Day 79: WGA's Strike; Network Notes; Remembering Lois Nettleton

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Day 79: WGA's Strike; Network Notes; Remembering Lois Nettleton

Today is the 79th day of the strike and we might have some good news! Tomorrow could be a key day. Why? See the WGA statement below:
On Wednesday, January 23, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will begin informal discussions to determine if there is a basis for both parties to return to formal negotiations. Both the AMPTP and the WGA have agreed to make no public comments about the informal discussions until those discussions have concluded.
Meanwhile, NBC will bench Medium on Feb. 4 and 11. It was already slated to be preempted next week, as the State of the Union is scheduled. On Feb. 4 and 11, NBC will air 90-minute episodes of American Gladiators and Deal or No Deal from 8-11pm.
ABC counteracted today by slating a 90-minute Dance War on Feb. 4. I wouldn't be surprised if they do the same for Feb. 11 and maybe a two-hour finale on Feb. 18. So it doesn't seem Samantha Who will air its all-new final few pre-strike episodes until maybe with Dancing with the Stars in March. Too bad, but worth the wait since it is the best new sitcom. We will get a repeat at 10:30pm next Monday, though!

We keep losing TV stars so far in early 2008. Two-time Emmy winning actress Lois Nettleton died this past Friday in Woodland Hills, CA, after a long bout with lung cancer. A veteran of the Broadway stage, films and television, Nettleton recieved Emmys for the daytime special The American Woman: Profiles in Courage in 1977 and for A Gun for Mandy in 1983 an episode of the syndicated religious anthology Insight. She received an additional three noms as guest star in Last Bride of Salem and The Golden Girls and supporting actress in the drama In the Heat of the Night.
She has guest starred on many TV series such as Crossing Jordan, Coach, Seinfeld, Murder She Wrote, Full House, Mr. Belvedere, The Facts of Life, Hotel, Cagney & Lacey, Trapper John MD, The Love Boat, The Streets of San Francisco, Petroceli, Medical Center, Hawaii Five-0, Kung Fu, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and so many more. She was also a familiar face to the game show community, appearing on many game shows such as $10,000 Pyramid and Cross-wits.
She will certainly be missed. Ms. Nettleton was 80.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 15

St. Denis Medical - "A Waste of Time and Marble" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
With the threat of a nurse walkout, Alex is caught between her colleagues and Joyce; Ron and Bruce go above and beyond to help an unexpected patient.

The Paper - "Churnalism" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned takes over Esmeralda's advertorials and assigns the staff to test products themselves, but Esmeralda retaliates and covers one of Ned's stories and finds a scandal; Ken turns Adam into a lab rat; Oscar and Adelola compare pain tolerances.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 15)

Monday, December 15

Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Watch Simu on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Copenhagen Test on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Andy Cohen interviews Kerry on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
Odessa A'zion (I Love LA/Fam) - Odessa talks about Marty Supreme on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti treats us to an EXCLUSIVE festive performance of It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Kate Hudson (Running Point) - Kate talks about Song Sung Blue on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank and The EZ Street Band stop by for a chat and performance on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - NBC's Today catches up with Ana in the 10am hour.
Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie tells Sherri about starring in The Family McMullen, the sequel to The Brothers McMullen, on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap) - Ashley talks about the highly-anticipated fifth season of Emily in Paris on Netflix on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Glen talks about The Running Man on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
William H. Macy (Sports Night) - William talks about Netflix's Train Dreams on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Andy talks about ABC's Dancing with the Stars on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.