ABC's Post Strike Schedule; CBS Swaps 'Bang' and 'Mother's' Slots; NBC Announces Classic TV Streaming Episodes

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

ABC's Post Strike Schedule; CBS Swaps 'Bang' and 'Mother's' Slots; NBC Announces Classic TV Streaming Episodes

ABC has saved their post-strike schedule for last, but it is well worth the wait! ABC will return television's biggest hit shows, including Boston Legal, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Samantha Who? and Ugly Betty. Returning first is the hit new comedy Samantha Who? with 6 new episodes (three of those are from pre-strike episodes, so three more new ones will be shot). The show returns Monday, April 7 at 9:30pm following Dancing with the Stars, which will be two-hours on March 24 and March 31 (season premiere on March 17 is 90-minutes). Boston Legal returns next with 6 all-new post-strike episodes also starting Tuesday, April 8 at 10pm. The megahit Desperate Housewives returns on Sunday, April 13 at 9pm for the first of five original episodes and a special two-hour finale (so, seven hours total). What will this mean for Oprah's Big Give? That reality show will launch on March 2 and was supposed to be for 8 weeks (lasting through its April 20 airing), so maybe ABC will move the last two episodes into the 8pm slot giving Extreme Makeover: Home Edition a well deserved two-week break (as the show has done very well in two-hour episodes this season)? We will find out and let you know. The other Sunday hit Brothers & Sisters returns with four all-new post-strike episodes a week later, on Sunday, April 20 at 10pm. The bit Thursday shows will return on April 24 with 5 all-new episodes each for Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy. Lost will move to its new 10:00pm time period on that very same day (Thursday, April 24), with five weeks of original episodes. Lost will end its 8-week run at 9pm, which are the pre-strike episodes, on Thursday, March 20. Three of this season's top hits, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money will return next season with all-new episodes.
Everything else not mentioned scripted wise, is in limbo and has no status yet, which includes According to Jim, Cavemen, Carpoolers, Women's Murder Club, Big Shots, October Road, MEN IN TREES, Cashmere Mafia, Eli Stone, and Notes from the Underbelly. A few of these could return next season...having the best shot is Women's Murder Club and MEN IN TREES. According to Jim always seem to have some life, so it could also return.

CBS's hit freshman comedy The Big Bang Theory will lead off CBS's Monday comedy block when it moves to Mondays at 8:00PM, beginning March 17 when it returns with all-new episodes. This means, How I Met Your Mother, which was airing at 8:00PM, will shift to The Big Bang Theory's former Monday 8:30PM time period when it returns with new episodes on the same night.

NBC Digital Entertainment and NBC Universal Cable Entertainment announced that they are streaming vintage television content on their entertainment websites. Full episode streaming of classic, fan-favorite series including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kojak, Miami Vice, the original Battlestar Galactica, The A-Team and Emergency! will be offered on NBC.com, SCIFI.com, ChillerTV.com and SleuthChannel.com beginning this month.

Here is a full list of shows on each website:

NBC.com
The A-Team
Emergency!
Night Gallery
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Miami Vice
Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Buck Rogers

SCIFI.com
Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Buck Rogers
Tek War
Night Gallery

ChillerTV.com
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Swamp Thing
Tremors
Crow
Night Gallery

SleuthChannel.com
Kojak
Miami Vice
Simon & Simon
The A-Team
Night Gallery

Still to come this week on the blog...full details on Classic TV Reunions happening next week and how the move of Everybody Loves Raymond from Tribune stations to Fox stations will affect New York City.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, January 29

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Dirty Hands and a Barbed-Wire Fence" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Ruben are forced to get their hands dirty when Fred Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher) tries to run them out of business. Meanwhile, Mandy grows suspicious of Georgie’s lies.

Ghosts - "Soul Custody" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam, Jay and the ghosts attempt to extricate Jay from his deal with Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), the devil. Also, Isaac helps Patience (Mary Holland) through a crisis of confidence and Pete and Alberta navigate the fallout from their kiss.

Animal Control - "Lost Dogs and Bar Flies" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Roman Park takes Frank's beloved dog away from him; in an effort to get his dog back, Frank and Shred find themselves on a late-night rescue mission; Patel's house sale spirals.

Going Dutch - "There's No PX Like Home" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
With the celebration of the U.S.'s 250th birthday coming up, the base's festivities are on the line when their supplies are held up by a petty and vengeful Davidson; Team Shiny must pull off a daring undercover mission.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 26)

Thursday, January 29

Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simple Rules/Ladies Man) - Catch Kaley on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kermit the Frog (The Muppets) - Kermit the Frog appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Patrick Dempsey (Fast Times) - Patrick is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Memory of a Killer on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Animal Control on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
J.C. Currais (Just Roll with It) - J.C. is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Andy Cohen interviews Kyle, Kathy Hilton and Paris Hilton on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
Katherine LaNasa (Three Sisters) - Katherine appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. She also talks about The Pitt on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Shrinking on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin talks about Solo Mio on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Annie Potts (Young Sheldon/Over the Top/Love & War/Designing Women/Goodtime Girls) - Annie tells Sherri about her role in Fox's Best Medicine on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will tells Drew all about his awareness campaign for Huntington's disease on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.