Thursday, March 19, 2009

Detroit's WADL New Classic TV Block; Obama Preempts Programming on March 24

WADL TV-38, Detroit's Urban TV station will be adding some exceptional new programming that will include legendary favorites to the station's spring line-up. The new additions to the classic TV programs will include: I Love Lucy, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Brady Bunch, The Honeymooners, The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show.
WADL TV 38 features Detroit's only local dance show Dance Party, and nationally known programming such as Cribs, American Chopper, RENO 911, Dave Chappell's Show, and Cheaters. In addition, the station already specializes in classic programming such as Good Times, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Fat Albert, The A-Team, In The Heat of the Night and up and coming to the lineup, Steve Harvey, Brian McKnight, The Brady Bunch and many others.
Currently the classic TV line-up on weekdays starting at 4PM is The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, The A-Team, The Rockford Files, Fat Albert, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, A Different World, In the Heat of the Night, Good Times, M*A*S*H, The Odd Couple, Magnum P.I., Hawaii Five-0, and What's Happening Now!!
So, the new programming will start Monday, March 30. Weekdays starting 4PM: Fat Albert, The Brady Bunch, Beverly Hillbillies, I Love Lucy, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Sanford & Son, Fresh Prince, A Different World, The Honeymooners, In The Heat of the Night, The Jeffersons, Good Times, M*A*S*H, The Odd Couple, Magnum P.I., Hawaii Five-0, and What's Happening Now!!

President Obama is as it again...with preempting primetime programming. This time it will be on Tuesday, March 24 at 8PM ET. I'm all for Obama, but come on this is crazy. Eastern/Central time zones will be mostly affected by this. I'll detail it by network.
First up ABC will air the Presidential News Conference with Obama live at 8pm ET/5pm PT. So in the eastern/central time zones, the return of According to Jim will be totally preempted. Dancing with the Stars: The Results and Primetime: What Would You Do? will air as scheduled following the news conference. Out in the mountain and pacific time zones, everything will air as normally scheduled, including According to Jim...but they will be repeats instead ("The Blankie" and "Cabin Boys"). So if you're in the east/central time zones and love According to Jim, you'll have to watch the repeats on abc.com the next day, or if you get ABC onDemand on your cable system. Not sure how this will affect ABC's finale date of May 5 for According to Jim. Will it be pushed back a week or will they air two episodes on a special night to catch up? I was looking forward to the return, because Constance Marie (George Lopez) was going to guest star and the second episode was directed by Penny Marshall.
CBS will air the Presidential News Conference with Obama live at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Following the address, they will air all-new episodes of NCIS and The Mentalist at special times of 9pm and 10pm ET/PT. Without a Trace will totally be preempted. Not sure yet what will air at 8pm PT/7pm MT, but that could go back to local affiliates or CBS could air a NCIS repeat there leading into a new NCIS.
NBC will air the Presidential News Conference with Obama live at 8pm ET/5pm PT, pushing The Biggest Loser an hour back from 8-10pm to 9-11pm ET/PT. So, Law & Order: SVU is totally preempted. For mountain/pacific time zones at 8pm PT/7pm MT you will see a special Dateline episode leading into The Biggest Loser at a special time.
Finally, most affected by Obama is Fox. Fox will have to totally scrap a two-hour American Idol Tuesday. They will air the Presidential News Conference with Obama live at 8pm ET/5pm PT. A House repeat will follow at 9pm ET/8pm CT. House will also air at 9pm PT/8pm MT. King of the Hill repeats will fill the hour at 8pm PT/7pm MT. The regular Tuesday installment of Idol will be moved to Wednesday 8-10pm ET/PT, so that means an episode of Lie to Me will have to be preempted that week. And the regular results of Idol Wednesday will have to be moved to Thursday, March 26 from 8-9pm ET/PT preempting Bones. Instead of this mess, couldn't Fox just have aired Idol 9-11pm ET on Tuesday and air it in its normal time in the mountain/pacific time zones instead of causing mass confusion? I know Fox doesn't schedule at 10pm, but the local affiliates wouldn't mind, I'm sure.

