FX Schedule Changes; Remembering Golden Girls' Estelle Getty, Lifetime Honors Estelle with Marathon on Friday

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

FX Schedule Changes; Remembering Golden Girls' Estelle Getty, Lifetime Honors Estelle with Marathon on Friday

FX made some last minute schedule changes last week (effective July 14) but we didn't have time to inform me as we were swamped with so much other stuff. FX has removed Married...with Children, Dharma & Greg and Buffy the Vampire Slayer from its line-up. The first two were airing weekdays in the daytime while Buffy was airing weekends at 7am. The Practice was only airing weekends 8am but now it seems to be airing more. It is airing weekdays at 8am and weekends 7 & 8am. Also, FX will bring back disgusting reality series Fear Factor back from the dead starting July 28. It won't be airing in set slots, though. Look for it airing Monday afternoons around 1pm, Tuesday nights around 1am, Wednesday afternoons around 1pm & late nights around 1am, and some Thursday afternoons around 1pm.
As for the rest of the schedule, after 1pm the schedule is not really constant, but here is how it looks generally:
Weekdays - 7-8am Malcolm in the Middle, 8am The Practice, 9-10am Spin City, 10am Movie, 12-1pm Spin City, 1-6pm various back to back slots of King of the Hill, That '70s Show and Malcolm in the Middle (with some Fear Factor mixed in around 1pm on some days), 6pm-11pm movies/originals, 11pm-2am usually marathons of That '70s Show or King of the Hill (with an episode of Fear Factor on a few days days around 1am).
Weekends - 7am The Practice, 8am The Practice, 9am-10am Spin City (on some weekends), Movies otherwise, 10am-2am Movies/originals.
These changes are probably temporary (as of now through 9/1, but could be a bit more beyond that) and we will let you know the fall line-up as soon as we know. Married...with Children of course is expiring at the end of August, but we have seen the last of it on FX already (last airing was July 13 at 1am)...it'll be coming to Spike TV and TBS this September, as we have mentioned many times already. No idea if Buffy or Dharma are expiring, though, but we will try to find out. Dharma & Greg will still air on WE tv weekdays 11am-12pm. Bernie Mac is coming this Fall to FX we know in a four-year-deal...more info on that soon. Stay tuned!

We have yet another TV related passing to tell you. This time it is fan favorite Estelle Getty. Estelle of course is best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on the sitcom The Golden Girls. She died this morning (Tuesday, July 22 at 5:35am PT) in Los Angeles. Estelle had been suffering from Dementia with Lewy bodies for the last 8 years or so.
Estelle had been nominated for an Emmy seven times for her role on The Golden Girls, winning in 1988. She was also nominated three times for a Golden Globe, winning in 1986.
Before The Golden Girls, her acting career started in 1978. She got her start in the Yiddish theater, and her most important early role was playing Harvey Fierstein's mother on Broadway in the play Torch Song Trilogy. She then moved on to films, with her most famous ones such as Tootsie (1982) and Mask (1985). She also guest starred on some series such Cagney & Lacey, Hotel, One of the Boys, and Newhart before getting The Golden Girls in 1985. During the run of The Golden Girls, she played Sophia Petrillo on other series as well. She guest starred a few times on the spin-off series Empty Nest. She also guest starred as Sophia on the sitcom Blossom in 1991, an NBC series at the time of The Golden Girls. After The Golden Girls ended in 1992 on NBC, CBS did a follow-up series called The Golden Palace, where the girls work at a hotel. Everyone came back except Bea Arthur (she did guest star a few time though). The sitcom lasted one season and also starred Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin. She once again played the role of Sophia on an episode of the Empty Nest spin-off series Nurses in 1993.
She guest starred on many series not playing Sophia as well. She played herself on episodes of sitcoms such as The John Larroquette Show, The Nanny, and It's Like You Know. She also guest starred on series such as City, The Fanelli Boys, Touched by an Angel, Hollywood Squares, Brotherly Love, Mad About You, and Ladies Man. She continued on film as well with movies such as Stuart Little and The Million Dollar Kid.
Estelle will be deeply missed by not only Golden Girls fans but by all sitcom fans.
UPDATE: This Friday, July 25, Lifetime Television will pay a special on-air and online tribute to Estelle Getty. July 25 is also her birthday. From 12-5PM (ET/PT), Lifetime will air 10 episodes showcasing 'Sophia' in all her blustering, sarcastic splendor, beginning with the show's pilot. The last episode at 4:30PM (ET/PT) will be the #1 favorite "Sophia episode" as decided through a vote of her legion of devoted fans at myLifetime.com.
Estelle would have been 85 on Friday, so she passed away three days before her 85th birthday. I'm sure many of you don't know this, but Bea Arthur is actually a bit older then Estelle, despite Bea playing her daughter on The Golden Girls.
The following was stated on her website:
"To all of Estelle's Fans,
Sadly, today July 22, 2008 at 5:35 a.m. Pacific Time, we said our last good-byes to our little friend Estelle, who passed away and made her journey to the great beyond. Although it was a trip that she never wanted to take, she went gracefully, in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by her family and her very loving care-givers.
Estelle's legacy will live on and on through the comedy and laughter she gave to us all, which will forever keep us laughing out loud."

