Friday, May 15, 2009
Less Than Perfect Joins Lifetime; Samantha Who and In the Motherhood Return to ABC in June; More Lucy on Hallmark
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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, April 24
The Conners - "Manifesting, Marriage Testing and Cheeseballs" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners relish national cheeseball day as a family. Meanwhile, Harris falls behind in her work duties at the Lunch Box, and Darlene and Ben must figure out how to spend time together despite their two separate schedules.
Not Dead Yet - "Not the End Yet" / "Not a Ghost Yet" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Nell finds out that Duncan is selling the SoCal Independent, so she takes matters into her own hands to save her job when Lexi seems unwilling to help. Then, Nell navigates an unexpected incident that leaves the sale of the newspaper on hold.
Animal Control - "Skunks and Swans" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Shred take on an aggressive swan; Shred has a meet-cute with a mysterious woman; Emily makes a mistake that results in Victoria having very little time to prepare for her big exam; Patel gets his father to help Victoria cram for the test.
Family Guy - "A Stache From the Past" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Peter loses the Griffins' home in a reverse mortgage, he and Mayor West travel to confront the man advertising the scheme, Tom Selleck; Stewie and Brian open a booth at the flea market, leading to a rivalry with Bruce.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 22)
Wednesday, April 24
- Carol Burnett (Palm Royale/Mad About You/Mama's Family) - Watch Carol on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Nicole Richie (Great News) - Nicole is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits in with The 8G Band on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) and Michaela Watkins (Dinner with the Parents/Search Party/The Unicorn/Casual/Trophy Wife) - Lisa and Michaela are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- John Early (Search Party) - John appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - E! News has an interview with Tiffany at 11pm on E!.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny guest co-hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry talks about Unfrosted on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan talks about NBC's Lopez vs Lopez on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie, a fan-favorite on The Good Wife, tells Sherri about her new show Elsbeth on Sheri, so check your local listings.
- Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry has a cooking demo on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
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