Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Lifetime Picks-Up Original Sitcom; Three Original Bill Cosby Sweaters Up for Auction; Remembering Bill Dial

Marking a significant expansion of original programming, Lifetime Television has ordered 13 episodes of the half-hour comedy, Rita Rocks, from Media Rights Capital (MRC). Premiering this fall, the series stars all comedy veterans Nicole Sullivan (The King of Queens, MADtv), Richard Ruccolo (Joey, Two Guys and a Girl) and Tisha Campbell-Martin (My Wife and Kids, Martin).
In the series, Sullivan stars as Rita Clements, unfulfilled by her harried life as a married working mom, regains her identity by recreating her glory days as a musician in a garage band. The series will premiere this fall as part of a one-hour comedy block with the top-rated Reba repeats. Rita Rocks is Lifetime's first original sitcom in a decade.
Rita Rocks joins an array of original programming airing on Lifetime this fall, broadening its leadership in all genres, including Original Movies, Original Series and Reality Series. Lifetime Original Movies are the #1 rated among women. Beginning in September, the star-studded slate of original movies includes: Sex & Lies in Sin City starring Mena Suvari and Matthew Modine; Coco Chanel"starring Shirley MacLaine, Barbara Bobulova and Malcolm McDowell; Living Proof executive produced by Neil Meron, Craig Zadan and Renee Zellweger, and starring Harry Connick, Jr.; Killing Mr. Kissel starring John Stamos and Flirting with 40 starring Heather Locklear.
Lifetime's most-watched series in its history (which is airing originals currently), Army Wives, will return with more original episodes in November, including a special two-hour season finale. And premiering this November, the hit reality competition series Project Runway with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn moves to Lifetime.

You have a chance to own three popular sweaters Bill Cosby wore on The Cosby Show as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable! Mr. Cosby is auctioning them on eBay for a good cause. These three sweaters were worn on The Cosby Show by Bill Cosby between seasons 3-8. It will come with a dated and hand signed letter from Mr. Cosby himself authenticating this. It will also come with a separate letter from the sweater designer, Koos Van Den Akker, indicating that he made this sweater for Bill Cosby for The Cosby Show.
Bill Cosby's sweaters have never before been made available to the public. The sweaters were custom made by Koos Van Den Akker, and only his designer label appears with no size marking indicated. They are approximately size large. The one-of-a-kind sweaters were specifically designed for Bill Cosby and are collages primarily composed of woolens and cottons.
All proceeds from the sale of these legendary Heathcliff Huxtable sweaters will benefit the Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation. The non-profit educational organization was established in 1997 by the Cosby family to continue the legacy and life's work of Ennis Cosby, who was about to begin his doctoral studies in education at the time of his death.
Jimmy Kimmel is promoting the sweaters by wearing each of the three sweaters on three nights, last night, tonight and tomorrow night on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, late nights on ABC. He wore sweater #2 from the auction last night. Check Jimmy modeling them out, as he wears them for the entire show! To bid on these items, head on over to eBay:
Sweater #1
Sweater #2
Sweater #3
This is your chance to own a piece of Cosby Show history and help out a good cause at the same time! The Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation is dedicated to fulfilling the goals and dreams of Ennis Cosby. The Foundation equips teachers, parents and students with the practical information and educational tools needed to understand and address the needs of all learners before they experience the corrosive effects of frustration and failure. The Foundation was established in 1997 by Bill and Camille Cosby as a 501(c)(3) public charity.

Finally we leave you today with news that Bill Dial has passed away. He died of a heart attack on Monday, June 2 in South Carolina, where he moved to after retiring from the business in 2001. Bill was most known as a writer, producer, and actor on the hit sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. He wrote five episodes for this series during its first season (1978-79), the most famous of which was his first, entitled "Turkeys Away." He guest starred on the series even for a few episodes playing the station's beer-drinking engineer, Bucky Dornster.
After WKRP, he wrote and/or produced series such as Harper Valley P.T.A., Legmen, Simon & Simon, E.A.R.T.H. Force, Evening Shade, and some TV movies. In 1991, Dial returned to his claim to fame as an executive producer and writer on The New WKRP in Cincinnati, a follow-up series to the 1970s sitcom. The New WKRP aired in first-run syndication for two seasons. His later credits included writing and producing Time Trax, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Team Knight Rider, Sliders, Legend, and Spike TV's 18 Wheels of Justice. He will be missed, especially by WKRP fans. WKRP in Cincinnati can be seen nationally on cable Sunday evenings on WGN America and Monday nights on AmericanLife TV. Mr. Dial was 66.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

  • Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
  • Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
  • Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Ropers - The Complete Series Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
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)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

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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