Thursday, August 28, 2008

BET September Programming Includes Smart Guy; 5 More RTN Stations to Launch in Early 2009; Network Notes

This September BET will launch Judge Karen and Judge Hatchett, as we previously announced, but they will also launch a new sitcom! Since Diff'rent Strokes and a few others leave after this Friday (don't forget the Strokes farewell marathon this Friday from 9am-6pm!), a sitcom void was needed. BET has acquired the rights to air the '90s sitcom Smart Guy from Buena Vista! T.J. Henderson (Tahj Mowry) is a high school sophomore. He isn't just a regular one though. He is a ten-year old tenth grader! After being promoted to high school, T.J. deals with the usual problems of fitting in as a genius, while being a little kid in a big school. Also stars Jason Weaver, Omar Gooding and Essence Atkins. The sitcom was last seen in reruns on The Disney Channel from 1999-2003 with a marathon appearance in fall 2004 for back to school. The series originally ran from 1997-99 on The WB.
BET will launch Smart Guy on Saturday, September 6 with a marathon of the first 10 episodes from 11am-4pm before moving to its regular airing of weekdays at 5:00pm & 5:30pm ET/PT after The Steve Harvey Show starting Monday, September 8.
Other BET portions of the schedule will include Girlfriends airing from 9-10am weekdays starting September 1 and starting September 22 BET will launch Judge Karen at 10am and Judge Hatchett at 10:30am. Back-to-back Hell Date will air in the 11am hour, as the morning "Blackbuster" 10am-12pm movie will be gone. Steve Harvey and Smart Guy round out the daytime weekday series schedule from 4-6pm. Music and rap programming will primarily air elsewhere weekdays, however 11pm and 11:30pm will now will be Judge Karen and Judge Hatchett as well starting Sept. 22. The midnight "Blackbuster" movie follows, as A Different World will now only air sometimes in the 3am hour.
As for weekends, there will be no changes until the weekend of Sept. 27 when Romeo! shifts from the 11am hour to the 9am hour, while Just Jordan remains in the 10am hour, and two hours of Smart Guy airs from 11am-1pm starting Sept. 27 on Saturdays. On Sundays, starting Sept. 28, Judge Karen will air from 1-2pm, no other changes will be made.
Stunts for the month include a marathon of sister station TV Land's original series Family Foreman starring George Foreman on Sunday, Sept. 14 from 1-4pm featuring all six episodes.
Check out the generic BET September Fall 2008 schedule, if you want to see it in a list form.

Retro Television Network (RTN) announced that it has entered into an agreement with New Age Media to launch RTN affiliates in five new markets.
The new affiliates will air on digital streams of WQMY in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania; WPXT in Portland, Maine; WTLH in Tallahassee, Florida; analog station WYPN-CA in Gainesville, Florida; and a new television station in Columbus/Tupelo, Mississippi. The RTN affiliations are anticipated to sign on in early 2009.
These are the first announcements of new RTN affiliates since RTN was sold to Luken Communications...but the first of many to come, so stay tuned!

It's time for another round of network notes! NBC has announced it has picked up nine additional episodes of its sophomore drama Chuck (Mondays, 8-9 p.m. ET) to provide the series with a full-season 22-episode order for 2008-09. The new season launches Monday, September 29.
Fox has announced that Hole in the Wall, the body-bending, global game show, will now air a special preview episode on Sunday, Sept. 7 from 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT following Fox's first NFL doubleheader of the season and as previously announced on Tuesday, Sept. 9 from 9:35-10:00 PM ET/PT following the series premiere of Fringe on FOX. Hole in the Wall will have its one-hour series premiere Thursday, Sept. 11 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on Fox and will air in that slot thereafter. Fox has still not announced what will air Sunday, Sept. 14 from 9:35-10pm following the Fringe pilot encore.
And finally, like I predicted, the season finale of ABC's High School Musical: Get in the Picture will now air on Monday, September 8, 2008 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT and not September 15 as previously reported. The finale will lead-in to the previously announced CMA special from 9-11PM ET/PT. As a result of that change, The ABC Monday Movie of the Week Batman Begins will now air on Monday, September 15, 2008 from 8:00-11:00 PM ET/PT.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, June 8

Young Sheldon - "Pancake Sunday and Textbook Flirting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mary struggles to make new friends while Mandy pushes Georgie to date another woman.

Ghosts - "Alberta's Descendant" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Alberta is thrilled when a living relative, Alicia (Ashley D. Kelley), visits Woodstone to learn more about her, but things take a turn when she hits it off with Todd (Rodrigo Fernandez Stoll), Sam’s podcast co-host. Also, Nigel uses his knowledge of Trevor and Hetty’s secret tryst to try to blackmail Hetty.

