Thursday, March 31, 2011
Hallmark April 2011 Schedule Changes AGAIN; CBS 2010-2011 Season Finales
Maybe the third time is the charm? For the third time, The Hallmark Channel has edited their April 2011 schedule before it has even started. Effective Monday (April 4), there will be changes in the evenings and late nights from the second revision, which we gave you about ten days ago. An extra airing of The Waltons will air weekdays at 5pm replacing an airing of Little House on the Prairie. This means The Waltons will now air for three hours from 3-6pm every weekday. At 6pm, Little House on the Prairie remains, but it was going to be replaced at 7pm by The Golden Girls, but this will no longer happen. The 8pm hour was also going to be The Golden Girls, but now Hallmark has scheduled another Little House on the Prairie, so the drama will air weeknights from 6-9pm. The other changes are in late night. Cheers will remain in the 1am-3am block now, as it was going to be replaced by Empty Nest. Then from 3am-5am will now be a late night block of The Golden Girls, as Cheers was planned in this block in the previous revision. The Golden Girls will now air from 11pm-1am and 3am-5am, if you're keeping score. The changes will be made on weekdays/nights only. The weekend schedule will remain the same as the previous update. This means Empty Nest will be just on weekends for an hour in the mornings (anytime between 7-9am) and a late night block on weekends from 3am-5am. View the the UPDATED Hallmark Channel April 2011 schedule. If anything changes AGAIN, we will let you know. Stay tuned!
CBS recently announced their season finales for this season (2010-2011). Some of these finale dates were already known to us. The first finale will be on Sunday, May 1 at 9pm as Undercover Boss ends its second year. Then a week later, The Amazing Race will close out its season with a special two-hour episode from 8-10pm followed by the season finale of CSI: Miami. On Sunday, May 15, as we knew, will be the Survivor: Redemption Island finale from 8-11pm, with the reunion show. On Thursday, May 12, CSI will end a week early at 9pm, as the following week (May 19) will have a two-hour The Mentalist season finale. Friday dramas CSI: NY and Blue Bloods wrap up their seasons on Friday, May 13 starting at 9pm. It is unclear what will air on the final Friday of the season (May 20). The CBS Monday line-up will wrap up their seasons on Monday, May 16, which is also a week before the season. Comedies How I Met Your Mother, Mad Love, Mike & Molly and drama Hawaii Five-0 will also end on this night. As of now, it looks like Two and a Half Men repeats will continue to air. We will let you know if this changes. The Thursday comedies end on the last Thursday of the season with The Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement airing before The Mentalist finale on May 19. The Tuesday drama line-up of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Good Wife will end their seasons on Tuesday, May 17, which is a week before the final Tuesday of the season. The same goes true for Criminal Minds on Wednesday, with the finale airing on May 18 rather than the last day of the season. Spin-off series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior will however end its season on the last day of the season on Wednesday, May 25 at 10pm. As of this writing, it is unclear what CBS will air on Friday, May 20 from 9-11pm; Monday, May 23 and Tuesday, May 24 from 8-11pm and Wednesday, May 25 from 8-10pm, as their regular series on those days and times end their seasons a week before. Could some specials be in the works? Stay tuned!
CBS recently announced their season finales for this season (2010-2011). Some of these finale dates were already known to us. The first finale will be on Sunday, May 1 at 9pm as Undercover Boss ends its second year. Then a week later, The Amazing Race will close out its season with a special two-hour episode from 8-10pm followed by the season finale of CSI: Miami. On Sunday, May 15, as we knew, will be the Survivor: Redemption Island finale from 8-11pm, with the reunion show. On Thursday, May 12, CSI will end a week early at 9pm, as the following week (May 19) will have a two-hour The Mentalist season finale. Friday dramas CSI: NY and Blue Bloods wrap up their seasons on Friday, May 13 starting at 9pm. It is unclear what will air on the final Friday of the season (May 20). The CBS Monday line-up will wrap up their seasons on Monday, May 16, which is also a week before the season. Comedies How I Met Your Mother, Mad Love, Mike & Molly and drama Hawaii Five-0 will also end on this night. As of now, it looks like Two and a Half Men repeats will continue to air. We will let you know if this changes. The Thursday comedies end on the last Thursday of the season with The Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement airing before The Mentalist finale on May 19. The Tuesday drama line-up of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Good Wife will end their seasons on Tuesday, May 17, which is a week before the final Tuesday of the season. The same goes true for Criminal Minds on Wednesday, with the finale airing on May 18 rather than the last day of the season. Spin-off series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior will however end its season on the last day of the season on Wednesday, May 25 at 10pm. As of this writing, it is unclear what CBS will air on Friday, May 20 from 9-11pm; Monday, May 23 and Tuesday, May 24 from 8-11pm and Wednesday, May 25 from 8-10pm, as their regular series on those days and times end their seasons a week before. Could some specials be in the works? Stay tuned!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Nick at Nite April 2011, No Foolin; Futurama Renewed for 7th Season
April 2011 will have another wall-to-wall week long marathon on Nick at Nite. This month it will be My Wife & Kids. From Monday, April 18 through Sunday, April 24, catch the Kyles from 11pm-6am each night. And don't forget to also tune in in their regular time slot this week as well Sun-Thurs 8pm-9pm, Fridays 9-10pm and Saturdays 10-11pm. As for regular schedule changes, it seems Home Improvement will leave its Sunday night (early Monday) schedule from 5-6am. This coming week will have back-to-back Full House, and then after that it will be an episode each of Full House and Glenn Martin instead. The series is airing however in an one-time-only slot this Thursday from 4-6am (technically Friday morning). As of now, that is its last airing. Home Improvement will continue to air on sister network TV Land, as we noted yesterday. The rest of the Nick at Nite schedule will remain as is. Elsewhere in April 2011, Nick at Nite will air a simulcast of the first The Comedy Awards, that is airing on some MTV Networks channels on Sunday, April 10 from 8-10pm. Movie wise, the movie Baby's Day Out still has not aired, as it has been scheduled at least twice the past two months, but it never aired...but it will in April. As of now, that is. The movie will air on Friday, April 8 from 9-11pm. The most recent preemption was because Nick at Nite decided to encore The Ghostbusters movie again as did good in the ratings. The network also aired the second film from the franchise as well. And if you're still ain't afraid of no ghost, then tune in for another encore tomorrow night (Thursday) at 11pm! There is an encore of the movie Mr. Troop Mom starring George Lopez on Friday, April 15 from 9-11pm. That's about it for Nick at Nite April 2011, but there is a chance that there will be a five-day George Lopez marathon from April 25-29, but that isn't official yet...so stay tuned. I would think that would be pushed to the first week of May for Cinco de Lopez, as usual. View and discuss Nick at Nite April 2011.
The future is looking bright for Fry, Leela and Bender! Comedy Central and Twentieth Century Fox Television have announced today the pick-up of 26 new episodes (Seasons "7-A" and "7-B") of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's brilliantly subversive animated sci-fi comedy, Futurama. The first installment of 13 new episodes will premiere in the summer of 2012, with the additional 13 new episodes to air the following summer of 2013 on Comedy Central. Seven years after its last original episode aired on Fox, the sixth season premiere of Futurama last June led Comedy Central to its best Thursday prime ever among young men. The animated sci-fi comedy continued its out-of-this-world winning streak throughout the summer, averaging 2.5 million viewers each week, along with a 1.5 P18-49 rating, a 3.0 M18-34 rating and 3.3 M18-24 rating. In the social media realm, the Futurama Facebook fan base has grown from one million "likes" prior to its return last summer to over 11 million "likes" today, making it one of the top television sites on Facebook. Stay with us for a premiere date for the summer 2012 as we get closer to 2012, as we are still over a year away. The sixth season finished airing this past fall (2010).
The future is looking bright for Fry, Leela and Bender! Comedy Central and Twentieth Century Fox Television have announced today the pick-up of 26 new episodes (Seasons "7-A" and "7-B") of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's brilliantly subversive animated sci-fi comedy, Futurama. The first installment of 13 new episodes will premiere in the summer of 2012, with the additional 13 new episodes to air the following summer of 2013 on Comedy Central. Seven years after its last original episode aired on Fox, the sixth season premiere of Futurama last June led Comedy Central to its best Thursday prime ever among young men. The animated sci-fi comedy continued its out-of-this-world winning streak throughout the summer, averaging 2.5 million viewers each week, along with a 1.5 P18-49 rating, a 3.0 M18-34 rating and 3.3 M18-24 rating. In the social media realm, the Futurama Facebook fan base has grown from one million "likes" prior to its return last summer to over 11 million "likes" today, making it one of the top television sites on Facebook. Stay with us for a premiere date for the summer 2012 as we get closer to 2012, as we are still over a year away. The sixth season finished airing this past fall (2010).
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
TV Land Gets Weekend Makeover, New Mini-Marathon Madness; Logo Acquires Absolutely Fabulous
TV Land has announced it will be changing its weekend schedule starting this coming weekend (April 2-3). The three-week CSI March weekend stunt will not be carrying over into April, but also the schedule that was originally scheduled for weekends in April will not be happening either. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition returns and will air weekends from 10am-1pm, as The Nanny is reduced to 7am-10am and I Dream of Jeannie is no longer airing on weekends. Then from 1pm-5pm, a block of The Andy Griffith Show will air instead of Bewitched, which will remain totally off the schedule even after the 3-week CSI stunt. A triple shot of Sanford & Son will air from 5pm-6:30pm, followed by three episodes of All in the Family from 6:30p-8pm. On Saturdays it is 6:30pm-9pm, though. That's all that isn't changing, though! There are some minor changes to the weekday line-up as well, starting next week (Monday, April 4). Weekdays at 1pm will have another episode of Gunsmoke, replacing Bonanza. The 12 noon episode of Gunsmoke will still air, too, and Bonanza will air still at 2pm & 3pm. It will also gain the 4om hour, replacing back-to-back The Andy Griffith Show, which will just air on weekends now. The 5pm hour will still be Good Times and The Jeffersons, but 6pm-9pm will be now three episodes each of Sanford & Son (6pm-7:30pm) and All in the Family (7:30pm-9pm), as they switch timeslots. And finally, TV Land will launch a new late night block titled Mini Marathon Madness starting Monday, April 18, 2011! The block will air seven nights a week with two or three blocks of sitcoms every night! But before we get to that, weekdays in the 11am hour will now be All in the Family and Sanford & Son replacing The Nanny and Boston Legal returns airing five mornings a week at 5am replacing M*A*S*H. Back to Mini Marathon Madness, on Mondays from 10pm-12am will be The Nanny, followed by Roseanne from 12am-2:30am and M*A*S*H from 2:30am-5am. The TV Land Monday night movie will move from 9-11pm to 8-10pm. On Tuesdays during Mini Marathon Madness, it is Roseanne from 11pm-2am and Home Improvement from 2am-5am. On Wednesdays, it is an encore of Home Improvement from 11pm-2am followed by Three's Company from 2am-5am. Thursdays has Three's Company from 11:30pm-2am followed by The Nanny from 2am-5am. The Friday Mini Marathon Madness block has The Nanny from 11:30pm-2am then Roseanne from 2am-6am. Everybody Loves Raymond airs in the 11pm half-hour on Thursdays and Fridays, in addition to its 9-11pm airings. Saturdays has more Roseanne from 12:30am-2:30am then a block of Three's Company from 2:30am-6am. And finally, Sundays has Three's Company from 12:30am-3am and then The Nanny from 3am-5am. Everything else in April 2011 is the same as we previously announced. View the TV Land April 2011 schedule. Stay tuned for the May 2011 schedule very soon! Stay with us.
Logo announced it acquired the complete, five-season series of the camp, cult-hit Absolutely Fabulous. To kick off the Logo premiere, Absolutely Fabulous will launch with a weekend-long marathon beginning Saturday, April 16th at 2 p.m. ET/PT. The Britcom will move to its permanent timeslot with episodes airing every Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Logo. Absolutely Fabulous follows publicist Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and her best friend, fashion director Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) as they live the life of excess in every possible way. The sitcom chronicles these middle-aged women and their desperate attempt to do anything to stay relevant and hip. As they teeter toward decadence through alcohol, cigarettes and fashion, Edina and Patsy find themselves in unbelievable, hilarious situations. Their poor judgment and misadventures include a full cast of eccentric characters including Saffy (Julia Sawalha), Edina's voice-of-reason daughter; Bubble, Edina's babbling, animated assistant; and Edina's oblivious mother. The series ran originally on BBC from 1992-96, with a revival and specials airing from 2001 to 2004.
