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

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

Wednesday, September 22

The Goldbergs - "The Goldbergs' Excellent Adventure" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The season nine premiere revolves around the iconic ‘80s family paying tribute to Pops. Together they venture down memory lane by visiting Pops’ favorite stomping grounds. Adam Goldberg, forever with camera in hand, captures the outing – theming it to “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” Hijinks and hilarity ensue, and we are reminded that there is no bond greater than family.

The Wonder Years - "Pilot" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
As the youngest in the Williams family, Dean is struggling to figure out where he fits in. Between his brother’s athleticism, sister’s popularity, mother’s intelligence and dad’s overall coolness, everyone else seems to have their lane figured out. He decides to pursue his calling as “The Great Uniter” and attempts to organize the first integrated baseball game between his team and his friend Brad’s team.

The Conners - "Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Lights, Camera, Action: “The Conners” is going live for both the East and West Coast broadcasts of the season four premiere episode. This iconic TV family continues to deal with the current pandemic while navigating breakups and newfound sobriety, all while planning an upcoming wedding.

Home Economics - "49ers Foam Finger, $7" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Connor invites the Hayworth clan to a San Francisco 49ers game as he tries to close his latest business deal. Desperately trying to prove that he knows the game, Tom gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to showcase his football skills in front of the entire crowd of 49ers Faithful at Levi’s® Stadium. Meanwhile, Denise tries to get Sarah to come to terms with Shamiah’s new interest in cheerleading.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 20)

Wednesday, September 22

Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building/Mulaney/The Martin Short Show) - Watch Steve and Martin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/Welcome to New York) - Jim appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Scott Foley (The Goodwin Games/Scrubs/A.U.S.A.) - Scott appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim is a guest on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Alyson Hanningan (How I Met Your Mother/Free Spirit) - Alyson will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel talks about his hit podcast Ever After on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
John Stamos (Fuller House/Grandfathered/Jake in Progrews/Full House/You, Again?) - John talks about his podcast The Grand Scheme on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew appears on CBS This Morning sometime between 7-9am.
Martin Lawrence (Martin/Partners) - Martin gets excited for the NFL season by partnering with DraftKings on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Jon Bernthal (The Class) - Jon talks about The Many Saints of Newark on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
The Cast of The Wonder Years (2021) - Elisha "EJ" Williams, Laura Kariuki, Dulé Hill and Saycon Sengbloh are guests on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. Dulé appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan (check your local listings) and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. Dulé and EJ will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.