Monday, January 23, 2012
NATPE 2012: Day 1 Has WKRP in Cincinnati Coming to Antenna TV; Retired at 35 Bumped Off of March 7 on TV Land
Baby, if you've ever wondered that if WKRP in Cincinnati would be back on TV, now no need to wonder if that will happen! Why? Because digital simulcast network Antenna TV has announced at the annual National Association of Television Program Executive (NATPE) conference that the hit '70s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati is coming in April 2012! The sitcom is about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. Among the stars on the series are Gary Sandy, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson, Jan Smithers and Tim Reid. The series last aired regularly on television on Tribune's WGN America in 2008-09, but that was on cable and Antenna TV is a digital broadcast network. Prior to WGN America airing, it was on AmericanLife TV in 2007. When WGN America aired it, all of the music seemed to be intact and I think that will be the case on Tribune's Antenna TV as well.
Antenna TV will air all 90 episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati starting in April and will air it on Sunday nights during a two-hour block following NewsRadio to create a three-hour dysfunctional radio block in primetime! WKRP in Cincinnati will be replacing Married...with Children, which will be resting for a bit. Following WKRP in Cincinnati will still be the addicting '70s sitcom Soap, so WKRP in Cincinnati and Soap air back-to-back as well. Loni Anderson and Diana Canova back-to-back! We'll have exact timings coming soon, but expect this order starting in primetime.
We will have more on Antenna TV's new spring schedule that will start in April in the coming weeks, But we're not expecting any series to be removed from the schedule except Married...with Children, which is just resting anyway. Will more shows come to Antenna TV in the spring and will we see some timeslot changes for some shows? (I'm hoping the underrated Too Close for Comfort finally goes to weekdays) We will let you know as soon as we can announce that. But for now let's remember, "I'm at WKRP in Cincinnati..."
Keep it right here for news from NATPE, which is from Jan. 23-25. And stay with is in the coming days and we will give you a list of the shows being offered for fall 2012 syndication, like we do every year, including the off-network sitcoms.
TV Land announced that the second season of the network's hit original sitcom, Happily Divorced (which began production on January 17, 2012 at CBS Radford Studios) will now premiere at 10:30pm on March 7, rather than 10:00pm. The twelve new episodes of Happily Divorced will premiere on Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, so this means the second season of Retired at 35 will not premiere until later in the year. There is no word on when because TV Land also has the Hot in Cleveland spin-off series Have Faith premieres June 6. Encores of Hot in Cleveland will air at 10:00pm leading into Happily Divorced starting March 7, as Cleveland's mid-season finale is on Feb. 15 before it returns June 6 at 10pm with its second half.
Retired at 35 follows a successful businessman (Jonathan McClain) who decides to chuck the New York City rat race... and retires to Florida, three decades ahead of time and moves into his parents' (played by George Segal and Jessica Walter) Florida condo in a brand new world of sunshine and fun, from slow-moving softball games to really early dinners. And of course, Happily Divorced is based on Fran Drescher's real life as 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.
Stay with us for more information and also stay with us soon for some schedule changes at TV Land.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, March 27
Happy's Place - "" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When a woman inherits her late father's tavern, she's shocked to discover that it's co-owned by a half-sister she never knew existed... who has some interesting new ideas about how to run the family business.
Stumble - "Finals Week" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Having missed cheer camp, the team must submit a skills tape in order to qualify for Daytona, but the headwinds are against Courteney, as making the tape falls right in the middle of finals week at Heådltston.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 23)
Friday, March 27
- Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Watch Chelsea on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone (Creators of South Park) - Trey and Matt are guests on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andrew appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Stark Raving Mad/Wings) - Tony is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John talks about ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Jon Bernthal (The Class) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear/Girls) - Jon and Ebon talk about Broadway's Dog Day Afternoon on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew has a special food news with Joey Chestnut, Sunny Anderson and Valerie on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Kit and Melissa check out How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and 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)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
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