Hallmark Channel Acquires Partridge Family Starting Saturday, June 19; Hot in Cleveland Premieres Tonight on TV Land, Guest Stars For 1st Season

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Hallmark Channel Acquires Partridge Family Starting Saturday, June 19; Hot in Cleveland Premieres Tonight on TV Land, Guest Stars For 1st Season

C'mon get happy because The Hallmark Channel is adding another sitcom! A little over a month after Hallmark added Who's the Boss? (May 17), now they are adding the '70s family sitcom The Partridge Family starting THIS Saturday, in a last minute move. Beginning Saturday, June 19, 2010, wake up and hop on the bus with The Partridge Family from 6am-9am on Saturday mornings. The sitcom will be replacing From Martha's Kitchen effective immediately. And if that's not enough Shirley Jones and family for you, The Partridge Family will also air Sunday mornings starting this coming Sunday (June 20) also from 6am-9am, replacing an episode of Little House on the Prairie and a morning movie. This classic sitcom aired on ABC from 1970-74 and lasted 96 episodes.
Unfortunately, The Partridge Family is not going to air on the weekday line-up, but something is better than nothing. We still get 6 hours a week (12 episodes) with the weekend play. The series is complete on DVD, but it hasn't been nationally on television since it aired on i TV (now known as ION Television) in Fall 2006.
Partridge Family comes from Sony Pictures Television, the same as their previous sitcom addition, Who's the Boss?, so maybe a deal with Sony was made? Just speculating. Since TV Land lost rights to The Brady Bunch, it would be nice if Hallmark picked that up and paired it with Partridge. But with all the Martha Stewart programming coming (weekdays 10am-6pm) to Hallmark Channel in September, we wonder what will happen to the current sitcoms (The Golden Girls, Who's the Boss?, I Love Lucy, M*A*S*H, and now Partridge Family)? We'll let you know as soon as we know, but I think they will remain, but will obviously have to move some timeslots. Stay with us for further updates and we're happy that Hallmark is airing sitcoms!
UPDATE 6:30PM ET: We got an email from The Hallmark Channel and Darren Melameth, VP of Scheduling says: "As long as there is viewer demand for The Partridge Family, Who's the Boss, M*A*S*H, Cheers, I Love Lucy, and The Golden Girls, we will continue to have a place on the network for these enduring sitcoms for years to come." Sounds good to me! Stay with us for more.

TV Land launches the much hyped and anticipated sitcom Hot in Cleveland tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, with an immediate encore at 10:30 p.m. and again later at 1:00 a.m. So, you have three chances tonight. Hot In Cleveland revolves around three fabulous best friends from LA – novelist Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli), eye-brow archer to the stars Joy Scroggs (Jane Leeves) and former soap star Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick) - who find their lives changed forever when their plane, headed for Paris, makes an unexpected landing. When the friends discover that they are hot in Cleveland, they decide to stay. Starting over, they rent a house that happens to come with a very feisty caretaker (Betty White).
On the premiere episode airing tonight, three best friends from Los Angeles (hopeless romantic MELANIE, cynical businesswoman JOY, and aging actress VICTORIA) are flying to Paris when their plane makes an emergency landing in Cleveland. Realizing that all the norms from Los Angeles don't apply anymore and thrilled with the new possibilities available to them, they decide to celebrate a city that values real women and stay where they're still considered hot...
And in addition to the star-studded ensemble cast of its first original sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, there will be plenty of special guest stars in the 10-episode season including Wayne Knight (Seinfeld/3rd Rock from the Sun), Shirley Knight (As Good As It Gets), Huey Lewis (Just Shoot Me!), Hal Linden (Barney Miller), Susan Lucci (All My Children), Juliet Mills (Nanny and the Professor), Carl Reiner (The Dick Van Dyke Show), John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard) and Amy Yasbeck (Wings).
Will the premiere be the highest rated airing EVER on TV Land? The buzz is certainly there and Betty White has shown her magic in recent months in the Nielsens. Tune in and sample it at least because it looks good and it could beat the networks in the 10 p.m. half-hour tonight.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.