Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Mister Ed Coming to Hallmark Movie Channel; Charlie Sheen's New Sitcom Anger Management Premieres June 28 on FX
A horse is a horse, of course, of course! Hallmark Movie Channel has acquired the classic '60s sitcom Mister Ed! The series starring Alan Young is coming back to cable. The series will begin airing next month starting Monday, March 26, 2012 on Hallmark Channel's spin-off network The Hallmark Movie Channel every morning from 6-8am. The sitcom will replace a movie airing, so no series will be replaced. It has not aired on cable since TV Land stopped airing in about 2006 but the digital simulcast network THIS tv airs the series still weekday mornings at 6:30am (following The Patty Duke Show at 6am). If you don't get that network, then you'll get to see it on cable on Hallmark Movie Channel!
Hallmark Movie Channel will also still continue to air Perry Mason and Murder, She Wrote in the afternoons and encores of Murder, She Wrote in the late night. It is nice to see a sitcom join the network. Perhaps it will make an appearance on the regular Hallmark Channel for a marathon if you don't have Hallmark Movie Channel.
Speaking of Hallmark Channel, they have announced a marathon change. On Sunday, March 24 from 10am-12am, the marathon is now a We Love Lucy Marathon (aka The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour) replacing the scheduled I Love Lucy marathon. The comedy hour also aired on Feb. 26, so perhaps it did well in the ratings so now Hallmark will air it again. Everything else we mention for Hallmark Channel in March and April will still happen, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show marathon on Sunday, April 1! Keep it right here for continued updates!
FX will be television's comedy destination this summer with the return of two of its acclaimed original series, Louie and Wilfred, the debut of its new late-night original series Strangely Uplifting with Russell Brand, and new sitcom Anger Management starring Charlie Sheen, all airing Thursday nights beginning June 28. The series premiere of FX's first-run acquired comedy Anger Management starring Charlie Sheen kicks off June 28 with the first two episodes airing at 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM ET/PT. In the following weeks, the series will air first-run episodes Thursdays at 9:30 PM with the previous week's episode repeated at 9:00 PM. FX has ordered 10 episodes of Anger Management from producers Debmar-Mercury and Lionsgate Television.
In Anger Management, Sheen stars as "Charlie," a non-traditional therapist specializing in anger management. Selma Blair, Shawnee Smith, Daniela Bobadilla, Michael Arden, and Noureen DeWulf co-star. He has a successful private practice, holding sessions with his group of primary patients each week, as well as performing pro bono counseling for an inmate group at a state prison. Prior to his career as a therapist, Charlie was a stalled minor league baseball prospect whose road to the majors was sidetracked by his own struggle with anger issues. After a stint in anger management therapy, he made it to the majors and had one terrific season before his anger issues put him on the shelf for good. In the final game of his career, he tried to snap a bat over his leg, which resulted in a career-ending injury. That injury led him back to school and to his current profession. Charlie thrives on the chaos in his life while still battling his own anger issues. His life is complicated by his relationships with his own therapist/best friend, an ex-wife whose positive outlook but poor choice in men frustrates Charlie, and their 13-year-old daughter who has obsessive-compulsive disorder. Bruce Helford serves as Executive Producer/Showrunner. Joe Roth, Mark Burg, Dave Caplan are Executive Producers.
Season two of the acclaimed hit comedy Wilfred starring Elijah Wood and Jason Gann debuts at 10:00 PM E/P. Academy Award-winning actor/comedian Robin Williams has signed on for a guest-starring role in the season opener. FX has ordered 13 episodes for season two. Season three of the acclaimed and award-winning comedy series Louie, starring actor/comedian Louis C.K., premieres at 10:30 PM E/P. FX has ordered 13 episodes of the series for season three. Finally, the series premiere of Strangely Uplifting, FX's new late-night comedy starring acclaimed actor/comedian Russell Brand, will debut, at 11:00 PM E/P. The series features Brand's unvarnished, unfiltered take on current events, politics and pop culture. The network has ordered six half-hour installments of the series that will be shot in front of a live audience. The format will draw heavily on Brand's interaction with that audience.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
New Dancing with the Stars Cast Has Jaleel White, Melissa Gilbert; Fox Alters Monday and Thursday Schedule
The waiting game is over, the rumors are laid to rest, the full line-up of season fourteen stars of Dancing with the Stars are now in! This season's dynamic lineup of stars -- including a Super Bowl champion, a sitcom star, a telenovela star, a tennis legend, a Disney Channel star, a classical singing star and a music legend – will perform either the Foxtrot or the Cha Cha for the first time on live national television with their professional partners during the two-hour season premiere on Monday, March 19, 2012 from 8-10pm.
Of note for SitcomsOnline.com, we have Steve Urkel himself--actor Jaleel White from the hit TGIF ABC sitcom Family Matters from the '90s. Jaleel teams with two-time champ Kym Johnson, who returns for her 11th season. We also have classic TV star Melissa Gilbert, who of course played Laura Ingalls on the family drama Little House on the Prairie in the '70s and '80s. Melissa partners with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who returns for his 12th season. And one more star of note for us is actress/host Sherri Shepherd from The View. Sherri also has starred on sitcoms such as Sherri and Less Than Perfect and has guest starred on many as well like 30 Rock and Everybody Loves Raymond. Sherri partners with Maks' brother Val Chmerkovskiy, who is returning for his second season as a professional partner.
Other stars on the new season include Disney sitcom star Roshon Fegan (Shake It Up), actress/host Maria Menounos (Extra), actor Jack Wagner (Melrose Place), and eight-time Grammy winner Gladys Knight. View the full list of stars and their professional partners. And we just might see the Urkel Dance (pictures above) this season! Do the Urkel!
Fox has announced revisions to its Monday and Thursday spring schedule, as well as the air date for House finale and a retrospective leading into the show's momentous series finale. Touch, the distinctive new drama starring Kiefer Sutherland (24), will now world premiere on Thursday, March 22 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following American Idol results shows. And the encore of the Touch preview episode will air the week before on Thursday, March 15 at 9. This means Bones will be on the move. Starting Monday, April 2 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, Bones moves to a new night and time. Also on Monday, April 2, House moves to a new time of 9:00 PM ET/PT with all-new episodes leading up to House's final diagnosis. A retrospective special looking back at the last eight years of the seminal series will air Monday, May 21 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, followed by the thrilling series finale at 9:00 PM ET/PT.
The Finder, which currently airs Thursdays at 9, will have its spring finale Thursday, March 8 at 9 and will return later in the season with all-new episodes. Alcatraz continues with all-new episodes Mondays at 9:00 PM ET/PT throughout March, with the previously announced special two-hour episode Monday, March 5 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT and the arresting two-hour season finale on Monday, March 26 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Married with Children, Saved by the Bell Coming to MTV2; Fox 25th Anniversary Special Now April 22
MTV2 will be adding more sitcoms to its schedule this March! They already air Boy Meets World, Martin and The Wayans Bros. every weekday with filler airings of In Living Color and Malcolm & Eddie from time to time, but now two more sitcoms will be joining the weekday line-up. MTV2 will be borrowing two sitcoms who have been on hiatus from other Viacom-owned networks. Married...with Children and Saved by the Bell are coming to MTV2 starting Monday, March 12, 2012! Both sitcoms have aired on other Viacom-owned networks, with Married...with Children airing on MANY Viacom networks (Spike TV, TV Land, Comedy Central, CMT, Nick at Nite) in the past. Will the sixth time be the charm? The '90s comedy starring Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, Christina Applegate and David Faustino will air weekday mornings from 10am-12am and Saturdays from 7-9am. The series will continue to be shared with TBS which airs the series in very early mornings anytime between 2-7am.
As for Saved by the Bell, it has aired on Viacom's TeenNick, but hasn't aired in a while. The sitcom currently is not airing on any cable network, as long time network TBS dropped the series from its Sunday line-up earlier this year as they have lost rights. MTV2 will air Saved by the Bell every weekday from 12pm-2pm and Saturdays 9am-12pm. The Bayside High comedy will be the lead-in to Boy Meets World, which airs continues to air weekdays 2-4pm and Saturdays 12pm-4pm. As for the other comedies, The Wayans Bros. will continue to air weeknights 11pm-1am and Sundays 1-4pm, while Martin will air weeknights from 1am-3am and Sundays from 9am-11am & 6pm-9pm.
