Monday, January 26, 2009

ABC Midseason 2009 Sitcom News - Samantha Who Moves to Thursdays; 15th Annual SAG Awards Winners

ABC has announced its plans for the midseason sitcoms, and you'll see it here first! ABC will move Scrubs to Wednesdays at 8:00pm ET/PT starting March 18, since Dancing with the Stars: The Results is launching Tuesdays at 9pm on March 17. American Idol Results on Fox will be moving to 9pm on Wednesday nights by then. Scrubs will lead-into the new midseason comedy Better Off Ted, starring Jay Harrington. The comedies will replace the Lost enhanced encore. The comedies will lead into new episodes of Lost at 9pm.
Next ABC will create a new Thursday night comedy hour, with new comedy In the Motherhood premiering March 26 at 8:00 pm ET/PT and will be paired with the return of Christina Applegate in Samantha Who? at 8:30 pm ET/PT. Since The Bachelor will continue on Monday nights from 8:00-10:00 pm ET/PT thru March 2, leading directly into True Beauty, Samantha Who? will be on the move. Both of these comedies on Thursdays will lead into episodes of Grey's Anatomy at 9pm.
Ugly Betty fans don't worry, the series will return to Thursday nights at 8:00 pm following the run of In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? It is not clear how many weeks that will be. If I were to guess it will be 6 weeks. Ugly Betty will air 18 or 19 episodes by March 19, so 5 or 6 will remain for that show. ABC has not announced what will air at 9:30pm on Monday nights starting March 30 when Dancing with the Stars will settle into its 90-minute format after three airings of two-hours. If I were to guess, we could see a second episode of In the Motherhood or Samantha Who? on this night as well, probably the latter since it has 11 episodes left to air this season. Stay tuned. Still no date for the animated comedy The Goode Family, but ABC is mulling a May launch for a few episodes. It is still early in the day, if we have any more updates on these sitcoms, we will edit it in, so come on back.
View complete details on In the Motherhood and Better of Ted, so you know what they are about.

The 15th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards (SAG) winners were announced yesterday. Leading the pack were Mad Men and 30 Rock. 30 Rock took home all 3 of its nominations, sweeping comedy.
Here are the main TV portion winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
WILLIAM SHATNER / Denny Crane – Boston Legal (ABC)
MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan – Dexter (Showtime)
JON HAMM / Don Draper – Mad Men (AMC)
HUGH LAURIE / Dr. Gregory House – House (FOX)
JAMES SPADER / Alan Shore – Boston Legal (ABC)
WINNER: HUGH LAURIE / Dr. Gregory House – House (FOX)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
SALLY FIELD / Nora Walker – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
MARISKA HARGITAY / Det. Olivia Benson - Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
HOLLY HUNTER / Grace Hanadarko – Saving Grace (TNT)
ELISABETH MOSS / Peggy Olson - Mad Men (AMC)
KYRA SEDGWICK / Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson – The Closer (TNT)
WINNER: SALLY FIELD / Nora Walker – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – 30 Rock (NBC)
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott – The Office (NBC)
DAVID DUCHOVNY / Hank Moody – Californication (Showtime)
JEREMY PIVEN / Ari Gold – Entourage (HBO)
TONY SHALHOUB / Adrian Monk – Monk (USA)
WINNER: ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – 30 Rock (NBC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
CHRISTINA APPLEGATE / Samantha Newly – Samantha Who? (ABC)
AMERICA FERRERA / Betty Suarez – Ugly Betty (ABC)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – 30 Rock (NBC)
MARY-LOUISE PARKER / Nancy Botwin – Weeds (Showtime)
TRACEY ULLMAN / Various Characters – Tracey Ullman's State of the Union (HBO)
WINNER: TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – 30 Rock (NBC)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boston Legal, ABC
Dexter, Showtime
House, Fox
Mad Men, AMC
The Closer, TNT
WINNER: Mad Men, AMC

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock, NBC
Desperate Housewives, ABC
Entourage, HBO
The Office, NBC
Weeds, Showtime
WINNER: 30 Rock, NBC

View the complete TV portion winners and to discuss the winners!

It is still early, so if we have any more news...come on back. NATPE 2009 starts tomorrow (runs Jan. 27-29), so we will have updates from NATPE.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, October 30

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Will and a Dead Man’s Wife" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie’s not ready for his mother to start dating again. Meanwhile, Jim and Audrey struggle to make their wills.