Logo announced it acquired the complete, five-season series of the camp, cult-hit Absolutely Fabulous. To kick off the Logo premiere, Absolutely Fabulous will launch with a weekend-long marathon beginning Saturday, April 16th at 2 p.m. ET/PT. The Britcom will move to its permanent timeslot with episodes airing every Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Logo. Absolutely Fabulous follows publicist Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and her best friend, fashion director Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) as they live the life of excess in every possible way. The sitcom chronicles these middle-aged women and their desperate attempt to do anything to stay relevant and hip. As they teeter toward decadence through alcohol, cigarettes and fashion, Edina and Patsy find themselves in unbelievable, hilarious situations. Their poor judgment and misadventures include a full cast of eccentric characters including Saffy (Julia Sawalha), Edina's voice-of-reason daughter; Bubble, Edina's babbling, animated assistant; and Edina's oblivious mother. The series ran originally on BBC from 1992-96, with a revival and specials airing from 2001 to 2004.
Monday, March 28, 2011
ABC Summer 2011 Schedule; Another TV Land Awards Honoree
ABC has announced its summer 2011 schedule for original programming. Wipeout, 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show, Rookie Blue, Expedition Impossible, The Hot Zone, Take the Money and Run, Bachelor Pad and America's Karaoke Challenge, join previously announced The Bachelorette and Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition. ABC's summer schedule launches on Thursday, June 16 with a special preview episode of Wipeout, followed by the series premiere of game show 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show and the season premiere of drama Rookie Blue, now at 10pm. If there is a Game 7 of the NBA Finals, these programs will move to Thursday, June 23, though. The NBA Finals begin Thursday, June 2 on ABC and could last until June 16, should all 7 games be needed like last year. Wipeout repeats will remain in the Thursday at 8pm hour for the rest of the summer and some originals could be mixed in since it has 16 episodes. 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show will last 6 weeks before a new series takes over, the reality series from Jerry Bruckheimer Take the Money and Run will start Thursday, July 28. Rookie Blue will last all summer for 13 episodes. ABC's Tuesday summer line-up starts on Tuesday, June 21 with all-new episodes of Wipeout at 8pm leading into the new Mark Burnett reality series Expedition Impossible, which will last 10 weeks at 9pm. At 10pm, ABC will air the new drama The Hot Zone for all summer, lasting 13 weeks. Moving on to Mondays, The Bachelorette and Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition we knew already, but when they finish, The Bachelor Pad and new reality series America's Karaoke Challenge will air starting Monday, August 8 for 6 weeks each. So, ABC is all-new all summer long on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. TBD favorite series repeats will air on Sundays and Wednesdays, with the most obvious repeat candidates being the Wednesday comedies (The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town), AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Secret Millionaire, Castle, and perhaps Body of Proof. Stay tuned for info on the repeat schedule as soon as we know. View more info on the ABC summer 2011 series. TV Land announced that platinum recording artists and the pioneers of "Rock 'N Soul," Daryl Hall and John Oates, will receive the Music Icon Award at the 2011 TV Land Awards. The duo will also perform some of its most popular songs which topped the pop charts throughout the '70s, '80s and '90s. With eight number one singles including "Rich Girl," "Private Eyes" and "Maneater," Grammy®-nominated Daryl Hall and John Oates have sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. Their musical legacy continues today, with their classic tunes featured in film and on television including Oscar®-winner The Fighter, 500 Days of Summer and the popular television series Glee and Grey's Anatomy. As we have said many times, the 2011 TV Land Awards will be held on Sunday, April 10, 2011 in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and airs on TV Land the following week on Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 9 PM ET/PT. The ninety-minute telecast will feature exhilarating tributes to some of the most iconic television casts and musical performers. Previously announced honorees include: New York legend Regis Philbin, who will receive the Legend Award; the full cast of Family Ties, (Michael J. Fox, Meredith Baxter, Michael Gross, Justine Bateman, Tina Yothers, Marc Price, Tracy Pollan and Billy Vera) who will be honored with the Fan Favorite Award and The Cosby Show cast (Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempesst Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Sabrina LeBeauf and Raven Symone) who will be honored with the Impact Award. TV Land will also honor the entire cast of Welcome Back, Kotter (John Travolta, Gabe Kaplan, Ron Palillo, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Robert Hegyes, Marcia Strassman and Ellen Travolta) with the 35th Anniversary Award and the cast of The Facts of Life (Lisa Whelchel, Nancy McKeon, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn and Charlotte Rae) with the Pop Culture Award.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Week 27 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
2010-11 Week 27 TV Ratings (first four nights averages, Mon-Thu):
Households: N/A.
Total Viewers: N/A.
Adults 18-49: N/A.
Week 27 (March 21-27) Analysis: Week 26 started with the return of Dancing with the Stars for ABC helping them through the first four nights. We don't have final network averages for the first four nights but we can project Fox is winning across the board. ABC is likely in second but CBS should be neck-and-neck with them. NBC is way back in fourth across the board. Fox should win the week but CBS could catch up due to the good performances for the NCAA tournament on Friday and Saturday. Last week, week 26, had Fox win the week over CBS in every category, while ABC was in third. And NBC was in fourth place.
Monday saw ABC clean up. ABC started with the 12th season premiere of Dancing with the Stars doing 22.66 million and a 5.3 18-49 rating. Great numbers, and up from the season 11 premiere from September even. At 10pm ABC aired Castle and it did a season high 12.03 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, winning its hour in both measures. CBS was almost all-new with its comedies and Hawaii Five-0. At 8pm, a new How I Met Your Mother started it off with a below average 8.03 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating. At 8:30, Mad Love was new and did 6.53 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. Two and a Half Men followed with a REPEAT again doing 9.24 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week. At 9:30, Mike & Molly was all-new and did 9.7 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, which I think is a low thanks to the repeat lead-in. A new Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 10.01 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, which is solid and both second place finishes. Fox was all-new with House doing 9.49 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, down a tad from previous week. A new Chicago Code followed at 9pm with 6.16 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week again. NBC started with Chuck doing 4.23 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating for another season low. The Event was next and did just 4.11 million and tied its series low of a 1.2 18-49 rating. At 10pm, a new Harry's Law did 8.43 million but just a 1.6 18-49 rating for third place and a series low. Friday bound next season? It could thrive at 10pm. The CW was in repeats with 90210 doing only 690,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week. Gossip Girl followed and was even worse with a repeat doing 530,000 viewers and a non-existent 0.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth week-to-week.
Tuesday had CBS win with its dramas. CBS started with a new NCIS and did 19.46 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating which is good but down from its last new episode. NCIS: Los Angeles followed with a new episode and did 16.56 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which is solid. The Good Wife was new and did 11.7 million but only a 2.1 18-49 rating. It will be interesting if CBS keeps it in this slot next fall. For ABC, No Ordinary Family was all-new in the 8pm hour and did 5.35 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, which was up from recent weeks. At 9, the two-hour special Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time did OK with 7.09 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating. Dancing results start this Tuesday. Fox started off with a repeat of Glee and did 5.27 million and a 2.0 18-49, which is not bad. Next Fox aired repeats of its comedies, Raising Hope did 4.06 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. New comedy Traffic Light was next and also a repeat and did only 2.71 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating only. NBC aired a two-hour The Biggest Loser doing 8.33 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, which was up some from previous week. Then at 10pm, a Parenthood repeat did only 2.88 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating. The CW was a repeat with One Tree Hill doing 760,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, on par week-to-week. Next at 9pm was a repeat of Hellcats and that did 720,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week's repeat.
Wednesday had a different leader, this time it was Fox thanks to a two-hour American Idol carrying it. Idol did 23.95 million and a 7.9 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. CBS started the night off with Survivor: Redemption Island doing 11.0 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which was down a tenth from previous week. Veteran drama Criminal Minds was next with a repeat doing 8.58 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating. At 10pm, week six of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior did 8.8 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, down some from previous week thanks to its lead-in being a repeat. ABC had its Laugh On comedy block and had an all-new episode of The Middle open the night with 7.05 million and a a below normal 2.0 18-49 rating. Then at 8:30, Better With You was preempted again for another repeat of The Middle doing 5.6 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up a lot week-to-week. Then ABC aired a new Modern Family at 9pm doing 10.9 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating, which is #1 for the week so far in scripted TV. Then at 9:30, Mr. Sunshine was new with 5.8 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, up from previous week as its lead-in was new. The next two weeks it will be following repeats again. As I keep saying, Cougar Town will return with a special airing on Monday, April 18, and then return to Wednesdays starting April 20. Let the countdown begin for the cul-de-sac crew! At 10pm, a new episode of new drama Off the Map aired and did 4.46 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. NBC aired a new Minute to Win It and did 4.17 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which was up some from previous week. Then a repeat of Law & Order: SVU did 3.99 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, while a new episode at 10pm did 8.84 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, winning its hour. The CW had a new America's Next Top Model starting it off at 8pm doing 2.2 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which was up some from previous week. This show is getting killed by Fox and CBS' reality series, so it will move to 9pm in a few weeks. At 9pm, new reality series Shedding for the Wedding did only 900,000 viewers and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week again.
Thursday saw Fox win the night for the second night in a row, as Idol aired. But first, ABC opened the night with a new episode of the spring edition of Wipeout doing a solid 7.43 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. Then Grey's Anatomy was all-new at 9pm doing 10.28 million and a 3.7 18-49 rating, on par with recent airings. A new Private Practice at 10 closed the night with 7.93 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, up solidly from previous week's 9pm airing. CBS preempted its regular line-up of The Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, CSI and The Mentalist for NCAA Basketball coverage again, this time doing 6.3 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating for the 7pm game, followed by the 9:42pm game doing 8.59 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating. Much better than previous week. Onto Fox, it was all American Idol as an one-hour airing did 21.3 million and a 6.4 18-49 rating, up from previous week's season low. Fox aired a repeat of Bones at 9pm and did 8.31 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating. NBC comedies were all-new. Community started it off with 4.46 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. Then the canceled Perfect Couples did 3.4 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was actually better than recent weeks. The Office was new and did 7.07 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating. Parks and Recreation was next with a new airing doing 5.15 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up from previous week's series low. 30 Rock followed at 10 with a new episode doing just 4.36 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, but up some from previous week's series low. And Outsourced was even worse for a new airing doing 3.61 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, but up a tenth week-to-week. The CW was next with a repeat of Vampire Diaries doing 1.31 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Then a repeat of Nikita did 1.41 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, but up a tenth week-to-week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but Friday had CBS win with NCAA coverage doing better than previous week. The games are less on cable now. Shark Tank premiered for ABC besting anything Supernanny did in the hour. Fringe bounced back some from its series low the previous week. Saturday had CBS easily win with NCAA coverage. And ABC's No Ordinary Family did OK for a Saturday, which makes me think it would do fine on a Friday if promoted next year.
Tonight ABC is half all-new with AFV, Secret Millionaire, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters as the latter two are repeats. NBC has a new episode of dead on arrival America's Next Great Restaurant & another two-hour Celebrity Apprentice, all starting at 8 following Dateline at 7. CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by a new The Amazing Race at 8 and new episodes of Undercover Boss & CSI: Miami from 9-11pm. CBS could be delayed a bit by NCAA coverage. Fox is somewhat all-new with Animation Domination starting at 8pm, but 9pm is a repeat.
As for the week (week 27), Fox will likely win the week everywhere again, CBS could make it interesting as NCAA ratings were solid on Friday and Saturday and decent on Thursday. ABC could be third because of half repeats tonight. And for the coming week (week 28), has Dancing with the Stars: The Results launching on Tuesday leading into the new drama Body of Proof, which I think will do very well.
Week 26 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 26 -- March 14-20)
- American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat did 2.93 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week, as daylight savings time is causing this.
- The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat in its normal 8pm slot did 4.64 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating. Earlier, a repeat at 7pm did only 2.45 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, on par with previous week.
- Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A new episode did 4.43 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, up some from previous week which is good because its lead-in was a repeat this week.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A new episode did 6.55 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, which is great.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A new episode did 5.45 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, which is up some from previous week when its lead repeat was a repeat.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new airing did 8.03 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, good but below normal.
- Mad Love (CBS) - 6.53 million for a new episode and a 2.4 18-49 rating is up some from previous week thanks to the lead-in being new.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.24 million for a repeat and a 2.7 18-49 rating, is up a tenth week-to-week in 18-49.
