ABC Announces March 2010 Return Dates for FLASHFORWARD and V; Comcast to Manage NBC with Merger with GE

Friday, December 04, 2009

ABC Announces March 2010 Return Dates for FLASHFORWARD and V; Comcast to Manage NBC with Merger with GE

ABC has announced a few more midseason dates! First off, as you all saw last night at the end of FLASHFORWARD, ABC said it will bring the show back in March now instead of January, so it can air repeat-free and avoid the Winter Olympics (Feb. 12-28). FLASHFORWARD will return on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8pm for 12 straight repeat-free weeks. 14 hours are left of the 24 hour season, so two times ABC will air two-hour episodes to fit them in during these 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, ABC has also announced that V will return Tuesday, March 30, 2010, but not in its 8pm slot it had in November. It will air at 10pm following LOST! 9 episodes remain in the first season.
As previously announced, Ugly Betty will air Wednesdays at 10 starting Jan. 6, Shark Tank Fridays at 9 starting January 8, and LOST will return Feb. 2, airing Tuesdays at 9pm.
There is still plenty of other midseason news to come for ABC, such as a return date for Dancing with the Stars, and premiere dates for Jamie Oliver series, The Deep End, Happy Town, and Romantically Challenged. ABC also has Wife Swap and Primetime: What Would You Do? waiting on the bench. As soon as they announce it, we'll let you know. So far only Fox has announced its full second half schedule. NBC has only announced Jan/Feb, while CBS has not announced anything yet. The CW has announced a bit, as well as ABC...but nothing full yet. So, stay with us, but for now view more on this FLASHFORWARD and V return dates!

Comcast and General Electric officially announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture that will be 51 percent owned by Comcast, 49 percent owned by GE and managed by Comcast. The joint venture, which will consist of the NBC Universal businesses and Comcast's cable networks, regional sports networks and certain digital properties and certain unconsolidated investments, will be well positioned to compete in an increasingly dynamic and competitive media and digital environment.
The joint venture will provide consumers the broadest possible access to content, and support high-quality, award-winning content development across all platforms including film, television, and online. It will be anchored by an outstanding portfolio of cable networks and regional sports networks that will account for about 80 percent of its cash flow, including USA, Bravo, Syfy, E!, Versus, CNBC and MSNBC. The joint venture will be financially strong with a robust cash-flow-generation capability.
View the full press release, so you know the full details of this deal.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, July 3

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color! - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
CBS will honor the memory of legendary actor, producer, director, writer, comedian and Emmy Award winner Carl Reiner with THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO CARL REINER, featuring two colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series, Friday, July 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. As series creator and co-star, Carl Reiner personally supervised the original colorization of the episodes.

The special features “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” which ranked #8 on TV Guide’s list of the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All-Time,” and “October Eve,” which Mr. Reiner considered to be one of the series’ funniest episodes. Both were written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff.

In “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” Laura Petrie blurts out a top secret on a national television quiz show, revealing that comedian Alan Brady wears a toupee. The episode, which was the show’s fifth and final season premiere, was originally broadcast on Sept. 15, 1965. “Coast to Coast Big Mouth” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1966.

In “October Eve,” a painting of Laura returns to haunt her when, despite her having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) takes the liberty of “undraping” her. The episode was first presented on April 8, 1964, during season three.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 29)

Friday, July 3

Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Watch Kevin on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:35am on ABC.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mark Duplass (Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa guest hosts a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Love/Married/Go On) - Brett appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Tika talks about the season finale of mixed-ish and her latest project helping new moms on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie/The Secret Lives of Men) - Peter talks about Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Grace and Frankie on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.