stars as Mercedes, Malcolm's Girlfriend.

DMV - "Drive-ory Tower" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Colette tries to bridge a growing divide at the office by bringing the driving examiners and counter clerks together. Meanwhile, Vic stubbornly avoids seeing a doctor after an unusual injury, forcing Barb to get creative to help him.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 20)

Monday, April 20

Kal Penn (The Santa Clauses/Sunnyside/We Are Men) - Watch Kal on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Quinta appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Don Cheadle (The Wonder Years/Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Don is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Hazardous History with Henry Winkler on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Aaron Tveit (Schmigadoon!) - Aaron is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
B.J. Novak (The Office) and Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Andy Cohen interviews B.J. and Jim on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
William Stanford Harris (Abbott Elementary) - William talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Ramy Youssef (#1 Happy Family USA/Ramy/See Dad Run) - Ramy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (Big Mistakes/The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laurie talks about Big Mistakes on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - NBC's Today catches up with Jane in the 9am hour.
Christopher Briney (Hacks) - Christopher talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair tells Sherri about his new memoir A Soldier's Wife: My Mother, the Marvelous Mrs. Marilyn A. Underwood on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Phoebe Dynevor (Younger) - Phoebe is telling Drew about her new movie Thrash on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Dan Bucatinsky (The Comeback/Marry Me/Web Therapy) - Dan appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.