Tuesday, August 26, 2008
ABC Orders 5 Additional Series for Mid-Season; TBS Orders House of Payne Spin-Off; Network Notes
Anyway, these 5 additional series will be added for mid-season and will join previously announced mid-season entries, like the animated comedy The Goode Family, The Untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks Reality Project and the ABC premiere of Scrubs, along with returning series According to Jim, The Bachelor, Lost and ABC News' Primetime: What Would You Do.
Castle is is a comedic crime procedural about a famous mystery novelist, Nick Castle, who has gotten bored with his success and stars Nathan Fillion as Castle, Stana Katic as Beckett, Molly Quinn as Alexis, Susan Sullivan as Martha, Monet Mazur as Gina and Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Capt. Montgomery.
Cupid is a romantic dramedy about Trevor, a larger than life character who may or may not be the Roman god of love Cupid, sent to earth to bring couples together and stars Bobby Cannavale as Trevor, Sarah Paulson as Claire, Rick Gomez as Felix and Camille Guaty as Lita.
The Unusuals is a unique comedic procedural set in a New York police precinct. As a cop it helps to have a twisted sense of humor, because every moment could be your last, and the series stars Amber Tamblyn as Det. Casey Schraeger, Jeremy Renner as Det. Joe Walsh, Terry Kinney as Sgt. Harvey Brown, Kai Lennox as Det. Ed Alvarez, Harold Perrineau as Det. Leo Banks, Adam Goldberg as Det. Eric Delahoy, Monique Gabriela Curnen as Det. Allison Beaumont and Joshua Close as Henry Cole.
Better Off Ted is a satirical office comedy featuring a successful but morally conscious man, Ted, who runs a research and development department at a morally questionable corporation, Veridian Technologies and stars Jay Harrington as Ted, Andrea Anders as Linda, Portia de Rossi as Veronica, Jonathan Slavin as Phil, and Malcolm Barrett as Lem.
Single with Parents is a comedy about Lou, a woman in her mid-30s who is determined to have her own life despite her crazy blended family getting in the way and stars an all-star cast of Alyssa Milano as Lou, Annie Potts as Elizabeth, Beau Bridges as Joe, Amanda Detmer as Sasha, Meagan Fay as Nancy and Eric Winter as Charlie.
Read the Press Release for more on these five pick-ups. For more on ABC's pilots in development read the full pilots in development and view photos of the casts of these potential series.
After bringing his unique style to TBS with the enormously popular sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Tyler Perry is preparing to add to his successful track record with a spin-off based on characters of his popular play and hit movie, Meet the Browns. TBS has ordered 10 episodes of the new sitcom, which comes to the network also from Debmar-Mercury and is slated to premiere in January 2009. As he does for House of Payne, Perry is once again serving as executive producer and director, as well as occasionally writing for the series.
Meet the Browns stars David Mann as Leroy Brown, a character who earlier this year was featured in Perry's hit film of the same name. He has also appeared in several episodes of House of Payne. Perry's new series begins after Brown inherits a dilapidated house from his deceased father.
House of Payne began in 2006 with a 10-episode experiment in select markets that produced strong ratings, leading TBS to order a full-fledged series with an unprecedented 100 episodes. House of Payne will be available for off-network syndication this fall as well airing on local stations such as WWOR in New York and WCIU in Chicago.
We will certainly have more in the future about Meet the Browns on TBS.
CBS is moving the season premiere of Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden to Thursday, Sept. 25 now with a two-hour premiere from 8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT, marking the first-ever two-hour premiere for any edition of the long-running hit series.
The premiere of Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden was originally announced for Thursday, Sept. 18 from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT.
The premiere of Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden, which will also be the first edition broadcast in high definition, will be followed by a rebroadcast of last season's CSI cliffhanger finale at 10:00 PM ET/PT.
CBS made this move because they decided to launch CSI and new drama The Eleventh Hour on Oct. 9 due to a Presidential Debate on Oct. 2. So a void was needed on the first Thursday of the season, which is Sept. 25.
