Wednesday, August 26, 2009
WGN America Fall 2009 Schedule; Notes from Around the TV Horn
Moving on to the week of September 14, South Park will join the late night line-up airing weeknights at 12:00am & 12:30am ET (9 & 9:30pm PT), replacing Bob & Tom Show, which will move to 2am ET (11pm PT) replacing Steve Wilkos Show...which is now gone. And as I was saying, the late night 4am-5:30am block for week of Sept. 7 was temporary. Effective Sept. 14, Reno 911! will air Mon-Wed at 4am ET, South Park on Thursdays from 4-5am ET, and Chappelle's Show on Fridays from 4-5am ET. The Cosby Show will air Mondays and Tuesdays at 4:30am ET, while Reno 911! airs for the full 4am hour on Wednesdays. And Funniest Pets & People will expand to all five days at 5am ET (2am PT), but for this week only.
Next up is the week of September 21, we now get two hours of In the Heat of the Night, as Nash Bridges is off the schedule at 12pm ET. The Beverly Hillbillies will return to WGN America and at a better time now! It will air weekdays in the 2pm ET (11am PT) hour replacing Bewitched, which moves to the 4pm ET (1pm PT) hour replacing The Cosby Show. The Cosby Show will only air now Monday nights at 4:30am and in the Sunday night block in the 7pm hour. Joining the weeknight schedule now will also be Punk'd airing weekdays at 5am ET (2am PT) replacing Funniest Pets & People, which will leave the line-up. Punk'd will also air Tuesdays at 4:30am ET. Joining the Sunday schedule will be new first-run syndicated series Smash Cuts airing for a full-hour on Sundays at 4pm for its first week only & will regularly air at 4am ET on Sunday nights. South Park will air Sundays in the 3am ET hour, while Nash Bridges will air in the 2am ET. Boston Legal will air weekends at 1pm ET after baseball season is over (starting Oct. 10).
Finally by September 28, we are all set basically for the fall. Just a few more changes are happening. Punk'd will get a decent addition airing Thursdays at 9pm ET replacing American Gladiators, which is leaving. It will also air Sundays at 11am ET after baseball season. Joining the weekend schedule will be Bones on Saturdays at 6pm and 7pm ET and Law & Order: Criminal Intent on Saturday nights at 4:30am ET and Sunday nights at 2am ET for its first week ONLY before settling into Saturday afternoons at 2pm and 3pm ET after baseball season is over.
Boy that's a lot of new additions! Let's recap: South Park, Punk'd, Smash Cuts, Bones, Law & Order: Criminal Intent are all new. Beverly Hillbillies returns. Corner Gas, Funniest Pets & People, Homicide: Life on the Street, Steve Wilkos, American Gladiators, Bullwinkle, WKRP in Cincinnati, Coach are leaving. Coach is not scheduled, but they will likely air it at some point (enjoy the marathon on Sept. 6).
View the FULL WGN America Fall 2009 schedule, so you get the full taste of the line-up that will essentially happen by Sept. 28.
As for highlights, we already noted the marathons including the Cosby Show 25th anniversary marathon on Sunday, Sept. 20. We now get word the marathon is even longer now! 1pm-5:30pm ET has been added, in addition to the 5:30pm-7pm ET & 11pm-4am ET. The 25th anniversary half-hour special is airing at 1pm and 6:30pm ET. Classic NBC line-up on that date from 7pm-10pm ET is of course airing with The Cosby Show pilot at 7pm ET, Family Ties at 7:30pm ET, a full-hour of Cheers at 8pm ET and Hill Street Blues at 9pm ET. All episodes that exactly aired on NBC from that night. View more marathon info for Honeymooners and Coach.
Moving on to some TV tidbits...Senator Ted Kennedy has passed away at age 77 yesterday. In honor of his memory we have some specials. Bio TV will air Biography Remembers: Ted Kennedy on Thursdays at 9pm ET and Saturday at 12pm & 4am ET. Biography: John F. Kennedy and Biography: Barack Obama will air before and after Kennedy's episode on Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon. Biography: John F. Kennedy Jr. will air at 11pm Thursday and 10am Saturday.
On the broadcast networks, ABC will air ABC News Special: Remembering Ted Kennedy at 10pm ET, preempting Primetime: Crime. Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer will anchor this special. CBS will air Ted Kennedy: The Last Brother at 8pm ET preempting comedy repeats. Katie Couric will report. NBC will expand NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams to one-hour, but nothing will air in primetime. CNN will air the documentary Teddy: In His Own Words from 7-9pm ET.
Finally, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has sold Bravo's unscripted series The Real Housewives as a one-hour syndicated strip for fall 2010 to NBC and Hearst television station groups, B&C reports. The series has taken place in Southern California's Orange County, New York City, New Jersey and Atlanta. It will reach 100 episodes this fall on Bravo.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Friday, December 1
The Villains of Valley View - "A Very Villain Christmas" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Madden family celebrates their first Christmas in Valley View; while trying to score their most wanted gift, Amy and Jake learn the true meaning of Christmas.
Bunk'd: Learning the Ropes - "Friends in Snow Places" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Santa's famous reindeer Comet and Cupid visit the ranch; Lou, Parker and Jake travel to a lodge in the mountains, but soon find themselves trapped in the cold.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 27)
Friday, December 1
- Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Watch Henry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Brie Larson (United States of Tara/Raising Dad) - Brie is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Eric Idle (Suddenly Susan/Nearly Departed) - Eric appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Ms. Pat (The Ms. Pat Show) - Ms. Pat appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Angela Means (Cousin Skeeter) - Angela is a guest on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - NBC's Today catches up with Kelsey in the 9am hour.
- Brandy Norwood (Zoe Ever After/The Game/Moesha/Thea) - Brandy chats and performs on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Patrick sits down with to chat about his book Making It So on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus tells Sherri about his coming-of-age film, How I Learned to Fly, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Chris Redd (Bust Down/Kenan/Disjointed) - Chris discusses his upcoming film Candy Cane Lane on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani discusses her latest cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, and cooks on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
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