No Foolin' ABC Family Brings Back Boy Meets World, 7th Heaven; Modern Family Wins Peabody

Thursday, April 01, 2010

No Foolin' ABC Family Brings Back Boy Meets World, 7th Heaven; Modern Family Wins Peabody

Today is April Fools' Day, but we are not going to fool around here! As much as we would like to fool around with you, we take news very seriously around here. Especially TV schedule updates. Today we have a big update for ABC Family! Just the other day we said 8 Simple Rules would be leaving starting April 5, and that is still true, but now more changes are being announced! These changes are starting Monday, April 12, though. Two shows are returning to ABC Family, while two series are leaving. First up, in a surprise addition, ABC Family has re-acquired the '90s sitcom Boy Meets World and will air it weekdays back-to-back in the 7am hour, replacing Sister Sister, which is now gone. ABC Family has not aired Boy Meets World since September 2007 as that is when the contract expired. But now after almost 2 1/2 years, the sitcom is back on ABC Family! As for Sister Sister, it will be off the line-up, but will still remain on The Gospel Music Channel (they have been airing it since Aug. 2009) and it also pops-up from time to time on BET, as they have been airing it on and off since July 2009. ABC Family has been airing Sister Sister since June 2007. We'll let you know if and when it returns.
Also returning to the ABC Family schedule is 7th Heaven after over 2 years of being off the line-up. 7th Heaven will also return April 12 airing weekday mornings at 11am, replacing the daytime airing of Gilmore Girls. ABC Family lost rights to the series in Jan. 2008 when The Hallmark Channel obtained rights, but it seems ABC Family has re-acquired it. And it doesn't seem Hallmark will be removing it when ABC Family starts it again, so it looks like another shared deal. And if that's not all Heaven for you, the series will continue to air on WGN America weekday mornings at 9am.
One more change is that since Heaven is replacing Gilmore Girls at 11am, that airing of Gilmore Girls will move to 4pm starting April 12, replacing an hour of What I Like About You, which will be off the line-up again. This means Gilmore Girls will now air back-to-back at 4pm & 5pm starting April 12. As for What I Like About You, it has been airing on ABC Family since Jan. 2008 (with an hiatus or two mixed in). We're not sure when it will return, but you can still watch it on TeenNick (which has been airing it since Jan. 2009).

ABC's Modern Family has added another award to its mantle--a Peabody Award! This wily, witty comedy puts quirky, contemporary twists in family ties but maintains an old-fashioned heart. The 69th annual awards honoring the best in electronic media for 2009 were announced yesterday by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Fox's rookie Glee also took home a Peabody. Dependably tuneful and entertaining, the musical dramedy that revolves around the motley members of a high-school choral club hit especially high notes with episodes such as "Wheels," about the daily struggles of a wheelchair-bound singer.
Among the other winners were the ABC News special - A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson's interview titled - An Evening with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Read the full list of recipients for The 69th Annual Peabody Awards.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, March 12

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Big Birthday and Tequila Shots" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy struggles to celebrate Georgie’s 21st birthday after hitting a rough patch in her career.

Ghosts - "St. Hetty’s Day 2: The Help" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
A St. Patrick’s Day staffing emergency gives Hetty the chance to step into an unlikely role at the restaurant as she regains her once-a-year ability to be seen and heard by the living. Meanwhile, Kyle returns to watch over the ghosts and finds himself caught in an amusing supernatural dynamic.

Animal Control - "Squirrels and Fat Cats" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank uncovers Emily and Shred's secret romance during a break-in at city supply; Victoria and Patel confront his daughter's school bully.

Going Dutch - "Tinker, Tailor, Colonel, Spy" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Rick takes a sabbatical from the CIA and returns to the base, hoping to rekindle his strained relationship with Capt. Maggie; paranoia runs high when a mole is suspected to be operating inside the base.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 9)

Thursday, March 12

Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Will on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Robert stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jennifer Tilly (Out of Practice) - Andy Cohen interviews Jennifer on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan talks about Broadway's Death of a Salesman with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana joins Tamron to talk about her fashion evolution and her role in the all-star cast of the new series Scarpetta on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren talks about Reminders of Him on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - NBC's Today catches up with Valerie in the 10am hour.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil and Lily Rosenthal join Drew for a taste test of weird foods and talk about their children's book Just Try It! Someplace New! (A Phil & Lil Book) on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.