Spike TV Acquires Walker Texas Ranger, More Changes to July 2010; Denver's RTV Adds More Classic Series

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Spike TV Acquires Walker Texas Ranger, More Changes to July 2010; Denver's RTV Adds More Classic Series

Spike TV has acquired the cable rights to the Chuck Norris action series Walker, Texas Ranger. The series will start airing on Spike TV starting Tuesday, July 6, 2010. The series aired on CBS from 1993-2001 and has a cult following today due to Chuck and the campy nature of the show. It was an action series, police show, and a western all in one. Only Chuck Norris can pull that off!
The series will get a four-day marathon airing 9am-6pm from July 6-9. After the marathon, Chuck Norris and company will air weekdays from 3-6pm. This means the schedule will change for the rest of the day, too. CSI will no longer air all day in daytime, instead CSI will now be weekdays 9am-12pm. From 12pm-3pm will now be The Unit, which returns to the weekday line-up. From 6pm-1am there will be a mix of originals & movies and Entourage on Monday nights from 10pm-12am. In the late night there will be CSI at 1am, along with sporadic airings of Star Trek: Voyager, Unsolved Mysteries, Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol, and The Shield sometime between 2-4am.
On weekends, returning to Spike TV will be the sitcom Married...with Children! Al Bundy and the Bundy family will only air Sundays, though. Sunday mornings from 9am-11am starting Sunday, July 11. Married...with Children last aired on a Viacom network on Comedy Central. In fact, Comedy Central has scheduled a filler airing of the show on Saturday, June 26 at 8am.
Back to Walker, Texas Ranger, the series will continue to air on Universal owned-networks USA Network and Sleuth. USA doesn't have it on the schedule in July, but Sleuth will continue to air it in July in marathon blocks. Currently, USA Network is only airing it on Wednesday mornings. USA Network has aired the series since Aug. 1997, so that is almost 13 years! The Spike TV deal is happening because Hallmark Channel lost rights to the series. Hallmark obtained the series in Fall 2004 and shared it with USA Network, now Spike TV will share it with them. Hallmark last aired the series on weekends this past fall through end of December 2009.
And if you want even more Walker, Texas Ranger, another cable network will start airing it in September. Does this mean USA/Sleuth will lose rights by then? We're not sure, but we'll find out. Stay with us starting next month for all the cable network fall schedules!

KCDO in Denver is adding more classic TV to its line-up! They are a Retro Television affiliate, but will even expand on RTV's line-up by adding more classic series! Effective Monday, June 28, 2010, KCDO, which can be seen by OTA, Comcast, Dish, DirecTV in the Denver area, will a few of their own shows to mix in with the RTV lineup. KCDO's own purchases includes Get Smart, Hawaii Five-0, Streets of San Francisco, The Beverly Hillbillies and Mission: Impossible. It seems KCDO has a deal with CBS Paramount, as all of those are owned by Paramount. RTV's series are mostly owned by Universal, which include series like McHale's Navy, The Rockford Files, Quincy, Magnum P.I., and Emergency!
This is a good move by KDCO to add even more classic TV to a classic TV line-up. Hopefully more RTV stations follow. Maybe RTV will get the idea to acquire more series from other libraries.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, June 29

The Conners - "Patriarchs and Goddesses" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene continues to navigate her breakup with Ben, and when she and Becky head to the movies and see Ben on a date, Darlene can’t stop herself from interfering and making everyone uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Dan offers to talk with Aldo’s dad, Jesse (Joe Walsh), when he doesn’t approve of Harris and Aldo’s relationship.

The Goldbergs - "The William Penn Years" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Never a sports enthusiast, Adam finds himself in a pickle with his peers when he’s recruited to film his high school’s highly awaited last football game of the year and fails to capture his team’s winning touchdown. Meanwhile, Beverly discovers her neighbor Arnie Wolfy (Dan Lauria) is moving and she’s determined to buy his spacious home and move the family in. Murray’s long-standing and unresolved conflict with Arnie challenges Beverly’s plans, but the family comes to appreciate home is where the heart is.

Abbott Elementary - "Student Transfer" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a negative teacher review, Janine gets a confidence boost when a student gets transferred from Melissa’s class into hers, but it turns out the student proves to be too much to handle. While trying to forge a friendship with an uninterested Gregory, it is revealed that Jacob is constantly getting roasted by his students. The two bond after Gregory unintentionally gives Jacob the idea to incorporate the roasts in an educational way.

Home Economics - "Box of King-Size Candy Bars, $48.99)" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Trick or treat is not the only question on the Hayworths’ minds as they debate the best neighborhood for a spooktacular Halloween. Meanwhile, Connor navigates sharing the holiday with his ex-wife, Emily.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 27)

Wednesday, June 29

Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Steve Carell (Space Force/The Office/Come to Papa/Watching Ellie) - Watch Steve on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Minnie Driver (Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Garcelle Beauvais (The Jamie Foxx Show) - Garcelle is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 3:30am on Bravo.
Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Simu chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Sophia Bush (Partners) - Sophia will be on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Raven-Symoné (Raven's Home/That's So Raven/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/The Cosby Show) - Raven-Symoné appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Ed Helms (The Office) and Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) - Ed and Randall are guests on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Chelsa Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/Luis) - Charlie will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Ron Howard (Arrested Development/Happy Days/The Andy Griffith Show) and Clint Howard (Gung Ho) - Ron and Clint are guests on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Kym Whitley (Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) and Finesse Mitchell (Outmatched/A.N.T. Farm) - Kym and Finesse guest co-host a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs/Rules of Engagement/Reno 911!) - Wendi is a guest on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Joey King (Bent) - Joey appears on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Mira Sorvino (Shining Vale) - Mira talks about the film Most Guys Are Losers on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Michelle Buteau (Enlisted/China, IL) - Michelle will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim talks about Netflix's The Upshaws on Access Daily, so check your local listings.