Stay with us for further updates on MTV2 and their sitcom line-up. It's alright cause I'm Saved by the Bell!
Fox will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a star-studded look back at the past quarter-century now on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 8-11pm ET. Fox's biggest stars from both past and present will make live appearances to celebrate the network that began on April 5, 1987. The special was originally scheduled for April 1, but now will air April 22 (a week before May sweeps). Don Mischer (Academy Awards) will executive produce the special. Among the classic Fox series that will be featured are Arrested Development, Beverly Hills 90210, In Living Color, Married...with Children, That '70s Show, and The X-Files. Expect some cast reunions for some of those! Take a walk down memory lane with the network responsible for launching the careers of Johnny Depp, Jim Carrey, Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Aniston; not to mention turning 90210 into the most famous zip code in the world and adding the word "D'oh" into the English language.
More info to come in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Week 23 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
2011-12 Week 23 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):
Households: N/A
Total Viewers: N/A.
Adults 18-49: N/A
Week 23 (Feb. 20-26) Analysis: Week 23 saw more below normal ratings, but not as harsh as week 22. It still seems something is wrong and fishy. We don't have final network averages though the first four nights, but we can project who is on top. CBS is in the lead in HH/viewers, with Fox is first in 18-49. That is a given. Both networks are first or second again. ABC has the edge over NBC in all categories, as NBC has nothing but The Voice, which is the #1 show in 18-49. More on the prediction of week 23 below. As for last week, week 22, CBS took top honors in HH/viewers over Fox, but it was Fox with the edge over CBS in 18-49. ABC was third across the board and that means NBC was fourth in all categories, even with The Voice.
On Monday, it was another Monday win for NBC. First, on ABC, The Bachelor started it off from 8-10pm with 8.18 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. It has held up well against new competition. At 10pm, Castle was all-new and did 9.73 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. What a finish to the two-part event. For CBS, How I Met Your Mother was new doing 9.68 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, up four tenths from previous week's season low. Then a new episode of breakout hit 2 Broke Girls followed doing a better 11.37 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating, with nice builds from the lead-in like usual and up two tenths week-to-week. At 9pm, a new showing of Two and a Half Men did 13.33 million and a 4.218-49 rating, which is up three tenths from previous week's season low. A new Mike & Molly followed and did 11.33 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week again. 3.4 for a few weeks now. A new episode of Hawaii Five-0 was next doing 10.4 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, up two tenths week-to-week. Fox started with a new House at 8pm with 7.08 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week as this will be its last season. New drama Alcatraz was next at 9pm and did 5.98 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week and another series low. It really needs to improve. On to first place NBC started it off with a two-hour The Voice and did 16.04 million and a 6.0 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week. It looks like it has settled to a 6.0, which right now is good enough for top honors. Then at 10pm week three of critical darling Smash was next at 10 doing a third place 6.47 million and a second place 2.3 18-49 rating, which is down a half point from the previous week. Not good, as soon it will likely be third place in 18-49, too. It costs a lot of money to make, so it should be first place every week if it wants to survive, especially since it has a huge lead-in. The CW was all-new, at 8pm the why-is-it-still-on Gossip Girl did 1.0 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week but it almost is below a million total viewers--ouch. At 9pm a new Hart of Dixie did 1.57 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, on par with previous week again.
On Tuesday, CBS and Fox shared the 18-49 crown. At CBS, a new NCIS at 8 started it off with 19.29 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating, which is down another three tenths from previous week. Then a new NCIS: Los Angeles at 9pm did 15.47 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, which is down a half a point from previous week for a season low (maybe a series low?). At 10pm, a new Unforgettable did 10.7 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, which is also down three tenths from previous week for a series low. ABC started with a new Last Man Standing with Tim Allen leading the night off doing 7.46 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which was on par with previous week. At 8:30pm, a new episode of the awesome Cougar Town did 4.49 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is disappointing and down a tenth from previous week's season premiere. This week it'll face Idol, but then it will be better I think with Glee on hiatus, so let's see what happens in the next few weeks. The episodes are coming out top-notch, especially the upcoming March 6 and 13 episodes. At 9pm, new horror/adventure series The River did 4.8 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Should be better than this. Body of Proof was next at 10 and did 6.64 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, up three tenths from previous week's series low. I think ABC should bring this show back next season, but not in this slot...maybe for 13 episodes on Fridays. Fox started with a new Glee and did 7.46 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, which was up two tenths from previous week's season (series?) low. Then at 9pm, new comedy New Girl was new and did a solid 6.27 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week for a series low again. Then Raising Hope was new and low like usual with just 4.73 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, but up on par week-to-week again. NBC was next with The Biggest Loser from 8-10pm doing 6.63 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is up two tenths from previous week's series low. Parenthood was new and did just 4.91 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week's series low. The CW preempted 90210 for a repeat of Hart of Dixie doing just 840,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week though. Then at 9pm, Ringer was new and did not benefit with the lead-in being a repeat so it did 1.25 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, not good, but up a tenth week-to-week from its series low.
Wednesday it was Fox with the easy win again with a two-hour expanded Idol leading the way of course. First, CBS started the night off with a new Survivor: One World doing 10.29 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, which is down three tenths from the premiere for a series low. Then at 9pm, a new Criminal Minds did 12.78 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. And at 10pm a new CSI did 11.91 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, up three tenths from previous week with limited competition. ABC was all-new for its Laugh On comedy block with The Middle doing 7.48 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, down two tenths from previous week again for a season low. Suburgatory followed at 8:30pm with 6.76 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth from previous week for a series low. Still solid, but they should go up this week. The mega hit Modern Family was next at 9pm and it did 11.54 million and 4.8 18-49 rating for a new showing, up a tenth from previous week and perhaps Idol hurt it a bit airing head-to-head. At 9:30pm, Happy Endings was new and did 5.45 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Spring Smackdown! At 10pm the addicting Revenge was preempted for an Oscars 20/20: Before They Were Stars special that did only 4.82 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, which is down a full point from previous week's Revenge. The juicy drama returns this Wednesday with the conclusion from the previous episode. Fox aired American Idol from 8-10pm doing 16.1 million and a 5.1 18-49 rating, down a full point from previous week. Wow, not good for this show but it still was tops for the night. The Voice has won this week for top series. NBC opened the night with a new episode of the terrible series Whitney doing 4.11 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down two tenths from previous week. Week seven of Are You There, Chelsea followed with only 3.38 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week for another series low. At 9pm, Rock Center with Brian Williams did only 2.7 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, which is atrocious and down a tenth from previous week for another series low. This is not needed in primetime. And at 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was new and did 5.99 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week and another series low. NBC is in bad shape, besides The Voice. The CW had a new One Tree Hill at 8pm doing 1.43 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. This show is ending and its one of the best performing series. Sad. Then at 9pm a new Remodeled did only 710,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. Still terrible.
Thursday it was Fox and CBS battling, as Fox continues to dwindle down. Starting with ABC, they opened the night with a new episode of Winter Wipeout doing 5.03 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, again on par with previous week. At 9pm, a new Grey's Anatomy aired doing 9.06 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week and a season low. Great episode and a great season. This show will be on for some more seasons. At 10pm, Private Practice was next and did 6.32 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, down a half a point from previous week's Grey's cross-over. CBS opened with a new The Big Bang Theory at 16.2 million and a 5.3 18-49 rating, great and up two tenths from previous week. Good enough for second among all TV series for the week thus far. Then week seven of Rob was next doing 10.33 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, down three tenth from previous week for a series low. Season finale will be this Thursday following a Bang repeat. A new episode of Person of Interest did 14.56 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which is up three tenths from previous week. A new episode of The Mentalist followed and did 13.36 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week. Fox aired American Idol at 8pm this week doing 15.64 million and a 4.5 18-49 rating, another season low and down six tenths from previous week when it was two-hours. Fox aired a new episode of The Finder at 9pm and did awful with 6.18 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating. NBC was all-new with a new 30 Rock up first doing just 3.7 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. At 8:30pm, Parks and Recreation did just 3.43 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, but also on par with previous week. The Office was next and did just 5.02 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, up three tenths from previous week's series low. At 9:30pm Up All Night was new and did just 3.42 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, as it was up two tenths week-to-week. At 10pm, a repeat of Grimm did nothing with 2.17 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating, up three tenths from previous week. New drama Awake starts this week but to me it doesn't look to have mass appeal, so it won't do well. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries was a repeat for some reason in sweeps and did 1.32 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, matching new episodes of many new episodes of dramas on The CW this week. Then at 9pm, drama The Secret Circle was preempted for a repeat of Supernatural and did just 930,000 viewers and a 0.3 18-49 rating.
