Tuesday, October 20, 2009

WGN America's Halloween Freak Week; IFC Acquires Arrested Development

We broke the news a few weeks back that WGN America is planning Halloween marathons for The Munsters and The Addams Family, but now we have more of their Halloween plans!
This Halloween you'll scream with delight as WGN America presents "Halloween Freak Week," a monstrous mash of movies and marathons--including the first families of fright, The Munsters and The Addams Family. "Halloween Freak Week" on WGN America begins on Monday, October 26 and will have you howling with laughter through Halloween night--Saturday, October 31.
Airing during "Halloween Freak Week" are three back-to-back Halloween-themed episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos on Monday, October 26 starting at 7pm ET/4pm PT until 10 pm ET/7 pm PT. Then on Tuesday, October 27 at 8pm ET/5pm PT it is the movie The Rage: Carrie 2. On Wednesday, October 28, as part of WGN America's retro movie night "Way Back Wednesday with Winslow," they have the classic film Gremlins at 8pm ET/5pm PT. On Thursday, October 28 some regularly scheduled sitcoms get the Halloween treatment! Bewitched & Cheers will air Halloween-themed episodes in their normal timeslots beginning at 4pm ET/1pm PT. On Friday, October 30, The Beverly Hillbillies gets to air a Halloween themed episode in its regular timeslot of 2:30 pm ET/11:30am PT. On Friday, October 30, I Dream of Jeannie also gets to air a Halloween themed episode at 3:30 pm ET/12:30pm PT, leading into the "The Monstrous Munster Mash Marathon." 16 back-to-back classic episodes of The Munsters, hosted by legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper. The eight-hour marathon features the odd occupants of 1313 Mockingbird Lane as the iconic Alice Cooper, who was named the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer" by Rolling Stone, will be hosting the opens and interstitials for all 16 episodes of The Munsters. WGN America will also air the broadcast debut of Alice Cooper's new video "Keepin' Halloween Alive" immediately following the marathon, which we told you previously will run from 4pm ET/1pm PT until 12am ET/9pm PT. And finally on Halloween itself, Saturday, October 31, "The Addams Family Fright Fest" will air with 18 back-to-back episodes of The Addams Family on Halloween. The 9-hour marathon will feature the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Addams Family, which we told you previously will run from 3pm ET/12pm PT until to 12am ET/9pm PT. Following the marathon get scared on Halloween night with the horror movie Pet Semetary 2 at 12am ET/9pm PT.
The fun all starts next week! But if you can't wait for Halloween to get your Herman fix, then WGN American has something already for you! Do you have the brains to make ghouls drool? Put your Munsters knowledge to work with Alice Cooper's Monstrous Munster Mash Game on WGNAmerica.com. Correctly answer trivia and Alice will spare your army of Munster-like zombies a horrible fate. The Monstrous Munster Mash Game is "alive" through November.

Three years ago we told you that cable network G4 has acquired the short-lived sitcom Arrested Development for a three-year term, but now that term is up. So IFC (Independent Film Channel) has now acquired the cable rights to the series starting this Sunday (Oct. 25). IFC will air Arrested Development Sundays at 10:00pm and 10:30pm and Tuesdays at 9:00pm and 9:30pm. This is the second major acquisition for IFC in October. The network picked up the complete series of Monty Python's Flying Circus earlier, to go along with its six-hour documentary about the legendary British comedy troupe.
The Emmy-winning Arrested Development, created by Mitch Hurwitz, never drew a large crowd in its three-season run on Fox but has endured as a cult fave. There's also been endless chatter about a possible feature adaptation of the laffer, which starred Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Will Arnett and Jeffrey Tambor.
In addition to G4, Arrested Development previously aired on HDnet and was offered online via MSN.com.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, August 13

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Dirty Hands and a Barbed-Wire Fence" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Ruben are forced to get their hands dirty when Fred Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher) tries to run them out of business. Meanwhile, Mandy grows suspicious of Georgie’s lies.

Ghosts - "St. Hetty’s Day 2: The Help" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A St. Patrick’s Day staffing emergency gives Hetty the chance to step into an unlikely role at the restaurant as she regains her once-a-year ability to be seen and heard by the living. Meanwhile, Kyle returns to watch over the ghosts and finds himself caught in an amusing supernatural dynamic.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 10)

Thursday, August 13

  • Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb) - Catch Dave on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Adam appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Adam appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • D'Arcy Carden (Barry/The Good Place) - Andy Cohen interviews D'Arcy on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan talks about Broadway's Death of a Salesman on a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Mariska sometime between 7-9am.
  • Daveed Diggs (Central Park/black-ish) - Daveed talks about The Boys on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD) The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray) The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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07/31 - Netflix's Leanne Season 2 Trailer; Paramount+ Greenlights Clueless Event Series Starring Alicia Silverstone
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07/28 - ABC Fall 2026 Premiere Dates; CBS Fall 2026 Premiere Dates
07/27 - Netflix's Tires Season 3 Debuts August 13; Family Guy Halloween and Holiday Specials Return Exclusively to Hulu This Year
07/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of July 27, 2026)
07/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Paramount and Warner Merger on Hold; Paramount+ Cancels Crutch
07/24 - Hulu's Desperate Housewives Wisteria Lane Block Party; Whitmer Thomas HBO Comedy Special
07/23 - Fox's Stewie Announces Voice Cast; Clash of the Thundermans Premiere Date and Details, with Ariel Winter Joining the Cast
07/22 - Nirvanna the Band the Show on Hulu & Hulu on Disney+; Netflix's Untold Returns August 25
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07/20 - Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Official Podcast; All-Star Cast for Elizabeth Banks Apple TV Comedy
07/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of July 20, 2026)
07/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner to Release Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series on Blu-ray; Chloe Fineman Exits Saturday Night Live
07/17 - Remembering Hal Williams of Sanford and Son, 227 and More; The CW Renews Sullivan's Crossing
07/16 - Trailer for Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Finale Event; HGTV's Totally '90s House with '90s TV Stars
07/15 - Fox Fall 2026 Premiere Dates; FX's The Shards Trailer
07/14 - Netflix's Monopoly Coming in 2027; Prime Video Carrie Series Premieres This Fall
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