Me-TV Going National Starting December 8; Fox Schedules Running Wilde Schedule and Finale

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Me-TV Going National Starting December 8; Fox Schedules Running Wilde Schedule and Finale

You saw that title correctly, Weigel's Me-TV (Memorable Entertainment TV) is going national starting Wednesday, December 8, 2010! It is expanding beyond just stations in Chicago and Milwaukee! This is wonderful news and the coming months are shaping up to be great for fans of classic TV, as we also will be getting Antenna TV in many markets on digital local stations starting Jan. 1. See our previous stories on Antenna TV.
Back to Me-TV, it will be a free, over-the-air television network for local broadcasters, just like Tribune's Antenna TV. It will run 24 hours/7 days a week with iconic television series in all the classic genres: comedy, drama, western adventure and crime/courtroom/detective series. More than 50 series from the 1950s-1980s have been licensed for air on the national Me-TV Network from multiple studios and independent producers. This allows for the type of seasonal and thematic program stunts which have defined Me-TV in Chicago for more than seven years as the destination for true, classic television presented with respect for the programs and viewers.
Among the series on the national Me-TV will be The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Bob Newhart Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, I Love Lucy, Perry Mason, Laverne & Shirley, The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Happy Days, M*A*S*H, Cheers, Beverly Hillbillies, Streets of San Francisco, The Big Valley, Hawaii Five-0, Star Trek, Gunsmoke, Marshall Dillon, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Honey West, Taxi, The Brady Bunch, My Three Sons, Cannon, The Odd Couple, The Honeymooners, The Untouchables, Gomer Pyle, Hogan's Heroes, Get Smart, Rawhide, Combat, 12 O'Clock High, Phil Silvers Show, The Wild Wild West, Petticoat Junction, Car 54 Where Are You? and Family Affair! Most of these series are from CBS Paramount with a few from 20th Century Television as well. View and discuss the complete schedule.
So what does Antenna TV think of this? Sean Compton, VP of Tribune Broadcasting, told us this: "I'm glad they are launching, the dot 2 spectrum is going to be filled with great programming. Me-TV is a competing yet at the same time complementing service. We have opposite shows and they don't run movies. (It) should be fun having both of us out there. I wish them luck; they are good guys." We also spoke with Neal Sabin, VP of Weigel Broadcasting, and he added the following: "Sean and I have a great relationship, we are sort of co-competitors of sorts. There is a mutual admiration between us, and I think the market place benefits from having both of us out there. In every market where Tribune or local TV has the Antenna TV affiliation, we become an option for the other broadcasters." -- We agree 100% with both Sean and Neal! The more classic TV, the merrier! SitcomsOnline.com supports both services and cannot wait for both to launch!
So now we have to ask, what markets will Me-TV be in? Antenna TV has secured nearly all of the top markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, but what about Me-TV? We will let you know clearances very soon, but unfortunately there is no clearance yet for New York City, but hopefully they can secure a spot soon. Chicago and Milwaukee will of course still remain with their current line-up. Stay tuned for clearances for Me-TV national!
View more on the national Me-TV Network. Me-TV is owned by Weigel Broadcasting Company.

Moving on to the other news of the day, Fox has set the finale date for struggling comedy Running Wilde. Fox has said they are not going to order more than the initial 13 episodes of the comedy, but it is all but canceled. They haven't said the "c" word, but after the terrible ratings, it seems it has zero chance of coming back next season.
The comedy starring Will Arnett and Keri Russell still has six episodes left to air and they will ALL air in December. It will air at its normal time of Tuesdays at 9:30pm next week (Nov. 30) and the following week (Dec. 7). The next two Tuesdays, Fox will preempt the series (Glee repeats on Dec. 14 and a new Million Dollar Money Drop on Dec. 21). As a result, Fox will move the show to Sundays for the next three weeks: Sunday, Dec. 12 at 7pm, Sunday, Dec. 19 at 7pm and Sunday, Dec. 26 at 9:30pm. The final two episodes will air on its normal night of Tuesdays, with back-to-back airings in the 9pm hour on Tuesday, Dec. 28.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, June 8

Young Sheldon - "Pancake Sunday and Textbook Flirting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mary struggles to make new friends while Mandy pushes Georgie to date another woman.

Ghosts - "Alberta's Descendant" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Alberta is thrilled when a living relative, Alicia (Ashley D. Kelley), visits Woodstone to learn more about her, but things take a turn when she hits it off with Todd (Rodrigo Fernandez Stoll), Sam’s podcast co-host. Also, Nigel uses his knowledge of Trevor and Hetty’s secret tryst to try to blackmail Hetty.

Animal Control - "Dogs and Geese" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dispatch radios a report of a goose on the loose; the precinct hosts an adoption day.

Animal Control - "Pigs and Minks" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The team welcomes back Patel even though he is still on suspension; Shred and Victoria are called into the principal's office on a school visit; Rick heads back into the field with Frank.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)

Thursday, June 8

Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simple Rules/Ladies Man) - Catch Kaley on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Lea Michele (The Mayor/Scream Queens) - Lea is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary) - Janelle appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) - Chris will be on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laurie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Boris Kodjoe (The Last Man on Earth/Second Time Around) - Boris is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) - Maitreyi talks about Never Have I Ever Live with Kelly and Mark, (check your listings) and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Eva Longoria (Telenovela) - Eva appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus joins the Tam Fam to discuss the final season of grown-ish on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Nia Long (Uncle Buck/The Cleveland Show/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Nia appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Lauren London (The Game) - Lauren is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Fortune Feimster (Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune appears on a repeat of The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings. She also talks about FUBAR on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Cheers) - Kelsey is telling Rachael about his recent movie, the Frasier revival and what he's got going on next on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Marilu Henner (Evening Shade/Taxi) - Marilu talks about Hallmark's Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica stops by to discuss her involvement with the Tony Awards and her Fox Soul talk show Cocktails with Queens on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Marsha Warfield (Night Court/Empty Nest) - Marsha drops by to talk about her iconic comedy career, her The Book of Marsha comedy tour and finally sees the green room at Sherri that was inspired by her, so check your local listings.
Sarah Jessica Parker (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Sarah will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.