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but ABC and CBS had something to talk about with CBS with the edge this week. ABC was strong with Shark Tank at 8pm going up 20% from previous week, as CBS tumbled with week two of Undercover Boss but still had won by a tenth. At 9pm What Would You Do? was solid for ABC, but NBC's Grimm won by a tenth. CBS' Blue Bloods was solid at 10 and won the hour. Fox had Fringe do terrible at 9pm and it doesn't look like another season is coming.
Saturday numbers have Fox winning the night by a tenth over ABC with Cops. ABC was led by the 9-11pm movie The Devil Wears Prada which did OK.
Tonight ABC's regular Sunday of AFV, Once Upon a Time, Desperate Housewives and Pan Am is preempted for the Annual Academy Awards, which will easily win the night with big numbers. Second best of the year following the Super Bowl, but the Grammy's did very well this season. NBC has Dateline at 7 followed by three-hours of Celebrity Apprentice, but the 8pm hour is a repeat. CBS has new airing of 60 Minutes then a new Amazing Race, followed by encores of The Mentalist and CSI: Miami. Fox has repeat episodes of Animation Domination starting at 7pm.
As for the week (week 23), ABC will likely win the week in all categories thanks to the Oscars. But Fox should hang on in second in 18-49, with CBS second in HH/viewers. NBC will be settling for fourth place like usual. As for the coming week (week 24), American Idol has a three-night/six-hour event, that could help them back on track. NBC will premiere new drama Awake on Thursday at 10pm but I don't think it will have mass appeal as it seems very cabley. So that means critically acclaimed and no ratings. And February sweeps ends on Wednesday--that was fast!
Week 23 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 22 -- Feb. 13-19)
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode did 5.77 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, up a good amount from previous week against the Grammy's.
- Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) - A new showing did 4.41 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, up some week-to-week. Could be better.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A new episode at 7:30pm did just 2.61 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, on par with previous week but it is being wasted in this time period where only 60 Minutes and AFV do well.
- Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm did 1.74 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, not good and down a tenth from previous week.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A new episode did 5.47 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, below normal again but up some from previous week. I remember when it was getting 4s regularly.
- American Dad! (Fox) - A new episode at 9:30pm did 4.43 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, up some from previous week.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode did 9.68 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, which is up from its season low the previous week. Still a bit below normal for this season, but nothing to complain about.
- 2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A new episode did 11.37 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating, which is great and up a couple tenths from its series low the previous week. Still don't get the appeal of this show. Is a Thursday move in the cards for next season?
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 13.33 million and a 4.2 18-49 rating for this show is still below but it is up some from its season low the previous week.
- Mike & Molly (CBS) - A new airing did 11.33 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, exactly the same as previous week.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Last Man Standing (ABC) - A new airing in its 8pm half-hour did 7.46 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is on par with previous week but below normal. This week it looks very good and a classic style episode, so it could improve ratings a but but Idol is also airing this week so maybe not.
- Cougar Town (ABC) - Week two 4.49 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, down a tenth from its season premiere. This week could be a bit rough against Idol, but good things are coming in March with no Glee and hilarious must-see episodes coming starting March 6.
- New Girl (Fox) - A new episode did 6.27 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week and a series low again. Still good and on par with its lead-in.
- Raising Hope (Fox) - A new episode did just 4.73 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, on par with previous week but it is not catching on as it does these ratings every week.
- The Middle (ABC) - A new episode did 7.48 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is down two tenths from previous week for a season low. It should be better and will be this week.
- Suburgatory (ABC) - A new airing did 6.76 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, as it nearly always retains or builds from the lead-in in 18-49. It has safely has secured a season season, I think, but it hopefully goes up this week.
- Whitney (NBC) - A new episode did just 4.11 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, which is down some from previous week. Whitney Houston (confused viewers though this series was a Whitney Houston special I bet last week!) effect gone now!
- Are You There, Chelsea? (NBC) - Week seven did only 3.38 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, not good folks and another series low. Go back to E! Ms. Handler.
- Modern Family (ABC) - A new episode did 11.54 million and a 4.8 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. Hopefully back to 5's this week?
- Happy Endings (ABC) - A new episode did 5.45 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. It's coming back next season for sure I think, so no need to worry.
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A new episode did 16.2 million and a 5.3 18-49 rating, up some from previous week. It beat both Idol airings this week for second place to The Voice.
- Rob (CBS) - Week seven of eight did 10.33 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, down three tenths from previous week. Finale is this week and it will have to prove itself out of a repeat lead-in.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode at 8 did just 3.7 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. It's time for this show to end after this season. It's not going to get any better as syndication hasn't helped it.
- Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A new episode did just 3.43 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. NBC should bring this back for one more season, then that's it.
- The Office (NBC) - A new episode did just 5.02 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, up three tenths from previous week's series low.
- Up All Night (NBC) - A new episode did just 3.42 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up some from its series low. I don't think it deserves a second year. One and out?
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10pm with repeat episodes.
Summing it up. New episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, New Girl, Rob were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as The Office, The Middle) or just plain old terrible (such as Are You There Chelsea, Whitney).
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Digital Digest: PaleyFest 2012 Online Streaming; Simon & Simon - Season Six DVD Review; Mission: Impossible - The '89 TV Season DVD Review
Welcome to Digital Digest, your weekly place to be for all things digital! We've got all of your regular news this week, along with all of our other usual features. This week, we have a double feature for our reviews, with our reviews of Simon & Simon - Season Six and Mission: Impossible - The '89 TV Season. Time to start our mission!
DIGITAL NEWS
The Paley Center for Media is prepared to hold their annual PaleyFest beginning March 2 and running through March 14. But of course, a vast majority of our blog readers won't be able to make it to see the events with panel discussions including the cast from series including Community, Modern Family, The Office, New Girl, Two and a Half Men, and more. So this year, fans from home will be able to stream these panel discussions from home through a partnership with LiveStream. But if you can't watch the events as they unfold live, The Paley Center has established yet another partnership with Hulu, which will allow fans to view clips and panel discussions (not from all of them, however; Two and a Half Men, for example, is not included) beginning March 15. The complete schedule for the PaleyFest panel discussions is as follows (all times are Eastern Standard Time):
Friday, March 2 - American Horror Story (10:00 PM)
Saturday, March 3 - Community (10:00 PM)
Sunday, March 4 - Once Upon a Time (4:00 PM)
Monday, March 5 - New Girl (10:00 PM)
Tuesday, March 6 - The Office (10:00 PM)
Wednesday, March 7 - Sons of Anarchy (4:00 PM)
Thursday, March 8 - Bones (8:00 PM)
Friday, March 9 - Castle (4:00 PM)
Saturday, March 10 - Vampire Diaries (4:00 PM)
Sunday, March 11 - Revenge (10:00 AM)
Monday, March 12 - Two and a Half Men (4:00 PM)
Tuesday, March 13 - Mad Men (8:00 PM)
Wednesday, March 14 - Modern Family (4:00 PM)
You can read more about this event by visiting the PaleyFest website.
Mill Creek is back in action again with more releases (well, technically re-releases) from the the Carsey-Werner library, announcing the third and fourth seasons of a few favorites for a release date of April 3. On that date, look for 3rd Rock from the Sun - The Complete Season Three, 3rd Rock from the Sun - The Complete Season Four, Roseanne - The Complete Third Season, Roseanne - The Complete Fourth Season, That '70s Show - Season Three, and That '70s Show - Season Four. The releases for That '70s Show and Roseanne will come at a $14.98 MSRP, while 3rd Rock for the Sun has a $9.98 MSRP (expect to find much lower prices than these, though, as Mill Creek sets often have a low MSRP and are priced even lower at retailers). Of these series that have been announced, though, there is one missing from the mix that was actually released with the Carsey-Werner series last time around: Grounded for Life. There is no need to worry, though, as additional seasons of that series will likely come at a later date.