Animal Control - "Dogs and Geese" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dispatch radios a report of a goose on the loose; the precinct hosts an adoption day.

Animal Control - "Pigs and Minks" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The team welcomes back Patel even though he is still on suspension; Shred and Victoria are called into the principal's office on a school visit; Rick heads back into the field with Frank.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)

Thursday, June 8

  • Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simple Rules/Ladies Man) - Catch Kaley on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Lea Michele (The Mayor/Scream Queens) - Lea is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Janelle James (Abbott Elementary) - Janelle appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) - Chris will be on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laurie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Boris Kodjoe (The Last Man on Earth/Second Time Around) - Boris is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) - Maitreyi talks about Never Have I Ever Live with Kelly and Mark, (check your listings) and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Eva Longoria (Telenovela) - Eva appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus joins the Tam Fam to discuss the final season of grown-ish on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Nia Long (Uncle Buck/The Cleveland Show/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Nia appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Lauren London (The Game) - Lauren is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Fortune Feimster (Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune appears on a repeat of The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings. She also talks about FUBAR on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Cheers) - Kelsey is telling Rachael about his recent movie, the Frasier revival and what he's got going on next on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
  • Marilu Henner (Evening Shade/Taxi) - Marilu talks about Hallmark's Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica stops by to discuss her involvement with the Tony Awards and her Fox Soul talk show Cocktails with Queens on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Marsha Warfield (Night Court/Empty Nest) - Marsha drops by to talk about her iconic comedy career, her The Book of Marsha comedy tour and finally sees the green room at Sherri that was inspired by her, so check your local listings.
  • Sarah Jessica Parker (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Sarah will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)

Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI) Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI) Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series

01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

06/07 - Hallmark's Christmas in July Programming; The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Launches July 6
06/06 - New Superman Animated Series Coming to Adult Swim; TV Stars Come Together in Netflix Film
06/05 - Shout! TV's ALF Reunion; Hulu's This Fool Season Two Premieres July 28
06/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 5, 2023)
06/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Declares Rating Victories for 22-23 Season; Australian Version of The Office in the Works
06/02 - HBO Renews Somebody Somewhere for a Third Season; Remembering Marlene Clark of Sanford and Son and Other Sitcom Stars We Recently Lost
06/01 - MeTV's Marry Me Block on June 4; TBS Sets Miracle Workers: End Times Premiere Date for July 10
05/31 - Amazon Freevee's Jury Duty Gets Special Release; Stars on Mars Fan Experience
05/30 - 75th Emmy Awards Nominations on July 12; Final Season of HBO's How to with John Wilson
05/29 - Memorial Day 2023 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 29, 2023)
05/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Wins 2022-2023 Ratings Game; Netflix Ends Sharing of Passwords
05/26 - Prime Video Renews Priyanka Chopra Series; Sex and the City 25th Anniversary Event in NYC
05/25 - Brady Bunch House on the Market; The Family Stallone Gets 2nd Season
05/24 - Antenna TV's Father Knows Best Father's Day Fest Marathon; Netflix Gets Glamorous This June
05/23 - CBS Summer 2023 Reality Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces Peanuts Programming
05/22 - More Details on Zoey 102; New Lifetime Movie Series Coming July 8
05/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 22, 2023)
05/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Showtime Looking to Bring Back Two Old Favorites; Disney+ Removing Content
05/19 - Futurama Triumphantly Returns July 24; Final Season of Physical Drops August 2; Primo Premieres May 19 on Amazon Freevee
05/18 - The CW Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Netflix Upfront 2023
05/17 - Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023; Sarah Silverman HBO Special Premieres May 27
05/16 - ABC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; FX's Summer 2023 Slate
05/15 - FOX Announces 2023-24 Programming Slate; iCarly Season 3 Premieres June 1
05/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 15, 2023)
05/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Season Finale Brings Back a Familiar Face; Comedy Central Renews Digman! for Second Season
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Hulu Orders Deli Boys from Onyx Collective
05/11 - CBS Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; The CW Summer Lineup Has Comedies
05/10 - Minx Returns in July on STARZ; Never Have I Ever Final Episodes Premieres June 8, Trailer Drops
05/09 - The CW Acquires Son of a Critch; FX's The Bear Returns June 22
05/08 - NBC's Hot Wheels Gets Celeb Judges; Zooey Deschanel's Max Series Premieres May 23
05/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 8, 2023)