Thursday, January 13, 2011

TCA Winter 2011 Press Tour: NBC; The Game's Season Premiere Sets Series Highs on BET

NBC is up today at the TCA Winter 2011 press tour. They are not having an executive session today due to the recent Comcast deal still pending. So we are really not getting any new info today. The day started off with an USA Network Character Breakfast. Then there were panels for Syfy series Being Human and Face Off. Then before NBC was up, Bravo's Platinum Hit, Mun2's I Love Jenni and Oxygen's The Glee Project were up. Panels later this afternoon will have NBC shows go up, as we see The Cape (Mondays at 9pm), Perfect Couples (premieres next Thursday at 8:30pm), America's Next Great Restaurant (premieres Wednesday, March 16), Harry's Law (premieres Monday at 10pm), and Community (Thursdays at 8pm). The day will conclude with a NBC Universal Evening Event party.
IF there is anything noteworthy from NBC's panels this afternoon, we will let you know, so stay with us!

BET's scripted night of programming broke ratings records as millions tuned in on Tuesday, January 11 to watch the hour long cable debut of sitcom The Game at 10:00 p.m. and the series premiere of Let's Stay Together at 11:00 p.m. The Game was the #1 ad-supported sitcom telecast in cable TV history, garnering 7.7 million total viewers and 4.87 coverage rating according to the Nielsen Company and was the #1 The Game telecast on broadcast and cable ever (beating its airings on The CW by miles). The premiere also ranks as the #2 telecast in BET history among viewers (behind BET Awards '09).
Let's Stay Together, a brand new scripted series on the network, ranked among the top 5 ad-supported sitcom premieres in cable TV history ever and was the #2 series telecast in BET history behind The Game, debuting to 4.4 million viewers among 2.7 million households with a 3.0 coverage rating on Tuesday, January 11 at 11:00 p.m.
Following BET Networks' successful syndicate acquisition in February 2009, the BET premiere of The Game picked up where things left off at the end of season three (over two years ago) with the show's main cast -- Coby Bell, Hosea Chanchez, Brittany Daniel, Pooch Hall, Tia Mowry and Wendy Raquel Robinson.
In addition to its incredible on-air performance, The Game had the highest amount of social media buzz of all other prime time television shows, according to Trendrr's Prime Time Television Activity Chart for Tuesday, January 11. At one point, commenting on The Game Facebook page averaged 893 likes per minute, and 750 comments per minute, after the question "What did you think about tonight's episode?" within the first 28 minutes after the post. The Game related topics dominated Twitter with 9 out of the top 10 trending topics 30 minutes into the program.
So why did The Game get such big ratings? The CW aired the series only in primetime once a week, while BET has been airing the series since February in all day parts with a lot of marathons, gaining new fans and airing it with similar style sitcoms. With the amount of networks available today, it is very hard to find an audience for a series airing just once a week. Comedies tend to repeat well and are perfect for marathon viewing. The previous high for The Game on The CW was 3 million viewers for the season two premiere, which was more than doubled in the BET premiere. Maybe more network sitcoms need to have their sitcoms air for marathons or daily afternoon airings to get a bigger audience in primetime. Original dramas on cable also are doing well with the marathon blocks and extra encores, such as ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars, which recently saw series highs for the return.
Both series will regularly air every Tuesday on BET at 10pm & 10:30pm, respectively.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, January 30

Happy's Place - "Silence Was Golden" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
While Bobbie attempts to plan the perfect anniversary dinner for her and Emmett, Steve and Takoda must hide a secret from Isabella and Gabby that could ruin Bobbie's special evening.

