Thursday, September 08, 2011

The Hub Fall 2011 Schedule; Remembering Don Taffner of DLT Entertainment

The Hub will be making some changes to the fall 2011 schedule, with some changes already in effect as of Tuesday (Sept. 6). Before we turn our focus to the sitcom line-up, we want to mention that they added the animated '90s series Batman: The Animated Series, airing weekdays at 5pm, followed by the wildly popular series Goosebumps at 5:30pm. Batman: The Animated Series is also airing weekdays at 7pm and 1am, while Goosebumps will also air on Saturdays at 12 noon starting this Saturday. And as we already announced, The Hub has acquired the cable rights to the popular game show, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? and will launch it on Monday, Sept. 19, airing it Mon-Thurs at 8:00pm & 8:30pm with an encore at 2:00am & 2:30am. This means the sitcom line-up will change a bit. Family Ties will move from 8-9pm to the 9:30pm half-hour. The Keaton family will also encore at 3:30am. The Wonder Years will remain at 9pm, as will the encore at 3am, but Doogie Howser M.D. will go from 9:30pm to 11pm, with an encore at 5am. From 10-11pm, instead of back-to-back Happy Days, we now get an episode each of Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, since Doogie is moving to 11pm (Laverne & Shirley's old timeslot). The duo will encore in the 4am hour Mon-Thurs nights. And remaining at 11:30pm with an encore at 5:30am is classic Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Holy Consistency Batman!
As of now, the sitcom line-up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights will remain intact, but this is not official yet. We will let you know if it isn't. So in addition to Mon-Thurs weeknights, you can still enjoy the comedies on Friday nights from 2-6am, Saturday nights from 1am-4am and Sunday nights from 12am-4am that are currently airing. Other notable non-sitcom stuff on weekdays has classic Transformers Sun-Fri at 7am and Mon-Thurs at 12am; G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Mon-Thurs at 12:30am and Sundays at 6:30am; Jem Sun-Fri at 7:30am and weekdays at 2pm & 6pm; Fraggle Rock weekdays at 9am; and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show weekdays at 10am.
Discuss The Hub Fall 2011 schedule. As I mentioned, keep it with us for continued updates, but none of the sitcoms are leaving the schedule as of now this fall even with the addition of 5th Grader! Stay with us.

Don Taffner

Donald Taffner Sr., a 40-year veteran of the television industry and an inventive executive who helped bring Three's Company, Too Close for Comfort and The Benny Hill Show to the American public, died on September 6 after a brief illness. His daughter, Karen Butler, spoke to the St. John's University newspaper The Torch and said that the doctors believe the cause of death was a "cataclysmic heart event, like an aneurysm or clot.” Mr. Taffner was 80.

Taffner and his wife, Eleanor, founded D.L. Taffner Ltd. in 1963. The couple later changed the name to Taffner Enterprises before it became known as DLT Entertainment. The company was originally formed to help international broadcasters looking for American television shows for their schedules, but they later started to sell overseas shows to the U.S. networks. They helped bring the ABC sitcoms Three's Company, its spinoff Three's a Crowd and Too Close for Comfort to American audiences. DLT Entertainment also brought us the 1985-88 Canadian sitcom Check It Out! which starred Don Adams; the BBC sitcoms My Family and As Time Goes By; and various cartoons that featured the Beatles, Crazy Cat, Barney Google and Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. In 1986, he received the International Emmy Founders Award "for setting new levels of creativity in the worldwide exchange of television programs."

You can read more about his career and view a video interview at the Archive of American Television. Mr. Taffner's wife, Eleanor, passed away from natural causes on September 15, 2010 in New York. He is survived by a son, producer Donald L. Taffner Jr.; two daughters, Karen Butler and Rhonda Taffner Cantor; and three grandchildren, John, Henry and Tom Butler. We thank him for bringing us Three's Company and Too Close for Comfort. He will be missed.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, December 1

