WGN America Spring Changes Includes Bullwinkle, WWE Superstars; ION Schedule Change

Thursday, March 12, 2009

WGN America Spring Changes Includes Bullwinkle, WWE Superstars; ION Schedule Change

Spring is in the air and WGN America will be make some changes this spring! First, America's Funniest Home Videos is re-added at 7pm ET (4pm PT) every Tuesday now (it already airs the other weekdays in the slot) starting Tuesday, March 17 replacing an airing of Star Trek: The Next Generation. TNG will still air 8pm, 9pm and 1am ET on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 12 noon ET for now...keep reading below. Then Tuesday nights (well Wednesday mornings technically) from 4am-5:30am starting March 31 will be a second consecutive night of Corner Gas replacing Moesha. Moesha will still air Thursday nights (Friday mornings technically) in that slot...but not for long...keep reading.
Then the week of April 13 is when the majority of the changes start! The weeknight 1am ET rotating hour will now have Funniest Pets & People on both Monday and Tuesday nights replacing AFV and Star Trek: TNG respectively. Reno 911's Thursday 1am airings migrate to Wednesday nights replacing ALF. ALF will still remain on Sundays on Outta Sight Retro Night, though. ALF has suffered a bit of a ratings let-down, but they are still keeping it on Sundays at least. The big change on WGN America will be the WWE Superstars series airing every Thursday on WGN America at 8pm ET and encoring at 11pm ET starting April 16. Thursdays in primetime will also see the series Around the World For Free at 9pm ET and 12am ET right after WWE Superstars. So what is Around the World for Free? Alex Boylan (winner of The Amazing Race, Season 2) attempts the impossible: he strips himself of all monetary funds, and with only a backpack and the help of an online community, sets off on a mission to circumnavigate the globe. So on Thursdays at 1am ET we will see Scrubs because its Thursday 11pm ET airings are preempted and at 4am ET Bob & Tom Show will air since its 12 am ET slot is preempted on Thursdays. This is bad news for Moesha fans because now the show will only air once a week at 5am ET on late Thursday nights (early Friday mornings). And for more bad news, Moesha will be gone after the end of June and will be replaced by more Funniest Pets & People. At least Moesha will still be on The N.
Moving to weekends, on Saturdays... Hollywood and Dine is going national. The local Cleveland produced food show on WJW, hosted by David "Mossman" Moss, will be syndicated on WGN America starting Saturday, April 18 at 12 noon ET and airing every Saturday at noon ET. Following Hollywood and Dine at 12:30pm ET will be Cultivating Life with Sean Conway. Both will replace an airing of Star Trek: TNG, so that series will only be in primetime on Tuesday nights by then. An episode of Boston Legal will follow at 1pm ET replacing a Bob & Tom Show airing, but that Bob & Tom airing will be moved to a Sunday slot of 11am ET. More on Sunday in a bit, but back to Saturday. The Saturday evening Boston Legal still remains in its slot. And the biggest news for us is that the classic '60s animated comedy The Bullwinkle Show is coming to WGN America on Saturday nights starting April 18! It will air Saturdays at 12 midnight ET (9pm PT) replacing an airing of The Honeymooners. Bullwinkle will follow two Scrubs episodes at 11 & 11:30pm ET. I'm still trying to find out what package of Bullwinkle this is, but I'm guessing it is the 98 episode package from The Program Exchange. It would be cool if it were all 130 episodes, though, including the Rocky episodes. And of course The Honeymooners will still air on the Outta Sight Retro Night on Sunday evenings, so the half-hour removal on Saturday nights is not a problem. So back to Sundays, we said Bob & Tom Show is in a Sunday slot of 11am ET, replacing Whacked Out Videos, which moves to Sunday nights at 3am ET replacing one of the Homicide: Life on the Street episodes, but that will still remain at 4am ET. The other Sunday change is at 12 noon ET with an encore of WWE Superstars replacing that Boston Legal airing, so both of its airings are on Saturdays starting April 18.
That's all for now, but Sean Compton of WGN America promises us that we will see more sitcom themed weeks this summer as we did last summer! Also, they will change up the Outta Sight Retro Night on Sundays in September a bit...so that will be cool to see what they add. So just because not much is added this spring, doesn't mean anything. WGN America is working on lots of classic TV stuff, and Bullwinkle is not a bad idea! Yes, ALF did well for them but it has weakened, but they are still airing it on Sundays at least. Stay tuned and keep it with us for all WGN America news!

