Hallmark Channel and WE TV Acquire The Golden Girls; George Lopez Marathon Scores for Nick at Nite

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Hallmark Channel and WE TV Acquire The Golden Girls; George Lopez Marathon Scores for Nick at Nite

The Hallmark Channel and WE tv have acquired the cable rights to The Golden Girls starting in March 2009 in a shared cable deal. This means the durable sitcom will leave its home of Lifetime Television of 12 years at the end of February 2009. The show has been on the Lifetime since March 1, 1997 (it was renewed a few times) and was one of its highest rated series in the history of the network.
We mentioned a few months back that The Hallmark Channel also has gotten rights to sitcoms Cheers (Fall 2008) and I Love Lucy (January 2009), so they are slowly building towards a sitcom line-up, after having just dramas for many years. It is not certain yet if Cheers and I Love Lucy will also air on TV Land still when Hallmark starts them, but both show's current contracts expire when Hallmark starts airing them.
As for Golden Girls, Lifetime said this in a statement regarding the sitcom moving to Hallmark Channel and WE tv :
"The 'classic' series will depart our schedule after a 12-year run to make room for our next generation of off-net comedies such as the very popular Reba, Still Standing and Will & Grace, as well as numerous original comedies in development, along with the return of the smash hit Army Wives. We wish Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia all the best of luck in their new homes."
We don't have full details yet on WE tv, but it will likely also start when The Golden Girls comes to Hallmark. WE tv currently airs sitcoms in the daytime. Sitcoms that air are Hope & Faith, Kate & Allie and Dharma & Greg. That's a lot of ampersands! They need to get Laverne & Shirley just for the ampersand! Anyway, we will let you know what WE tv says when we find out.
For now discuss the news of Golden Girls leaving Lifetime and coming to Hallmark/WE tv in March 2009 by clicking HERE! Thank you for bein' a friend!

Last week Nick at Nite had its seven night George Lopez "Luck o' the Lopez Marathon" and the marathon helped Nick at Nite all the way to 3rd in cable ratings for all of cable. The marathon aired March 17-23 from 9pm-6am on Sun-Thurs and 10pm-6am on Fri-Sat, so the marathon was all that Nick at Nite aired that week. Nick at Nite had its best week ever as it averaged 2.17 million viewers for the week (approx. 64% higher than the same week last year) and a 1.7 HH rating. The only cable networks that were higher that week were USA Network at a 2.2 HH rating and The Disney Channel at a 1.9 HH rating. Nick at Nite was #1 for the week on cable in the following demos: Teens 12 to 17 and adults 25 to 54; adults 18 to 34 and 18 to 49; and women 18 to 34, 18 to 49 and 25 to 54. George Lopez was all that Nick at Nite aired last week, so it was all George that did this! "I Got This!" In fact, as many as five episodes in the marathon had well over 3 million viewers, which is unheard of for Nick at Nite. Woooopah, as George would say! The previous two weeks, Nick at Nite finished 6th in cable network ratings. The show regularly airs every night at 10:00pm & 10:30pm ET/PT with an encore later in the evening. People are watching, so if you haven't watched yet...check it out because it is actually very funny.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, May 7

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Little Schmoozin’ and a Nose for the News" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie’s plan to get on the news sparks a feud between Mandy and a rival weathergirl. Meanwhile, Mandy tries to use the conflict to help her career.

Ghosts - "Gate-gate" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When an emotion‑driven decision puts Woodstone at risk, Sam and Jay step up to defend what they’ve built. Meanwhile, Isaac struggles to adjust to new surroundings, only to realize that some connections are too important to leave behind.

Animal Control - "Roosters and Moles" / "Donkeys and Weasels" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Templeton is nominated for Animal Control officer of the year, Frank sets out to rescue 24 animals in 24 hours; Victoria and Patel try to find ways to replace pet food that was destroyed in a fire.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 4)

Thursday, May 7

Molly Gordon (The Bear/Ramy) - Catch Molly on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
John Krasinksi (The Office) - John appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny makes a special appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback/No Good Deed/HouseBroken/Web Therapy/Friends/Mad About You) - Lisa stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about The Comeback on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Casey Wilson (The Righteous Gemstones/Black Monday/The Hotwives/Marry Me/Happy Endings) and Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andy Cohen interviews Casey and Andrew on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
Garcelle Beauvais (The Other Black Girl/Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show/Merry Happy Whatever) - NBC's Today catches up with Garcelle in the 9am hour.
Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - NBC's Today catches up with Julie in the 10am hour.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie talks about Lifetime's Love, Again on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. She is covering the news sunny-side up with Drew and Ross on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Kellee Stewart (My Boys) - Kellee shares her fertility journey on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Regina tells Drew all about her action-packed film One Battle After Another on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Teri Hatcher (The Odd Couple/Sunday Dinner/Karen's Song/The Love Boat) - Teri is whipping up a delicious meal in the kitchen with her Desperately Devoted Podcast Co-Hosts onscreen daughter Andrea Bowen and real-life daughter Emerson Tenney on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Fabrizio Guido (Running Point) - Fabrizio talks about Netflix's Running Point on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Jessica Hecht (Special/Red Oaks/What About Joan?/The Single Guy) - Jessica is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.