SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

ABC Family has released their March 2011 schedule and at the end of the month, a long-running sitcom will be leaving because its contract will expire. The '90s sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch starring Melissa Joan Hart will be leaving the schedule effective Monday, March 28. The series has been on the network for nearly five years, since October 2006. Effective March 28, What I Like About You will now air in the 8am hour replacing Sabrina. And the only other change will be the return of Grounded for Life airing in the 9am half-hour replacing What I Like About You. The rest of the regular schedule remains intact with sitcoms Boy Meets World, Full House, Still Standing, 8 Simple Rules, My Wife & Kids, and That '70s Show.
Highlights for the month of March 2011 include the series finale of ABC Family original drama Greek on Monday, March 7 at 9pm. The first season finale of drama Pretty Little Liars will air on Monday, March 21 at 8pm after a best-of marathon from 11am-8pm. ABC Family will encore the last two episodes of season three of The Secret Life of the American Teenager after all-new Pretty Little Liars episodes on March 14 and March 21 at 9pm. The Secret Life of the American Teenager will return with all-new episodes on Monday, March 28 at 8pm after a best-of marathon from 11am-8pm. Also returning will be all-new episodes of original drama Make It or Break It airing at 9pm after Secret Life. Stay with us for updates on more original series, such as the return of sitcom Melissa & Joey, which should be returning in early summer.
ABC Family also has of course movie premieres for March 2011. Disney-Pixar's Monsters, Inc. will be making its ABC Family premiere on March 6. On March 13, Beverly Hills Chihuahua (starring George Lopez, Drew Barrymore, Piper Perabo and Jamie Lee Curtis) will be making its basic cable debut at 7pm followed by the world premiere of the new movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 starring George Lopez, Odette Yustman, Olivia Newton-John, Christine Lakin, and Ernie Hudson at 9pm. More ABC Family movie premieres include Hairspray (2007), The Rundown, and City of Ember. And of course there will be other movies airing during the month such as Cheaper by the Dozen, Grease, Meet the Parents, Titanic, The Flintstones, Enchanted, Aladdin, Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Happy Gilmore, Back to the Future trilogy and many more!

We also have some sad news to report. Character actress Peggy Rea known for her many roles in television series, and a number of films, died at her home in Toluca Lake on Saturday (February 5, 2011). She died of complications from congestive heart failure. Among her recurring roles in television were as Olivia Walton's cousin, Rose Burton, on The Waltons, as man chasing-Lulu Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard, as Ivy Baker (the mother of Suzanne Somers' character) on the first season of Step by Step, and as Brett Butler's mom (Jean Kelly) on Grace Under Fire.
Peggy also appeared in such television programs as I Love Lucy, Family Affair, The Good Guys, Gidget, The Patty Duke Show, Hazel, Sergeant Bilko, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Adam-12, Medical Center, Ironside, The Doris Day Show, Mannix, All in the Family, Quincy M.E., Charlie's Angels, Maude, Sanford, One Day at a Time, The Odd Couple, Love American Style, Marcus Welby, M.D., Mathnet, Burke's Law, Monsters, The Golden Girls, MacGyver, and Meego.
Even though she is not a household name, she was a fan favorite on the shows she appeared in. Fans of Step by Step, Grace Under Fire, The Waltons, The Dukes of Hazzard and All in the Family will certainly miss her. She will be deeply missed. Peggy was 89.