SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Summer 2008 TCA Press Tour: Cable Day 2; More Family Matters on Nick at Nite

It is day two of the cable portion of the summer 2008 TCA press tour and the news keeps coming! AMC is promoting the second season of the hit drama Mad Men, while WE tv is promoting its original series The Locator, premiering Sept. 6. Thousands of people are in desperate need to find someone from their past. For the past 18 years, Troy Dunn has assisted over 40,000 people in doing just that. WE tv's powerful original series follows Troy on intense and emotionally-charged journeys to reunite "half the world with the other half" and bring closure to those seeking it.
Among off-network programming, WE tv has acquired: The Golden Girls (March 2009), Ghost Whisperer (Fall 2009) and the last three seasons of Girlfriends (TBD date).

Moving on to the MTV Networks, Comedy Central is launching a new version of The Gong Show starring Dave Attell and a new comedy starring David Alan Grier titled Chocolate News.
Gone Country returns to CMT featuring more antics from an eclectic cast of mainstream celebrities who move to Nashville with the hopes of writing and recording a country hit, under the guidance of host John Rich. The series returns in August. Also in August, popular cast favorites from season one of Gone Country return for a new foray into country living in Outsiders' Inn. Maureen McCormick is among the celebs returning.
TV Land is touting its original series Family Foreman, launching July 16. This six episode series gives viewers an intimate look at George Foreman, the former heavyweight boxing champ who reinvented himself as a successful businessman and pitchman. Viewers will get a rare glimpse into his home life as a minister and father of ten children, five of whom are also named George Edward Foreman.
Off-network wise, TV Land will add Scrubs, sharing it with sister station Comedy Central, this September, while also returning The Cosby Show.
VH-1 has two all-new series in the works starring celebs. Vivica A. Fox, actress, producer and fashion luminary, is bringing her celebrity style to a new competition show ripped from the pages of fashion magazines. This new series searches for the next great celebrity stylist who has what it takes to become the stylist to the stars through their ability to create a chic masterpiece using the three key elements of fashion - hair, make-up and wardrobe. The series is called Glam God and will be hosted by Fox herself. VH1 is also going to air a show called The Cho Show. This series follows the irrepressible Margaret Cho and her eccentric entourage as she fights to be herself in an industry that in the past wanted her to be something other than herself.
Meanwhile, MTV is promoting its new series From Gs to Gents, which launches next Tuesday. From executive producer Jamie Foxx, this series showcases a group of guys competing to become gentlemen.

National Geographic Channel will have an "Expedition Week" in November. This first annual Expedition Week embarks on seven straight nights of daring missions, from the ancient pyramids to the ocean depths, and from lost cities to outer space with the latest generation of intrepid explorers. Premieres include: Unlocking the Great Pyramid, Live from the Moon, Shipwreck! Captain Kidd, The Real George Washington, Explorer: Lost City of the Amazon, Egypt Unwrapped, and Herod's Lost Tomb.
But before that, in September Nat Geo will premiere two series, one is a returning series. Dogtown returns for another season, but this time they will be saving the Michael Vick dogs! Also, they will premiere World's Toughest Fixes. This new series takes viewers around the world and inside some of the most daunting repair jobs imaginable.

Moving on to the A&E Networks...first up is A&E itself. A&E is launching a new drama next Tuesday titled The Cleaner. Inspired by the true story of a real life "extreme interventionist," Benjamin Bratt stars as William "The Cleaner" Banks who, after hitting rock-bottom from his own addictions after the birth of his daughter, strikes a tentative deal with God.
Biography Channel (aka Bio) announced the pickup of Shatner's Raw Nerve, an offbeat celebrity interview series hosted by Boston Legal and Star Trek star William Shatner. It will premiere August 19 at 10pm. Among his guests will be ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy, Valerie Bertinelli, Jon Voight, Judge Judy, Jenna Jameson and Kelsey Grammer. Also in development at Bio are The Chris Isaak Hour (Isaak talking to music celebs), Female Forces (a female version of Cops), Why I Ran (police chases).
History will have two series coming in the fourth quarter. Sandhogs and Einstein. Working in extremely hazardous conditions, Sandhogs toil underneath the streets just as they have for the past 150 years. Having built nearly every underground project in New York City, they are an instrumental part of the development of the city. This new "American Original" series Sandhogs puts the spotlight on a world rarely seen, but one that is integral to the lifeblood of America's largest city.
Einstein is the extraordinary history of Albert Einstein's quest, lasting two decades, to prove his universe-shattering Theory of General Relativity. Einstein asked the world's astronomers to chase a solar eclipse, and photograph the elusive ripple in space. Eventually, he became a global icon unlike any other before or since. Today, Einstein's ideas continue to push scientists farther, and deeper, into the Universe than even he could have imagined. Filmed in the U.S. and Europe, the special is enriched by interviews with leading physicists, astronomers, astrophysicists, science historians and Einstein scholars.

Nick at Nite has made more overnight changes to its line-up. The changes will occur on weekend late nights. Late Friday nights (early Saturday morning), from 4-5am will be more Fresh Prince replacing The Cosby Show and 5-6am will be more Family Matters replacing Roseanne on this night. On Saturday nights (early sunday morning) Nick at Nite gives us a third hour of Family Matters airing 3-4am replacing an hour of Roseanne. Finally, on Sunday nights (early Mondays) we get an hour of Family Matters airing 2-3am replacing yet another Roseanne hour.
Confused? Then I suggest you head on to our message boards to see how the full line-up will be after these changes. Here is the Family Matters airing scorecard: Sun-Thurs 8:30 & 11pm (encores 4-5am), Fridays 12am & 5-6am, Saturdays 12-1am, 2-3am, & 3-4am, and Sundays 11pm-12am & 2-3am ET/PT. I am still updating the upcoming episodes list for you fans out there, since these changes are hard to follow. The Urkeman is certainly back in style in primetime!