Stumble - "Lights Out" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After the AI data center that Courteney helped woo drains Heådltston of water and power, the town and school shut down, sending her cheer team scattered to the wind; with Daytona looming, Courteney relies on Boon to help save the day.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 26)

Friday, January 30

  • Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Watch Anthony on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - Jane appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Jessica Williams (Shrinking/Love Life/Just for Kicks) - Jessica is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Alan Cumming (Schmigadoon!) - Alan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Garcelle Beauvais (The Other Black Girl/Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show/Merry Happy Whatever) - Garcelle talks about Terry McMillan Presents: Tempted 2 Love on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason talks about Untitled Home Invasion Romance with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Katherine LaNasa (Three Sisters) - Katherine chats about The Pitt with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin talks about Solo Mio on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel talks about the new season of Animal Control on Fox on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Sarah Shahi (Teachers) - Sarah tells Sherri about her new book, Life is Lifey: The A to Z’s of Navigating Life’s Messy Middle, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Drew chats with the legendary Laura Dern on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (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

01/30 - Jury Duty Returns March 20 on Prime Video; Katt Williams 4th Netflix Special
01/29 - Season 4 of Ted Lasso Premieres This Summer; Shrinking Renewed for Season 4 as Season 3 Premieres
01/28 - Nikki Glaser's New Hulu Special Premieres April 24; HBO Announces Late-Night Series
01/27 - Trailer for The Muppet Show Special Event; New Evolution of The Handmaid's Tale Series
01/26 - FETV Acquires '70s S.W.A.T. Series; Paramount+ Releases Date for Can You Keep a Secret? Comedy Series
01/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 26, 2026)
01/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Kenan and Kel Back Together for Upcoming Movie; Amazon Barbershop Series Adds to Cast
01/23 - CBS Renews 10 More Series for 2026-27; Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary Return Big in January
01/22 - Dancing with the Stars Live Tour Starts TODAY; Beef Returns April 16
01/21 - Prime Video's Bait Premieres March 25; Production Underway on Season 2 of Arctic-set Comedy North of North
01/20 - Baywatch Casting Call for Reboot on Fox; Mike Epps Netflix Special Trailer
01/19 - MGM+ Comedy Series American Classic; Taylor Tomlinson Returns to Netflix
01/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 19, 2026)
01/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Rockford Files Reboot at NBC; Daniel Stern Fired From ABC Comedy Pilot
01/16 - Ted Season 2 Trailer Released; Remembering T.K. Carter of Punky Brewster, TV Director Tom Cherones, and Others We Recently Lost
01/15 - The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Gets Special Preview; ABC Midseason Changes for Monday and Tuesday Night Lineups
01/14 - NBC Orders Pilots, Including The Rockford Files; The CW to Premiere Celebrity Series
01/13 - 83rd Golden Globe Winners; Tubi's Upcoming YA Film Slate
01/12 - Peacock's The 'Burbs Trailer; The Jeff Foxworthy Show Launch Back on COZI TV
01/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 12, 2026)
01/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Henry Winkler to Star in NBC Legal Comedy Pilot; First Look at Peacock's The 'Burbs
01/09 - HBO's Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! Documentary with Interviews Including Rob Reiner; 83rd Annual Golden Globes Presenters
01/08 - Netflix Orders Nick Kroll Comedy Series; Saturday Night Live January 2026 Hosts and Music Guests
01/07 - Saturday Night Live Bobbleheads from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum; Fox Entertainment Signs Tracee Ellis Ross to Deal
01/06 - Emily in Paris Renewed for Season 6; Audible's New Comedy Series Starring Jenifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Niecy Nash-Betts
01/05 - Trailer for The Muppet Show Special Event; Season 3 of Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal on Adult Swim
01/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 5, 2026)
01/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Premiere Date Set for Malcolm in the Middle Reboot; NBC Pulls The Paper
01/02 - Bridgerton Season 4 Details and Live Premiere Event; NBC Pulls The Paper from Mondays
01/01 - Happy New Year; Shrinking Season 3 Trailer
12/31 - In Memoriam: Remembering the Sitcom Stars We Lost in 2025
12/30 - Antenna TV and Rewind TV's New Year's Eve and Day Marathons; Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair Premieres April 10