Day 47: WGA's Strike; SitcomsOnline.com Interactive: Your Top Sitcom Christmas Episodes; Nick at Nite's Family Initiative

Friday, December 21, 2007

Day 47: WGA's Strike; SitcomsOnline.com Interactive: Your Top Sitcom Christmas Episodes; Nick at Nite's Family Initiative

We are in day 47 of the strike. Two more late night talk shows will go back in production without writers now. This time Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. "We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence. We continue to hold out hope for a swift resolution to the current stalemate that will enable the shows to be complete again," the network said in a statement.
They will go on without writers on Monday, Jan. 7. The WGA was not pleased by the decision: "Comedy Central forcing Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert back on the air will not give the viewers the quality shows they've come to expect. The only way to get the writing staffs back on the job is for the AMPTP companies to come back to the table prepared to negotiate a fair deal with the Writers Guild."
In scheduling news, ABC has indeed moved the last new pre-strike episode of Grey's Anatomy to Thursday, Jan. 10. Literally within minutes of that move, NBC moved Celebrity Apprentice's premiere back to Jan. 3 to avoid Grey's. What a cat and mouse game! NBC is so scared. I hope ABC doesn't move Grey's back to Jan. 3 now. The Donald is dead anyway just as his hair has been dead for years.

After a long lay-off our special feature SitcomsOnline.com Interactive is back! In the past we have asked for similar sitcom plot episodes and what sitcoms you would want to see on ION Television. Since we are very close to Christmas, we will ask you sitcom fans to list your top sitcom Christmas episodes. It could be just two, or 5 or even as high as 10. Make sure you name the show and episode title. If you don't know the episode title, please describe what happened in the episode. For example: Three's Company: "Three's Christmas," Perfect Strangers: the one where Larry can't go home for Christmas, and Diff'rent Strokes: "Santa's Helper."
We are trying to see which holiday episode is the most liked. So, let's get your favorite Christmas episodes ready and post them HERE!
We'll start this now and end it by next Friday, and we'll post the most liked ones here next week!

Just in time to make those New Year's resolutions, Nick at Nite announces the launch of "Kick One, Pick One" (KOPO), the network's new pro-social campaign to encourage families to eat smarter, get fit and spend more time together. Bowing Jan. 1, KOPO is an on-air, online and grassroots initiative campaign that continues Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group's legacy of empowering its audiences with information and tools to help better their lifestyles and communities.
The campaign launches on-air Jan. 1 with funny and fact-filled PSAs and time-anchored lower thirds (graphics at the bottom of the TV screen) communicating KOPO's goals for the New Year: activity, nutrition and togetherness. Additional spots, focusing on breaking a bad habit in 21 days, are scheduled to debut on-air and online throughout 2008. The campaign will run into the fall of 2008, leading up to Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group's annual Worldwide Day of Play celebration. Worldwide Day of Play is a global celebration of kids' and families' KOPO accomplishments for the year.
for complete details, click HERE!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.