Friday, May 15, 2009

Less Than Perfect Joins Lifetime; Samantha Who and In the Motherhood Return to ABC in June; More Lucy on Hallmark

The 2002-2006 ABC sitcom Less than Perfect starring Sara Rue, Andy Dick, Zachary Levi, Andrea Parker, Patrick Warburton, Will Sasso, and Sherri Shepherd is coming to Lifetime with all of its 81 episodes, including the 8 unaired episodes! It seems they picked the show up since they could be ordering an original sitcom starring Sherri Shepherd. They also did that with Cybill, since they could order an original sitcom (Alligator Point) starring another Shepherd, Cybill Shepherd (no relation to Sherri). Right now both are just ordered to pilot, but this could be good news for both. Cybill airs weekdays in the 8am hour, 5pm hour and 2am.
Less than Perfect lasted four seasons and was about a young female office employee (played by Sara Rue) and her co-workers. The sitcom will join the Lifetime line-up on Monday, June 1, airing in the 9am hour and 6pm hour. In the 9am hour, it will replace Reba. In the 6pm hour it will replace Still Standing. The morning airing of Reba will move to the afternoon in the 4pm hour, replacing an episode of Wife Swap. And recently Reba returned in the 8pm hour, replacing Will & Grace. So Reba is back to 7-9pm week nights, while Will & Grace 8-9pm airings moves to the 1am hour and it still has the 11am and 11pm hours. Also, starting Monday, June 8 in primetime we will get an Army Wives encore at 9pm leading into repeats of Desperate Housewives at 10pm each Monday. Desperate Housewives will also still air weekdays at 12 and 1pm. Movies remain in the 9-11pm block every other weekday, but Fridays is still Wife Swap. Army Wives returns for its third season on Sunday, June 7 for 18 episodes airing Sundays at 10pm.
So, the addition of Less than Perfect means Still Standing is totally off the schedule. Last month it seems, Lifetime removed Medium from Fridays at 11pm, so that is off the schedule, too. Medium is eligible to air five days a week starting this fall, as will Grey's Anatomy (which currently airs Sundays at 11pm), so Medium will likely return then. But the schedule may be less than perfect, but Less than Perfect is a great addition to the schedule!
View the full Lifetime June 2009 schedule and highlights.

ABC sitcoms Samantha Who? and In the Motherhood will return to the schedule on Friday, June 5 in the 9pm hour. Both sitcoms were pulled from the Thursday night schedule two weeks earlier than planned in April. Samantha Who? has 7 episodes remaining to air, while In the Motherhood has 3 more. For Samantha, this could be a slot it can air next season, as it is expected to return for a third season. The sitcom could be in a change of format, though. It is rumored to be changing to a multicamera set-up or a hybrid setup (mix of both single and multicamera). Why? This will cut costs. ABC also might do the same for Scrubs, giving it new life for a ninth season. In the Motherhood is not expected back, so this is just a burn-off. We will find out what all this means on Tuesday, when ABC announces their 2009-2010 schedule and pick-ups. Could Samantha Who? be part of a Friday comedy block in the fall? We shall see. If a Friday block is not in their plans then they should move these Samantha Who episodes to Wednesdays at 9:30pm in the summer instead of Surviving Suburbia. That would work better on Fridays at 9. Just my two cents.

Finally, we end the day with some classic TV news. Hallmark Channel has made a last minute schedule change that goes in effect this Monday (May 18). Replacing two episodes of Matlock, weekdays at 3pm & 4pm will be two-full hours of I Love Lucy! It seems like Hallmark has a love-hate relationship with Lucy. They give it a good slot, pull it, and then give it another good slot. Currently, the series was airing at 2:30am weeknights, and will remain in that slot, too. Everything else will remain the same as it is now. So Matlock is off the schedule again. I Love Lucy 3-5pm will lead-into M*A*S*H.