- Mike & Molly (CBS) - 9.7 million for a new airing and a 18-49 rating of 3.0 is decent, but below normal.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Raising Hope (Fox) - A repeat did 4.06 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. Expected.
- Traffic Light (Fox) - Why air a repeat of this show? It did only 2.71 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating.
- The Middle (ABC) 2 airings - A new airing of this sitcom did 7.05 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, which is below normal. Then a repeat at a special time of 8:30pm did 5.6 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating... which is decent.
- Better with You (ABC) - preempted, returns April 13.
- Modern Family (ABC) - A new episode did 10.9 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating, the sitcom and scripted TV leader.
- Mr. Sunshine (ABC) - A new episode did 5.8 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. I would renew this for next season to air in the 10pm hour.
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - preempted.
- Rules of Engagement (CBS) - preempted.
- Community (NBC) - A new episode did 4.46 million and 1.8 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week's low.
- Perfect Couples (NBC) - A new episode did only 3.4 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating. But up a good number from previous week. Doesn't matter anyway.
- The Office (NBC) - A new airing did 7.07 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, easily the best of the NBC block.
- Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A new episode did 5.15 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, up a good number from previous week's series lows thanks to the lead-in being new this time.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode at 10pm did just 4.36 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, as this show is starting to fall under a 2 now.
- Outsourced (NBC) - A new episode did just 3.61 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, actually up a tenth from previous week.
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10pm, with repeats in the 7pm hour and at 9pm.
Summing it up. Modern Family, The Office, Mike & Molly, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men (R) were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Mad Love, Parks and Recreation) or just plain old terrible (such as Perfect Couples, Outsourced, Traffic Light (R)).
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Digital Digest: Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two
It's time to enter into your weekly dosage of all things digital for your favorite sitcoms--that's right, it is another Saturday, and another edition of Digital Digest! Sadly, as much as we wish that we could, we can't reverse the trend of slowing news each and every week, but we can bring you what we have (as we always do) and a review of Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two. Ready? Let's get going!
DIGITAL NEWS
In what has been another slow news week, the only totally new DVD sitcom announcement is from Lionsgate, with House of Payne - Volume 8. It is scheduled for a June 14 release at a $29.98 MSRP.
The final season of Father Knows Best is officially on the Shout! Select calendar, and a bit earlier than expected. Father Knows Best - Season Six is set for an April 19 release at a $39.98 MSRP. In addition to all of the episodes of the final season of the classic sitcom, he set will contain two episodes of the series Window on Main Street, but unfortunately, it looks as if the reunion movies that Shout! Factory was said to be looking in to will NOT be part of the set.
There is an interesting release of note that was announced some time ago from MPI featuring Don Knotts. Don Knotts - Tied Up With Laughter is a special comedy collection, he is joined by singer-actress Joey Heatherton, actress Jane Powell, former Dallas Cowboys player Lance Rentzel, comic Jack Burns, Knott‘s Love God movie co-star Maureen Arthur and the legendary Jimmy Durante. It also contains a look at his early work and a featurette entitled "Don Knotts with Lucille Ball." It is scheduled for an April 26 release at a $14.98 MSRP.
Hulu, the website where you can watch many series from the present and past, has announced a deal with Viacom to bring many of their series to the website. It is important to note, however, that the "new Viacom" is not the same as the old Viacom (most of those classic series are now part of CBS Television Distribution), so the only thing of interest to us is the series Hot in Cleveland. The series from the Viacom library are available only to Hulu Plus subscribers, so you have to be a paying subscriber to view these series.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 29) brings America's original "bad boy" to DVD for the first time with Shout! Factory's release of Dennis the Menace - Season One. The five disc set contains every episode of the first season of the series and a ton of special features. We should have a review of this set soon. You can take a trip to America's Sin City with Dan Tanna in Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two. Or if you are a fan of classic Jack Webb series, you can see the end of the classic series Emergency! in Emergency! - The Final Rescues. We have a review of Vega$ in today's Digital Digest.
BLOG DVD REVIEW
Aaron Spelling was one of the most well-known producers of all time, particularly in the 70s and 80s, and in 1978, he brought to American airwaves (along with creator Michael Mann, who later went on to be a well-known producer himself with the series Miami Vice) the series Vega$. The series stars Robert Ulrich (previously of Soap fame) as private detective Dan Tanna, who helped solve crime in the Sin City by rolling around the strip in his 1957 Ford Thunderbird. Check out our review of Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two.
DVD Review - Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two
by skees53
Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two (CBS Home Entertainment, $39.98) has Dan Tanna (Robert Ulrich) continuing to keep a watchful eye as a private eye over the city of Las Vegas to nab the bad guys and win over the ladies at the same time. Tanna takes on crime in eleven more installments of the classic series, along with help from his asssistant Bea (Phyllis Davis), legman Bobby "Binzer" Borso (Bart Braverman) and his police confidant Lt. Dave Nelson (Greg Morris), and a long string of guest stars as both the good guys and the bad guys .
Dick Sargent and Mary Ann Mobley guest star in "Lost Monday," where Binzer's trip to a hypnotist may turn him into a murderer, and it is up to Tanna to stop him before that happens. One of Dan's friends is in Vega$ with his new bride to perform at the Desert Inn in "Comeback," but the happy marriage ends when she dies very early in to the marriage. Bea takes a vacation and comes back engaged in "All Kinds of Love," but there is something unsettling about the man she is about to married in the eyes of Tanna. In "The Magic Sister Slayings," Dan has information about a man trying to get a gambling license that the man would kill--literally--to suppress the information. Cheating in Vegas turns to murder in "Lido Girls." In "Consortium," dead bodies are planted in Tanna's home and car after the girls attend a party that Tanna also attends.
Captain & Tennille guest star in "The Hunter Hunted," where Lt. Nelson begins receiving threats towards his family and asks Dan to stay out of the way--but will he? An illusionist performing at the Desert Inn is sent death threats in "The Man Who Was Watching," but when Tanna gets involved, he may be part of those threats too. A cop from San Francisco comes to visit Dan in the double-length feature "The Golden Gate Cop Killer," but when he turns up dead, Dan is determined to head to San Francisco for revenge. A robbery at the Desert Inn turns into a hostage situation in "Siege of the Desert Inn," and Bea is among those hostages. The season ends with "Vendetta," where Dan has to investigate a murder in his own family before another one occurs.
It appears that all of the episodes are unedited, all containing very consistent runtimes. The set does have the typical CBS Home Entertainment disclaimer on it about how episodes may be edited from their original network versions, but there are no music disclaimers or anything like that. My feeling is that this set is completely safe from edits, although it has been so long since I've seen it that I can't say for sure. Runtimes are as follow:
Disc 1:
1. "Lost Monday" (49:18)
2. "Comeback" (49:20)
3. "All Kinds of Love" (49:15)
4. "The Magic Sister Slayings" (49:19)
Disc 2:
5. "Lido Girls" (49:19)
6. "Consortium" (49:19)
7. "The Hunter Hunted" (49:20)
8. "The Man Who Was Twice" (49:18)
Disc 3:
9. "The Golden Gate Cop Killer" (1:38:33)
10. "Siege of the Desert Inn" (49:20)
11. "Vendetta" (49:27)
The packaging used for the set is the standard CBS Home Entertainment Viva case, which has about become the standard in DVDs lately. The cover art has a large photo of Tanna with the other cast members in the background (smaller pictures of them), and the back of the case has several episode snapshots, along with information about the series. Inside, there are the three discs, which contain no artwork other than the series logo on a gray background. Discs 1 and 2 contain four episodes each, while Disc 3 contains three episodes (one being a double-feature). Episode descriptions and airdates are printed inside of the case, but I do have one major gripe. The episodes for Disc 2 are listed in the center of the case, and are impossible to read unless you remove the middle tray that holds two of the discs. I'm not sure why they put episode descriptions in the middle of the case. But on the positive side, the descriptions for each episode are very thorough.
There really isn't much to say at all about the menus. Each disc has two of the cast members as the menu artwork, and you have a listing of all of the episodes, along with Play All Episode Promos and Subtitles on the main menu. Once you select an episode, you can watch it with or without the episode promos. Surprisingly, there is no Play All option to be found on the menus ("Play All Episode Promos" just gives you the promos). Chapters are placed throughout each episode.
The video and audio quality on the set is actually pretty decent, and looks about like other Aaron Spelling series from the era that have been released by CBS Home Entertainment. The episodes definitely look old, but are cleaned up rather well. Even the episode promos, which are of slightly lower quality than the episodes, honestly don't look all that bad. The audio is presented in mono with English subtitles available, but comes through very loud and clear.
The only special feature on the set is previews for each episode from the original airing of the series ("Next on Vega$"). These run about 30 seconds each. It would have been nice to have seen some interviews or commentaries on these episodes.
These are some excellent episodes, and it has been so long since I have seen this series that it has all seemed new to me. As far as I know, the series hasn't aired anywhere in the United States in over a decade, and has somehow become a "lost" series among the Aaron Spelling series out there, perhaps because it really does scream 70s and because it only lasted three seasons. If you are a fan of similar Aaron Spelling series from the same era, or just a fan of crime dramas in general, you'll love this set, and the only way to see it is to obtain these DVDs, because it doesn't seem like any TV channel will be airing it anytime soon. So take a gamble and head on down to Vega$!
(4/5 stars)
To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Vega$ on TV.com
LOOKING AHEAD
That's it for this week's Digital Digest. The upcoming weeks aren't as bad as they have been when it comes to releases, but let's hope that we can hear more news about more releases! We're craving to see the end (or in some cases, the beginning) of many classic series that we all know and love. Until next time, keep it digital!
DIGITAL NEWS
In what has been another slow news week, the only totally new DVD sitcom announcement is from Lionsgate, with House of Payne - Volume 8. It is scheduled for a June 14 release at a $29.98 MSRP.
The final season of Father Knows Best is officially on the Shout! Select calendar, and a bit earlier than expected. Father Knows Best - Season Six is set for an April 19 release at a $39.98 MSRP. In addition to all of the episodes of the final season of the classic sitcom, he set will contain two episodes of the series Window on Main Street, but unfortunately, it looks as if the reunion movies that Shout! Factory was said to be looking in to will NOT be part of the set.
There is an interesting release of note that was announced some time ago from MPI featuring Don Knotts. Don Knotts - Tied Up With Laughter is a special comedy collection, he is joined by singer-actress Joey Heatherton, actress Jane Powell, former Dallas Cowboys player Lance Rentzel, comic Jack Burns, Knott‘s Love God movie co-star Maureen Arthur and the legendary Jimmy Durante. It also contains a look at his early work and a featurette entitled "Don Knotts with Lucille Ball." It is scheduled for an April 26 release at a $14.98 MSRP.
Hulu, the website where you can watch many series from the present and past, has announced a deal with Viacom to bring many of their series to the website. It is important to note, however, that the "new Viacom" is not the same as the old Viacom (most of those classic series are now part of CBS Television Distribution), so the only thing of interest to us is the series Hot in Cleveland. The series from the Viacom library are available only to Hulu Plus subscribers, so you have to be a paying subscriber to view these series.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 29) brings America's original "bad boy" to DVD for the first time with Shout! Factory's release of Dennis the Menace - Season One. The five disc set contains every episode of the first season of the series and a ton of special features. We should have a review of this set soon. You can take a trip to America's Sin City with Dan Tanna in Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two. Or if you are a fan of classic Jack Webb series, you can see the end of the classic series Emergency! in Emergency! - The Final Rescues. We have a review of Vega$ in today's Digital Digest.
BLOG DVD REVIEW
Aaron Spelling was one of the most well-known producers of all time, particularly in the 70s and 80s, and in 1978, he brought to American airwaves (along with creator Michael Mann, who later went on to be a well-known producer himself with the series Miami Vice) the series Vega$. The series stars Robert Ulrich (previously of Soap fame) as private detective Dan Tanna, who helped solve crime in the Sin City by rolling around the strip in his 1957 Ford Thunderbird. Check out our review of Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two.
DVD Review - Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two
by skees53
Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two (CBS Home Entertainment, $39.98) has Dan Tanna (Robert Ulrich) continuing to keep a watchful eye as a private eye over the city of Las Vegas to nab the bad guys and win over the ladies at the same time. Tanna takes on crime in eleven more installments of the classic series, along with help from his asssistant Bea (Phyllis Davis), legman Bobby "Binzer" Borso (Bart Braverman) and his police confidant Lt. Dave Nelson (Greg Morris), and a long string of guest stars as both the good guys and the bad guys .
