Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Day 87: WGA's Strike; More NATPE Notes; 2 More RTN Stations Added; TV Land Scores Big in January 2008

Today is day 87 of the strike. Various reports are saying the strike could end very soon because the informal negotiations are going well. Let's hope this is true and we get an official announcement soon. If the strike were to end in the next week or two, we could see many of our favorite scripted shows return for a month or two of new episodes this spring! But there are reports shows like Pushing Daisies and Law & Order: SVU would not be able to come back with new episodes until the fall. We'll keep you posted for sure.
In other news, NBC has renewed Celebrity Apprentice for another season. The second season of The Celebrity Apprentice will premiere in January of 2009. The first season wraps up Thursday, March 27 from 9-11pm.

As we did yesterday, we have some more NATPE notes for you.
- Program Partners and 44 Blue Productions have cleared Family Court With Judge Penny, a new syndicated courtroom show, in more than 70% of U.S. markets for this Fall. Clearances include WNYW/WWOR in New York, KTTV/KCOP in Los Angeles, WCIU/WWME in Chicago, WUPA in Atlanta, WBFF/WNUV in Baltimore and KTVT/KTXA in Dallas.
- It looks like The Montel Williams Show is ending after this season. However, CBS TV Distribution will offer 260 episodes of the best of Montel to stations for fall 2008. The show has aired for 17 seasons. Fox stations in the top two markets declined to renew the series for next season.
- NBC Universal's The Steve Wilkos Show was renewed for season two, with clearances in more than 85% of the country including top-market stations WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles, WGN Chicago and WPHL Philadelphia. Top Sinclair stations picking up the show for season two include WTTA Tampa, Fla.; WNUV Baltimore; WTTE Columbus, Ohio; and WLFL Raleigh, N.C., and Fox-owned stations extending their deal include WFTC Minneapolis and KUTP Phoenix.
- Litton Entertainment announced that Storm Stories, an unscripted series based on raw footage of extreme weather, has cleared 70% of U.S. stations. It will launch this fall. It comes from The Weather Channel and features customizable format options with features such as live local news and weather updates from station meteorologists. Major-market stations that have signed on include WABC in New York, KCAL/KCBS in Los Angeles, WGN in Chicago, KYW in Philadelphia, WJBK in Detroit, WSB in Atlanta, WTSP in Tampa, Fla., WJW in Cleveland, KPHO in Phoenix, KUSA in Denver, WESH in Orlando, Fla., KXTV in Sacramento, Calif., KSDK in St. Louis, WPXI in Pittsburgh and WJZ in Baltimore.
Litton has done big so far in NATPE, already selling Baywatch reruns to ION and has Cribs, and Pimp My Ride up for sale for this fall.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Media General to bring RTN programming to Mobile, AL/Pensacola, FL and Columbus, GA. The new affiliates will launch in the second quarter of this year on a digital stream of WKRG, the CBS affiliate in Mobile/Pensacola, and WRBL, the CBS affiliate in Columbus.

TV Land scored its most-watched month ever across several key categories for January 2008, according to Nielsen Media Research (12/31/07-1/27/08). The successful launch of new acquisition Just Shoot Me!, the network's regularly scheduled "Friday Night Movies" which included a telecast of The Jerk and "The Beverly Hillbillies New Year's Eve Marathon" led the network to score double-digit gains in rating and delivery among its target A25-54, core A40-54 audience and total viewers in total day.
In total day, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating (382,000 viewers) among A25-54, up +33% in rating and +33% in delivery over a year ago. The network attracted an average of 782,000 total viewers, up +18% over January 2007. Among its core audience, A40-54, the network scored a 0.5 rating (279,000 viewers), representing a rise of +25% in rating and +29% in delivery over last year. In prime time, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating (460,000 viewers), up+3% in delivery over last year, and among A40-54, the network averaged a 0.6 rating (336,000 viewers). Additionally, TV Land attracted an average of over 1 million total viewers.
For more on the best month ever in the ratings for TV Land, click HERE!

Come on back tomorrow for TV One March and details on Family Matters coming to Nick at Nite. Family Matters will launch on... (sorry you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that!)


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, January 22

Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.

Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)

Wednesday, January 22

  • Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

01/21 - Fox Renews Murder in a Small Town; O.J. Simpson Netflix Docuseries
01/20 - Rewind TV February 2025 Schedule; Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary Score Big for Premieres
01/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 20, 2025)
01/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Frasier Reboot Canceled at Paramount+; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Coming to MeTV Toons
01/17 - Remembering Bob Uecker of Mr. Belvedere, Punky Brewster Creator David W. Duclon, and Others We Recently Lost
01/16 - Apple TV+ Prime Target Trailer; Apple Cider Vinegar Premieres in February on Netflix
01/15 - My Three Sons to Join FETV Lineup Starting February 3; St. Denis Medical Renewed for Season 2
01/14 - Game Show Network Acquires The Wall; NBC's The Hunting Party to Premiere After NFL Divisional Playoff Game
01/13 - Antenna TV February 2025 Schedule; SNL First Two 2025 Episodes Before 50th Anniversary Event
01/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 13, 2025)
01/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Saturday Night Live Hosts Announced; The West Wing Returns to Max After Brief Disappearance
01/10 - The Jeffersons 50th Anniversary Marathon on Antenna TV; FETV to Air Uncut Episodes of Most Series
01/09 - Trailer for Apple TV+ Comedy Mythic Quest; Upcoming Season of Harlem Is Final Season
01/08 - Roy Wood Jr. Comedy Special on Hulu; The Late Show Gets Post AFC Championship Game Airing
01/07 - HGTV's Celebrity IOU New Season; Joey King and Cooper Koch to Announce 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations
01/06 - 82nd Golden Globe Winners; Shoresy Returns in February on Hulu
01/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 6, 2025)
01/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: HBO Cancels The Franchise; Alice Actress Linda Lavin Dies
01/03 - Antenna TV Pays Tribute to Linda Lavin with Alice Marathon; Catchy Comedy Recreates Classic CBS Saturday Night Lineup from the 1970s
01/02 - Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Crossover Event; The Night Agent Returns January 23 on Netflix
01/01 - Happy New Year; Antenna TV's New Year's Day Fresh Start Marathon; ABC's Shifting Gears Official Trailer
12/31 - In Memoriam: Remembering the Sitcom Stars We Lost in 2024
12/30 - Remembering Linda Lavin of Alice; Hulu Releases Chad Powers Teaser
12/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 30, 2024)
12/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Cable Networks No Longer a Priority for Paramount; Paramount+ Removes Vintage Nickelodeon Series
12/27 - Max Renews Creature Commandos for Season 2; Fox's Denis Leary Comedy Gets First Look
12/26 - Cobra Kai Final Episodes in February on Netflix; HBO Slates 13th Bill Maher Comedy Special
12/25 - Merry Christmas from Sitcoms Online; The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Coming to DVD in February
12/24 - 2024 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day TV Marathons
12/23 - Christmas Con Celebrates 5 Year Anniversary; Deli Boys Premieres in March on Hulu
12/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 23, 2024)
12/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Creative Team Put in Place for Big Bang Theory Spinoff; Girls5eva Canceled at Netflix