Stay tuned tomorrow for our blog DVD review of course and a special upfront rumblings edition. Upfront week is next week, so join us all next week. We have some WGN America schedule news as well!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Saturday, June 10

Act Your Age - "Bahama Drama" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Angela and Keisha's differences come to a head as a storm threatens their tranquil Bahamian vacation; back at the penthouse, Olivia's alone time with Jacob is interrupted by an invited guest.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)

Friday, June 9

  • Marc Maron (GLOW/Maron) - Watch Marc on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Martin Short (Mulaney/The Martin Short Show) - Martin is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi is a musical guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Sandra Bullock (Working Girl) - Sandra appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Zach Braff (Scrubs/Alex, Inc.) - Zach is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris guest co-hosts a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay discusses the motivation behind their new true-crime podcast Freeway Phantom on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig is telling Drew about working with Reese Witherspoon on their new film and the latest season of The Morning Show on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso will be on a repeat of The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Daniel Wu (American Born Chinese) - Daniel talks about his role on the Disney+ series American Born Chinese on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) and Jason Alexander (Listen Up!/Bob Patterson/Seinfeld/Everything's Relative/ E/R) - Eric and Jason talk about The Cottage on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Reba McEntire (Reba/Malibu Country) - Reba will be on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
  • Geena Davis (The Geena Davis Show/Sara/Buffalo Bill) - NBC's Today catches up with Geena in the 9am hour.


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

Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI) Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI) Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series

01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

06/09 - Apple TV+ Comedy The Afterparty Returns July 12; Abbott Elementary Season 2 Dominated Across All Platforms
06/08 - The CW Summer 2023 Premiere Dates; Peacock's Bupkis Gets NBC Airing
06/07 - Hallmark's Christmas in July Programming; The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Launches July 6
06/06 - New Superman Animated Series Coming to Adult Swim; TV Stars Come Together in Netflix Film
06/05 - Shout! TV's ALF Reunion; Hulu's This Fool Season Two Premieres July 28
06/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 5, 2023)
06/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Declares Rating Victories for 22-23 Season; Australian Version of The Office in the Works
06/02 - HBO Renews Somebody Somewhere for a Third Season; Remembering Marlene Clark of Sanford and Son and Other Sitcom Stars We Recently Lost
06/01 - MeTV's Marry Me Block on June 4; TBS Sets Miracle Workers: End Times Premiere Date for July 10
05/31 - Amazon Freevee's Jury Duty Gets Special Release; Stars on Mars Fan Experience
05/30 - 75th Emmy Awards Nominations on July 12; Final Season of HBO's How to with John Wilson
05/29 - Memorial Day 2023 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 29, 2023)
05/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Wins 2022-2023 Ratings Game; Netflix Ends Sharing of Passwords
05/26 - Prime Video Renews Priyanka Chopra Series; Sex and the City 25th Anniversary Event in NYC
05/25 - Brady Bunch House on the Market; The Family Stallone Gets 2nd Season
05/24 - Antenna TV's Father Knows Best Father's Day Fest Marathon; Netflix Gets Glamorous This June
05/23 - CBS Summer 2023 Reality Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces Peanuts Programming
05/22 - More Details on Zoey 102; New Lifetime Movie Series Coming July 8
05/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 22, 2023)
05/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Showtime Looking to Bring Back Two Old Favorites; Disney+ Removing Content
05/19 - Futurama Triumphantly Returns July 24; Final Season of Physical Drops August 2; Primo Premieres May 19 on Amazon Freevee
05/18 - The CW Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Netflix Upfront 2023
05/17 - Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023; Sarah Silverman HBO Special Premieres May 27
05/16 - ABC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; FX's Summer 2023 Slate
05/15 - FOX Announces 2023-24 Programming Slate; iCarly Season 3 Premieres June 1
05/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 15, 2023)
05/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Season Finale Brings Back a Familiar Face; Comedy Central Renews Digman! for Second Season
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Hulu Orders Deli Boys from Onyx Collective
05/11 - CBS Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; The CW Summer Lineup Has Comedies
05/10 - Minx Returns in July on STARZ; Never Have I Ever Final Episodes Premieres June 8, Trailer Drops
05/09 - The CW Acquires Son of a Critch; FX's The Bear Returns June 22