TVShowsOnDVD.com brought news this week of an upcoming release from Shout! Factory which will collect love themed episodes of TV series, with Love is on the Air. The May 1 release (yes, we're confused too about why they didn't do this in time for Valentine's Day) will include episodes of Leave it to Beaver, That Girl, Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best, Ozzie & Harriet, The Patty Duke Show, and Hazel, all centered around a theme of "love." The single disc release comes at a low $12.99 MSRP.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (February 28) brings a few new releases to DVD, with MPI's release of Here's Lucy - Season Five. Shout! Factory finishes up a series that fans have been wanting to see finished for years with Here Come the Brides - The Complete Second Season. You can read our review of this set here. Finally, CBS Home Entertainment is finishing up the '80s reboot of Mission: Impossible with Mission: Impossible - The '89 TV Season, which we have a review today in Digital Digest.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog DVD Review: Simon & Simon - Season Six (Shout! Factory, $49.99)
by skees53
The Simon brothers, Rick Simon (Gerald McRaney) and A.J. Simon (Jameson Parker) are back again on DVD to investigate 22 more cases in Simon & Simon - Season Six. The series, which aired from 1981-1989 on CBS, follows the two Simon brothers, both of whom have lead completely different lives (up until now, anyway) working together as private detectives, often investigating some of the most serious and heinous crimes. But there are always twists and turns along the way in each and every investigation, and the cases aren't always easy to crack. But with the Simon brothers, they always manage to find a way to do it, somehow.
The sixth season begins with "Competition - Who Needs It?," where there is a new detective agency in town that is determined to run the Simons out of business. A young sailor is framed for drug possession in "A.W.O.L." In "Still Phil After All These Years," Cecilia's high school reunion suddenly turns into another murder investigation for the Simons. Nancy Kulp guest stars. Downtown Brown is a temporary houseguest with the Simons after an injury in "The Cop Who Came to Dinner," but there is a little something that he forgot to tell them about his life being in danger. Lyle Waggoner Deborah Walley guest star in "The Last Big Break," where a surfer who was thought to have died 20 years ago mysteriously shows up--and is a target for murder. The Simon brothers fight to protect a reporter's son (played by the one and only Gary Coleman) in "Like Father, Like Son." Rick and A.J. become rivals in "The Case of Don Diablo," at least until what initially seems like a fun investigation may turn into a life-threatening situation. An investigation leads to the Simons marrying two Greek stewardesses in "Mrs. Simon & Mrs. Simon." In "Tonsilitis," Rick swears that he saw a murder while under anesthesia while getting his tonsils removed, but who is going to believe him?
Alan Hale, Jr. guest stars in "For Old Crime's Sake," where a 50 year old bank robbery could have consequences well into the '80s. The brothers join two rival female detectives for an investigation (against Rick's better judgement) in "Opposites Attack." Downtown Brown plans to propose to reporter Temple Hill (Tim Reid's real-life wife Daphne Maxwell-Reid) in "Judgment Call," but a disagreement could thwart that. A famous TV detective disappears in "Tanner, P.I. for Hire." In "Second-Story Simons," the brothers latest investigation lands them in the middle of an FBI investigation themselves. A man who saved Rick's life in Vietnam is found murdered in "I Thought the War Was Over." Janet Fowler (Jeannie Wilson) returns in "Lost Lady," but can't quit remember anything that has happened in the past four years. The season ends with "Walking Point," where Rick and A.J. find themselves investigating a sleazy lawyer running a center for the disabled. Vanna White makes a cameo appearance in the episode.
The episodes on the set appear to be unedited, and despite some initial challenges that the studio was having with music rights when trying to release this season a year ago, it seems that those challenges have been overcome. Runtimes are as follows :
Disc 1:
1. "Competition - Who Needs It?" (47:39)
2. "A.W.O.L." (47:28)
3. "Still Phil After All These Years" (47:40)
4. "The Cop Who Came to Dinner" (47:39)
Disc 2:
5. "Treasure" (47:42)
6. "The Last Big Break" (47:40)
7. "The Rookie" (47:39)
8. "Like Father, Like Son" (47:40)
Disc 3:
9. "The Case of Don Diablo" (47:36)
10. "Mrs. Simon & Mrs. Simon" (47:39)
11. "Just Because I'm Paranoid..." (47:31)
12. "Tonsilitis" (47:21)
Disc 4:
13. "Deep Water Death" (47:41)
14. "For Old Crime's Sake" (47:39)
15. "Opposites Attack" (47:40)
16. "Judgment Call" (47:40)
Disc 5:
17. "Tanner, P.I. for Hire" (47:40)
18. "Ancient Echoes" (47:44)
19. "Second-Story Simons" (47:39)
Disc 6:
20. "I Thought the War Was Over" (47:38)
21. "Lost Lady" (47:41)
22. "Walking Point" (47:13)
Like the previous release, the set is packaged in a standard Viva case. On the cover, there is a photo of the Simon brothers, along with the title of the set, all with a blue background. On the back, there is a brief description of the season (complete with a very glaring error indicating that the series aired on NBC, when in fact it aired on CBS), along with a few photos from the season. Inside the case, you'll find the six discs, all of which just have the series logo on a blue background. The first four discs contain four episodes each, while the last two contain three episodes each.
The menus on the set are very basic, but at least the theme song from the current season plays this time, as opposed to the theme song from the first season. On the main menu, there is a still photo of the brothers (same one seen on the cover), and the theme song plays in the background. From the main menu, you have options of Play All, and a list of episodes. Once you select an episode, it plays immediately. There are chapters throughout each episode.
The video and audio quality of the episodes is a bit lackluster for the late '80s (I've seen better), but it seems to be about on par with the previous releases of this series, and other dramas from Universal from the same era. It is just interesting how the series looks much older than it actually is, almost like an episode of Starsky & Hutch from a decade earlier. Unfortunately, the episodes are not closed-captioned or subtitled.
Sadly, there are no special features on the set. Of course, we've come to expect and accept that with these Shout! Select titles; after all, it is great that we are even seeing these titles on DVD in the first place.
All in all, this isn't a bad set of episodes, although special features would have been nice. It is great to see that Shout! Factory is continuing the series on DVD this far in to the series, particularly after it was abandoned by Universal after just one season. One thing that I would like to see on one of the future releases is the original pilot film for the series, which has still yet to see the light of day on DVD. With this set, though, the series comes closer to completion with only two seasons, containing a total of 29 combined episodes, left to release. If nothing else, it would be great if Shout! could combine the final two seasons into one release to finish this off. One thing that I never understood about this series is why it hasn't seemed to have the same kind of popularity as other similar series from the same era, particularly Magnum, P.I. The series is really the same style of series, and in my opinion, better than the classic Tom Selleck series. But if you are a fan of that series, you'll probably love the Simon brothers, too.
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog DVD Review: Mission: Impossible - The '89 TV Season (CBS, $39.98)
by skees53
Who said that short-lived series aren't memorable? The '80s reboot of the classic series Mission: Impossible is not only back on DVD, but the entire series is completed with CBS Home Entertainment's release of Mission: Impossible - The '89 TV Season, a four disc set containing all sixteen episodes of the final season of one of television's few series that actually managed to come back with new episodes that were actually great to watch. The series is much like the original, and even brings back Peter Graves in the starring role as Jim Phelps, as he organizes a new team to do everything that the old team used to do.
The season begins with the two-part episode "The Golden Serpent," where the latest investigation exposes a good friend of Jim's, Barney Collier (Greg Morris), and leads to a fight to save him while cracking the case at hand. The team is trying to protect a princess from high-priced assassins in "The Princess." In "Command Performance," an investigation leads the team to a priest in prison. The IMF team must fight to prevent an international war at the hands of a religious terrorist in "Countdown." In "War Games," the IMF investigates military training exercises in Eastern Europe which could have serious consequences. Many IMF agents are kidnapped during an investigation in "Target Earth." Adolf Hitler's legacy continues to live on in "The Fuhrer's Children."