Ghosts - "Halloween 5: The Mummy" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam and Jay’s Halloween takes a spooky turn when they accidentally unleash a mummy ghost.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 27)

Thursday, October 30

  • Emma Stone (The Curse) - Catch Emma on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela) - Justine talks about Nobody Wants This on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Harland Williams (The Geena Davis Show/Simon) - Harland is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) - Steve chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti is whipping up something tasty in the kitchen, plus a special announcement just for the Tam Fam on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Ariana Greenblatt (Stuck in the Middle) - Ariana talks about Now You See Me: Now You Don't on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
  • Leanne Morgan (Leanne) - Leanne co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Niecy Nash-Betts (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy talks about her upcoming Hulu series All's Fair on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland/Big Day/Jake in Progress/Just Shoot Me!), Jane Leeves (Hot in Cleveland/Frasier/Throb) and Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Hot in Cleveland co-stars Wendie Malick and Jane Leeves are surprising Valerie Bertinelli for a cast reunion and to dish on their time working on the hit show on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel talks about Apple TV's Loot on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season

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

10/30 - ABC's The Golden Girls 40th Anniversary Special on November 11; NBC 2025 Holiday Specials
10/29 - ABC Midseason 2026 Schedule; Hulu Renews Only Murders in the Building for Season 6, Now in London
10/28 - Hulu Debuts Trailer for Original Holiday Film; Sidelined Returns for Sequel on Tubi
10/27 - Netflix Grabs Victorious Spinoff Hollywood Arts; Dancing with the Stars Up for 5th Straight Week
10/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 27, 2025)
10/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Frankie Muniz Shares Photo Outside Studio for Malcolm in the Middle Reboot; Warner Bros. Discovery Still Looking for New Owner
10/24 - USA Network Renews The Rainmaker; Reba Hosting Christmas in Rockefeller Center
10/23 - The CW Holiday Specials Schedule; Apple TV Fraggle Rock Special
10/22 - Apple TV's Shrinking Returns in January 2026; Season 2 of Idris Elba Series Also Returns in January 2026
10/21 - FETV Acquires Here Come the Brides; Netflix's Mo Amer Special Trailer
10/20 - SNL November Guests Lineup; It's a Wonderful Lifetime 2025 Schedule
10/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 20, 2025)
10/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at NBC Comedy Stumble; Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Showrunner Talks When the Inevitable May Happen
10/17 - Apple TV's Palm Royale Returns November 12; Pop Culture Jeopardy! Moving to Netflix
10/16 - Kathleen Madigan Prime Video Special; His & Hers Premiere Date for Netflix
10/15 - ABC Wednesday Comedies Premiere Strong; Sebastian Maniscalco's Hulu Comedy Special Date
10/14 - Tubi's Breaking Bear Premieres March 2026; NBC's Stumble Trailer
10/13 - Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Final Season; Bat-Fam Premieres November 10 on Prime Video
10/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 13, 2025)
10/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Upcoming Paramount+ Sitcom Crutch; Yellowjackets to End After Upcoming Season
10/10 - Prime Video Releases Trailer for The Mighty Nein; Season 2 Premiere Date for Cross
10/09 - Rachel Sennott's I Love LA Comedy Series Trailer; Kaley Cuoco Heads to MGM+
10/08 - Prime Video's Kevin Details; Trailer for Crutch with Tracy Morgan
10/07 - The CW's TV We Love Docuseries; Happy's Place Season 2 Trailer
10/06 - Dancing with the Stars Surging in Viewership, Especially Among Younger Viewers; Remembering Kimberly Hébert Gregory of Vice Principals
10/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 6, 2025)
10/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Cancels The Great North; Everybody Loves Raymond Cast Set to Reunite for 30 Year Anniversary
10/03 - MeTV Acquires Everybody Loves Raymond; Hazbin Hotel Season 2 Trailer
10/02 - CBS Presents Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion; Apple TV+ Renews Peanuts Specials Through 2030
10/01 - The CW's Six Brand New Movies Starting November 16; Hulu's Family Guy Halloween Special Details
09/30 - Sarah Sherman HBO Comedy Special in December; Huluween Programming for 2025