Friday, October 10, 2008

ABC Family November Highlights, Two New Sitcom Pilots Picked-Up; TBS Orders Third Season of My Boys

This November on ABC Family, there will not be any regular schedule changes, so 8 Simple Rules will not return as of now. There is still a lot happening on the cable network in November, though! Sitcom My Wife & Kids will get a lot of special airings: Tuesday, November 4 (following an all-new Lincoln Heights) from 9-10pm, a few 1-2pm airings (Friday, November 14, Friday, November 21, and Wednesday, November 26), and a special Saturday night stunt on Saturday, November 22 from 12am-1:30am.
Lincoln Heights will have an all-day marathon on Tuesday, November 11 from 12-8pm leading into an all-new two-hour finale from 8-10pm. After the finale, original encores airing weeknights at 12 midnight will be off and Whose Line is it Anyway? will air regularly on Mon-Thurs 12-1am.
Movie premieres include Garfield, Curious George, Dr. Dolittle 2, Dr. Dolittle 4: Tail to the Chief, The Bodyguard, and Aladdin. Holiday movie premieres include A Carol Christmas, Unlikely Angel, Snow Dogs, Mrs. Santa Claus, The Family Man and A Dennis the Menace Christmas.
Finally, ABC Family will get a jump start to "25 Days of Christmas" on Sunday, November 16 with a "Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas." The countdown airs Nov. 16-30. Movies like Holiday in Handcuffs, Christmas Caper, Home Alone 3, Home Alone 4, and more. View the full "Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas" schedule.
We will return in the coming weeks with the actual "25 Days of Christmas" schedule for Dec. 1-25....stay tuned! I can't believe we are nearing the holiday season already.

Meanwhile, ABC Family has greenlit two sitcom pilots: Ruby and The Rockits and 10 Things I Hate About You.
10 Things I Hate About You, a half-hour, single-cam series is directed by Gil Junger (who directed the movie as well) and executive produced by Carter Covington, who also penned the pilot script. Based on the hit movie 10 Things I Hate About You, the Stratford sisters are two very different people and that is evident as they start at their new high school with very contradictory goals. Kat is a strong-willed, in-your-face feminist who is looking to save the world and get out of high school as fast as she can. Bianca is a social butterfly whose only concern is that she is popular, by any cost. As they both start the year out bumpy at Padua High, can each girl get what she wants in the end as they navigate the popular crowd, boys and their over-protective Dad? The series is produced by Prodco, Inc.
Ruby and The Rockits, is an ABC Studios' half-hour multi-cam comedy series executive produced by Shaun Cassidy (Invasion) and Marsh McCall (Carpoolers), and directed by Ted Wass. The series follows Patrick Callahan, a former teen idol who has chosen to lead a quiet life with his wife and two sons. But when his former Rockits band mate and brother, David, shows up unexpectedly with his new-found teenage daughter in tow, the Callahan family's life becomes anything but normal. David, who refuses to give up his past glory days, comes to Patrick for help raising Ruby while he continues to tour. Patrick must now put the past with David behind them in order to help raise Ruby and keep order within the rest of the Callahan clan. Ruby and The Rockits was written by former teen idol Shaun Cassidy and Ed Yeager, with teleplay by Ed Yeager. Alexa Vega, Austin Butler, Patrick Cassidy and former Partridge Family teen idol David Cassidy star
New ABC Family original series previously announced are the comedy half-hour series Roommates (multi-cam) and Sophie (sine-camera), both scheduled to debut in early 2009. If these two new pilots make it on air, they will join Roommates and Sophie.

TBS's single camera comedy My Boys is stepping up to the plate again as the network orders a third season of the critically acclaimed original sitcom. TBS has ordered nine episodes of the series, which is set to return first quarter 2009.
The series stars Jordana Spiro as PJ Franklin, a 20-something sportswriter looking for love in Chicago. Surrounding PJ is her mostly male group of friends, played by Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Michael Bunin, Jamie Kaler, with Jim Gaffigan and Kellee Stewart co-stars as essentially the only female influence in PJ's life.
My Boys premiered to critical praise on TBS in November 2006. When the show returned to complete its first season in summer 2007, it scored 22% growth among adults 18-34. The series' second season grew its audience to more than 1.5 million viewers, a 14% increase over the first season.
While that is true, it was losing a lot of its Bill Engvall Show lead-in numbers, so I'm a bit surprised it was renewed for a third year.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, January 24

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "There's Something About the Russos" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Billie's neighbor, Bella Bianchi, sees her using magic, Billie and Milo try to convince her it is fake... until their efforts result in Bella getting stuck in the lair.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Ready Player Wand" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Billie's excited for her first Family Game Night with the Russos, but when she chooses a wizard game, the entire family is transported into it!

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)

Friday, January 24

  • Bill Burr (F Is for Family/Townies) - Watch Bill on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Pauline Chalamet (The Sex Lives of College Girls) - Pauline appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Lucy talks about her film Presence on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Topher Grace (Home Economics/That '70s Show) - Topher talks about Flight Risk on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Broad City/Baby Boom) - Drew is chatting with best friend duo Susie and Joy Behar on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also doing an audience Q & A about love.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Drew is chatting with Morris about starring in Watson on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Martin Lawrence (Partners/Martin/What's Happening Now!!) - Martin stops by to talk about his new standup tour on Sherri, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

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)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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01/03 - Antenna TV Pays Tribute to Linda Lavin with Alice Marathon; Catchy Comedy Recreates Classic CBS Saturday Night Lineup from the 1970s
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01/01 - Happy New Year; Antenna TV's New Year's Day Fresh Start Marathon; ABC's Shifting Gears Official Trailer
12/31 - In Memoriam: Remembering the Sitcom Stars We Lost in 2024
12/30 - Remembering Linda Lavin of Alice; Hulu Releases Chad Powers Teaser
12/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 30, 2024)
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12/27 - Max Renews Creature Commandos for Season 2; Fox's Denis Leary Comedy Gets First Look
12/26 - Cobra Kai Final Episodes in February on Netflix; HBO Slates 13th Bill Maher Comedy Special
12/25 - Merry Christmas from Sitcoms Online; The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Coming to DVD in February
12/24 - 2024 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day TV Marathons