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

Tuesday, March 31

The Conners - "The Preemie Monologues" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Harris is forced to confront Darlene about her lifestyle, while Jackie involves herself in other people’s problems to avoid confronting her own. Meanwhile, Becky is overwhelmed by the costs of raising a baby, so her family steps in to help.

Bless This Mess - "The Letter of the Law" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Rio is bummed she can’t afford to go to Iceland for her best friend’s wedding, so the nuptials are moved and brought to the farm. Meanwhile, Rio is forced to take on Deb’s mail route after she quits, and Mike and Jacob help Rudy get over Constance.

mixed-ish - "Let Your Hair Down" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a teacher tells Rainbow to make sure her hair is “neat” for picture day, she becomes self-conscious and begins a complicated relationship with her hair. Meanwhile, Johan and Santamonica struggle with their own hair identity.

black-ish - "Hair Day" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bow takes Diane to get her hair done at the salon and wants to spend this time together as a bonding opportunity, but Diane isn’t having it. Diane is conflicted about relaxing her hair again and embarks on a hair journey with the help of Bow, Ruby and her hair stylist, Yaya (Jill Scott). Meanwhile, Dre and Junior compete to have the best barbecue.

Schitt's Creek - "Start Spreading the News" (Pop, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Moira receives some unexpected news, and David makes a tough decision about where he wants to live.

One Day at a Time - "Penny Pinching" (Pop, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After a disastrous evening, Penelope realizes she needs to change her relationship to money and do the unthinkable -- buy something new; Elena struggles to make it to an important e-sports match.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages - "Dark Ages: Moving Out Part 2" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Al and Prince Chauncley face their biggest challenge yet.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 30)

Tuesday, March 31

Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Catch Demi on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She will also be on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Rob Lowe (The Grinder/Parks and Recreation) - Rob appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Sean is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) - Josh talks about Hunters on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Josh Gad (1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Ron Livingston (Loudermilk) - Ron talks about A Million Little Things on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Matt Fraser (Meet the Frasers) - Matt is a guest on The Doctors, so check your local listings.