Dick Sargent and Mary Ann Mobley guest star in "Lost Monday," where Binzer's trip to a hypnotist may turn him into a murderer, and it is up to Tanna to stop him before that happens. One of Dan's friends is in Vega$ with his new bride to perform at the Desert Inn in "Comeback," but the happy marriage ends when she dies very early in to the marriage. Bea takes a vacation and comes back engaged in "All Kinds of Love," but there is something unsettling about the man she is about to married in the eyes of Tanna. In "The Magic Sister Slayings," Dan has information about a man trying to get a gambling license that the man would kill--literally--to suppress the information. Cheating in Vegas turns to murder in "Lido Girls." In "Consortium," dead bodies are planted in Tanna's home and car after the girls attend a party that Tanna also attends.
Captain & Tennille guest star in "The Hunter Hunted," where Lt. Nelson begins receiving threats towards his family and asks Dan to stay out of the way--but will he? An illusionist performing at the Desert Inn is sent death threats in "The Man Who Was Watching," but when Tanna gets involved, he may be part of those threats too. A cop from San Francisco comes to visit Dan in the double-length feature "The Golden Gate Cop Killer," but when he turns up dead, Dan is determined to head to San Francisco for revenge. A robbery at the Desert Inn turns into a hostage situation in "Siege of the Desert Inn," and Bea is among those hostages. The season ends with "Vendetta," where Dan has to investigate a murder in his own family before another one occurs.
It appears that all of the episodes are unedited, all containing very consistent runtimes. The set does have the typical CBS Home Entertainment disclaimer on it about how episodes may be edited from their original network versions, but there are no music disclaimers or anything like that. My feeling is that this set is completely safe from edits, although it has been so long since I've seen it that I can't say for sure. Runtimes are as follow:
Disc 1:
1. "Lost Monday" (49:18)
2. "Comeback" (49:20)
3. "All Kinds of Love" (49:15)
4. "The Magic Sister Slayings" (49:19)
Disc 2:
5. "Lido Girls" (49:19)
6. "Consortium" (49:19)
7. "The Hunter Hunted" (49:20)
8. "The Man Who Was Twice" (49:18)
Disc 3:
9. "The Golden Gate Cop Killer" (1:38:33)
10. "Siege of the Desert Inn" (49:20)
11. "Vendetta" (49:27)
The packaging used for the set is the standard CBS Home Entertainment Viva case, which has about become the standard in DVDs lately. The cover art has a large photo of Tanna with the other cast members in the background (smaller pictures of them), and the back of the case has several episode snapshots, along with information about the series. Inside, there are the three discs, which contain no artwork other than the series logo on a gray background. Discs 1 and 2 contain four episodes each, while Disc 3 contains three episodes (one being a double-feature). Episode descriptions and airdates are printed inside of the case, but I do have one major gripe. The episodes for Disc 2 are listed in the center of the case, and are impossible to read unless you remove the middle tray that holds two of the discs. I'm not sure why they put episode descriptions in the middle of the case. But on the positive side, the descriptions for each episode are very thorough.
There really isn't much to say at all about the menus. Each disc has two of the cast members as the menu artwork, and you have a listing of all of the episodes, along with Play All Episode Promos and Subtitles on the main menu. Once you select an episode, you can watch it with or without the episode promos. Surprisingly, there is no Play All option to be found on the menus ("Play All Episode Promos" just gives you the promos). Chapters are placed throughout each episode.
The video and audio quality on the set is actually pretty decent, and looks about like other Aaron Spelling series from the era that have been released by CBS Home Entertainment. The episodes definitely look old, but are cleaned up rather well. Even the episode promos, which are of slightly lower quality than the episodes, honestly don't look all that bad. The audio is presented in mono with English subtitles available, but comes through very loud and clear.
The only special feature on the set is previews for each episode from the original airing of the series ("Next on Vega$"). These run about 30 seconds each. It would have been nice to have seen some interviews or commentaries on these episodes.
These are some excellent episodes, and it has been so long since I have seen this series that it has all seemed new to me. As far as I know, the series hasn't aired anywhere in the United States in over a decade, and has somehow become a "lost" series among the Aaron Spelling series out there, perhaps because it really does scream 70s and because it only lasted three seasons. If you are a fan of similar Aaron Spelling series from the same era, or just a fan of crime dramas in general, you'll love this set, and the only way to see it is to obtain these DVDs, because it doesn't seem like any TV channel will be airing it anytime soon. So take a gamble and head on down to Vega$!
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Vega$ on TV.com
LOOKING AHEAD
That's it for this week's Digital Digest. The upcoming weeks aren't as bad as they have been when it comes to releases, but let's hope that we can hear more news about more releases! We're craving to see the end (or in some cases, the beginning) of many classic series that we all know and love. Until next time, keep it digital!
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Hub Upfront 2011, Acquires 5th Grader; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 28 2011)
The Hub had its first upfront yesterday. The network of course was re-branded on October 10, 2010, and is available to 60 million U.S. cable and satellite households. It was formerly known as Discovery Kids. A music competition for kids, family game shows based on iconic, beloved brands, and an animated Warren Buffett are among the nine new original programs that will join ten returning popular series with new episodes in the 2011-2012 program lineup on The Hub.
We won't go much into this since it is not sitcom related. There is no word if any sitcoms will join the line-up airing opposite the current batch: Happy Days, The Wonder Years, Doogier Howser, Family Ties, Laverne & Shirley and of course action comedy Batman. If and when they do, we will let you know. They did acquire game show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, though. The live-action game show premiered on Fox in 2007 followed by all-new episodes in first-run syndication. 309 half-hour episodes have been acquired by The Hub.
Stay with us for any further updates as we get it!
It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of March 21-25, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!
Monday, March 28, 2011
We won't go much into this since it is not sitcom related. There is no word if any sitcoms will join the line-up airing opposite the current batch: Happy Days, The Wonder Years, Doogier Howser, Family Ties, Laverne & Shirley and of course action comedy Batman. If and when they do, we will let you know. They did acquire game show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, though. The live-action game show premiered on Fox in 2007 followed by all-new episodes in first-run syndication. 309 half-hour episodes have been acquired by The Hub.
Stay with us for any further updates as we get it!
It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of March 21-25, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!
Monday, March 28, 2011
- Danny McBride (Easbound & Down) - Danny visits The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS. Your Highness opens in theters on April 8.
- David Schwimmer (Friends) - Watch David on an all-new Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Ted Danson (Cheers/Becker/Bored to Death/Help Me Help You) - Catch Ted on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS, but check listings for time.
- D.L. Hughley (The Hugleys) - D.L. drops by Lopez Tonight at 12am on TBS.
- Kaley Cuoco (8 Simples Rules/The Big Bang Theory) - The lovely Kaley will be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings. Hop opens in theaters on April 1.
- Judith Light (Who's the Boss?) - Judith appears on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
- Sanaa Lathan (The Cleveland Show) - Sanaa stops by for some girl talk on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
- Martin Lawrence (Martin) - Watch the funnyman on The Mo'nique Show on BET at 11pm.
- Roseanne Barr (Roseanne) - Catch Roseanne on HLN's The Joy Behar Show at 10pm ET/PT.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - See Olivia on an all-new Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld/Rules of Engagement) - Watch Patrick on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Game) - From The Game on BET, the beautiful Wendy Raquel Robinson gives a sneak peek at the season finale that everyone will be talking about on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
- Norm MacDonald (The Norm Show) - Watch Norm on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Helen Hunt (Mad About You) - Helen visits The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down) - Danny continues to make the rounds on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
- Jerry O'Connell (Carpoolers/Do Not Disturb) - Jerry drops by Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jeffrey Tambor (The Ropers/The Larry Sanders Show/Arrested Development) - Jeffrey appears on Tavis Smiley on PBS, but check listings for time.
- Chris Rock (Everybody Hates Chris) - Chris visits The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS at 11:35 pm.
- Norm MacDonald (The Norm Show) - Catch Norm on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
- Kaley Cuoco (8 Simple Rules/The Big Bang Theory) - Watch the gorgeous and funny Kaley on Conan on at 11pm on TBS.
- Nicole Sullivan (The King of Queens/Rita Rocks/$#*! My Dad Says) - Nicole chats it up as guest host on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Donald Faison (Scrubs) - Donald appears on The Mo'nique Show on BET at 11pm.
- Casey Wilson (Saturday Night Live/Happy Endings) - Watch Casey from ABC's upcoming Happy Endings (premiering April 13) on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Hallmark Channel Upfront 2011; Centric Adds Weekend Sitcom Marathons; Free Soup from the Soup Nazi
Many cable networks are having their upfronts. We have covered just Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite thus far, but other cable networks such as Syfy, Cartoon Network have gone recently. Yesterday The Hallmark Channel had its upfront. They didn't announce any sitcom acquisitions or anything like that, though. But we will cover what they did announce. Hallmark Channel announced that internationally renowned cultural icon and recent Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Maya Angelou will debut a new 13-episode unscripted, half-hour Hallmark Channel Original Series, The Spirit Table as part of the network's portfolio of lifestyle series beginning Q1 in 2012. The Spirit Table, blends Maya Angelou's Letter to My Daughter with Hallelujah, the Welcome Table to bring together the best of Maya Angelou, her family and traditions, in an entertaining and inspiring series that celebrates life's special moments with a feast from the heart. New traditions will unfold and today's most fascinating people will gather to bring substance and sustenance to Maya Angelou's table.
The second season of Hallmark Channel Home, Hallmark Channel's entertaining and informative daily lifestyle programming block, will premiere in September 2011. The block is headlined by the seventh season premiere of The Martha Stewart Show, the Emmy(R) Award-winning, daily series featuring a Who's Who of innovators and top personalities and inspiring ways to live life to its fullest - from cooking, crafting and collecting to decorating, gardening and even pet care, no one does it better than Martha. 140 new hours have been ordered. Also returning for its second season on Hallmark Channel is Petkeeping with Marc Morrone with 20 new half-hours. A contemporary Dr. Doolittle, Morrone is Martha Stewart's Go-to guy for all things pet related. Joining Hallmark Channel Home is Emeril Lagasse in Emeril's Table, a new daily half-hour cooking series featuring the celebrated chef and restaurateur with a table full of enthusiastic guests in each episode. 52 half-hours have been ordered. Martha follows up her popular and successful primetime holiday and interview "Martha Stewart Presents" specials with all-new Halloween and specials in primetime on Hallmark, celebrating the seasons as only this style and cultural maven can.
Hallmark Channel also announced it will partner with Hallmark Cards in an integrated, multi-platform holiday campaign to bring to life Hallmark Cards' hit interactive character, Jingle(TM) the Husky Pup. The multi-platform deal includes in-store exposure in Gold Crown stores for Hallmark Channel to drive tune-in for an animated holiday special featuring Jingle - Jingle All the Way - as well as the opportunity to drive traffic to Hallmarkchannel.com from Hallmark.com's popular "Interactive Storybook and Story Buddies(TM) Page" for exclusive trailers and behind-the-scene footage. Jingle All the Way premieres as part of Hallmark Channel's holiday-themed original programming event, "Countdown to Christmas." Jingle the Husky Pup is a very good dog who does everything he is told. Unfortunately, the only thing Jingles can't do is go home, because he doesn't have a home. But this holiday season, Jingle and all of his friends come home to Hallmark Channel, America's family network.
Finally, 25 all-new Hallmark Channel Original Movies and eight Hallmark Movie Channel Original Premiere movie will air in 2011-2012. Stars include: Wendie Malick, Catherine Bell, Kim Delaney, Sir Roger Moore, Martin Mull, Judd Nelson, Adrian Pasdar, Rhea Perlman, Teri Polo, James Patrick Stuart, Billy Ray Cyrus, Cheryl Ladd, Bruce Boxleitner, Nancy McKeon, and many more.
Centric has just added a few weekend marathons for the next few weekends. The weekend stunts kick off this coming weekend with The Jamie Foxx Show. The sitcom will air on Saturday (March 26) from 12pm-8pm and will be repeated the next day (Sunday, March 27) from 9am-5pm! Sister, Sister was removed from the regular schedule a few weeks ago for another hour of In Living Color, but Centric will give it a weekend stunt next weekend (April 2-3) with the same timings. The next weekend stunt for the weekend of April 9-10 will feature sketch comedy In Living Color. Nothing further has been announced yet, but when they do, we will let you know.
Also at Centric, they will make some schedule changes beginning next week (March 28). The Unit will join the schedule and air weekdays at 6am replacing Miami Vice, which will be moved to 8am. Everything else remains the same as it is now. The Unit will continue to air on sister network BET on weekends.
