Friday, May 08, 2009
Tribune Stations Land Entourage, Curb for Fall 2010 Local Syndication; ABC Picks Up Modern Family, More Updates
Under terms of the three-year pact, Tribune has licensed all seven seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm and all six seasons so far of Entourage for broadcast on all of Tribune's owned-and-operated stations in 17 markets, including New York (WPIX-TV), Los Angeles (KTLA-TV) and Chicago (WGN-TV), among others. Both series will be presented in strip form on the Tribune Broadcasting stations, with episodes airing Monday-Friday, along with one weekend telecast, beginning in fall 2010.
As mentioned earlier this week, Spike TV has bought the cable rerun rights for Entourage starting in January 2010, so it will have a nine-month head start on cable. Curb Your Enthusiasm is also being shopped around for cable repeats.
ABC has made its first pickup for the fall season, a sitcom. Modern Family, the single camera mocumentary about about three suburban couples -- a traditional one, a gay one and a multi-ethnic one. ABC has ordered 13 episodes from 20th Television and the show stars Ed O'Neill (Married with Children), Sofia Vergara (Knights of Prosperity), Julie Bowen (Lost) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (The Class). The show has tested very well in focus groups and screenings. ABC also has unofficially picked-up drama Flash Forward, as teasers have aired during Lost the last two weeks to generate some buzz.
In other ABC updates, Surviving Suburbia will be preempted for a second week in a row for a two-hour Dancing with the Stars this coming Monday (May 11). That was scheduled to be its last Monday airing anyway, as the show will move to Wednesdays at 9:30pm starting May 27.
Meanwhile, the final episodes of According to Jim will run into the summer thanks to all the preemptions by President Obama. On Tuesday, May 26 and Tuesday, June 2, According to Jim will air its final four episodes (8-9pm both weeks), including the finale on June 2 at 8:30pm with a parade of guest stars. But before that there are two new episodes airing this Tuesday (May 12).
Stay tuned all next week for our predictions of the fall schedules for NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS, and The CW. First up will be NBC, which we will cover likely on Sunday and the rest will follow in that order every other day. And the following week of course is upfront week and we will get the actual schedules and you can compare to see what we got right and wrong! Big and fun time of year!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, March 5
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "The G Word and a Blaspheming Bimbo" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy makes a controversial remark on live TV that puts her job, Georgie’s business and the family’s reputation at risk. Zoe Perry guest stars as Mary, Matt Hobby guest stars as Pastor Jeff and Christopher Gorham guest stars as Scott.
Ghosts - "The List" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam and Jay work to secure Woodstone B&B a coveted spot on a prestigious luxury hotel list, only to face unexpected chaos when a vengeful newly discovered bunker ghost disrupts a crucial visit. Meanwhile, Flower and Thor clash over who gets to call the shots in their relationship.
Animal Control - "Donkeys and Weasels" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Frank's dad temporarily moves into Frank's house following a heart attack; Victoria and Patel try to find ways to replace pet food that was destroyed in a fire.
Going Dutch - "Twenty-Year Sitch" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
To celebrate Major Shah's 20 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Army, the Colonel plans a boy's camping trip; the nature retreat takes a turn when the Colonel learns Shah is considering retiring; General Davidson invites himself to join.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 2)
Thursday, March 5
- Zach Braff (Scrubs/Alex, Inc.) and Donald Faison (Scrubs/Extended Family/The Exes/Clueless) - Catch Zach and Donald on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows/The Thundermans) - Harvey appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Seth MacFarlane (Ted/Family Guy/American Dad!/The Cleveland Show) - Seth is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Daniel Radcliffe (The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins/Miracle Workers) - Daniel chats about The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins and Broadway's Every Brilliant Thing on with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - “Oscars For the First Time” sits down with Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan and costume designer Ruth E. Carter to discuss Sinners and its history-making 16 nominations on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Steve Carell (Rooster/Space Force/The Office/Come to Papa/Watching Ellie) - Steve talks about Rooster on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. Steve, Phil Dunster, Charly Clive and Danielle Deadwyler will be on in the 9am hour.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie makes her jalapeno popper chicken on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and 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)
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