E!, style Acquire Sex and the City; Big Bang Theory Gets Two and a Half Men Slot On May 3, Wife Swap Not Airing Again

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

E!, style Acquire Sex and the City; Big Bang Theory Gets Two and a Half Men Slot On May 3, Wife Swap Not Airing Again

I'm back after a few days away, but Todd did a great job filling in!

Comcast-owned networks E! Entertainment and style have acquired the rights to all 94 episodes of Sex and the City starting in January 2011. Sex and the City of course aired on HBO for six seasons from 1998-2004 and has been airing on TBS in repeats since 2003. Currently on TBS it airs weeknights in the 1am hour, but they will be losing the rights to the show when E! and style's deal starts. The series is not needed on TBS anymore, especially since Conan O'Brien will start his talk show in the fall, giving Sex and the City the boot since one hour (or two since there will likely be an encore of the talk show) of late night will be removed because of his new talk show.
The Comcast deal let's it air on E! and style as well as limited digital, VOD and mobile rights starting in Jan. 2011. In a previously done deal, E! already has the rights to the first Sex and The City movie, which will debut on E! in July 2012.

We have some notable network notes for you. CBS is trying The Big Bang Theory in Two and a Half Men's 9pm half-hour on Monday, May 3 - the first Monday of May sweeps! This is really a forced thing, because Two and Half Men had its episode order cut by two (the Charlie Sheen rehab situation) and doesn't have enough new episodes left in May. As a result, CBS has announced it will air an all-new episode of The Big Bang Theory at 9pm on May 3, followed by a repeat in its regular 9:30pm half-hour. Two and a Half Men will return with its final three episodes of the season starting May 10 at 9pm, with the season finale airing on May 24.
View more CBS schedule updates for May.
Moving on to other network notes, as I predicted, once again ABC will preempt Wife Swap this Friday (April 16) for previous week's rerun of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution at 8pm leading into an all-new episode. I suspect this will happen again next week (April 23), as Food Revolution will have its season finale next week. If that is the case, Wife Swap will return April 30 with back-to-back episodes, as previously scheduled. Then it should air weekly at 8pm, leading into Primetime: What Would You Do? at 9pm starting May 7.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 28

Animal Control - "Bear Cubs and Broncos" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tensions erupt when the two rival animal control precincts are forced to merge due to budget cuts; Frank and Templeton clash during a bear cub rescue as they fight for control; Emily and Shred try to hide their romance from the team.

The Simpsons - "¡The Fall Guy-Yi-Yi!" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Homer revitalizes Bumblebee Man's career when he becomes his secret stuntman.

Krapopolis - "Monster Week" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Tyrannis offends his father; Stupendous and Hippocampus do security; Deliria builds a dog.

Bob's Burgers - "Heist Things Are Heist" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After winning a prestigious award, Bob faces a setback at the ceremony; the kids team up with possible former jewel thief Vincent to put things right.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 22)

Friday, December 26

Mila Kunis (Family Guy/That '70s Show) - Watch Mila on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Zooey Deschanel (Physical/New Girl) - Zooey appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rose Byrne (Platonic/Physical) - Rose appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jamie Kaler (My Boys) - Jamie is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show/The New Dick Van Dyke Show/The Van Dyke Show) - Dick discusses his new book with ABC News' Chris Connelly on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti cooks on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Lacey Chabert (Still the King/Baby Daddy/Family Guy) - Lacey talks about Loist in Paradise on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Ryan appears on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Sarah Paulson (Leap of Faith) - Sarah is a guest on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil appears on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Mo'Nique (The Parkers) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Mo'Nique about her weight-loss journey and the launch of her new fitness brand, Mo'Niques Movement, as well as the emotional moment with her husband that changed it all, so check your local listings.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Star Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - NBC's Today has Cocktails and Mocktails with Neil and David Burtka on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Mario tells Sherri about his new holiday film The Christmas Spark on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Woody Harrelson (Cheers), Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb), Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) and Ariana Greenblatt (Stuck in the Middle) - The Now You See Me: Now You Don't cast including Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher Jesse Eisenberg, Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa join Drew to dish all about the third installment of the hit franchise on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.