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

Wednesday, December 7

The Conners - "The Dog Days of Christmas" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The holidays are approaching and Dan meets his mother-in-law for the first time. Elsewhere, Darlene helps Becky with a parenting problem.

The Golbergs - "Worst Grinch Ever" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sleigh bells are ringing! When Erica buys a festive baby toy, Beverly goes full on Grinch in an attempt to steal Christmas. Meanwhile, Adam discovers some surprising information about Brea, and the JTP host their first holiday party.

Abbott Elementary - "Holiday Hookah" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
On the last day of school before winter break, Janine is convinced by her friend to go to a popular Hookah Club where she runs into unexpected colleagues. Elsewhere, Jacob crashes Barbara and Melissa’s traditional holiday dinner and in the process begins to learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Home Economics - "Santa Suit Rental, $25 Per Day" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The most wonderful time of the year brings some unforeseen financial troubles for one member of the Hayworth family. With the help of the entire brood and some holiday magic, the Hayworths are reminded that there’s nothing better than being home for the holidays.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Mr. Bills" (BET, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Curtis throws a fit about all the money he and Ella are spending, he implements drastic cost-cutting measures; things backfire when Ella follows his direction and begins cutting back on the things he enjoys.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Fight the Power" (BET, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Phillip has been very responsible and begs to drive Jeremy's new car; Jeremy gives him the opportunity to drive, Philip wrecks Jeremy's new car after a night out with his friends.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 5)

Wednesday, December 7

Will Ferrell (The Office/The Oblongs) - Watch Will on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lil Rel Howery (Rel/The Carmichael Show) - Lil Rel appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Kumail is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril/Life's Work/My Wildest Dreams) - Lisa will be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Zoey Deutch (The Suite Life on Deck) - Zoey gives details on the new movie Something from Tiffany's on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy dishes on how she's gearing up for the holidays with her two young children, her new book studio and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Don Cheadle (The Wonder Years/Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Don will be on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Whoopi Goldberg (Whoopi/Bagdad Cafe) - Whoopi sits down with Sherri to discuss her new holiday movie, A New Orleans Noel, book, Two Old Broads and her LEGENDARY Christmas sweater line on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Judy Greer (Reboot/Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided) - Judy talks about Reboot on E! News on E! at 11:30pm.
Liza Lapira (9JKL/Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life/Super Fun Night/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23/Traffic Light) - Liza is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.