SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

FamilyNet March 2010 Schedule, Removes Sitcoms; NATPE Syndication 2010: Day 3

FamilyNet, which was bought by ComStar last month or so, is changing their schedule in March 2010. ComStar also owns AmericanLife TV, so FamilyNet and ALN are now sister networks. And because of that, FamilyNet will be airing some series that used to air or air now on ALN. Effective Monday, March 1, 2010, FamilyNet will air Lou Grant, Trapper John M.D., and Color Honeymooners. The Ed Asner drama Lou Grant will air Mon-Thurs at 5pm and 6pm ET. Trapper John, M.D. will follow that and air Mon-Thurs at 7pm and 8pm ET. Both series are spin-offs of popular series Mary Tyler Moore Show and M*A*S*H. FamilyNet Movie Flicks will follow the dramas at 9pm ET and another one at 12am ET. And the Color Honeymooners will air Fridays at 5pm ET. Also airing on Fridays will be FamilyNet Documentary, World Combat League, and ALN Live from 6-9pm. ALN Live also airs on ALN at 8pm on Fridays, so it will be simulcast on FamilyNet.
Merv Griffin's Crosswords and Black Beauty will remain on the schedule and air weekdays at 3pm and 4pm ET. With the addition of these new series, this means Happy Days, My Three Sons, Family Ties, and Early Edition will be off the line-up after their Friday, Feb. 26 airings. They haven't lost rights I believe, but they have been played for 3 cycles each or so and FamilyNet wanted to do something fresh. Since some ALN series have migrated to FamilyNet, you might wonder if these series could migrate to ALN? As of now, that is not happening because they can't. But if it ever happens, we'll let you know!

What about AmericanLife TV in March 2010? There is only one change, Fridays at 10am and 5pm will now be another airing of The Color Honeymooners. So Rhoda and Phyllis will be now cut to Mon-Thurs 10am & 5pm instead of Mon-Fri in March. Not a big deal. And Merv Griffin's Crosswords will air Saturdays at 4pm, as they will share it with sister net FamilyNet. Everything else will remain the same as it is now. Stay with us for updates as usual.

We didn't mention on day one the first-run weekend series up for sale for next fall. The following all-new series are trying to be sold for Fall 2010 on weekends:
The Crook and Chase Hour (one-hour, music talk show from All Media Partners); Curiosity Quest Goes Green (Half-hour kids series from Telco Productions); The Kids Block (Half-hour kids series from Showplace Television Syndication); My Parents, My Sister & Me (Half-hour sitcom starring Jasmine Guy from Showplace Television Syndication); Real Green (Half-hour lifestyle magazine from Telco Productions); Treasure Hunters Road Show (Half-hour reality from Entertainment Concepts International); Wild Limited (Half-hour wildlife series from Litton); Young Icons (Half-hour kids reality from Entertainment Studios, Inc.); Untitled Project With Magic Johnson (Half-hour from sports reality Showplace Television Syndication); World's Funniest Moments (One-hour reality from MGM).
As of now, I have no clearances for any of these. I'm sure a few of these will get cleared. It would be nice to have an first-run sitcom in syndication again like in the days of Charles in Charge and Out of this World! So here's hoping My Parents, My Sister & Me starring Jasmine Guy gets cleared! Debbie Allen is producing that sitcom. Stay with us for updates!

In other NATPE news, Trifecta Entertainment has acquired distribution rights for Hacienda Heights, an original soap opera featuring an all-Hispanic cast. Trifecta hopes to launch it this fall as a weekend block of two half-hours on both English and Spanish-language TV stations, as well as secure a cable run for it if possible. It will be produced for both English and Spanish, B&C reports. The show stars Resurrection Blvd.'s Mauricio Mendoza, and will be shot in San Francisco, where executive producer Desmond Gumbs owns a sound stage and production facility. Gumbs financed the production of the first 11 episodes himself. Those episodes were test-marketed in four Western markets with strong Hispanic demographics: San Francisco; Los Angeles; Yuma, Ariz.; and Santa Rosa, Calif. New York-based Sahara Media has agreed to finance the production's next 89 episodes, bringing the show to 100. Once the companies get enough episodes, they hope to turn the show into a daytime strip.
As of now, no clearances on this yet. If it gets picked-up, we'll let you know.

We shall return if anything else is known today, so come on back and check!