Yesterday I had free soup from Seinfeld's actual Soup Nazi in New York City, as I tweeted. The event was organized by New York station WPIX, which has reacquired the series in local syndication after 10 years. WPIX has a special "Nothing But the Big Apple" theme week all this week at 11pm & 11:30pm, focusing on classic New York episodes including "The Non-Fat Yogurt," "The Subway" and "The Soup Nazi." As part of the promotion for the move in New York, The Soup Nazi himself (actor Lary Thomas) was at Liati's Cafe in the WPIX building giving out FREE soup for lunch, taking pictures with you, and signing autographs! I also got a Seinfeld keychain and a soup bowl! If you missed it yesterday, not to worry, WPIX will be doing it today as well from 12-2pm! So if you're in New York City, head on over to 220 E. 42nd Steet (near 2nd Avenue) and meet with The Soup Nazi while eating some good soup! It isn't "no soup for you" this time, it's "soup for you!"
And then catch the classic "The Soup Nazi" episode tonight at 11pm on WPIX in New York!
The second season of Hallmark Channel Home, Hallmark Channel's entertaining and informative daily lifestyle programming block, will premiere in September 2011. The block is headlined by the seventh season premiere of The Martha Stewart Show, the Emmy(R) Award-winning, daily series featuring a Who's Who of innovators and top personalities and inspiring ways to live life to its fullest - from cooking, crafting and collecting to decorating, gardening and even pet care, no one does it better than Martha. 140 new hours have been ordered. Also returning for its second season on Hallmark Channel is Petkeeping with Marc Morrone with 20 new half-hours. A contemporary Dr. Doolittle, Morrone is Martha Stewart's Go-to guy for all things pet related. Joining Hallmark Channel Home is Emeril Lagasse in Emeril's Table, a new daily half-hour cooking series featuring the celebrated chef and restaurateur with a table full of enthusiastic guests in each episode. 52 half-hours have been ordered. Martha follows up her popular and successful primetime holiday and interview "Martha Stewart Presents" specials with all-new Halloween and specials in primetime on Hallmark, celebrating the seasons as only this style and cultural maven can.
Hallmark Channel also announced it will partner with Hallmark Cards in an integrated, multi-platform holiday campaign to bring to life Hallmark Cards' hit interactive character, Jingle(TM) the Husky Pup. The multi-platform deal includes in-store exposure in Gold Crown stores for Hallmark Channel to drive tune-in for an animated holiday special featuring Jingle - Jingle All the Way - as well as the opportunity to drive traffic to Hallmarkchannel.com from Hallmark.com's popular "Interactive Storybook and Story Buddies(TM) Page" for exclusive trailers and behind-the-scene footage. Jingle All the Way premieres as part of Hallmark Channel's holiday-themed original programming event, "Countdown to Christmas." Jingle the Husky Pup is a very good dog who does everything he is told. Unfortunately, the only thing Jingles can't do is go home, because he doesn't have a home. But this holiday season, Jingle and all of his friends come home to Hallmark Channel, America's family network.
Finally, 25 all-new Hallmark Channel Original Movies and eight Hallmark Movie Channel Original Premiere movie will air in 2011-2012. Stars include: Wendie Malick, Catherine Bell, Kim Delaney, Sir Roger Moore, Martin Mull, Judd Nelson, Adrian Pasdar, Rhea Perlman, Teri Polo, James Patrick Stuart, Billy Ray Cyrus, Cheryl Ladd, Bruce Boxleitner, Nancy McKeon, and many more.
Centric has just added a few weekend marathons for the next few weekends. The weekend stunts kick off this coming weekend with The Jamie Foxx Show. The sitcom will air on Saturday (March 26) from 12pm-8pm and will be repeated the next day (Sunday, March 27) from 9am-5pm! Sister, Sister was removed from the regular schedule a few weeks ago for another hour of In Living Color, but Centric will give it a weekend stunt next weekend (April 2-3) with the same timings. The next weekend stunt for the weekend of April 9-10 will feature sketch comedy In Living Color. Nothing further has been announced yet, but when they do, we will let you know.
Also at Centric, they will make some schedule changes beginning next week (March 28). The Unit will join the schedule and air weekdays at 6am replacing Miami Vice, which will be moved to 8am. Everything else remains the same as it is now. The Unit will continue to air on sister network BET on weekends.
Yesterday I had free soup from Seinfeld's actual Soup Nazi in New York City, as I tweeted. The event was organized by New York station WPIX, which has reacquired the series in local syndication after 10 years. WPIX has a special "Nothing But the Big Apple" theme week all this week at 11pm & 11:30pm, focusing on classic New York episodes including "The Non-Fat Yogurt," "The Subway" and "The Soup Nazi." As part of the promotion for the move in New York, The Soup Nazi himself (actor Lary Thomas) was at Liati's Cafe in the WPIX building giving out FREE soup for lunch, taking pictures with you, and signing autographs! I also got a Seinfeld keychain and a soup bowl! If you missed it yesterday, not to worry, WPIX will be doing it today as well from 12-2pm! So if you're in New York City, head on over to 220 E. 42nd Steet (near 2nd Avenue) and meet with The Soup Nazi while eating some good soup! It isn't "no soup for you" this time, it's "soup for you!"
And then catch the classic "The Soup Nazi" episode tonight at 11pm on WPIX in New York!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
ABC Season Finale Dates for 2011, More Wipeout; NBC Schedules Paul Reiser Show
ABC has announced the season finale dates for the 2010-11 season during May. The first season finale will be on Sunday, May 8 at 10:01pm for Brothers & Sisters. It is still on the bubble, so no word yet if it will be back next season. On Wednesday, May 11 at 8:30pm the season finale of freshman sitcom Better With You will air. On Sunday, May 15, there will be two finales. At 8:00 p.m. it is the season finale for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which is returning to the schedule on April 17 following the season finale of Secret Millionaire on April 10. Then from 9:00-11:00pm, Desperate Housewives gets a special two-hour season finale. On Monday, May 16 at 10:01pm it is the season finale of Castle. And on Tuesday, May 17 at 8pm, reality series Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution closes its second season. The reality series has its season premiere on April 12.
The final Thursday of the season (May 19) will feature three finales. At 8:00pm it is the season finale of Wipeout (Spring Edition). ABC has ordered three more Spring Wipeout episodes so it can fill the Thursday 8pm slot for the rest of the season. Previously, it was going to be a repeat on March 31 after new episodes (March 17/24) because it only had 4 episodes, but now ABC will air an all-new episode on March 31 with Grey's/Private being new. Repeats will air on April 7, 14 and 21, just like Grey's/Private. Then it will be back for sweeps for the remaining four Spring episodes (April 28, May 5, 12 and 19). The regular summer edition will start over a month later after the NBA Finals are over with and 16 all-new episodes will air, as previously planned. This means Wipeout will produce 31 total episodes this season (8 for winter, 7 for spring and 16 for summer). Airdates for the summer edition will be announced soon. So stay tuned. Anyway, back to Thursday May 19, following the Spring Wipeout finale are the season finales of Greyis Anatomy and Private Practice from 9-11pm. On Friday, May 20 at 8pm, Shark Tank closes its second season. The final Sunday of the season will have the season finale of America's Funniest Home Videos on Sunday, May 22 at 7pm leading into the Billboard Music Awards from 8-11pm. As we knew, Monday, May 23 will have the final Dancing with the Stars performance show at 8pm leading into the summer staple The Bachelorette from 9-11pm. On Tuesday, May 24 from 9:00-11:00pm it is the grand finale for season 12 of Dancing with the Stars. And finally on the last day of the TV season, Wednesday, May 25, the ABC comedies get their finales. At 8:00pm it is The Middle, followed by a repeat then at 9:00pm the megahit Modern Family has its season finale leading into the one-hour Hawaiian season finale of Cougar Town from 9:31-10:30pm.
ABC has not announced season finale dates for Mr. Sunshine, Happy Endings or Body of Proof since all three will have leftover episodes. Depending on their plans for them, they could air in summer or be held for next season. Everything else is pretty much set except ABC News series Primetime What Would You Do? and 20/20, which are likely to continue into summer.
Moving on to NBC, they have pulled Perfect Couples starting April 14. NBC announced that The Paul Reiser Show, a new comedy series starring Paul Reiser (Mad About You), will premiere on Thursday, April 14 at 8:30pm ET.
NBC's The Paul Reiser Show is a new single-camera comedy from Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated actor/writer/producer Reiser and writer/producer Jonathan Shapiro. The show stars Reiser as -- Paul Reiser. It's been a few years since his hit TV series went off the air. Since then, he's been enjoying the quiet life at home with his lovely wife, Claire (Amy Landecker), and kids and generally minding his own business, writing and producing television but enjoying life out of the spotlight. Getting him into trouble -- and into adventures -- are a group of new "friends," most of which he didn't choose since they're the husbands of his wife's friends and the dads of his kids' classmates. Thrown together by circumstance, Reiser and his cohorts, including Jonathan (Ben Shenkman), Habib (Omid Djalili), Fernando (Duane Martin, All of Us) and Brad (Andrew Daly, MADtv), form an unlikely comradeship -- and a pretty lame basketball team.
The new comedy will air Thursdays at 8:30pm through Thursday, May 19. It will also air at a special time of 8pm leading into the finale on May 19. As a result of the premiere of the new sitcom, Community will now be all-new on April 14, thus its season finale on Thursday, May 12 is no longer two episodes. The Community season finale is now a half-hour on Thursday, May 12 at 8pm. As for Perfect Couples, as of this writing it would have 4 episodes still to air after April 14, though it could be as low as only 2 because on March 31 and April 7, currently repeats are listed, so NBC could change those to new episodes--then only two would remain. It is almost 100% certain this series is all but done though.
The final Thursday of the season (May 19) will feature three finales. At 8:00pm it is the season finale of Wipeout (Spring Edition). ABC has ordered three more Spring Wipeout episodes so it can fill the Thursday 8pm slot for the rest of the season. Previously, it was going to be a repeat on March 31 after new episodes (March 17/24) because it only had 4 episodes, but now ABC will air an all-new episode on March 31 with Grey's/Private being new. Repeats will air on April 7, 14 and 21, just like Grey's/Private. Then it will be back for sweeps for the remaining four Spring episodes (April 28, May 5, 12 and 19). The regular summer edition will start over a month later after the NBA Finals are over with and 16 all-new episodes will air, as previously planned. This means Wipeout will produce 31 total episodes this season (8 for winter, 7 for spring and 16 for summer). Airdates for the summer edition will be announced soon. So stay tuned. Anyway, back to Thursday May 19, following the Spring Wipeout finale are the season finales of Greyis Anatomy and Private Practice from 9-11pm. On Friday, May 20 at 8pm, Shark Tank closes its second season. The final Sunday of the season will have the season finale of America's Funniest Home Videos on Sunday, May 22 at 7pm leading into the Billboard Music Awards from 8-11pm. As we knew, Monday, May 23 will have the final Dancing with the Stars performance show at 8pm leading into the summer staple The Bachelorette from 9-11pm. On Tuesday, May 24 from 9:00-11:00pm it is the grand finale for season 12 of Dancing with the Stars. And finally on the last day of the TV season, Wednesday, May 25, the ABC comedies get their finales. At 8:00pm it is The Middle, followed by a repeat then at 9:00pm the megahit Modern Family has its season finale leading into the one-hour Hawaiian season finale of Cougar Town from 9:31-10:30pm.
ABC has not announced season finale dates for Mr. Sunshine, Happy Endings or Body of Proof since all three will have leftover episodes. Depending on their plans for them, they could air in summer or be held for next season. Everything else is pretty much set except ABC News series Primetime What Would You Do? and 20/20, which are likely to continue into summer.
Moving on to NBC, they have pulled Perfect Couples starting April 14. NBC announced that The Paul Reiser Show, a new comedy series starring Paul Reiser (Mad About You), will premiere on Thursday, April 14 at 8:30pm ET.
NBC's The Paul Reiser Show is a new single-camera comedy from Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated actor/writer/producer Reiser and writer/producer Jonathan Shapiro. The show stars Reiser as -- Paul Reiser. It's been a few years since his hit TV series went off the air. Since then, he's been enjoying the quiet life at home with his lovely wife, Claire (Amy Landecker), and kids and generally minding his own business, writing and producing television but enjoying life out of the spotlight. Getting him into trouble -- and into adventures -- are a group of new "friends," most of which he didn't choose since they're the husbands of his wife's friends and the dads of his kids' classmates. Thrown together by circumstance, Reiser and his cohorts, including Jonathan (Ben Shenkman), Habib (Omid Djalili), Fernando (Duane Martin, All of Us) and Brad (Andrew Daly, MADtv), form an unlikely comradeship -- and a pretty lame basketball team.
