Friday, December 05, 2008

Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna Show on TV Land Soon?; Remembering Paul Benedict (Mr. Bentley on The Jeffersons)

Celebrity couple Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin are possibly ready to expose their lives to the cameras in an unscripted project for TV Land.
The network has ordered a pilot presentation of a project that would follow the lives of the husband-and-wife duo along with their two daughters. The project is executive produced by Jason Carbone. Both Hamlin and Rinna appeared on separate seasons of Dancing with the Stars as well.
Should TV Land go forward with the project, said to have generated interest from a few cable networks, it will go straight to a half-hour series pickup targeted for a 2009 debut.
While that series might not be picked-up yet, there is some hard news for the actual schedule. The weather outside may be frightful but TV Land is keeping viewers warm throughout the winter season with a hearty helping of touching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episodes, exciting theatrical releases in Friday PRIME Movies, the second season premiere of the hit reality series High School Reunion and the spring premiere of the much-anticipated elimination dating series The Cougar during its TV Land PRIME programming block. Additionally, TV Land will air a hilarious New Year's Day marathon and ring in 2009 with Jan-centric episodes of The Brady Bunch.
We have mentioned all that, but just a reminder of some of the stuff to come!

Paul Benedict, the actor who played the wacky English neighbor Harry Bentley on the sitcom The Jeffersons, has died. But his death is pretty mysterious. Benedict was found dead Monday (December 1) on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts...his brother, Charles said authorities were still investigating the cause of death.
Benedict began his acting career in the 1960s in the Theatre Company of Boston, alongside such future stars as Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.
Benedict went on to appear in a number of movies, including a role as the oddball director in The Goodbye Girl with Richard Dreyfuss.
But he was known primarily for his role as the crazy neighbor to George Jefferson on The Jeffersons from 1975-1985. The accented speech that he used even offstage led many to assume that Benedict was British, but in fact he was born Sept. 17, 1938, in Silver City, N.M. His other TV credits include guest roles on All in the Family (the backdoor pilot episode for The Jeffersons), Maude, Harry O, Kojak, Murder She Wrote, A Different World, Tales from the Crypt, Morton & Hayes, Seinfeld, Guiding Light, The Drew Carey Show, and a recurring role on Sesame Street as "The Mad Painter" in the early 1970s.
His other movie roles include After the Sunset, The Man with Two Brains, The Addams Family Movie, Cocktail, and Arthur 2. On Broadway he played opposite Al Pacino in the 2-man Broadway play Hughie (by Eugene O'Neill) in mid '90s and in 2000 he played Mayor Shinn in The Music Man.
We will certainly miss him. He was wonderful and hilarious on The Jeffersons, and let's hope TV Land does a tribute marathon for him. If they do, we will certainly let you know. If not, as a tribute to him, let someone walk on your back! Leave your memories of Paul Benedict on our message board. Mr. Benedict was 70.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, September 21

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 18)

Thursday, September 21

  • Justin Long (F Is for Family/Ed) - Catch Justin on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • America Ferrera (Superstore) - America is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Gabriel Iglesias (Mr. Iglesias/Cristela), Robert Kelly (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll), John Witherspoon (The First Family/The Tracy Morgan Show/The Wayans Bros.) - Gabriel, Robert and John (RIP) are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Heather Dubrow (Stark Raving Mad/Jenny/Life with Roger) - Heather and Terry Dubrow are guests on E! News at 11pm on E!.


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

Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition)

06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

09/20 - Paramount+ Announces Colin from Accounts; The Really Loud House Gets Halloween Movie
09/19 - The Simpsons Season 34 Streams October 11 on Disney+; Good Burger 2 Set for Holiday Season
09/18 - Hulu's Huluween and Disney+'s Hallowstream Line-Up; Shining Vale Returns October 13 on STARZ
09/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 18, 2023)
09/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Cancels Wonder Years Reboot; Byron Allen Makes $10 Billion Offer to Buy ABC
09/15 - Antenna TV's Bewitched Halloween Marathon; Rewind TV's Sabrina the Teenage Witch-O-Ween Marathon
09/14 - Dancing with the Stars Season 32 Cast; BUZZR Celebrates 40 Years of Press Your Luck
09/13 - TBS Acquires Modern Family; The Frasier Awards on COZI TV
09/12 - Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen Gets CBS Late Night Run; Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy Special
09/11 - Matt Rife Gets Netflix Special; Star Trek Day and Kid Cudi Join Forces
09/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 11, 2023)
09/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner Bros. Television Suspends Deals with Top Creators; Fran Drescher Re-Elected President of SAG-AFTRA
09/08 - CBS Announces Hosts of Game Show; New Goosebumps Premieres Friday the 13th This October on Disney+ and Hulu
09/07 - MeTV Presents Svengoolie's Halloween BOOnanza!; The CW Moving Fall Comedies to Thursdays
09/06 - CBS to Air NCIS: Sydney This Fall; Fox Makes Fall Change
09/05 - TBS and TNT September Stunts Include Big Bang Theory Batman Day Marathon; Netflix UK Produced Series Updates
09/04 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2023 Include Three's Company
09/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 4, 2023)
09/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: No Third Season for How I Met Your Father; Spectrum Dispute with Disney Could Spell End of Cable
09/01 - September Is Anniversary Month on Hulu; Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween Returns for Its 25th Anniversary
08/31 - Max's Original Comedy Series Starstruck Season 3 and Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Premiere Dates; AXS TV Announces Fall Programming Lineup
08/30 - The Partridge Family Coming to AXS TV Starting Oct. 2; CBS to Air A Tribute to Bob Barker Special Aug. 31, Marathon of Match Game Episodes to Air Sept. 2 on Game Show Network
08/29 - Once Upon a Time Coming to Hulu; Young Love Launches on Max in September
08/28 - Remembering TV Legend Bob Barker; Wolf Like Me Returns in October on Peacock
08/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 28, 2023)
08/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Frasier Reboot Date Set, With CBS Also Airing First Two Episodes; Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. Cancelled
08/25 - Rick and Morty Returns October 15; Switch New Season Begins September 18 on Game Show Network
08/24 - Hulu Fall 2023 Slate; Apple TV+ Series Still Up Debuts Trailer
08/23 - Frasier Returns October 12 on Paramount+; And Just Like That... Renewed for Season 3
08/22 - ABC Fall 2023 Premiere Dates and Revised Schedule; Upload Season 3 Returns October 20
08/21 - MeTV September 2023 Schedule; Cartoon Network's Tiny Toons Premieres Sept. 9
08/20 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 21, 2023)