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, February 20

Young Sheldon - "Pasadena" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon visits CalTech for the very first time. Also, Georgie is furious when Mary listens in on a phone call with his girlfriend, and Meemaw tries to cheer up a jealous Missy.

The Unicorn - "The Client" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Wade lands a job for Denny (Donal Logue), a newly divorced, wealthy client, he realizes Denny is only interested in using Wade to meet women. Also, Meg (Nicole Byer) applies her expertise as an accountant to get Wade’s finances on track, and Forrest and Delia attempt to clear the tension between them by having an argument.

Mom - "Judy Garland and a Sexy Troll Doll" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Bonnie helps Christy gain perspective as she considers a life-changing decision. Also, Jill fears she’s running out of time to have a baby and consults a fertility doctor.

Carol's Second Act - "Carol's Crush" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After Carol’s patient’s transplant surgery is deemed a success, the interns tease her mercilessly about her obvious crush on the surgeon, Dr. Lewis (Patrick Fabian).

Last Man Standing - "Baked Sale" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mike's offer to help Jen with her school's bake sale goes up in smoke; Kyle finds unlikely advice from Joe on where he should enroll in college.

Outmatched - "Dating" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Nicole invites a boy over who isn't ideal boyfriend material, Kay tries to make sure her daughter doesn't end up with a broken heart; Mike attempts to understand Marc's strange crush.

Superstore - "Employee App" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Cloud 9 employees experience unforeseen problems with the new Zephra app. Dina's texts lead to animosity, Glenn struggles to deal with a teen craze, and Jonah attempts to prank Garrett to teach him a lesson.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - "The Jimmy Jab Games II" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Competitive juices are flowing as Jake and the squad compete in the second Jimmy Jab Games.

Will & Grace - "Accidentally on Porpoise" (NBC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Despite her history of transgressions, Grace and her neighbor, James (guest star Matt Letscher), decide to give their relationship one more shot. But when James invites Grace to his job at the aquarium, she endangers his job and a species. In order to help Will deal with his anxiety about becoming a father, Jack takes him to an unexpected place to blow off steam – church. Karen finds herself in a confessional booth, and a visit from Smitty (guest star Charles C. Stevenson, Jr.) makes her reconsider their entire relationship.

Indebted - "Everybody's Talking About the Mental Load" (NBC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After Rebecca tells Dave she carries the emotional labor, aka the “mental load” of the family, he tries to prove otherwise by having her take care of just Deb and Stew for a few days. They both realize they’ve bit off more than they can chew, especially when Dave enlists his mom to help with Rebecca’s mental load.

grown-ish - "Real Life S**t" (Freeform, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Aaron's student loan troubles come to a head when he looks for a job at the Cal U job fair, prompting him to ask Zoey for help; Sky struggles to come to terms with her recent discovery about Rodney; Jillian tries to bond with Zoey.

Everything's Gonna Be Okay - "Blue Death-Feigning Beetles" (Freeform, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Matilda's whole life forks between success and obscurity on the most important night of her life; Nicholas juggles a house full of people and Penny on screen from her hospital bed in Australia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 17)

Thursday, February 20

Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Catch Will on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Scott Bakula (Murphy Brown/Eisenhower and Lutz/Gung Ho) - Scott stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana is a guest on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Jenny Slate (Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Oliver Hudson (Splitting Up Together/Rules of Engagement) - Oliver and his sister Kate are guests on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine visits The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Nick Kroll (The League/Cavemen) - Nick appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jane Levy (Suburgatory) - Jane talks about Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) - Edie talks about Tommy on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Emeril Lagasse (Emeril) - Emeril gives a cooking lesson to a culinary student who fought back after having a stroke on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine talks about High Fidelity on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.