Thursday, February 07, 2008

Day 95: WGA's Strike; Family Ties Reunion on Today; Nick at Nite News; RTN Adds Maryland Affiliate

Well today is day 95 of the strike. Some shows are actually getting ready to go back into production, which a sure sign the strike will end soon for sure. The big hits like Grey's Anatomy, House, Desperate Housewives, CSI will all for sure return to the air, but some new shows like Dirty Sexy Money, Pushing Daisies, Moonlight could be held back until the fall for more promotional push. Traditional sitcoms like Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Back to You could be back on the air the earliest, as it doesn't take much time for them to get back to work...we could see them back on-air in mid-late March.
As far as single camera sitcoms go, The Office has scripts ready already, so it can get on the air as fast as the traditional sitcoms. Samantha Who has three episodes left, it is a question mark though if ABC will hold on to those until the fall or get back into production right away and get in more episodes for this season. With Dancing with the Stars returning, it makes sense to get Samantha back in production ASAP for this season.
We will certainly know much more when the strike officially ends, on what will return and what won't.

The cast of NBC's Family Ties all gathered for the first time in 18 years on Thursday on NBC's Today show to help promote a new memoir, titled "Sit, Ubu, Sit," by the creator of the iconic 1980's television sitcom, Gary David Goldberg. Joining Gary David Goldberg were Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Justine Batemen and Tina Yothers.
"Had it not been for this book, we would not have had this reunion. This is the first time in about 18 years that we have all been on the same piece of real estate at the same time," said Michael Gross.
You can read more about this reunion that took place this morning, and watch the entire video of it by clicking HERE!
And don't forget the third season is on DVD next week. See our review for details on it and how to order! Sha la la la!

Updating our story from yesterday on Nick at Nite's overnight changes, they will indeed make these changes for the rest of the month at least rather than just this week. So, we will see a pattern of Full House, Roseanne and Cosby Show in the overnights. So Fresh Prince will be just 11pm-12am, joining Home Improvement and George Lopez in primetime, while the other three shows are for late owls.
For the schedule of the overnights, click HERE!

Yet more RTN news! Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it will launch an RTN affiliate in Salisbury, MD. The network will begin airing on WRDE in the 4th quarter of this year on the station's digital channel. The station is currently being acquired by XBC Broadcasting, LLC, pending FCC approval.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, December 8

Norman Lear: A Life on Television

CBS announced the new entertainment special Norman Lear: A Life on Television, to air tonight - Friday, Dec. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs). Presented by Entertainment Tonight, this one-hour special features new interviews with stars of the long-running comedies Lear created, including Jimmie Walker from Good Times and Mackenzie Phillips from One Day at a Time, in addition to never-before-seen interviews from the ET vault. Also included with this new footage and interviews is an in-depth sit-down interview with Lear that ET host Kevin Frazier conducted when Lear celebrated his 100th birthday, in which he reflected on his lengthy, groundbreaking career.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)

Friday, December 8

  • Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • John Caponera (The Good Life) - John is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog aka Robert Smigel chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals) and Molly Gordon (Ramy) - Noah and Molly talk about Theater Camp on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Eric Stonestreet (The Santa Clauses/Modern Family) - Eric talks about The Santa Clauses on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan sits down with Sherri to talk about his new book, When I Was Your Age, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)

Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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11/21 - NBC Winter 2024 Schedule; Netflix Renews Rob Lowe Comedy
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11/16 - Whoa Mama! Urkel Is Back for the Holidays!; Hulu Gets Such Brave Girls Comedy
11/15 - COZI TV's A Very COZI Christmas Schedule; Young Sheldon to End This Season on CBS
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11/13 - Antenna TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule; Rewind TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule
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11/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: SAG-AFTRA Strike Finally Ends; New Digital TV Broadcast Networks Coming
11/10 - AXS TV's The Partridge Family Thanksgiving Marathon; AspireTV Holiday Programming
11/09 - Bookie Premieres November 30 on Max; Ted Lasso Star Holiday Special on Apple TV+
11/08 - FX Renews The Bear for Season 3; Hulu's Australian Original Series Premieres November 29