BET Adds More Thea to Weekends; ION Upfront To Be Held May 1, Minor Schedule Change

Thursday, March 06, 2008

BET Adds More Thea to Weekends; ION Upfront To Be Held May 1, Minor Schedule Change

As you all know BET has added the short-lived 1993-94 season sitcom Thea to weekends along with short lived 1980 sitcom Sanford. Thea is airing Saturday nights at 3am and Sunday afternoons at 12pm...with Sanford as its lead-in both times (2:30am and 11:30am). Now BET has announced it will air more Thea! Effective this Saturday (March 8), BET will air Thea also Saturday mornings at 9am and 9:30am, replacing Diff'rent Strokes. This is not a big loss for Diff'rent Strokes because the Saturday airings were only repeats of Monday's airings, and Strokes will still air weekdays from 9-10am.
As for Thea, we will now get two episodes a week rather than just one. 9-10am episodes are two new episodes and they will repeat one each on Saturday night at 3am and Sunday at 12 noon. So, if you're DVRing, TiVoing, recording Thea, back-to-back 9-10am Saturday mornings is your best bet.
Don't forget also to tune in this Saturday from 10am-11pm for the Sanford marathon as we set our clocks San"forward" for the spring, as all 26 episodes of the short-lived revival series starring Redd Foxx will air, including the three-part pilot episode.

ION Media Networks, Inc. announced today that it will display its new programming and marketing initiatives for the 2008-2009 television season at its second annual Upfront sales presentation. The event, aimed at the advertising community, will be held on the evening of Thursday, May 1st at the New York Public Library.
ION Television recently announced it will be adding the hit series Boston Legal to its Fall 2008 primetime lineup. Also coming to the network will be the timeless comedic drama, M*A*S*H.
ION Television already has made some significant additions to its primetime schedule in 2008, launching the beloved sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, on New Year's Day, and debuting the multi-generational TV staple, Baywatch, earlier this week. Original movies from RHI Entertainment, such as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Aces 'N Eights, set to premiere March 15th, also have contributed to the increased excitement at the network in the first quarter of the year.
Meanwhile, due to low ratings, ION has canceled the infomercial program Firebrand TV. Firebrand took a curated approach to Madison Ave., selecting flashy spots from blue-chip advertisers ranging from Coca-Cola to 24 Hour Fitness. The show was airing weeknights at 11pm and it will be replaced with real infomercials now starting Monday (March 10). No joking.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, May 22

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Diet Crap" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tensions rise when Georgie intrudes on Mandy’s new sales gig. Meanwhile, Audrey’s conflicted when Jim makes it a point not to coddle Connor.

Ghosts - "Sad Farnsby" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Sam accidentally creates a rift between Sam and Jay’s neighbors, the Farnsbys, Henry Farnsby moves into Woodstone B&B. Also, Isaac and Nigel battle over a belated wedding present.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 19)

Thursday, May 22

Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) - Catch Miley on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Chloe Fineman (Big Mouth/Search Party) - Chloe appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. Featured host Vlad Duthiers sits down with Ronny on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Elizabeth Banks (30 Rock/Scrubs) and Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Elizabeth and Amanda are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
Cynthia Nixon (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Cynthia talks about ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Hugh Jackman (Human Resources) - Hugh chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Bill Bellamy (Mr. Box Office/Men, Women & Dogs/Cousin Skeeter) - Bill brings the laughs to the third annual cookout on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Finola Hughes (Blossom) - Finola dishes on General Hospital on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Jason Schwartzman (Blunt Talk/Mozart in the Jungle/Bored to Death) - Jason talks about Mountainhead on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling is telling Drew all about playing a secret service agent in the thrilling new show Paradise on a repaet of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Midori Francis (The Sex Lives of College Girls) - Midori is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.