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Fox announced their mid-season 2012 premiere dates for new and returning series yesterday, including the returns of American Idol, Bob's Burgers and Breaking In; the debuts of new dramas Alcatraz, The Finder and Touch; and the launch of new animated series Napoleon Dynamite. Fox welcomes American Idol back when its 11th season begins with a two-night premiere Wednesday, Jan. 18 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT and Thursday, Jan. 19 at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Then on Sunday, a special extended primetime broadcast will air on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT following the NFL NFC Championship Game at 6:00 PM ET live/3:00 PM PT live).

New drama Touch, the distinctive new drama starring Kiefer Sutherland (24) will debut with a special preview Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 9:00 ET/PT, immediately following week two of American Idol . But the uplifting drama will not make its series premiere until Monday, March 19 at 9:00 PM ET/PT. Until then, J.J. Abrams' chilling new thriller Alcatraz will air. It debuts Monday, Jan. 16 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT with a special two-hour premiere event. Then the series then makes its time period premiere on Monday, Jan. 23 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following all-new episodes of House on its new time of 8:00 PM ET/PT. The Finder, the one-hour procedural from the creators of Bones, joins the schedule Thursday, Jan. 12 at 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT. The debut follows an encore episode of Bones at 8:00 PM ET/PT, in which series stars Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan were first introduced. The series will then air after American Idol the following week. Bones will return to the schedule with all-new episodes in the spring.

Moving on to comedy, Napoleon Dynamite, the new animated comedy based on the hit movie, joins the Sunday night lineup with a double dose of 'dynamite' episodes Sunday, Jan. 15, beginning with the series premiere at 8:30 PM ET/PT, followed by a second all-new episode at 9:30 PM ET/PT. The series will be replacing Allen Gregory and there is no word if that will ever even come back after its seven episodes, as it has faltered in the ratings. Beginning March 6, the Tuesday laughs keep coming with a new block of four half-hour comedies led by encores of New Girl at 8:00 PM ET/PT, followed by the Season Two return of Breaking In at 8:30 PM ET/PT, the workplace comedy starring Christian Slater, Bret Harrison, Odette Annable and new series regular Megan Mullally. The Tuesday night of comedy continues with all-new episodes of New Girl at 9:00 PM ET/PT, followed by the all-new misadventures of the Chance family on Raising Hope at 9:30 PM ET/PT. After its winter finale on February 28, Glee will return with all-new episodes in the spring. Breaking In would then likely move to 9:30 PM to finish off its season and perhaps Raising Hope will finish its season out before that happens. And finally back to animation, Bob's Burgers returns to the Sunday menu when it makes its Season Two opening Sunday, March 11 at 8:30-PM ET/PT, after the season of Napoleon Dynamite concludes on March 4.

Other Fox notes, Mobbed flashes back to the schedule with all-new special episodes airing Wednesdays at 9:00 PM ET/PT for a few weeks: Jan. 4, Jan. 11, Feb. 1 and Feb. 8. Also, another America's Most Wanted Special Edition airs Saturday, Feb. 11 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT. And I Hate My Teenage Daughter, which just launched on Wednesday, will return with all-new episodes following American Idol in the spring. The sitcom will only air this month, as of now. It's not a good sign if they only air 4 or so episodes in December and then hold it until spring, if it ever even returns. We'll keep you up to date. View the complete Fox 2012 mid-season schedule that they have announced thus far. Spring dates for Bones, Glee, and I Hate My Teenage Daughter still to come, along with the fate for Allen Gregory & Terra Nova. Both of those will finish their seasons later this month and have not been picked-up for a second season yet, like The X Factor has.


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, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of December 5-9, 2011, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, December 5, 2011

• Kristen Johnston (The Exes/3rd Rock From the Sun) - Watch Kristen on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS and on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Christina Applegate (Up All Night/Samantha Who?/Married with Children) - Christina appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) - Alec drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Damon Wayans, Jr. (Happy Endings) - Damon visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Fred Willard (Back to You/Everybody Loves Raymond/Maybe It's Me) - Tune in to see Fred on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

• Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Catch Valerie on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Sarah visits LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings and later she will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) - Sofia stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - The legendary Ms. White is a guest on Anderson, so check your local listings.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

• Cheryl Hines (Suburgatory/Curb Your Enthusiasm) - Cheryl chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT and later she will be on The Chew on ABC at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
  
• Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs) - Watch Donald on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Tracee Ellis Ross Reed Between the Lines/Girlfriends) - Tracee is a guest on The Rosie Show at 7pm on OWN.
• Garry Marshall (Creator of Happy Days/Laverne & Shirley/Mork & Mindy) - Garry talks about his new movie, New Year's Eve, on NBC's Today between 10-11am.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

• Chris D'Elia (Whitney) - Catch Chris on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Judy Greer (Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - Judy is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Kevin Nealon (Weeds) - Kevin visits The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Jeremy Piven (Entourage/Ellen) - Jeremy drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Vicki Lawrence (Mama's Family) - Vicki appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.

Friday, December 9, 2011

• Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch) - Watch Florence on Tavis Smiley on PBS, but check listings for time.
• Jeremy Piven (Entourage/Ellen) - Jeremy continues to make the rounds on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.

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