Wednesday, June 30, 2010

USA Network Buys Modern Family Repeats Starting Fall 2013, Oxygen Buys Glee Repeats; Futurama Returns Scores for Comedy Central

USA Network has reached an agreement with Twentieth Television, acquiring the exclusive syndication rights to the critically acclaimed ratings ABC comedy hit Modern Family. Under the agreement, USA Network will strip the series Monday through Sunday beginning Fall 2013. It is by far the most significant sitcom acquisition they have ever made. Modern Family is the hottest new sitcom that premiered during the 2009-2010 TV season and it's a perfect fit for USA Network. The terrific writing, incredible ensemble cast and the 'cool' cultural relevance align perfectly with USA Network's "Characters Welcome" brand.
Modern Family stars Ed O'Neill as Jay, Julie Bowen as Claire, Ty Burrell as Phil, SofĂ­a Vergara as Gloria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron, Sarah Hyland as Haley, Nolan Gould as Luke, Ariel Winter as Alex and Rico Rodriguez as Manny. The series is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television in association with Levitan Lloyd Productions. Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd are executive producers/creators.
Modern Family is the biggest sitcom acquisition by USA Network since Wings in 1995. Wings aired on USA Network from 1995-2002 to good numbers. It returned to early morning in June 2008 and is sill airing. Financially, Modern Family is their biggest sitcom acquisition ever. Some of the past sitcoms they have aired were all in the morning hours such as Coach, Becker, Perfect Strangers, Gimme a Break!, Webster, The Facts of Life, Major Dad, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Martin and Living Single. USA Network was also famous for airing short-lived sitcoms in the mornings in their USAM block, such as Hearts Afire, Veronica's Closet, Jesse, and Something So Right. They also had original comedies such as Weird Science and USA High in the '90s.
By Fall 2013, Modern Family will be entering its fifth season on ABC. Currently, USA Network has no other comedies to pair Modern Family with, so they will either buy another comedy or pair it with original programming.

Meanwhile, Oxygen Media and Twentieth Television have reached an exclusive agreement for the basic cable syndication rights to Twentieth Century Fox's critically-acclaimed television hit series Glee. The hour-long Glee will join the Oxygen line-up with a weekend marathon of the second season in January 2011. This will be followed by a companion unscripted reality competition series to discover the next Glee star scheduled to premiere in June 2011 to appear on the third season of the series in Fall 2011. Oxygen will retain exclusive basic cable rights to telecast all seasons throughout the Oxygen schedule beginning in Fall 2013.
Entering its second season this fall and renewed already for a third season on Fox, Glee is a biting musical comedy that has quickly become a pop-culture phenomenon. This is by far the biggest acquisition for the 10-year-old network. Past acquisitions have mainly been sitcoms such as Roseanne, Living Single, Mad About You, Grace Under Fire, Ellen, Kate & Allie, and A Different World. Non-sitcoms included Xena, America's Next Top Model, and The Tyra Banks Show. As with most cable network, Oxygen is focused primarily on original programming.

The Emmy(R) Award-winning animated sci-fi comedy Futurama, resurrected by Comedy Central, made an out-of-this-world return and, with 2.92 million total viewers, became the highest-rated and most-watched season premiere for an animated series on cable with the exception of South Park.
Airing its first original episode in almost seven years, the sixth season premiere of Futurama titled "Rebirth" (Thursday, 10:00-10:30 p.m.) averaged a 2.0 HH rating, 1.9 Adults 18-49 rating, 4.5 Men 18-24 rating and 3.5 Men 18-34 rating, finishing the night as the most-watched and highest-rated show in all of television for Thursday Prime among M18-24 and M18-34, as well as the highest-rated show in all of television among Adults 18-49 (tie).
With 2.92 million total viewers tuning in to watch the next chapter in the lives of Leela, Fry and Bender, the premiere powered Comedy Central to its highest-rated and most-watched night of 2010 among total viewers (1.7 million total viewers) and A18-49 (1.1 rating) and the highest-rated and most-watched Thursday night in the network's history among M18-24 (2.4 rating) and M18-34 (1.9 rating).
The second of two all-new, back-to-back premiere episodes of Futurama (Thursday, 10:30 p.m.-10:59 p.m.), averaged a 2.1 HH rating, 1.7 A18-49 rating, 4.2 M18-24 rating, 3.2 M18-34 rating and 2.78 million total viewers to rank as the #2 program of the night in all of television among M18-34 and M18-24, and the #1 cable show in its timeslot with A18-49 (tie), M18-34 and M18-24.
Encore presentations of the season premiere of Futurama air Sunday at 12:00 a.m., Monday at 12:30 a.m., Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. and Thursday at 9:30 p.m. (all times ET/PT). And the series airs new episodes Thursdays at 10:00 p.m.