The Villains of Valley View - "A Very Villain Christmas" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Madden family celebrates their first Christmas in Valley View; while trying to score their most wanted gift, Amy and Jake learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Bunk'd: Learning the Ropes - "Friends in Snow Places" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Santa's famous reindeer Comet and Cupid visit the ranch; Lou, Parker and Jake travel to a lodge in the mountains, but soon find themselves trapped in the cold.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 27)

Friday, December 1

  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Watch Henry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Brie Larson (United States of Tara/Raising Dad) - Brie is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Eric Idle (Suddenly Susan/Nearly Departed) - Eric appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Ms. Pat (The Ms. Pat Show) - Ms. Pat appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Angela Means (Cousin Skeeter) - Angela is a guest on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - NBC's Today catches up with Kelsey in the 9am hour.
  • Brandy Norwood (Zoe Ever After/The Game/Moesha/Thea) - Brandy chats and performs on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Patrick sits down with to chat about his book Making It So on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus tells Sherri about his coming-of-age film, How I Learned to Fly, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Chris Redd (Bust Down/Kenan/Disjointed) - Chris discusses his upcoming film Candy Cane Lane on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani discusses her latest cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, and cooks on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)

Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

12/01 - Abbott Elementary Post-Oscars Airing, Only Murders on ABC; Remembering Frances Sternhagen, Marty Krofft and Others We Recently Lost
11/30 - Bob ♥ Abishola Ending After This Season; NBC Renews Rookie Dramas
11/29 - Antenna TV January 2024 Schedule; Max December Comedy Specials
11/28 - Prime Video's Hazbin Hotel; Lacey Chabert Gets Hallmark Unscripted Series
11/27 - Sundance Now Gets Original Comedy; Hallmark Original Returns for Season 2 in January
11/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 27, 2023)
11/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Kelsey Grammer Ready to Do 100 Episodes of Frasier; TBS Cancels Miracle Workers
11/24 - Fox Winter 2024 Schedule; An Evening From the Heart John Ritter Foundation NYC 2023 Event
11/23 - 2023 Thanksgiving TV Marathons
11/22 - Kerry Washington's UnPrisoned Gets Season 2; Classic Comedy Shorts Celebrate 40th Anniversary
11/21 - NBC Winter 2024 Schedule; Netflix Renews Rob Lowe Comedy
11/20 - BUZZR Celebrates Bob Barker's 100th Birthday; Ted Prequel Series on Peacock Gets Premiere Date
11/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 20, 2023)
11/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Young Sheldon Coming to an End After Seven Seasons; The CW International Sitcom Approach Not Going So Well
11/17 - ABC Winter 2024 Schedule; CBS Celebrates 98th Birthday of Dick Van Dyke
11/16 - Whoa Mama! Urkel Is Back for the Holidays!; Hulu Gets Such Brave Girls Comedy
11/15 - COZI TV's A Very COZI Christmas Schedule; Young Sheldon to End This Season on CBS
11/14 - CBS Winter 2024 Schedule; The CW Pulls 2 Comedies
11/13 - Antenna TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule; Rewind TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule
11/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 13, 2023)
11/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: SAG-AFTRA Strike Finally Ends; New Digital TV Broadcast Networks Coming
11/10 - AXS TV's The Partridge Family Thanksgiving Marathon; AspireTV Holiday Programming
11/09 - Bookie Premieres November 30 on Max; Ted Lasso Star Holiday Special on Apple TV+
11/08 - FX Renews The Bear for Season 3; Hulu's Australian Original Series Premieres November 29
11/07 - Disney+ Holiday Specials Extravaganza; Apple TV+ Peanuts Feature Film Coming Soon
11/06 - NBC Holiday Specials; Fox Holiday Specials
11/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 6, 2023)
11/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Broadcast Networks Preparing for Shorter Seasons of Scripted Series; CBS Announces Host of After Midnight
11/03 - Futurama Renewed for 2 More Seasons; ABC Holiday Specials
11/02 - Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas 2023 Schedule; Roku Gets in Holiday Spirit
11/01 - REELZ Remembers Matthew Perry; Leo Reich Comedy Special on HBO This December
10/31 - TBS Friends Tribute Marathon; HBO's Albert Brooks Documentary Premieres November 11