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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, March 18

St. Denis Medical - "You Gotta Have a Plan" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Joyce asks Alex to be the executor of her estate; Matt and Serena are forced to keep watch over a bickering family; Bruce grapples with unexpected DNA test results.

Night Court - "Age Against the Machine" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dan must defend his job after he gets a bad review on one of the city's new satisfaction kiosks; Abby and Gurgs receive some shocking information from Wyatt's daughter.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 17)

Tuesday, March 18

  • Bill Burr (F Is for Family/Townies) - Catch Bill on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Roy Wood Jr. (Sullivan & Son) - Roy appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Melissa Rauch (Night Court/The Big Bang Theory), Jessica St. Clair (Avenue 5/Playing House/Best Friends Forever/In the Motherhood) and Nico Santos (Superstore) - Melissa, Jessica and Nico are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie stops by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo. She also talks about The White Lotus on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Garcelle Beauvais (The Other Black Girl/Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show/Merry Happy Whatever) - Garcelle appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
  • Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. Eva and Paulina Chavez will be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Nina Dobrev (Fam) - Good Morning America celebrates World Recycling Day with Nina sometime between 7-9am.
  • DulcĂ© Sloan (The Great North) - DulcĂ© joins Tamron Hall for a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE as she serves laughs and looks from her brand-new tour, so check your local listings.
  • Debra Messing (Will & Grace/Ned & Stacey) - Debra talks about The Alto Knights on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am. NBC's Today catches up with Debra in the 9am hour.
  • Chet Hanks (Running Point) - Chet is telling Drew about staying authentic growing up in Hollywood, being three years sober and making his country music debut on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • RonReaco Lee (Survivor's Remorse/Let's Stay Together/In the Motherhood/Sister, Sister) - RonReaco is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

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)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

03/17 - It's True! Ted Lasso Renewed for Season 4; Jane Goodall Returns for Jane Season 3
03/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 17, 2025)
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03/14 - NBC Comedy Pilots Wheeling & Dealing; Hulu's Got to Get Out
03/13 - Prime Video Comedy Series Overcompensating Premiere Date; Eric Stonestreet Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/12 - Hacks Season 4 Premieres April 10; Nickelodeon Orders Wylde Pak
03/11 - The Neighborhood Renewed for Final Season; Max's The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast
03/10 - Netflix Renews Running Point for Season 2; Apple TV+ Trailer for The Studio
03/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 10, 2025)
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03/07 - Trailer for Apple TV+ Comedy Government Cheese; Remembering Saved by the Bell and TV Producer Peter Engel
03/06 - The CW Spring Premiere Dates; Henry Winkler Heads to HISTORY Channel
03/05 - Hacks Brings Out the Stars in Season 4; NBC Orders Pilot with Tracy Morgan
03/04 - Apple TV+ Side Quest Launches March 26; Krysten Ritter Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/03 - HBO's The Rehearsal Returns April 20; Sharon Horgan Signs Deal for HBO Comedy Series
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03/01 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Premiere Date for Mid-Century Modern Set; Roseanne Remastered in High Definition
02/28 - Remembering John Lawlor, Michelle Trachtenberg, Lynne Marie Stewart, Alice Hirson, Isaac Ruiz Jr., and Others We Lost in February
02/27 - Fox Orders Season 2 of Doc; Law & Order: Organized Crime Moves to Peacock in April
02/26 - Peacock's Poker Face Season 2 Premieres This Spring; Bert Kreischer Returns with His Fourth Netflix Special
02/25 - Hulu Sitcom Mid-Century Modern Premiere Date; NBC Renews Happy's Place for Season 2
02/24 - Fox Renews Jay Pharoah Game Show; Leighton Meester to Guest Star on Nobody Wants This
02/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 24, 2025)
02/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Jury Duty Returning for New Season on Prime Video; New Spinoff of 9-1-1 in the Works
02/21 - CBS Renews 9 Additional Series for 2025-26; Hulu Picks Up Paradise for Season 2
02/20 - 31st Annual SAG Awards Pre-Show Hosts; Hulu's Ellen Pompeo Series Trailer Released
02/19 - Hulu's Am I Being Unreasonable? Returns for Season 2; Apple TV+ New CG Animated Comedy Series
02/18 - Cartoon Network's Iyanu Debuts April 5; Chelsea Handler: The Feeling Premieres March 25 on Netflix
02/17 - Netflix Renews XO, Kitty for Season 3; The Pitt to Return on Max
02/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 17, 2025)
02/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Sets Cast for Potential Backdoor Spinoff of The Neighborhood; Martha Stewart to Co-Host New NBC Cooking Competition
02/14 - FX's Dying for Sex Premieres in April on Hulu; BET+ Announces Lil Kev, Adult Animated Comedy