The new comedy will air Thursdays at 8:30pm through Thursday, May 19. It will also air at a special time of 8pm leading into the finale on May 19. As a result of the premiere of the new sitcom, Community will now be all-new on April 14, thus its season finale on Thursday, May 12 is no longer two episodes. The Community season finale is now a half-hour on Thursday, May 12 at 8pm. As for Perfect Couples, as of this writing it would have 4 episodes still to air after April 14, though it could be as low as only 2 because on March 31 and April 7, currently repeats are listed, so NBC could change those to new episodes--then only two would remain. It is almost 100% certain this series is all but done though.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
TV Land Orders 2 New Sitcoms, New Season of Retired; NBC Summer 2011 Update
TV Land announced that the network is moving forward with three sitcoms – two new series and a renewal for Retired at 35. These series join Hot in Cleveland which was also upped from a 22 episode order to a 24 episode order for season three. Currently, the sitcom is in the middle of season two, with the final ten episodes of season two airing in the summer. These pick-ups take TV Land from zero to four scripted sitcoms within less than a year's time, along with several additional sitcoms in development.
The two new series joining the network's roster are Happily Divorced marking Fran Drescher's (The Nanny) return to television joined by John Michael Higgins (Best in Show), Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris) and Rita Moreno (West Side Story) as well as The Exes (working title) starring Donald Faison (Scrubs) , Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Hot in Cleveland), David Alan Basche (Law and Order) and Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock from the Sun). Additionally, TV Land has renewed its hit sitcom Retired at 35 starring George Segal, Jessica Walter and Johnathan McClain for a second season. Happily Divorced, The Exes and Retired at 35 are all picked up for 10 episodes each. Happily Divorced is slated to premiere Wednesday, June 15 at 10:30pm airing after new episodes of the final 10 episodes of season two for Hot in Cleveland. No word on premiere dates for The Exes and Retired at 35, but they will premiere next winter (2012).
Happily Divorced is based on Fran Drescher's real life and centers around Los Angeles florist Fran (Drescher) as she deals with dating after finding out her realtor husband of 18 years (John Michael Higgins) is gay. The show focuses on how she juggles her new relationships and her ex-husband post-divorce while still living under the same roof. The cast is rounded out by Fran's best friend Judi (Tichina Arnold), her parents Dori and Glen (Rita Moreno and Robert Walden) and her flower delivery employee Cesar (Valente Rodriguez). Additionally, in the pilot, Fran's love interest, Elliot, is played by D.W. Moffett.
The Exes revolves around three divorced men, ladies man Phil (Donald Faison), homebody Haskell (Wayne Knight) and newly-single and needy Stuart (David Alan Basche). The men live together in an apartment across the hall from their divorce attorney, Holly (Kristen Johnston), who also happens to be their landlord. Holly avoids her own relationship and commitment issues by becoming immersed in the men's affairs as they put their lives back together and return to the dating scene.
As you recall we mentioned TV Land ordered three sitcom pilots, but as of now they have not picked-up the third pilot, Rip City (aka Untitled Terri Minsky Pilot), which stars Christine Taylor, Barry Watson and The View's Sherri Shepherd. If they do pick that up to series, we will let you know but as of now it seems unlikely.
NBC revealed some of its original series programming for Summer 2011 that features the sixth-season premiere of summer's top-rated America's Got Talent on Tuesday, May 31 from 9-11 p.m. ET, the announcement of the new game show It's Worth What? and the second-season debut of The Marriage Ref on Sunday, June 26 at 10 p.m. ET.
In addition, NBC will offer fresh programs such as the musical competition series The Voice (premieres April 26, regular day and time Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET) through the end of June as well as the new game show Still Standing (working title in the U.S.) and reality series Love in the Wild (days and times for both are TBA). Original episodes of the drama Law & Order: Los Angeles on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET also continue through the end of June.
NBC also will present the broadcast network premiere of the final season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent beginning on Monday, May 30 at 9 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the last season of Friday Night Lights on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET also continues into the summer (premieres April 15).
As for timings for America's Got Talent, it will premiere its sixth season on Tuesday, May 31 from 9-11 p.m. ET with a two-hour broadcast. After its debut, the series will resume its run on Tuesdays in the 9 p.m. ET hour from June 7 through June 28. The series then will begin two-hour Tuesday editions from 9-11 p.m. ET starting July 5 until September 6. America's Got Talent will debut its Wednesday broadcasts on June 1 in the 9 p.m. ET hour and will continue on that night through September 7. On Tuesday, September 13, America's Got Talent returns to one hour at 9 p.m. ET for its penultimate episode before returning for its two-hour season finale on the next night - Wednesday, September 14 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Encores of both the Tuesday and Wednesday airings will air on the following Sunday and Monday.
View more about the new original programming for NBC summer 2011. We will let you know the full summer schedule as soon as it is announced, including premiere dates for the three new original series (game shows - It's Worth What and Still Standing and reality series Love in the Wild). For now view the NBC summer line-up without them added in.
The two new series joining the network's roster are Happily Divorced marking Fran Drescher's (The Nanny) return to television joined by John Michael Higgins (Best in Show), Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris) and Rita Moreno (West Side Story) as well as The Exes (working title) starring Donald Faison (Scrubs) , Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Hot in Cleveland), David Alan Basche (Law and Order) and Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock from the Sun). Additionally, TV Land has renewed its hit sitcom Retired at 35 starring George Segal, Jessica Walter and Johnathan McClain for a second season. Happily Divorced, The Exes and Retired at 35 are all picked up for 10 episodes each. Happily Divorced is slated to premiere Wednesday, June 15 at 10:30pm airing after new episodes of the final 10 episodes of season two for Hot in Cleveland. No word on premiere dates for The Exes and Retired at 35, but they will premiere next winter (2012).
Happily Divorced is based on Fran Drescher's real life and centers around Los Angeles florist Fran (Drescher) as she deals with dating after finding out her realtor husband of 18 years (John Michael Higgins) is gay. The show focuses on how she juggles her new relationships and her ex-husband post-divorce while still living under the same roof. The cast is rounded out by Fran's best friend Judi (Tichina Arnold), her parents Dori and Glen (Rita Moreno and Robert Walden) and her flower delivery employee Cesar (Valente Rodriguez). Additionally, in the pilot, Fran's love interest, Elliot, is played by D.W. Moffett.
The Exes revolves around three divorced men, ladies man Phil (Donald Faison), homebody Haskell (Wayne Knight) and newly-single and needy Stuart (David Alan Basche). The men live together in an apartment across the hall from their divorce attorney, Holly (Kristen Johnston), who also happens to be their landlord. Holly avoids her own relationship and commitment issues by becoming immersed in the men's affairs as they put their lives back together and return to the dating scene.
As you recall we mentioned TV Land ordered three sitcom pilots, but as of now they have not picked-up the third pilot, Rip City (aka Untitled Terri Minsky Pilot), which stars Christine Taylor, Barry Watson and The View's Sherri Shepherd. If they do pick that up to series, we will let you know but as of now it seems unlikely.
NBC revealed some of its original series programming for Summer 2011 that features the sixth-season premiere of summer's top-rated America's Got Talent on Tuesday, May 31 from 9-11 p.m. ET, the announcement of the new game show It's Worth What? and the second-season debut of The Marriage Ref on Sunday, June 26 at 10 p.m. ET.
In addition, NBC will offer fresh programs such as the musical competition series The Voice (premieres April 26, regular day and time Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET) through the end of June as well as the new game show Still Standing (working title in the U.S.) and reality series Love in the Wild (days and times for both are TBA). Original episodes of the drama Law & Order: Los Angeles on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET also continue through the end of June.
NBC also will present the broadcast network premiere of the final season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent beginning on Monday, May 30 at 9 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the last season of Friday Night Lights on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET also continues into the summer (premieres April 15).
As for timings for America's Got Talent, it will premiere its sixth season on Tuesday, May 31 from 9-11 p.m. ET with a two-hour broadcast. After its debut, the series will resume its run on Tuesdays in the 9 p.m. ET hour from June 7 through June 28. The series then will begin two-hour Tuesday editions from 9-11 p.m. ET starting July 5 until September 6. America's Got Talent will debut its Wednesday broadcasts on June 1 in the 9 p.m. ET hour and will continue on that night through September 7. On Tuesday, September 13, America's Got Talent returns to one hour at 9 p.m. ET for its penultimate episode before returning for its two-hour season finale on the next night - Wednesday, September 14 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Encores of both the Tuesday and Wednesday airings will air on the following Sunday and Monday.
View more about the new original programming for NBC summer 2011. We will let you know the full summer schedule as soon as it is announced, including premiere dates for the three new original series (game shows - It's Worth What and Still Standing and reality series Love in the Wild). For now view the NBC summer line-up without them added in.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Hallmark Channel Revises April 2011 Schedule; ABC and The CW Network Notes
As we suspected, The Hallmark Channel has revised its April 2011 schedule. As we mentioned on Friday, The Waltons will be starting today at 3pm & 4pm every weekday. That will continue into April as well, so that means changes to the original April schedule will be made. First up, the full day Cheers marathon on Sunday, April 3, 2011 is no longer happening. This marathon was to promote spin-off series Frasier joining the line-up the following day. Instead, Hallmark will showcase all of its shows this Sunday. Each sitcom will air in blocks on this date: I Love Lucy from 6am-8am, The Golden Girls from 8am-11am, Empty Nest from 11am-3pm, more The Golden Girls from 3pm-6pm, more I Love Lucy from 6pm-11pm, yet more The Golden Girls from 11pm-2am, and Cheers from 2am-5am.
Now that is just for one day, the regular April schedule starts on Monday, April 4. Going through it from the original plan, I Love Lucy remains from 5am-8am, Frasier still remains from 8am-10am leading into the Martha at Home block. The Waltons will remain in the 3pm and 4pm hours, replacing the planned Touched by an Angel airings. The evening line-up also remains intact with Little House on the Prairie at 5pm & 6pm leading into a block of The Golden Girls from 7-9pm and Frasier from 9pm-11pm. Now the original post-primetime line-up had Cheers from 11pm-1am, but now Hallmark will keep The Golden Girls from 11pm-1am instead of moving it to 1am-3am. And as we revealed on Friday, Empty Nest will be back after a two week break and will air weeknights from 1am-3am, pushing Cheers to 3am-5am. Who's the Boss? is still missing from the April schedule, but we think it was a one-year deal and the contract has expired. That is not certain though and we will let you know as soon as we find out.
As for weekends, it will remain as planned from the original weekend plan. There are a few marathon changes, though. The Touched by an Angel marathon planned for Saturday, April 9 is now scrapped and the regular schedule will air instead. If you noticed, Touched by an Angel is also missing from the regular schedule as well. On Sunday, April 10, Hallmark will give a full day marathon for its newest series Frasier starting at 6am for 24 straight hours! One other marathon note, the full-day Little House on the Prairie marathon scheduled for Saturday, April 23 is now removed in favor of a full-day with The Waltons starting at 6am!
View the full and updated Hallmark Channel April 2011 schedule.
Moving on to some network notes, as you all know there were special airings of Shark Tank and Detroit 1-8-7 last night on ABC on special nights, but there are more notes. On Tuesday, March 29, ABC will air the special Dancing With The Stars: The Story So Far at 8pm, highlighting the first two dances for each star leading into the first Results Show of the season. This means No Ordinary Family will be preempted on March 29. Instead, the episode will air on a special night and time on Saturday, March 26 at 10pm following a repeat of the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars. That is the second to last episode of the season, as the season finale as of now will air Tuesday, April 5. The series returns with the first of three all-new episodes tomorrow (Tuesday, March 22) at 8pm.
Elsewhere, ABC has announced it will air a two-hour episode of Sunday drama Brothers & Sisters on Sunday, April 10, which is its next airing, from 9-11pm. The series will then air every Sunday until its season finale tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 8. Desperate Housewives will be preempted at 9pm on April 10, but the show will be all-new on April 3 and will be all-new every week until its finale starting April 17.
And finally, The CW will move America's Next Top Model to 9pm starting April 20 in order to avoid Survivor and American Idol at 8pm. Repeats of Top Model will lead into new episodes, as Shedding for the Wedding has its finale on April 13 at 9pm.