In "Banshee," Jim and the team tackle a case of a black-market weapons trader in Ireland. The team works to recover a priceless work of art which could result in (you guessed it) an international incident in "For Art's Sake." In "Deadly Harvest," the team has to stop a plan to hold the world's wheat production hostage. The team investigates a sudden wave of dead bodies in the South Pacific in "Cargo Cult." In "The Assassin," the team investigates the assassination of several influential figures at the hands of a stress clinic, of all things. The team investigates an Old West themed resort that may be a front for illegal arms sales in "Gunslinger." In "Church Bells in America," the team must take down a Colombian drug-lord. The series ends with "The Sands of Seth," where an ancient Egyptian cult is tied to the murders of top Egyptian officials.
The episodes appear to be unedited, with runtimes as follows:
Disc 1:
1. "The Golden Serpent (Part 1)" (48:44)
2. "The Golden Serpent (Part 2)" (48:27)
3. "The Princess" (47:25)
4. "Command Performance" (48:15)
Disc 2:
5. "Countdown" (48:16)
6. "War Games" (48:16)
7. "Target Earth" (48:18)
8. "The Fuhrer's Children" (48:29)
Disc 3:
9. "Banshee" (48:19)
10. "For Art's Sake" (47:54)
11. "Deadly Harvest" (48:15)
12. "Cargo Cult" (48:18)
Disc 4:
13. "The Assassin" (48:30)
14. "Gunslinger" (48:17)
15. "Church Bells in Bogata" (48:26)
16. "The Sands of Seth" (48:27)
The packaging for the set is very similar to the previous release, with a photo of the entire team on the front (Phelps with the largest photo, of course), and for some reason, very similar artwork on the back, along with a brief description of the season. Inside the case, you'll find the four discs, all of which just have the standard gray artwork with the series logo imprinted on them. There is a listing of all episodes, along with descriptions, inside the case.
The menus on the set are very basic, with a different photo of each cast member (same as the ones as seen on the cover) on each disc, and a listing of all of the episodes. At the bottom of the main menu, there is a Subtitles option. They didn't include a Play All option for this set. Once you select an episode from the main menu, the episode plays right away, unless it is one of the episodes which contains an episode promo. In this case, you'll be presented with a menu that gives you options of Play Episode and Play Episodic Promo. Chapters are placed throughout each episode.
The video and audio quality of the episodes isn't particularly great, but it'll be sufficient for most fans. Of course, the series was a low budget series that was taped in Australia in the first place, so that shouldn't be too surprising to fans. There really aren't any video or audio quality issues to nitpick on specifically; it is just that the episodes just don't look like great transfers, and most likely, this was the best that the studio could do given the way that the series was produced. The episodes are presented in stereo, with English subtitles for all episodes.
There are a few special features on this set, but they are not huge ones. Basically, we have 30 second episode promos for a handful of episodes--only four of them, actually. They are included for "The Golden Serpent," "The Princess," "War Games," and "Banshee." It would have been nicer to have seen these for all episodes, as I'm sure that they likely could have in fact included them for all of the episodes. Disc 4 has an additional holiday promo (0:35), which is a special promo from around Christmas 1989 with the cast wishing fans a merry Christmas. It isn't particularly exciting, but it is nice to have anyway.
It is great to see that this series not only made it to DVD, but managed to be completed on DVD in just a few short months. Many people probably don't even remember this version of the series, but of course, the original series is a classic that probably everybody remembers, and I think that this is one of the few rare '80s reprisals of a series which is worthy of being associated with the original series. So if you are a fan of the classic, you are sure to love this series. But even if you just enjoy series of this style in general, you are sure to enjoy this series as well.
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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CLICK OF THE WEEK
Poobla.com's Crossover and Spin Offs Master Page - Some of the most popular TV series throughout history have had spinoffs. Some have even been spinoffs of other popular TV series (and let us not forget Good Times, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy, popular series that were spinoffs of spinoffs). But these popular spinoffs (and spinoffs of spinoffs, or perhaps we could coin a new term, grandspinoffs, here) only begin to scratch the surface. There are also crossovers and other instances of characters going from one series to another. So is there a site to organize all of this? There is, in fact, and that would be Poobla.com's Crossover and Spin Off Master Page.
The website lists all of the obvious crossovers, of course. I mean, we all know that The Jeffersons was a spinoff of All in the Family. But the content on the site goes much deeper than that, giving us all of the details on spinoffs such as those, as well as some of the more unknown spinoffs and crossovers. For example, do you remember when Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies visited Mister Ed? What about when Michelle Tanner from Full House visited Hangin' with Mr. Cooper? A crossover between Alice and The Dukes of Hazzard? You'll find information of it all here, along with complete (and often witty and snarky) commentary. The website is one of the "early contenders" in the online world and has been around for over a decade, but not only is it very complete, it is in fact still updated regularly, making this a Click of the Week that you'll be visiting for more than just this week.
That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
Friday, February 24, 2012
FX Orders 4th Season Of Animated Comedy Archer; Sitcom Stars On Talk Shows (Week of February 27, 2012)
FX has ordered season four of its Emmy(R) and Annie Award nominated animated series Archer, and FX Productions closed an overall production deal with the series' Executive Producers, Adam Reed and Matt Thompson, and their animation studio, Floyd County Productions. Archer was created by Adam Reed and Floyd County Productions and is executive produced by Reed and Matthew Thompson. The show is produced by FX Productions. Four all new episodes of Archer remain in season three with the season finale slated for Thursday, March 22 at 10:00 PM E/P. Compared to its season two averages, first-run episodes of Archer's third season are delivering ratings gains of 62% in Adults 18-34 (1.03 million), 44% in Adults 18-49 (1.58 million) and 32% in Total Viewers (2.0 million). Versus season one, Archer has grown 76% in Adults 18-48 and 67% in Adults 18-34. On a weekly basis, season three of Archer is averaging 3.31 million Total Viewers, 2.49 million Adults 18-49 and 1.64 million Adults 18-34. FX has ordered 13 episodes for the series' fourth season.
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 February 27-March 2, 2012, 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, February 27, 2012
- Ed Helms (The Office) - Ed appears on NBC's Today between 7-9am, then chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT, and later visits The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Megan Fox (Hope & Faith) - Watch Megan on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Kathryn Hahn (Free Agents) - Kathryn drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) - Yvette guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Patricia Heaton (The Middle/Back to You/Everybody Loves Raymond) - Patricia is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
- Rob Schneider (Rob/Men Behaving Badly) - Catch Rob on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Jennifer Westfeldt (Notes from the Underbelly) - Jennifer stops by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - The legendary Ms. White visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Penny Marshall (Laverne & Shirley) - Tune in to see Penny on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Tony Danza (Who's the Boss?/Taxi) - Tony appears on The Rosie Show at 7pm on OWN.
- Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Watch Neil on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Ed Helms (The Office) - Ed continues to make the rounds on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
- Tom Lennon (Reno 911!) - Tom visits the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Danny DeVito (Taxi/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Danny talks about The Lorax on NBC's Today between 7-9am. He appears later on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
- Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) - Alec guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
- Ty Burrell (Modern Family/Back to You/Out of Practice) - Ty appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse Tyler is on hand to talk about the hit show, what it's really like backstage with his co-stars, and even weighs in on teen exorcists on Anderson, so check your local listings.
- Henry Winkler (Happy Days) - Catch Henry on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jay Baruchel (Undeclared/The Stones) - Jay appears on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
- Megan Mullally (Breaking In/Will & Grace) - Megan is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings and later she will be on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Jane Leeves (Hot in Cleveland/Frasier) - Jane visits The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show) - Watch Steve on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
- Danny DeVito (Taxi/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Danny appears on Anderson, so check your local listings.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
CBS Testing Two-Hour Sitcom Block On Thursdays?; Bernie Mac Not Joining Centric, Jamie Foxx Remains
CBS announced late yesterday that on Thursday, April 12, they will air a second hour of sitcoms in the 9pm hour on this date only. Perhaps this is a test for next season to open up a second hour of sitcoms on the night? On this night, The Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement will in their normal 8pm & 8:30pm time periods, but at 9:00pm will have a second Big Bang followed by an airing of 2 Broke Girls at 9:30pm. As of now, the 9:00pm hour comedies are repeats, but could this still be a test for a second hour of comedy? Freshman drama Person of Interest will air an hour later at 10:00pm on this night instead of The Mentalist. Now The Mentalist could be on the move next season. CBS also announced that an original episode of The Mentalist will air on Friday, March 9 at 9:00pm instead of A Gifted Man, which is likely not going to return next season. This could be a test to see if The Mentalist can do well on Fridays if they want to open up a two-hour comedy block on Thursday and shift Person of Interest to 10pm or to another night next season.
