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

Wednesday, January 15

Shifting Gears - "Accommodations" (ABC, 8:20PM ET/PT)
Matt joins Riley at Carter’s high school open house, where he’s unsettled to learn about the “accommodations” made for his grandson’s anxiety. Meanwhile, Riley reconnects with Caitlin, a former classmate, and sets her up with Gabriel.

Abbott Elementary - "Testing" (ABC, 8:50PM ET/PT)
Janine must rethink her lesson plans after her class performs poorly on a practice test, while Jacob struggles to engage a disinterested student. The district sends a new custodian to train under Mr. Johnson.

Poppa's House - "Podcast" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)

Junior enlists Nina’s help to film a documentary of Poppa’s iconic career, but the direction of the film takes a detour when the radio station begins using AI promos with Poppa’s and Ivy’s voices.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 13)

Wednesday, January 15

Tim Allen (Shifting Gears/Last Man Standing/Home Improvement) - Watch Tim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Adam appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He also talks about Severance on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Severance on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Pauline Chalamet (The Sex Lives of College Girls) - Pauline stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Denis Leary (Going Dutch/No Good Deed/Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - NBC's Today catches up with Denis in the 10am hour. He chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about One of Them Days on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. She also co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Mick) - Kaitlin talks about High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Gabriel Basso (The Big C) - Gabriel talks about The Night Agent on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - NBC's Today catches up with Britt in the 9am hour.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell/Nobodies/Truth Be Told/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - NBC's Today catches up with Mark-Paul in the 10am hour.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - NBC's Today catches up with Andrew in the 10am hour.
Jennifer Lopez (South Central) - Jennifer talks about her film Unstoppable on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim talks about his Hulu comedy special Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny on a repeat Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL) - Jay talks about his new virtual reality series Soapstone Comedy Presents on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony discusses his Fox special The Real Full Monty on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Da'Vinchi (grown-ish) - Da'Vinchi is a guest on New York Livng on WPIX in New York at 10:30am.