I'm on my way to a quick trip to Houston in literally minutes, so I'll see you back live on Sunday when I return...but please do come on by tomorrow (great story!) and Saturday (blog DVD review) as I have already done those stories for those days set to post on their own. Ain't technology grand?


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, June 3

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 1)

Tuesday, June 3

  • Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Catch Jenny on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Brianne Howey (Dollface) - Brianne appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Shane Gillis (Tires) and Steve Gerben (Tires) - Shane and Steve are guests on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ben Wang (American Born Chinese) - Ben stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Brianne Howey (Dollface) - Brianne talks about Ginny & Georgia on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri talks about Straw on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) - Brian talks about Dope Thief on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • David Cross (Arrested Development/Running Wilde/Oliver Beene) - David appears on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Leanne Morgan (Leanne) - Leanne guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Marco Calvani (The Four Seasons) - Marco talks about The Four Seasons on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - Drew is chatting with Mariska on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Drew is chatting with Dax and he's playing the fast five answering rapid fire questions on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Jane Seymour (B Positive/Modern Men) - Jane talks about Acorn TV's Harry Wild on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Luis Guzmán (How to Make It in America/Luis) - Luis is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series 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)

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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (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

06/03 - Netflix's Nobody Wants This Returns October 23; The CW Renews All American for Final Season
06/02 - Remembering Loretta Swit of M*A*S*H, Valerie Mahaffey of Young Sheldon, and The Simpsons Composer Alf Clausen
06/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 2, 2025)
05/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New King of the Hill Reboot Details; CBS Makes Late Night Changes
05/30 - FX's Adults Pilot Available on Social Platforms; BET and BET+ Premiere New Tyler Perry Series in June
05/29 - Netflix's New Chuck Lorre Sitcom Leanne; Apple TV+ Season 4 Premiere of The Morning Show
05/28 - Max Renews Hacks for Season 5; Byron Allen Coming Back to CBS Late Night
05/27 - Antenna TV Summer 2025 Schedule; Rewind TV Summer 2025 Schedule
05/26 - Memorial Day 2025 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 26, 2025)
05/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Zach Braff Joins Scrubs Reboot; 7th Heaven Reboot in the Works
05/23 - Discovery Channel's Shark Week with Tom Bergeron; Apple TV+ Season 2 of Hit Series
05/22 - TV Legend Henry Winkler's New HISTORY Series; The CW Renews Family Law
05/21 - Remembering George Wendt of Cheers; Platonic Season 2 First Look
05/20 - The CW Renews Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble; Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life on Netflix May 26
05/19 - North to Shore Festival Returns This June in NJ; S.W.A.T. Sets Spinoff Series
05/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 19, 2025)
05/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Picks Up New Dan Levy Comedy; First Look at King of the Hill Reboot Artwork
05/16 - Michael J. Fox to Guest Star on Shrinking; The CW Picks Up Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
05/15 - 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront; 2025 Netflix Upfront
05/14 - Chad Powers Premieres September 30 on Hulu; Upfront Premiere Dates for FX on Hulu
05/13 - ABC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Ted: The Animated Series Coming to Peacock
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule; Fox Upfront 2025-26: Fall 2025 Schedule
05/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 12, 2025)
05/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Cancels Night Court and Lopez vs. Lopez; ABC Renews Duo of Game Shows
05/09 - Peacock Orders Dig from Amy Poehler; Apple TV+ Comedy Stick Premieres June 4; Remembering Ruth Buzzi
05/08 - CBS 2025-26 Schedule; Animal Control and Going Dutch Renewed by Fox
05/07 - Netflix's A Man on the Inside Bulks Up Cast for Season 2; The Studio Renewed by Apple TV+
05/06 - Netflix's Long Story Short Announces Cast; NBC Renews All Chicago Series for 2025-26
05/05 - Antenna TV's The Partridge Family Mother's Day Marathon; Rewind TV's 227 40th Anniversary Marathon
05/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 5, 2025)
05/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels The Equalizer; Wisteria Lane Offshoot of Desperate Housewives in the Works