Now that is just for one day, the regular April schedule starts on Monday, April 4. Going through it from the original plan, I Love Lucy remains from 5am-8am, Frasier still remains from 8am-10am leading into the Martha at Home block. The Waltons will remain in the 3pm and 4pm hours, replacing the planned Touched by an Angel airings. The evening line-up also remains intact with Little House on the Prairie at 5pm & 6pm leading into a block of The Golden Girls from 7-9pm and Frasier from 9pm-11pm. Now the original post-primetime line-up had Cheers from 11pm-1am, but now Hallmark will keep The Golden Girls from 11pm-1am instead of moving it to 1am-3am. And as we revealed on Friday, Empty Nest will be back after a two week break and will air weeknights from 1am-3am, pushing Cheers to 3am-5am. Who's the Boss? is still missing from the April schedule, but we think it was a one-year deal and the contract has expired. That is not certain though and we will let you know as soon as we find out.
As for weekends, it will remain as planned from the original weekend plan. There are a few marathon changes, though. The Touched by an Angel marathon planned for Saturday, April 9 is now scrapped and the regular schedule will air instead. If you noticed, Touched by an Angel is also missing from the regular schedule as well. On Sunday, April 10, Hallmark will give a full day marathon for its newest series Frasier starting at 6am for 24 straight hours! One other marathon note, the full-day Little House on the Prairie marathon scheduled for Saturday, April 23 is now removed in favor of a full-day with The Waltons starting at 6am!
View the full and updated Hallmark Channel April 2011 schedule.
Moving on to some network notes, as you all know there were special airings of Shark Tank and Detroit 1-8-7 last night on ABC on special nights, but there are more notes. On Tuesday, March 29, ABC will air the special Dancing With The Stars: The Story So Far at 8pm, highlighting the first two dances for each star leading into the first Results Show of the season. This means No Ordinary Family will be preempted on March 29. Instead, the episode will air on a special night and time on Saturday, March 26 at 10pm following a repeat of the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars. That is the second to last episode of the season, as the season finale as of now will air Tuesday, April 5. The series returns with the first of three all-new episodes tomorrow (Tuesday, March 22) at 8pm.
Elsewhere, ABC has announced it will air a two-hour episode of Sunday drama Brothers & Sisters on Sunday, April 10, which is its next airing, from 9-11pm. The series will then air every Sunday until its season finale tentatively scheduled for Sunday, May 8. Desperate Housewives will be preempted at 9pm on April 10, but the show will be all-new on April 3 and will be all-new every week until its finale starting April 17.
And finally, The CW will move America's Next Top Model to 9pm starting April 20 in order to avoid Survivor and American Idol at 8pm. Repeats of Top Model will lead into new episodes, as Shedding for the Wedding has its finale on April 13 at 9pm.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Week 26 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
2010-11 Week 26 TV Ratings (first four nights averages, Mon-Thu):
Households: #1. Fox 8.0/13.2 rating/share; #2. CBS 5.5/9.2; #3. ABC 4.6/7.7; #4. NBC 3.3/5.5; #5. The CW 0.7/1.1.
Total Viewers: #1. Fox 13.78 million; #2. CBS 8.75 million; #3. ABC 7.28 million; #4. NBC 5.2 million; #5. The CW 970,000 viewers.
Adults 18-49: #1. Fox 4.5/13.2 rating/share; #2. ABC 2.3/6.7; #3. CBS 2.2/6.5; #4. NBC 1.6/4.8; #5. The CW 0.4/1.1.
Week 26 (March 14-20) Analysis: Week 25 has Fox once again winning across the board for the first four nights with all-new programming again, as the other networks had repeats mixed in. So, yes the first four nights network averages has Fox winning across the board. CBS is in second in HH/viewers, while ABC is second in 18-49. CBS is third in 18-49, but second in HH/viewers. NBC is way back in fourth across the board, as was the case that past few weeks. Fox should have no problem winning the week in 18-49 once again and CBS won't catch up in HH/viewers because the NCAA tournament is lower than previous years for them (due to Turner networks airing games also). Last week, week 25, had Fox win the week over CBS in viewers & 18-49 (but CBS did edge Fox in HH). CBS was second everywhere else, while ABC was third. And NBC was in fourth place in HH/viewers, but did tie ABC for third in 18-49.
Monday saw ABC clean up. ABC started with the season finale of The Bachelor doing 13.88 million and a 4.5 18-49 rating, for obviously a season high. Great numbers, despite being down from last season's finale. At 10pm ABC aired The Bachelor: After the Final Rose special instead of the usual Castle and it did 13.96 million and a 4.7 18-49 rating, one of the strongest non-sports 10pm showings of the season. CBS was almost all repeats with its comedies and Hawaii Five-0. At 8pm, a repeat of How I Met Your Mother started it off with 5.98 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, which is down a bit from previous week. At 8:30, Mad Love was new and did 6.45 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, down again from previous week. Honestly, it should be better, but let's see how it does tomorrow with a new lead-in. Two and a Half Men followed with a REPEAT again doing 9.93 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, which is down again from previous week. Still solid, but for how much longer? At 9:30, Mike & Molly was a repeat too and did 8.36 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is down from previous week and could be better. A repeat of Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm did 7.45 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Fox was all-new with House doing 10.41 million and a 3.5 18-49 rating, down some from previous week. A new Chicago Code followed at 9pm with 7.3 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week again. NBC started with Chuck doing 4.92 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating for a season low. The Event was next and did just 4.26 million and another series low 1.2 18-49 rating. At 10pm, a new Harry's Law did 10.16 million but just a 1.8 18-49 rating for third place, on par with previous week but still even lower than the CBS repeat again in 18-49. The CW was in repeats with 90210 doing only 640,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, which was actually up a tenth from previous week. Gossip Girl followed and was even worse with a repeat doing 490,000 viewers and a non-existent 0.3 18-49 rating, also up a tenth week-to-week.
Tuesday had Fox win as CBS was in repeats again. CBS started with a repeat of NCIS and did 12.75 million but only a 2.2 18-49 rating despite the big total viewers, and down a bit from previous week. NCIS: Los Angeles followed with a repeat and did 12.48 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, also down some from previous week. The Good Wife was a repeat and did 7.33 million but only a 1.2 18-49 rating, which was also down a bit from previous week. For ABC, No Ordinary Family was a repeat in the 8pm hour and did 3.4 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, which was down a bit from previous week. It will be new this Tuesday. At 9, V has its explosive season finale and did 5.51 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. What a season finale! I think it will return in some form next season. Detroit 1-8-7 was all-new and did 5.64 million but just a 1.2 18-49 rating, however both up some from previous week. Look for the season finale tonight at 10pm on a special night. Fox started off with Glee and did 11.15 million and a 4.2 18-49, down from the previous week. Perhaps DST affected? Next Fox disappointed with Raising Hope again and did 5.74 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which was down from the previous week by more than it should have been. New comedy Traffic Light was next and did only 3.6 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating only, but on par with previous week. NBC aired a two-hour The Biggest Loser doing 8.0 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which was down some from previous week. Then at 10pm, Parenthood was preempted for a special repeat of America's Next Great Restaurant and did only 3.86 million but the 1.6 18-49 rating is an improvement in this slot from the previous week. The CW was a repeat with One Tree Hill doing 810,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, down some week-to-week. Next at 9pm was a repeat of Hellcats and that did 740,000 viewers and a 0.2 18-49 rating, down a lot from previous week's repeat. What happened?
Wednesday was all Fox again with a two-hour American Idol carrying it. Idol did 22.58 million and a 7.6 18-49 rating, but down from previous week by close to 2 million and a half a point in 18-49. CBS started the night off with Survivor: Redemption Island doing 10.73 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week. Veteran drama Criminal Minds was next with a new episode doing 13.73 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating. A good showing. At 10pm, week five of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior did 10.33 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, up some from previous week's series lows. ABC had its Laugh On comedy block and had a repeat of The Middle opened the night with 4.68 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, down from previous week. Then at 8:30, Better With You was preempted again for another repeat of The Middle doing 4.47 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down a bit week-to-week. Then ABC aired a repeat of Modern Family at 9pm doing 5.89 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is off a tenth week-to-week. Then at 9:30, Mr. Sunshine was new with 4.54 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. It should go up a lot this week with a new lead-in. As I keep saying, Cougar Town will return with a special airing on Monday, April 18, and then return to Wednesdays starting April 20. Let the countdown begin for the cul-de-sac crew! At 10pm, a new episode of new drama Off the Map aired and did 4.21 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week for its lowest numbers yet. NBC aired a new Minute to Win It and did just 3.31 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, which it keeps doing now. Then two repeats of Law & Order: SVU closed the night off as 9pm did 3.24 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, while 10pm did 5.25 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. The CW had a new America's Next Top Model starting it off at 8pm doing 2.03 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, which was down some from previous week. This show is getting killed by Fox and CBS' reality series, so it will move to 9pm in a few weeks. At 9pm, new reality series Shedding for the Wedding did only 980,000 viewers and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week.
Thursday saw once again Fox win the night for the third night in a row, as Idol aired but was down a lot. Looks like St. Patrick's Day and NCAA coverage on CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV affected everyone. ABC opened the night with the premiere of the short spring edition of Wipeout doing a solid 7.16 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating. Then Grey's Anatomy was preempted for a special airing of Private Practice at a special time of 9pm doing 5.97 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating. Could have been better, but the holiday was a factor. A repeat of Off the Map on a special night closed the night with 3.86 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating. Not sure why a new airing wasn't used. CBS preempted its regular line-up of The Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, CSI and The Mentalist for NCAA Basketball coverage doing 4.95 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating in primetime. That is really low, but this year there were games also on TNT, TBS, and truTV. Add those ratings, and coverage is up a bit from last year. Onto Fox, it was all American Idol as an one-hour airing did 19.57 million and a 5.7 18-49 rating, down sharply from previous week again and a season low. St. Patrick's Day or DST affect? Or NCAA? Maybe a bit of everything. Fox aired Bones at 9pm and did 11.61 million and a 3.3 18-49 rating, actually up from previous week. NBC comedies were mostly all-new. Community started it off with 4.15 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, for a season low. But it gets worse as a new Perfect Couples did only 2.88 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating...ouch! How much longer will this be on the air? The Office was the only repeat of the night for NBC and did just 3.77 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week's repeat. Parks and Recreation was next with a new airing doing 4.08 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, for a series low but it did manage to build from the lead-in, even in if it was a repeat. 30 Rock followed at 10 with a new episode doing just 4.19 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, for a series low. And Outsourced was even worse for a new airing doing 3.59 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating. The CW was next with a repeat of Vampire Diaries doing only 860,000 viewers and a 0.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Then a repeat of Nikita did 1.26 million and just a 0.4 18-49 rating, but up a tenth week-to-week.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available as usual, but Friday had CBS win barely NCAA coverage doing lower than the normal drama line-up. The games on cable have taken a bite from CBS, even though this deal is good financially for them. What Would You Do? lead for ABC, while Fringe did a series low. Saturday had Fox easily win with its normal crime reality series over CBS, which had terrible games last night in NCAA. All the good games were on TNT or TBS.
Tonight ABC is all-new with one-time0only line-up of AFV, Secret Millionaire, Shark Tank and Detroit 1-8-7 the latter two are filling in for repeats. NBC has a new episode of dead on arrival America's Next Great Restaurant & another two-hour Celebrity Apprentice, all starting at 8 following Dateline at 7. CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by a new The Amazing Race at 8 and new episodes of Undercover Boss & CSI: Miami from 9-11pm. Fox is half all-new with Animation Domination starting at 8:30pm.
As for the week (week 26), Fox will likely win the week everywhere again, especially 18-49. Repeats on other nets secured that and CBS having lower NCAA ratings because of the games on cable this year as well. Every other network will remain as they are through the first four nights, pending any huge surprises, I think. I'm thinking Shark Tank does a series high tonight in 18-49 for its season two premiere. And for the coming week (week 27), has the return of Dancing with the Stars tomorrow starting at 8/7c. ABC should have a good week as they are mostly new.
Week 26 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week 25 -- March 7-13)
- American Dad! (Fox) - A repeat did 2.61 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, which was down a lot from previous week. Daylight savings time could be a factor.
- The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - A new episode in its normal 8pm slot did 5.42 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, down from previous week. Earlier, a repeat at 7pm did only 2.28 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, down considerably from previous week. Daylight savings time seemed to hurt Fox the most on this night.
- Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A new episode did 4.1 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, down some from previous week.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat airing did 4.9 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, which was still tied for the best for Fox for the night.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A new episode did 4.64 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which is up a bit from previous week actually, as everything else was down. Good showing out of a repeat.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A repeat did 5.98 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week.
- Mad Love (CBS) - 6.45 million for a new episode and a 2.1 18-49 rating is down from previous week thanks to the lead-in being a repeat again. Can it finally go up for once tomorrow?
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.93 million for a repeat and a 2.6 18-49 rating, is down for the third straight week from previous week.
- Mike & Molly (CBS) - 8.26 million for a repeat and a 18-49 rating of 2.2 is decent, but down from previous week and not in the impressive category this time.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Raising Hope (Fox) - A new episode did 5.74 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, down a half a point in 18-49 from previous week...that is not good.
- Traffic Light (Fox) - New airing did only 3.6 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, actually on par with previous week despite the lead-in being down. But still not good.
- The Middle (ABC) 2 airings - A repeat of this sitcom did 4.68 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, then a second repeat at a special time of 8:30pm did 4.47 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating... both were lower than normal. DST might have had something to do with it. Look for a new episode this week at 8.
- Better with You (ABC) - preempted.
- Modern Family (ABC) - A repeat did 5.89 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, down a bit from previous week but still good for a repeat.
- Mr. Sunshine (ABC) - A new episode did 4.54 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Should be better this week with its lead-in brand new.
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - preempted.
- Rules of Engagement (CBS) - preempted.
- Community (NBC) - A new episode did 4.15 million and 1.7 18-49 rating, for a series low.
- Perfect Couples (NBC) - This show should never be in new episodes either as it did a historic low for NBC in the time period with only 2.88 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating. Where is Kath & Kim when you need it?
- The Office (NBC) - A repeat did 3.77 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, up a bit from previous week in the time period.
- Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A new episode only did 4.08 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, for series lows. Only upside is the build from the lead-in...but that was a repeat.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode at 10pm did just 4.19 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating for a series low.
- Outsourced (NBC) - NBC's non-existent night concluded with a new episode doing just 3.59 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating.
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10pm, with repeats from 7pm-8:30pm.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men (R), Modern Family (R), Mike & Molly (R) were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Mad Love, Parks and Recreation) or just plain old terrible (such as Perfect Couples, Outsourced, Traffic Light).
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Digital Digest: Is Physical Home Media Dying?
Welcome to the first Digital Digest of the spring season! It's yet another slow week in the world of DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and all of these slow weeks have come together to prompt us to write about whether or not home media is dying out. Is it? We sure hope not, but it almost seems to be. Let's get going for what will not, despite the depressing news story that we have today, be the beginning of the end for Digital Digest!
DIGITAL NEWS
We hate mentioning Charlie Sheen in Digital Digest (OK, that's a lie, we love it), but a few months ago, we told you that Amazon.com was taking orders for the eighth season of Two and a Half Men would be coming to DVD. Well, it appears that Amazon.com made a "winning" decision to list that pre-order, and now a release date for the "crap fest that everybody worships" is set for September 13 at a $44.98 MSRP. You can pre-order the set now.
Now that we've given you news about a series that stars a man evidently from another universe, we head back into our own universe... you know, the one that started with a big bang. And that brings us to The Big Bang Theory, which we also previously announced was available for pre-order on Amazon.com. The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Fourth Season is set to land in our universe a week later, on September 20, on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The DVD comes at a $44.98 MSRP and the Blu-ray Disc comes at a $54.97 MSRP.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 22) is another dismal day of releases, but there are two "best of" releases from Mill Creek of series that Shout! Factory has already released in complete season form. The Bill Cosby Show - The Best of Season One and Marcus Welby, M.D. - The Best of Season One both include 10 episodes of each series at a $9.98 MSRP.
BLOG FEATURE STORY
Is Physical Home Media Dying?
by skees53
Every Saturday, we bring you news of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs that are on the way. But if you've noticed (and you should, because we've pointed it out each and every week), that news has become very slow since the beginning of the year (and even slightly before then). So this begs the question: is physical home media dying?
It's been just over a decade since our favorite series began popping up on DVD. Starting with "best of" and volume sets of various series (some of which are long forgotten and out-of-print, such as the DVDs of The Wonder Years that were released in the late 90s), TV-on-DVD evolved into the format that we all came to love and enjoy by the early part of the decade, and by the middle part of the decade, we were seeing the first season of virtually every series known to man, even the most obscure of series. We started getting the most recent seasons of series currently airing just months after the season finale. But then, it all started to taper off.
Lately, we've been left with collections of TV series on our shelves that end with the first or second season, and we've been waiting months or years wondering when we'll be able to complete that collection, only to get more and more frustrated when we don't hear any news. We've seen major studios, such as Sony, who used to release anything and everything at a steady pace, more or less just stop releasing anything. So what's happening?
There isn't just one simple answer for this, but there are many factors that play in to this. Perhaps the biggest factor is where you are reading this very article--the internet. Just a decade ago, we were all chugging along the internet at what seemed at the time an amazingly fast 56 KB/s, but as we've evolved, almost all of use DSL or cable internet access now. This has allowed streaming video services to boom, and we can now watch episodes (or in some cases complete seasons or series) anytime we want at any place we want using services such as Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon.com. And in many cases, we can watch these shows for free or by paying a low monthly subscription price. Of course, that cost also plays into a factor. With an economy that still faces weaknesses, many people have cut back on discretionary spending, and of course DVDs--as much as we'd like to say they are important--are non-essential items for our household.
The adaptation to streaming video does have some flaws, however. Most of us don't want to watch TV on a tiny computer screen when we have a large LCD TV in our living room. There are solutions to get around that, such as using a Blu-ray player or other internet device connected to our TV, but not everybody is that advanced just yet. Another issue is quality. Streaming video-on-demand has come a long way, but unless you have an ultra-fast internet connection, you're still going to have some occasional issues with buffering and notice some obvious flaws in video quality that you wouldn't face by watching the same program with your own local physical media. Additionally, video-on-demand, whether free or purchased, just doesn't give you that excitement and allure that you get from holding that newly purchased DVD that you can add to your collection to show off all of the great DVDs that you own. And let's not forget that DVDs often come packaged with great special features, but with streaming video-on-demand, you usually don't get much more than just the episodes.
I don't think it is safe to write the obituary for DVDs just yet, but something is going to have to change to entice fans to buy DVDs as opposed to using streaming video services. Perhaps they need to include better special features, or maybe the format needs to evolve from complete season sets to complete series sets (in many cases, that is already happening). But there is definitely a change in the air for DVDs, and we'll really have no choice but to adapt to these changes.
LOOKING AHEAD
We hope that we haven't more or less written the obituary on digital home media this week, because we'd all love to see more series coming to DVD and Blu-ray Disc. But hopefully, with this being Digital Digest (as opposed to DVD Digest), we'll find relief on watching our favorite series on other formats. Whatever it takes to get it, we'll be there! And of course, we'll always be here for the DVDs that are on the way. After all, the format isn't exactly dead--not yet, anyway. In fact, next week, we'll have a review of Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two. Until then, keep it digital!
DIGITAL NEWS
We hate mentioning Charlie Sheen in Digital Digest (OK, that's a lie, we love it), but a few months ago, we told you that Amazon.com was taking orders for the eighth season of Two and a Half Men would be coming to DVD. Well, it appears that Amazon.com made a "winning" decision to list that pre-order, and now a release date for the "crap fest that everybody worships" is set for September 13 at a $44.98 MSRP. You can pre-order the set now.
Now that we've given you news about a series that stars a man evidently from another universe, we head back into our own universe... you know, the one that started with a big bang. And that brings us to The Big Bang Theory, which we also previously announced was available for pre-order on Amazon.com. The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Fourth Season is set to land in our universe a week later, on September 20, on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The DVD comes at a $44.98 MSRP and the Blu-ray Disc comes at a $54.97 MSRP.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (March 22) is another dismal day of releases, but there are two "best of" releases from Mill Creek of series that Shout! Factory has already released in complete season form. The Bill Cosby Show - The Best of Season One and Marcus Welby, M.D. - The Best of Season One both include 10 episodes of each series at a $9.98 MSRP.
BLOG FEATURE STORY
Is Physical Home Media Dying?
by skees53
Every Saturday, we bring you news of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs that are on the way. But if you've noticed (and you should, because we've pointed it out each and every week), that news has become very slow since the beginning of the year (and even slightly before then). So this begs the question: is physical home media dying?
It's been just over a decade since our favorite series began popping up on DVD. Starting with "best of" and volume sets of various series (some of which are long forgotten and out-of-print, such as the DVDs of The Wonder Years that were released in the late 90s), TV-on-DVD evolved into the format that we all came to love and enjoy by the early part of the decade, and by the middle part of the decade, we were seeing the first season of virtually every series known to man, even the most obscure of series. We started getting the most recent seasons of series currently airing just months after the season finale. But then, it all started to taper off.
Lately, we've been left with collections of TV series on our shelves that end with the first or second season, and we've been waiting months or years wondering when we'll be able to complete that collection, only to get more and more frustrated when we don't hear any news. We've seen major studios, such as Sony, who used to release anything and everything at a steady pace, more or less just stop releasing anything. So what's happening?
There isn't just one simple answer for this, but there are many factors that play in to this. Perhaps the biggest factor is where you are reading this very article--the internet. Just a decade ago, we were all chugging along the internet at what seemed at the time an amazingly fast 56 KB/s, but as we've evolved, almost all of use DSL or cable internet access now. This has allowed streaming video services to boom, and we can now watch episodes (or in some cases complete seasons or series) anytime we want at any place we want using services such as Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon.com. And in many cases, we can watch these shows for free or by paying a low monthly subscription price. Of course, that cost also plays into a factor. With an economy that still faces weaknesses, many people have cut back on discretionary spending, and of course DVDs--as much as we'd like to say they are important--are non-essential items for our household.
The adaptation to streaming video does have some flaws, however. Most of us don't want to watch TV on a tiny computer screen when we have a large LCD TV in our living room. There are solutions to get around that, such as using a Blu-ray player or other internet device connected to our TV, but not everybody is that advanced just yet. Another issue is quality. Streaming video-on-demand has come a long way, but unless you have an ultra-fast internet connection, you're still going to have some occasional issues with buffering and notice some obvious flaws in video quality that you wouldn't face by watching the same program with your own local physical media. Additionally, video-on-demand, whether free or purchased, just doesn't give you that excitement and allure that you get from holding that newly purchased DVD that you can add to your collection to show off all of the great DVDs that you own. And let's not forget that DVDs often come packaged with great special features, but with streaming video-on-demand, you usually don't get much more than just the episodes.
I don't think it is safe to write the obituary for DVDs just yet, but something is going to have to change to entice fans to buy DVDs as opposed to using streaming video services. Perhaps they need to include better special features, or maybe the format needs to evolve from complete season sets to complete series sets (in many cases, that is already happening). But there is definitely a change in the air for DVDs, and we'll really have no choice but to adapt to these changes.
LOOKING AHEAD
We hope that we haven't more or less written the obituary on digital home media this week, because we'd all love to see more series coming to DVD and Blu-ray Disc. But hopefully, with this being Digital Digest (as opposed to DVD Digest), we'll find relief on watching our favorite series on other formats. Whatever it takes to get it, we'll be there! And of course, we'll always be here for the DVDs that are on the way. After all, the format isn't exactly dead--not yet, anyway. In fact, next week, we'll have a review of Vega$ - The Second Season, Volume Two. Until then, keep it digital!
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, November 21
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "The 6:10 to Lubbock" (CBS, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Mandy get fed up staying with her parents and reconsider their living situation after a fight with Mandy’s mom, Audrey.
Ghosts - "Man of Your Dreams" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam learns that one of the ghosts’ powers is to enter the dreams of the livings and influence their decisions. Also, two of the ghosts think they’ve learned the secret to moving on.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)
Thursday, November 21
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Catch Jim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This/GLOW) and Timothy Simons (HouseBroken/Veep) - Justine, Jackie and Timothy are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
- Maura Tierney (NewsRadio/The Van Dyke Show) - Maura is in the studio to discuss the neww season of Law and Order on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Paul Reiser (Mad About You/Red Oaks/Married/My Two Dads) - Paul is telling Drew about his huge return to comedy after thirty years with his standup special, Life, Death and Rice Pudding, and his new movie The Gutter on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- John O'Hurley (Seinfeld/Over the Top/The Mullets) - John will be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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