Laugh On all summer long with Modern Family tonight at 9/8 on ABC:


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, July 12

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Big Birthday and Tequila Shots" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mandy struggles to celebrate Georgie’s 21st birthday after hitting a rough patch in her career.

The Simpsons - "Bad Boys... For Life?" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Homer and Marge can't decide if Bart is naughty or nice.

Animal Control - "Dragons and Dognappers" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Rob Gronkowski returns and asks the team for help rehoming a zebra; Emily and Shred's first date goes awry when they unexpectedly run into Daisy and Patel on their night out; Frank must defend Templeton when Templeton is accused of dognapping.

Universal Basic Guys - "Hoagie Jones" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mark and Hank buy a horse together; Tammy invests in a painting.

Grimsburg - "Mo11y" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Flute forgets to buy Stan a gift for his birthday, he steals an AI doll from the evidence locker; Wynona is forced to confront her ex-boyfriend.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 6)

Friday, July 10

  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Octavia Spencer (Mom) - Watch Octavia on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Zoey Deutch (The Suite Life on Deck) - Zoey is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Robert appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Stephen Root (Barry/Ladies Man/NewsRadio) - Stephen is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne, Auli’i Cravalho and Catherine Laga’aia discuss Moana on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD) The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)

11/04/25 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11/25 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11/25 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11/25 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02/25 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16/25 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16/25 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

07/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Rob Reiner Receives Posthumous Emmy Nomination; Season Premiere Date Set for American Horror Story
07/10 - Great Entertainment Television Acquires House; Remembering Louise Lasser of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
07/09 - 78th Primetime Emmy Award Nominations; Disney's The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen
07/08 - Ian Ziering Hosting The CW Road Trip Series; Shark Tank Season 18 Guest Sharks
07/07 - Great Entertainment Television's Psych 20th Anniversary Marathon; Netflix Announces Cast for Myron Bolitar
07/06 - Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness Capsule; Michael Weatherly Returns to NCIS
07/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of July 6, 2026)
07/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Elle Renewed for Second Season; NBCUniversal to Separate from Comcast
07/03 - Impractical Jokers Returns with Guest Star Appearance by Alyssa Milano; Marla Gibbs Day in Chicago
07/02 - Mark Harmon Returns as Gibbs in NCIS: Origins; Disney's Camp Rock 3 Details
07/01 - S.W.A.T. Spin-off Set for STARZ; Willy Wonka Reality Series Coming to Netflix
06/30 - Netflix Adds to the Cast of A Hundred Percent; Disney Channel's Descendants: Wicked Wonderland Trailer
06/29 - Tubi's Breaking Bear Premieres July 24; Adult Swim Greenlights Heist Brothers, Announces Robot Chicken Specials
06/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 29, 2026)
06/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at New Seasons of King of the Hill and The Paper; Ben Feldman Upped to Regular for Season Six of Ghosts
06/26 - The Paper Season 2 Premieres September 9; President Curtis Trailer and Premiere Date
06/25 - NBC Fall 2026 Premiere Dates; Leanne Season 2 Premieres August 27 on Netflix
06/24 - Trailer for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe; Terry Crews to Host 50th Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular
06/23 - Netflix Releases Alley Cats Trailer; BET's Ms. Pat Comedic Courtroom Series Returns June 30
06/22 - Remembering Legendary Sitcom Director James Burrows; The Audacity Season 2 Coming in 2027
06/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 22, 2026)
06/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Agrees to Purchase Roku; Mickey Mouse Set to Star in Home Alone Remake
06/19 - Apple TV Comedy Brothers Details; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
06/18 - Still Hot in Cleveland Podcast with Valerie Bertinelli; Final Season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
06/17 - Home Alone and Mickey Mouse Come Together; New Tubi Movie Starring Sophia Bush and Jerry O'Connell
06/16 - Netflix's The Four Seasons Renewed for Season 3; Two Season Renewal for Apple TV Series
06/15 - FX's Adults Gets Prequel Episode; Remembering Anne Schedeen of ALF and Ronnie Schell of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
06/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 15, 2026)
06/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Tim Allen Still Wants Home Improvement Reboot; SpongeBob SquarePants Renewed
06/12 - HBO's Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness Details; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Trailer
06/11 - Prime Video's Elle Premieres July 1; FX's The Shards Launches August 5