Wednesday, March 18, 2009

CBS Comedy Change for Next Monday; Fox Notes; Remembering Ron Silver

Next Monday (Monday, March 23), CBS will preempt The Big Bang Theory for an all-new episode of How I Met Your Mother at a special time of 8:00PM ET/PT. Big Bang was scheduled to be a repeat anyway. Mother will also still air in its normal 8:30PM ET/PT on this night, but that will be a repeat broadcast. It will be interesting if CBS is seeing how strong Mother is at 8PM in comparison to Big Bang. Both comedies have been down the last two weeks thanks to the return of Dancing with the Stars. Two and a Half Men will also be a repeat at 9PM, but Rules of Engagement is all-new at 9:30PM.

Fox has removed Hole in the Wall from the schedule yet again. Effective this Sunday, Fox will now air repeats of American Dad! and King of the Hill at 7PM & 7:30PM in place of the half-hour showings of Hole in the Wall which certainly was a hole in the Sunday night schedule, perhaps effecting the animated comedies to lower numbers from 8-10PM.
In other Fox programming news, the variety series of specials, The Osbournes: Reloaded, will now launch as a 40-minute airing instead of an hour on Tuesday, March 31 from 9:20-10PM, so yes American Idol will be from 8PM-9:20PM on that night, just what we needed, more Idol. Fox has ordered six Osbournes variety specials, so each are 30-minutes, so four will remain after these two half-hours air. Not sure if Fox is cutting anything from these or if they will run with limited commercials.

Award-winning actor and activist Ron Silver, who was Emmy-nominated for his recurring role on the hit television drama The West Wing, died on Sunday after a two-year ordeal of esophageal cancer. His portrayal of White House strategist Bruno Gianelli on The West Wing was perhaps his best known part in recent years, but he earned another Emmy nomination for the murder thriller Billionaire Boys Club, a TV miniseries from 1987.
He had a recurring role on the TV hospital drama Chicago Hope and a regular role on the sitcom Veronica's Closet, and he won acclaim for playing lawyer Alan Dershowitz in the film Reversal of Fortune. Among his other TV credits include guest-starring on sitcoms such as Rhoda, Big Eddie, Trying Times, and regular roles on short-lived sitcoms The Stockard Channing Show and Baker's Dozen. He guest starred on many TV dramas as well such as The Practice, Crossing Jordan, Law & Order, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Wiseguy, Hill Street Blues, The Rockford Files, McMillan & Wife and a regular role on the short-lived Skin on Fox.
He was also known for his work on Broadway. Broadway theatre bosses will dim the lights of New York's theatreland on Wednesday as a mark of respect. He won a 1988 Tony Award for his performance in David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. Theatre marquees will be dimmed for one minute at 8pm on Wednesday, which is the traditional starting time for evening performances of Broadway shows. Ron will certainly be missed. He was only 62.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, April 1

Scrubs - "My Best Friend's Barbecue" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
While J.D. is upset to not be invited to Turk and Carla’s annual barbecue, he takes the opportunity to nurture his friendship with Carla at work. Turk teaches the surgical interns how to deliver bad news.

Abbott Elementary - "April Fools" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
It’s April Fools’ Day, and while the Abbott teachers suffer pranks, Gregory makes a plan to make it through the day.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Right Is Right" (BET, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mr. Brown endorses a local politician, which causes major problems for him and the rest of the facility; Jeremy takes matters into his own hands to protect the facility against protestors.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Snowmaggedon" (BET, 8:30PM ET/PT)
A serious snowstorm throws the facility a curveball; tension rises as the facility awaits a miracle to save Leah and Reginald, who are trapped without electricity.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 30)

Wednesday, April 1

  • Sarah Shahi (Teachers) - Watch Sarah on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Zendaya (K.C. Undercover/Shake It Up) - Zendaya is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about The Drama on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talksa about Happy's Place a repeat of on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan appears on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Billy Gardell (Bob Hearts Abishola/Mike & Molly/Yes, Dear) - Billy tells Sherri about his “The Less Is More Tour” comedy tour on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Brandy Norwood (Zoe Ever After/The Game/Moesha/Thea) - Brandy talks about Phases: A Memoir on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John talks about Dear Killer Nannies on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (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)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)

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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03/26 - Great Entertainment Television to Honor Chuck Norris; ABC's R.J. Decker Gets Time Slot Upgrade
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03/18 - Saturday Night Live UK to Launch This Weekend; Hulu Renews Paradise for Season 3
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03/13 - NBC Summer 2026 Schedule; Malcolm in the Middle Revival Series Trailer
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03/10 - XO, Kitty Season 3 Trailer Released for April 2 Launch; The Drew Barrymore Show Talker Gets 2 Season Renewal
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03/06 - The Four Seasons Returns on May 28; More Details on I Suck at Girls
03/05 - COZI TV Pairs Up Al Bundy and Hondo at Last; ABC Renews Abbott Elementary for Season 6
03/04 - ABC's Scrubs Returns Big; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Renewed for Season 2
03/03 - Prime Video's Kevin Premieres April 20; Fox Renews Best Medicine
03/02 - Running Point Returns April 23 on Netflix; A Different World Sequel Starts Production
03/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 2, 2026)