All of this is just talk for now, but it is certainly interesting on why CBS has made these changes for March 9 and April 12 only. We will find out in May at the upfronts if CBS does go with a two-hour comedy block on Thursday nights next season. What do you think they should do? Sound off to us on Twitter @SitcomsOnline and Facebook. What four comedies would you schedule, if you think they should?
Earlier this week we mentioned that Bernie Mac will be airing on Centric starting Feb. 27 replacing The Jamie Foxx Show, but now Centric has changed their mind. Now The Jamie Foxx Show will remain in its 2-3pm and 7-8pm timeslots and Bernie Mac will not join the network. Bernie Mac will continue to air on sister network BET weekdays from 8-10am. No idea why Centric changed their mind, but even this weekend's (Feb. 24-25) marathon of Bernie Mac will not air. Instead a marathon of The Jamie Foxx Show will air.
Everything else we mentioned earlier in the week will remain, including the other weekend marathons in March.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
NBC Brings Back Community, Adds 3 New Comedic Series; Nick at Nite Celebrates The Oscars
NBC announced the premieres of the new comedies Bent (March 21) starring Amanda Peet and Best Friends Forever (April 4), as well as the comedic hidden-camera series Betty White's Off Their Rockers (April 4) to its spring lineup. Community also will return to the Thursday schedule starting March 15. Bent will premiere on Wednesday, March 21 at 9:00 PM followed by a second episode at 9:30 PM. The series will continue with original back-to-back one-hour blocks on Wednesday, March 28 and April 4 on both nights, finishing off its six episode order. It is either that bad that NBC wants to finish it off in just three weeks or NBC is trying to capture Modern Family viewers, since it looks like 2 of the 3 weeks that series is in repeats. But in just 3 weeks, what is the point of trying to make something work? Currently airing at 9 is Rock Center with Brian Williams, but that will move to 10:00 PM from March 7 through April 4, as Law & Order: SVU will be on hiatus. Rock Center and Law & Order: SVU will return to their 9:00 and 10:00 PM timeslots on April 11 though May 23.
Following the season finales of Whitney and Are You There, Chelsea on March 28, Betty White's Off Their Rockers premieres the following week on Wednesday, April 4 at 8:00 PM followed by new comedy Best Friends Forever at 8:30 PM. Betty White's Off Their Rockers has a 12 episode order and had a sneak preview on January 16 so eleven episodes will be available to air and NBC will air ten of them as of now. It will air for 6 straight weeks through May 9 then on May 16 & May 23 a full-hour (8-9PM) will air both weeks, giving it ten episodes since its launch on April 4 (so one will be left to air for now). As for Best Friends Forever, NBC has a six episode order for this series, like Bent, and will air it for six straight weeks through May 9, instead of double-pumping it in three weeks.
On to Thursdays, Community returns on Thursday, March 15 at 8:00 PM as NBC re-sets the night with 30 Rock shifting to 8:30 PM followed still by The Office at 9 and Up All Night at 9:30 PM. Parks and Recreation goes on hiatus after the March 8 episode but comes back on Thursday, April 19 at a new time of 9:30 PM for four weeks to finish its season after Up All Night has ended its 24-episode original season run in the time period. The Parks & Recreation season finale is scheduled for May 10 (as The Office is likely having a two-episode finale on May 17). Community has 12 episodes to air and as of now NBC has booked it through May 24, so that's eleven weeks, but possibly it will be two episodes on one week.
View the complete NBC comedy changes for this spring. And stay with us for further information!
Nick at Nite will celebrate the Oscars with a marathon of sitcom episodes the night before the big night. On Saturday, February 25, Nick at Nite will air episodes of their sitcoms featuring award-winning actors. The line-up will air from 10pm-2am with Friends, George Lopez and That '70s Show episodes. Friends will start off the marathon with episodes guest starring Brad Pitt, Billy Crystal, Reese Witherspoon and Alec Baldwin. In fact, as you all know, Billy Crystal is hosting this year's Oscars for the ninth time! Then it is back-to-back episodes of George Lopez featuring Sandra Bullock, who also is a producer on the show. And finally two episodes of That '70s Show will feature the timeless Betty White. All of these stars have been nominated for an Oscar or have won an Oscar except Billy Crystal and Betty White. Crystal has taken home Emmy's though for his hosting of the Oscars and Betty White has won many Emmy's and Golden Globes, so this night is all about award-winning actors.
View more on this Nick at Nite event this Saturday and don't forget to watch the Oscars on Sunday night on ABC starting at 7pm ET/4pm PT.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
TV Land To Bring Back The Jeffersons, Boston Legal From Hiatus, Books 10th Annual TV Land Awards; TBS Orders More For Better Or Worse, Cancels Browns
We hinted late last week that TV Land will bring back two series to the schedule. We can now reveal what they are! First, they will not be airing in high profile timeslots, but it will be good to see them airing, I guess. First up, TV Land will bring back The Jeffersons from hiatus and will air it Mon-Thurs at 5:30am starting Monday, March 5, 2012. The long-running 70s/80s sitcom will replace one of the Home Improvement encores (on Fridays at 5:30am will now be an extra Three's Company airing). What about the second series? That will be the comedic legal drama Boston Legal starring James Spader and William Shatner. The shat-tastic series will air Fridays at 8am beginning Friday, March 30, 2012. It will be replacing an airing of Murder, She Wrote, which will remain Mon-Thurs at 8am and weekdays at 1pm. There will be no other schedule changes in March or April on TV Land, as of now.
We do have some highlights to share. TV Land will have a week-long marathon of The King of Queens from Monday, April 2 through Sunday, April 8 from 9pm-12am each night. This means the regular Everybody Loves Raymond airings will air from 12-2am instead for this week only. TV Land movies now air on weekends (mostly Saturdays at 2pm) and for March the movies airing are: Miss Congeniality, A League of Their Own, Legends of the Fall, and When Harry Met Sally. As of now, TV Land is not airing movies in April. And finally, probably the most anticipated event of the year for TV Land are the annual TV Land Awards. We can reveal that TV Land will air the 2012 TV Land Awards (the 10th Annual TV Land Awards!) on Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 9pm. The awards will likely tape on Saturday, April 14 (probably in NYC for the second straight year). We will have MUCH more on this when further information is announced. What series will reunite this year after we saw many last year like Welcome Back Kotter, The Cosby Show, Facts of Life and Family Ties. Perhaps the remaining cast members of Three's Company now that Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers have made up will reunite? We shall soon see, but it makes perfect sense as that series will be celebrating its 35th anniversary in March. And to connect it even more, series star the late John Ritter hosted the very first TV Land Awards back in 2002. As of now, TV Land has not booked a special marathon event for Three's Company like it did for the 25th and 30th anniversaries. All we can say is, stay with us for further information!
TBS has ordered 35 additional episodes of the top-rated dramedy Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse, which finished its first season as basic cable's #1 sitcom of 2011. The series from writer-director-executive producer Tyler Perry focuses on three couples at various stages of their relationships. The ensemble cast includes Tasha Smith, Michael Jai White, Crystle Stewart, Kent Faulcon, Kiki Haynes and Jason Olive. Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse will return to its Friday night timeslot this summer.
Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse is produced by Tyler Perry Studios and distributed by Debmar-Mercury. The show premiered on TBS Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, averaging 2.9 million viewers and 1.6 million adults 18-49 for its 10-episode debut season. It finished the year as basic cable's #1 sitcom of 2011 and the #1 show on all of television with African-American adults. Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse follows the ups-and-downs of marriage and dating. The show centers on Angela Williams (Smith), the owner of a successful beauty salon, and her husband of 13 years, Marcus (White). Marcus is a former professional football player who has recently partnered with Richard Ellington (Faulcon) and Joseph Jetson (Olive) on a new sports news program called C-Sports Now. Marcus's business relationship with Richard and Joseph is complicated, however, by the fact that Richard is dating Keisha (Haynes), Marcus's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his teenage daughter. In addition, Joseph's girlfriend, successful real estate agent Leslie (Stewart), is Angela's best friend, which sometimes makes it difficult for the couples to keep their business and private lives from mingling.
In addition to its episode order for Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse, TBS recently announced that this summer, the network will premiere the new sitcoms Men at Work, starring Danny Masterson, James Lesure, Michael Cassidy and Adam Busch, and Sullivan and Son, starring comedian Steve Byrne. Also this year, TBS will launch The Wedding Band, a new one-hour comedy series starring Brian Austin Green, Harold Perrineau, Peter Cambor and Derek Miller, Melora Hardin, Jenny Wade and Kathryn Fiore. As a result, TBS has canceled Meet the Browns after five seasons (140 total episodes). The final episode aired on November 18. TBS will continue to air House of Payne, which is in its eighth season (250 episodes) and airs Fridays at 9pm.
Monday, February 20, 2012
2012 WGA Awards Winners, Modern Family Wins Big; Reimagine That! Talks To Alison Arngrim
Happy President's Day everyone! The 2012 Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards were last night. Modern Family took home the top prize in comedy series and episodic writing. Here are the main TV winners (winners in BOLD):
DRAMA SERIES
* Boardwalk Empire, Written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter; HBO
* Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC
* Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO
* The Good Wife, Written by Courtney Kemp Agboh, Meredith Averill, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Karen Hall, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Steve Lichtman, Matthew Montoya, Julia Wolfe; CBS
* Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Gideon Raff, Meredith Stiehm; Showtime
COMEDY SERIES
* 30 Rock, Written by Jack Burditt, Hannibal Buress, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Jon Haller, Matt Hubbard, Colleen McGuinness, Dylan Morgan, John Riggi, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield; NBC
* Curb Your Enthusiasm, Written by Alec Berg, Larry David, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer; HBO
* Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.; FX
* Modern Family, Written by Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Carol Leifer, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O'Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Ilana Wernick, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC
* Parks & Recreation, Written by Greg Daniels, Katie Dippold, Daniel J. Goor, Norm Hiscock, Emily Kapnek, Dave King, Greg Levine, Aisha Muharrar, Chelsea Peretti, Amy Poehler, Brian Rowe, Michael Schur, Mike Scully, Emily Spivey, Alan Yang, Harris Wittels; NBC
NEW SERIES
* Episodes, Written by David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik; Showtime
* Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO
* Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Gideon Raff, Meredith Stiehm; Showtime
* The Killing, Written by Linda Burstyn, Jeremy Doner, Soo Hugh, Dan Nowak, Nic Pizzolatto, Dawn Prestwich, Veena Sud, Nicole Yorkin, Aaron Zelman; AMC
* New Girl, Written by Nick Adams, Rachel Axler, Brett Baer, Donick Cary, Dave Finkel, Berkley Johnson, Josh Malmuth, Elizabeth Meriwether, J.J. Philbin, Joe Port, Luvh Rakhe, Joe Wiseman; Fox
EPISODIC DRAMA
* "A Dangerous Maid" (Boardwalk Empire), Written by Itamar Moses; HBO
* "The Age of Reason" (Boardwalk Empire), Written by Bathsheba Doran; HBO
* "Box Cutter" (Breaking Bad), Written by Vince Gilligan; AMC
* "End Times" (Breaking Bad), Written by Thomas Schnauz & Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC
* "The Good Soldier" (Homeland), Written by Henry Bromell; Showtime
* "Just Let Go" (Dexter), Written by Jace Richdale; Showtime
EPISODIC COMEDY
* "Caught in the Act" (Modern Family), Written by Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman; ABC
* "Goodbye Michael, Part 2" (The Office), Written by Greg Daniels; NBC
* "Mother's Day" (Modern Family), Written by Dan O'Shannon & Ilana Wernick; ABC
* "Object Impermanence" (Weeds), Written by Stephen Falk; Showtime
* "PDA" (The Office), Written by Robert Padnick; NBC
* "Queen of Jordan" (30 Rock), Written by Tracey Wigfield; NBC
Read the rest of the winners.
It's time for episode 7 of Reimagine That! With Chris Mann! On this latest podcast, Chris goes one-on-one with Little House on the Prairie mean girl Alison Arngrim! Always-witty and outspoken Little House on the Prairie star Alison Arngrim spills on everything from hilariously surprising long-estranged co-star Melissa Sue Anderson at her "The Way I See It" book signing (!) to channeling her own inner bitch (in a good way!) through Nasty Nellie Oleson to finding her own voice as a childhood sexual abuse survivor-turned-victims rights advocate closely aligned with PROTECT.org. In the first half of her two-part Reimagine That! interview airing this month, Arngrim sounds off on pedophilia in Hollywood and recent disturbing reports of sexual abuse in the Los Angeles school district. The "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch" bestselling author also dishes on turning 50, taking her one-woman show overseas this spring and teaming up with The Waltons star Mary McDonough in a kick-ass "Good Girl vs. Bad Girl" joint book tour in late 2011 and 2012 (How you like them apples, Mary Ingalls?!).
Also, Chris shares his recollection of the late Whitney Houston's impact as the voice of a generation during her Bodyguard hey day ("And IIIIIIIIIII-eee-iii-eee-iiii will always love youuuuuuu...) while he was editor of his student newspaper in 1992-93 at The University of Tulsa. (RIP, Ms. Houston -- we'll always, we'll always, loooove youuuuuuu-ooooooh-oooooooooooooooh...) Finally, the resident dream weaver, Yvonne Ryba, interprets one more "house" dream while introducing Chris to the concept of lucid dreaming. It's another great episode and we can't wait for part two of his interview with Alison Arngrim next week! Listen to episode 7 of Remimagine That! and visit Retroality.TV for more details!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Week 22 TV Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did
2011-12 Week 22 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):
Households: #1. CBS 7.8 rating/12.4 share; #2. Fox 7.1/11.0; #3. ABC 4.6/7.3; #4. NBC 4.1/6.5; #5. The CW 0.9/1.4
Total Viewers: #1. CBS 12.66 million; #2. Fox 12.15 million; #3. ABC 7.22 million; #4. NBC 6.56 million; #5. The CW 1.38 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. Fox 4.0 rating/10.6 share; #2. CBS 3.2/8.4; #3. NBC 2.4/6.3; #4. ABC 2.3/6.1; #5. The CW 0.6/1.6
Week 22 (Feb. 13-19) Analysis: Week 22 has seen most series decline week-to-week and there has been a lot of uproar about it. Is something wrong with Nielsen or does Valentine's Day or the big Grammy Awards last Sunday have to do with it? The Grammys because it looks like same day DVR viewers are a day behind on their shows thanks to the big showing for the Grammy's last Sunday. View this NY Times article. The first four night network averages have CBS in the lead in HH/viewers, with Fox is first in 18-49. Both networks are first or second again. It's very close for third right now with ABC and NBC, as ABC is on top in HH/viewers and NBC with a one tenth lead in 18-49 through Thursday. I think ABC will surpass NBC when the week ends as they have been higher rated on Friday, Saturday and will be tonight, too. More on the prediction of week 22 below. As for last week, week 21, CBS won the crown in all categories thanks to the huge Grammy Awards airings last Sunday. The ceremony did 39.91 million overall and a 14.1 18-49 rating. For HH/viewers, it was very close for second place between ABC, Fox and NBC. ABC and Fox tied for second in HH, but Fox had the edge in total viewers over ABC. NBC was fourth in HH/viewers. For 18-49, Fox had the edge for second place over ABC and NBC which were tied for third.
