Thursday, May 01, 2008

ER Comes to ION Television in June 2008; BET Schedule Changes, Includes Diff'rent Strokes and Different World Memorial Day Marathon

Today is ION Television's upfront! ION Television today announced a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to air seasons 11-14 of the long-running hit series ER on ION Television. The medical drama, which has earned more Primetime Emmy Award nominations than any other program in history, will debut in primetime on the network beginning this June. The show will enter its 15th and final season on NBC next season. We will have more on ER and ION June 2008 in the next week or so, so stay tuned! We also still have the interview with them planned, and hopefully we will know when next week.

BET has made some more schedule changes. And again it is better than before. First off, fans of Diff'rent Strokes and Malcolm & Eddie take note that the episodes will not encore later in the day anymore...but now we will get two new hours each! This started yesterday, so you need to watch or tape both hours immediately. So, Diff'rent Strokes airing 9-10am will not encore 3-4pm later in the day, but that 3-4pm will be new episodes! The same for Malcolm & Eddie...10-11am and 4-5pm are both new episodes. So we get four episodes a day rather than two! So, watch or tape/DVR both hours now. That is good news, I think.
Then, starting this Saturday (May 3), BET has added a sitcom block on Saturdays from 9am-1pm! From 9-10am it will be The Parkers, the Nickelodeon sitcoms Just Jordan and Romeo! will move up an hour to 10-11am and 11am-12pm, and finally closing out the block is two episodes of Diff'rent Strokes from 12-1pm...and yes, they will be new episodes, so you'll need to watch or tape/DVR these as well! Also on Saturday, May 3, we told you A Different World will get a mini marathon block from 8:30-10pm last week, but now it has been extended to 8-10pm...so an extra episode. The show will get weekly Sunday evening airings, but the times vary as I stated last week.
BET has also added Girlfriends for this Saturday only from 10-11pm and 2-3am, while A Different World will encore this Saturday from 3-4am for one time only, preempting Sanford.
Starting next Saturday night (May 10), In Living Color will return and air Saturday nights from 3-4am, replacing Sanford. Sanford fans don't worry because the show will return again to Sundays 12-1pm replacing The Parkers starting May 18, as The Parkers is now Saturdays 9-10am. Remember there is a Thea Mother's Day marathon on May 11 from 12pm-5pm. The marathon episodes of that will be episodes where they left off in the regular run, so we will get (in production order): #11 "Birthday Girl," #12 "Mama I'm Full," #13 "Good Stock," #14 "A Christmas Story," #15 "Danesha's Project," #16 "Who's Zooming Who?," #17 "Of Fish and Men," #18 "T.C.B.," #19 "Call Me Thea," and #20 "The Pie Queen and the Loan Duck," all from 12pm-5pm. So it seems they have aired about every episode of Thea after this...I think just 1 or 2 haven't been aired, so hopefully we get those soon.
Finally, this Memorial Day (Monday, May 26), BET will present a 'different' (or is it spelled Diff'rent?) kind of marathon for viewers! It is the Diff'rent Strokes and A Different World marathon! Diff'rent Strokes will air from 9am-7pm and A Different World from 7pm-3am. We will have episode info for both marathons in a few weeks, so stay tuned for that!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, February 11

St. Denis Medical - "Nobody Even Mentions the Brownies!" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Joyce pushes the staff to upsell patients on hospital procedures, kicking off some fierce competition and a case of mistaken identity; Bruce and Ron try to play plumber for a day.

Night Court - "Ab-ventures in Babysitting" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
An old friend returns and leaves Abby saddled with taking care of a baby during court; the gang tries to stop an influencer from publicly embarrassing the courthouse.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 10)

Tuesday, February 11

  • Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal) - Catch Anthony on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class/The Pitts) - Lizzy appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Mikey Madison (Better Things) - Mikey appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She is telling Drew about working on Oscar nominated film Anora, how director Sean Baker molded the role to her and some of her earliest acting influences on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, she's making her baking debut and sharing her chocolate chip cookie recipe with Drew.
  • Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) - Margaret is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Cecily Strong (Schmigadoon!), Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock), Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory), Cheri Oteri (Sit Down, Shut Up) - Cecily, Rachel, Ana, Cheri and Laraine Newman are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
  • John Lithgow (Trial & Error/Twenty Good Years/3rd Rock from the Sun) - John stops by to talk about New York City Ballet's Carnival of the Animals on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Rickey Smiley (The Rickey Smiley Show) - Rickey sits down for a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE on the unexpected miracle of learning he's the father of twin girls on Tamron Hall, so check your local lisitngs.
  • Selma Blair (Anger Management/Kath & Kim/Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane) and Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/CafĂ© Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Selma is telling Drew about being a boy mom to a 13-year-old son, dating in her fifties and how she has spoken about her health to help others feel seen on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, Selma is sharing one of her favorite simple breakfast dishes with Drew and Valerie Bertinelli.
  • Laverne Cox (Clean Slate) - Laverne talks about starring in the new Amazon series Clean Slate on Sherri, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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