Just a few days ago we gave you ION's April 2009 schedule saying that M*A*S*H would return to weekdays starting March 30. Well that is still happening...but two weeks earlier now! M*A*S*H will take over the 6pm hour on weekdays starting this Monday now (March 16). And in a twist, Family Feud will move to the 7pm hour from Mon-Thurs! Feud was supposed to be totally off the line-up by March 30, but ION is indeed keeping it! Feud will replace an airing of ER on Mondays and an airing of Boston Legal on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and a scheduled M*A*S*H hour or movie on Thursdays. So the only thing leaving is Steve Harvey Show...and two weeks earlier than planned. So tonight is the last night actually. This is tough news because BET removed it as well a few weeks back. Everything else we reported for April is intact, including the movies.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, January 20

Young Sheldon - "A Pink Cadillac and a Glorious Tribal Dance" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon attends his first comic book convention. Also, Mary tries selling make-up.

United States of Al - "Poker / Pokar" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Art grows concerned when Al gets hooked on playing poker, misses a class and is late for work. Also, Lizzie and Brett’s relationship grows stronger, but she struggles with dating again for the first time in a few years.

Ghosts - "The Vault" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Just as Sam and Jay are set to host a friend’s wedding that could get their B&B business off the ground, the ghost of Hetty’s husband, Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), tries to ruin it.

B Positive - "Louisville, Bubbaroo and Sully" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Gina hires Peter’s son to be her lawyer, but things get complicated when he asks her out. Also, Drew and Harry’s van breaks down during their road trip.

Call Me Kat - "Call Me a Sporty Giant" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While staying in Kat's apartment, Randi starts to feel overwhelmed by Kat's quirks; Max and Carter try to teach Phil how to ride a bike.

Pivoting - "The Giving Tree" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Sarah drags Amy and Jodie out on a night of hijinks; Amy struggles to balance a work crisis and her new dedication to motherhood; Jodie's anxiety takes over after sending a flirty text to Matt and doesn't get a response.

Single Drunk Female - "Pilot" (Freeform, 10:00PM ET/PT)
A public flameout forces 20-something alcoholic Sam to move back home with her overbearing mother, Carol; surrounded by all the triggers that made her drink, Sam tries to move past her worst self and figure out her best self.

Single Drunk Female - "One Day at a Time" (Freeform, 10:00PM ET/PT)
An awkward run-in with her former best friend and her ex inspires Sam to own up for her past mistakes, both emotionally and financially; as she resets her relationship with her mother, Sam is horrified to learn Carol is dating.

Warped! - "Pilot" (Nickelodeon, 7:30PM ET/PT)
Milo, the beloved head geek at a comic book shop, finds his world disrupted after his boss hires the quirky and excitable Ruby.

Warped! - "Challenged!" (Nickelodeon, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After Milo's nemesis Carl beats his world record, Ruby helps him try to reclaim it.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 17)

Thursday, January 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Catch Jason on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - Jennifer is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
David Cross (Arrested Development/Running Wilde/Oliver Beene) - David appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Laura Linney (The Big C) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Laura and Kristin are guests on Watch What Happens: Live at 10:30pm on Bravo. NBC's Today catches up with Laura in the 9am hour.
Ricky Gervais (After Life/The Office) - Ricky chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Sharon Gless (House Calls/Turnabout) - Sharon chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones/Vice Principals/Partners) - Edi will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls/The Office) and Randall Park Fresh Off the Boat/Veep) - Ed and Randall talk about Peacock's True Story with Ed and Randall on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT and on PEOPLE in 10 at 8am.
Kym Whitley (Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) and Finesse Mitchell (Outmatched/A.N.T. Farm) - Kym and Finesse guest host The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Wendy talks about Paramount+'s The Game on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie talks about her new book Enough Already on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Chris Kattan (The Middle) - Chris is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kyle Mooney (Arrested Development) - Kyle appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
John Early (Search Party) - John talks about the final season of Search Party on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen talks about The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere/Camping/Lady Dynamite>) - Bridget talks about Somebody Somewhere on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Sofia Black-D’Elia (Single Drunk Female/The Mick) and Ally Sheedy (Single Drunk Female - Sofia and Ally talk about Freeform's Single Drunk Female on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai talks about Remix My Space on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.