Monday, February 11, 2008
Strike Update; ME-TV Coming to Milwaukee, Chicago to Launch ME-Too; RTN Coming to Illinois
So the strike has unofficially ended, but it won't be official until after this vote. It is widely expected that the WGA members will indeed vote yes on the new deal and the writers would return to work Wednesday.
So today is technically still day 99 of the strike. And tomorrow is day 100, the last day technically of the strike. How cool is it that this will all end officially on day 100. We will have more on the vote and more details this week.
You all know about ME-TV in Chicago. The local Chicago station (WWME-23) that airs classic TV, well now the same people will bring ME-TV in Milwaukee! ME-TV will launch in Milwaukee March 1 with a lineup that will include programs such as I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Lost in Space.
ME-TV in Milwaukee will be on a new digital subchannel on Channel 58.3 (WDJT). In addition to being available over the air at 58.3, it will have a spot on the Time Warner and Charter digital lineups. For the record, Channel 58's less-than-full power sister channel, WMLW-TV - Channel 41 over the air and Channel 7 on Time Warner Cable - airs at 58.2.
Stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for this new ME-TV station in Milwaukee! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.
Sticking with ME-TV, ME-TV in Chicago is still going strong. It just launched its new Chill with Me winter line-up and added shows such as Gilligan's Island and My Favorite Martian. Now, WWME (ME-TV Chicago) has announced it intends to add classic reruns to WFBT-Ch. 48 and rename it WMEU-TV beginning March 1. WWME-23 has called itself ME-TV. WFBT-48 will call itself ME-Too.
Besides being broadcast and carried by some area cable providers, the channels also will be available on digital sub-channels belonging to sister station WCIU-Ch. 26, WCIU-DT 26.2 and 26.3 respectively.
Between ME-TV and ME-Too, more than 100 different series will be aired! Having ME-Too will allow development of targeted blocks of programming for different demographics. It also will create a classic program stream when sports preempts regularly scheduled shows.
Among the shows we will see will be a Saturday night "pajama party" lineup will feature sitcoms Square Pegs, Silver Spoons, Facts of Life, The Monkees, The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. Also we can expect a Sunday "Noir at Night" block of Route 66, Naked City, 77 Sunset Strip and Boris Karloff's Thriller.
Let's hope ME-TV and ME-Too expand to more cities. It would be nice to have at least a ME-TV in most markets...Chicago and Milwaukee are very lucky! I hope we get one in New York!
As we said about ME-TV Milwaukee's launch schedule, stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for Chicago's ME-Too! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.
Meanwhile, something similar to ME-TV is of course Retro Television Network. RTN is now well over in 50 different markets and growing each day! Retro Television Network announced that it will partner with GOCOM Media of Illinois to bring RTN programming to Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, IL. The network will launch early next year on one of the digital streams of WRSP/WBUI.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Thursday, August 11
Young Sheldon - "Stuffed Animals and a Sweet Southern Syzygy" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sheldon and Dr. Linkletter struggle to solve an equation. Also, Georgie has a solution for Meemaw’s business woes, and George Sr. gives advice on Missy’s love life.
Ghosts - "Sam's Mom" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam and Jay travel to where Sam’s mother, Sheryl (Rachael Harris), died to see if she’s now a ghost. Also, Sasappis divulges a secret to his fellow ghosts that he overheard Sam and Jay discussing.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 8)
Thursday, August 11
- Ashton Kutcher (The Ranch/Two and a Half Men/That '70s Show) - Catch Ashton on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- David Alan Grier (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - David guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Craig Robinson (Killing It/Mr. Robinson/The Office) - Craig will be on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls/The Office) - Ed chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Caroline Rhea (Sydney to the Max/Sabrina the Teenage Witch) - Caroline guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show) - Jerrod is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Wendell Pierce (The Odd Couple/The Michael J. Fox Show/The Weber Show/Cursed/The Gregory Hines Show) - Wendell appears on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey talks about Emily the Criminal and White Lotus on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri guest hosts a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Jamie Foxx (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Jamie Foxx Show) - Jamie is a guest on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
- Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb) - Dave will be on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
- Leah Remini (Kevin Can Wait/The Exes/Family Tools/The King of Queens/Fired Up/Living Dolls) - Leah appears on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
- Zachary Levi (Less Than Perfect) - Zachary is a guest on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (April-August)
04/05 - Up All Night - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
04/26 - The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy) - The Complete Fourth Season
04/26 - Jackie Gleason TV Treasures - 70th Anniversary Collection (including Honeymooners Rarities)
05/03 - No Activity - Season Three
05/13 - The Donna Reed Show - The Complete Seasons 1-5 (Time Life)
05/31 - Becker - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
06/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Eleventh Season
06/14 - Hacks - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/14 - Rutherford Falls - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season One / Season Two
07/19 - The Neighborhood - Season Four
07/19 - Reno 911! - The Hunt for QAnon (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/26 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Three / Season Four
08/16 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season (Warner Bros. - Canada)
08/16 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fourth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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