Meanwhile, as CBS moves Survivor back a week, The CW is moving new reality series Stylista up a week! It will now launch Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 9:00 PM (rather than Oct. 29, as previously announced). The CW is airing 90210 repeats in the slot, behind America's Next Top Model, in the weeks beforehand.
Finally, ABC is scheduling new and expanded Wipeout episodes. On Tuesday, September 9, an all-new Wipeout will air in the special 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT slot. Wipeout will still also air and be all-new in its regular 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT slot as well on that date...so two new episodes on that date! As a result, the Tuesday, September 2 episode at 8PM will be a repeat now against the premiere of The CW's 90210, but tonight (August 26) is still all-new as the hilarious series returns from the Olympic break...tune in! Also, the Wipeout season finale (previously scheduled for Sept. 9, 8-9pm) is now scheduled to air as a 90-minute episode on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 now from 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT followed by an interesting 90-minute special Primetime: UFO's...Seeing is Believing from 9:30-11:00 PM ET/PT. On Sept. 9, the two new Wipeout episodes will go face-to-face with Fox's launch of the 95-minute Fringe and 25-minute Hole in the Wall and on Sept. 16 the 90-minute Wipeout will face the season premiere of Fox's House and the first half-hour of Fringe and the season premiere of NBC's The Biggest Loser. It'll be tough but Wipeout will likely face the task well. As a result, the season finale of High School Musical: Get in the Picture is now on Monday, September 15, 2008 in its normal 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT time period and not two-hours on a special night (Sept. 16) like previously reported, so three more weeks to go for the ratings dud unless it gets pulled before then. ABC should move the next three episodes to Fridays. We will keep you up to date on our message board if it gets pulled or moved.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, September 17
The Conners - "Young Love, Old Love and Take This Job and Shove It" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene worries about Mark making friends at his new school; Mark turns to Ben for personal advice; Becky finds herself thriving in college and starts thinking about her future plans.
The Conners - "Let's All Push Our Hands Together for the Stew Train and the Conners' Furniture" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jackie devises an offbeat plan of how to serve the customers at the diner, it's anything but smooth service; Dan begins to sell some furniture to make room for his new bride and her things.
The Conners - "Yard Sale, Phone Fail and a College Betrayal" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
As Louise starts to move into the Conner's home, Dan decides to sell the furniture set he bought for Roseanne when they were first married; but finds it harder than he thought it would be.
The Conners - "Three Exes, Role Playing and a Waterbed" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene brings Nick to the hardware store, where they run into Ben, who invites Nick to join him at The Lunch Box to watch a Bears game; Dan tries to spruce up the bedroom while Louise is out on the road; Jackie meets Logan's mom.
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "The Chicken or the Egg" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Curtis searches for reasonably priced eggs in the middle of a city-wide egg shortage; Lisa attempts to gain professional work experience by going to work with the Paynes.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Dying for Love" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Cora has been contacted by an old crush from high school who shows up, and to her surprise, he proposes; Leah gets concerned when Jeremy starts coming home later than usual and spending time with single friends she's never met.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 16)
Tuesday, September 17
- George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Catch George on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Mick) - Kaitlin appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Lily Collins (Emily in Paris) - Lily is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Brian appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ms. Pat (The Ms. Pat Show) - Ms. Pat is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri stops by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
- Halle Berry (Living Dolls) - E! News has an interview with Halle at 11pm on E!.
- Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - NBC's Today has Hispanic Heritage Month: Eva Longoria Shining a Light on Latina Small Businesses some time between 7-9am.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh talks about his new children's book PictureFace Lizzy on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your listings) and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer talks about An American Story: Everyone's Invited on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael talks about Transformers One on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap - Ashley talks about Emily in Paris ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Eve (Eve) - Eve opens up in her new memoir, Who's That Girl?, on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Marlon Wayans (Marlon/The Wayans Bros.) - Marlon talks about his Wild Child comedy tour on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel talks about Fox's Crime Scene Kitchen on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel discusses his new game show Flip Side on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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)
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