Thursday, June 09, 2011
NBC To Burn-Off Friends With Benefits; TNT Acquires Castle Reruns for 2012
From Brian Grazer, Friends With Benefits is a half-hour, single-camera comedy revolving around a group of twenty-something singles as they navigate the difficult, and often confusing, world of dating. Ben Weymouth (Ryan Hansen) is on the hunt for the perfect woman who meets his unique set of standards, while his best friend, Sara Maxwell (Danneel Harris), is just looking for a man to settle down with and raise a family. Ben and Sara have fallen into the habit of turning to each other for moral and physical support as they wait for Mr. and Ms. Right to arrive. Their friend Aaron (Fran Kranz), a romantic at heart, doesn't approve of Ben and Sara's complicated friendship, but he, along with womanizer Hoon (Ian Reed) and straight shooter Riley (Jessica Lucas), are all distracted with their own dating trials and tribulations.
In its latest high-profile acquisition, TNT has secured the exclusive off-network cable rights to the hit series, Castle, from Disney-ABC Domestic Television. Castle, which just completed its third highly rated season on ABC, is a crime drama starring Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Desperate Housewives) and Stana Katic (Quantum of Solace, TNT's The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice).
Castle (seasons 1 & 2) will begin airing on TNT in summer 2012. As part of TNT's TV Everywhere rollout, Castle will also be available for online viewing through mobile phones, tablets, computers and other devices.
TNT's deal for Castle follows on the heels of the network's recent acquisition of Hawaii Five-0, which will join the TNT lineup in 2014. TNT has also landed the popular series The Mentalist, which recently enjoyed a strong opening in its Wednesday 7-9 p.m. timeslot. It is unclear when Castle seasons 3 and beyond will air on TNT. I would assume that would start in Fall 2013.
Look for Castle to land a weekend local syndication deal soon as well and that should start in Fall 2012 or 2013 (and that would be all seasons to date rather than just the first two seasons). Stay tuned
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, August 18
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Pomp and Circumstance" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tina and Gemma plan a joint graduation party for Malcolm and Grover, on part one of the hour-long seventh season finale.
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Venice" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Butlers and Johnsons help Malcolm start a new chapter in a new city that, while just across town, is worlds away from the neighborhood, on part two of the hour-long seventh season finale.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 18)
Monday, August 18
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal) - Anthony is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) - Jack appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Sarah Jessica Parker (And Just Like That.../Divorce/Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - NBC's Today catches up with Sarah in the 10am hour.
- Ashley Eckstein (That's So Raven) - Ashley and Michael James Scott discuss their new podcast HypeFriend! on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina the Teenage Witch) - Soleil and Angel Carter Conrad, the late Aaron Carter's twin sister, whose new documentary The Carters gives an intimate look inside the Carter family with never-before-seen footage on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
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