On Monday, it was a second straight Monday win for NBC. First, on ABC, The Bachelor started it off from 8-10pm with 8.09 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, down just a tenth from previous week. At 10pm, Castle was all-new and did 8.86 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. Both series not too bad considering all the drops this week. Second part of the two-part Castle event is tomorrow night. For CBS, How I Met Your Mother was new doing 9.01 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, down sixth tenths from previous week for a season low. Then a new episode of breakout hit 2 Broke Girls followed doing a better 10.48 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, with nice builds from the lead-in like usual but down a half a point week-to-week. At 9pm, a new showing of Two and a Half Men did 12.45 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating, which is a season low and down four tenths from previous week. A new Mike & Molly followed and did 10.91 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, which is below normal but on par with previous week. Strange that this show was on par while the others were down big. A new episode of Hawaii Five-0 was next doing 9.7 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, a bit below average but on par week-to-week. Fox started with a new House at 8pm with 7.16 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week as this will be its last season. New drama Alcatraz was next at 9pm and did 6.24 million and a 1.9 18-49 rating, down four tenths from previous week and a series low. On to first place (for now?) NBC started it off with a two-hour The Voice and did 16.28 million and a 6.0 18-49 rating, which is great but down seven tenths from previous week. If it settles here, it will be #1 for the rest of the season in this block. Then at 10pm week two of critical darling Smash was next at 10 doing a third place 8.06 million but a good for first place 2.8 18-49 rating, which is down a full point from the premiere. If it stays here, it will be fine, but I don't think it will stay here. I'm guessing in a few weeks it will be in third place in 18-49, too. It costs a lot of money to make, so it should be first place every week if it wants to survive. The CW was all-new, at 8pm the why-is-it-still-on Gossip Girl did 1.13 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating, which is again down a tenth from previous week. At 9pm a new Hart of Dixie did 1.64 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, on par with previous week again.
On Tuesday, CBS took home the first place crown. At CBS, a new NCIS at 8 started it off with 19.59 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating, which is down three tenths from previous week. Then a new NCIS: Los Angeles at 9pm did 16.15 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, which is up a tenth from previous week's below average performance. At 10pm, a new Unforgettable did 11.03 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, which is also up a tenth from previous week's low. ABC started with a new Last Man Standing with Tim Allen leading the night off doing 7.64 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which was down a tenth from previous week. At 8:30pm, the season premiere of the awesome Cougar Town returned with 4.88 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which is disappointing. This week has seen bad ratings for everyone really, so let's see what happens in the next few weeks. This show should start growing in the next few weeks, especially since the episodes are coming out top-notch. At 9pm, new horror/adventure series The River did 4.96 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, down seven tenths from previous week's two-hour premiere. Should be better than this. Ratings need to rise this week, and it might with all the declines in week 22. Body of Proof was next at 10 and did a series low 6.26 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating. Fox started with a new Glee and did 6.99 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, which was down a half a point from previous week for a season low. Then at 9pm, new comedy New Girl was new and did a solid 6.47 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, down four tenths from previous week for a series low. Then Raising Hope was new and low like usual with just 4.58 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, but up on par week-to-week. NBC was next in fourth with The Biggest Loser from 8-10pm doing 5.86 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, which is down two tenths from previous week for a series low. Parenthood was new and did just 4.48 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, tying the previous week's series low. The CW preempted 90210 for a repeat of Hart of Dixie doing just 730,000 viewers and a 0.2 18-49 rating. Then at 9pm, Ringer was new and did not benefit with the lead-in being a repeat so it did 1.1 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating, not good, and down a tenth week-to-week. A disappointment for The CW. Gellar needs to go to ABC or Fox for a show, as she would fit their demo.
Wednesday it was Fox with the easy win again with Idol leading the way of course. First, CBS started the night off with the season premiere of Survivor: One World doing 10.79 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which is decent. Then at 9pm, a new Criminal Minds did 12.19 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, solid but down two tenths from previous week. And at 10pm a new CSI did 11.09 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, up a tenth actually from previous week, a rare upswing for a series this week. ABC was all-new for its Laugh On comedy block with The Middle doing 8.04 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, down two tenths from previous week. Suburgatory followed at 8:30pm with 6.92 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which is also down two tenths from previous week. The mega hit Modern Family was next at 9pm and it did 11.23 million and 4.7 18-49 rating for a new showing, which is great but perhaps Idol hurt it a bit as it was down eight tenths from previous week. Or it was a victim of the low ratings across the board for this week. At 9:30pm, Happy Endings was new and did 5.44 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, down a half a point from previous week. At 10pm a new episode of addicting Revenge did 7.69 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which is off a tenth from previous week. Why did the ratings have to be screwy this week for this series' big episode? Everyone is talking about this excellent episode. Fox aired American Idol from 8-10pm doing 18.89 million and a 6.1 18-49 rating, on par with previous week's one-hour airing. So it tied The Voice this week, as both shows were two-hours. NBC opened the night with a new episode of the terrible series Whitney doing 4.48 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, up two tenths from previous week. Did some viewers think it was a Whitney Houston tribute special instead? Why else would this show have gone up in a week when everything is down? Week six of Are You There, Chelsea followed with only 3.42 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week for a series low. At 9pm, Rock Center with Brian Williams did only 2.99 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, which is not good and down four tenths from previous week and a series low. This is not needed in primetime. And at 10pm, Law & Order: SVU was new and did 5.9 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, down three tenths from previous week and a series low. The CW had a new One Tree Hill at 8pm doing 1.4 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, up a tenth from previous week. Then at 9pm a new Remodeled did only 460,000 viewers and a 0.2 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week. Just terrible.
Thursday it was Fox over CBS once again. Starting with ABC, they opened the night with a new episode of Winter Wipeout doing 5.12 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, on par with previous week. At 9pm, a new Grey's Anatomy aired doing 8.31 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, down eight tenths from previous week and a season low. There has to be something wrong with ratings this week as this show did a 4.0 the previous week. At 10pm, Private Practice was next and did 7.08 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating, up four tenths and the best climb of the week. Because it was a cross-over episode with Grey's, but it would have been better if not for the ratings problem this week. CBS opened with a new The Big Bang Theory at 15.65 million and a 5.1 18-49 rating, great and but down a half a point from previous week. All the big shows have seen this this week. Then week six of Rob was next doing 10.65 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, down just a tenth from previous week. Season finale will be March 1. A new episode of Person of Interest did 13.16 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating, which is down a half a point from previous week. A new episode of The Mentalist followed and did 13.55 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, down three tenths from previous week. Fox aired American Idol from 8-10pm this week doing 16.71 million and a 5.1 18-49 rating, a season low and down seven tenths from previous week when it was just an hour. Fox preempted The Finder at 9pm. NBC was all-new with a new 30 Rock up first doing just 3.59 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down a tenth from previous week when it was one-hour. At 8:30pm, Parks and Recreation did just 3.45 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating. The Office was next and did just 4.38 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, down two tenths week-to-week for a series low. I predicted this series will be in low-mid 2's in 2012, and it is already here. At 9:30pm Up All Night was new and did just 2.98 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, as it was down two tenths week-to-week. At 10pm, a repeat of Grimm did nothing with 1.85 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, down nine tenths from previous week's encore of The Voice...ouch. The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries was new and did 2.9 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, still below normal but up a tenth from previous week again. Then at 9pm, drama The Secret Circle did just 1.71 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, down a tenth week-to-week
Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but ABC and CBS had something to talk about with ABC with the edge. ABC was solid with Shark Tank at 8pm, but CBS premiered Undercover Boss with a big Friday rating of a prelim 2.4 18-49 rating, the best in about two years. At 9pm What Would You Do? was was preempted for a two-hour Whitney Houston special on 20/20 winning the night from 9-11pm for ABC. CBS' Blue Bloods was solid at 10. NBC did nothing for the NAACP Awards. Fox had Fringe do terrible at 9pm and it doesn't look like another season is coming.
Saturday numbers have Fox winning the night with NASCAR. ABC was a distant second, led by the 9-11pm movie Wild Hogs which did OK.
Tonight ABC's regular Sunday of AFV, Once Upon a Time, Desperate Housewives and Pan Am is new and should do better with no Grammy's in the picture. Look for Once to do big as it did decent against the Grammy's even! NBC has two-hours each of Dateline and the season premiere of Celebrity Apprentice. Looks like a fourth place finish still. CBS has new airing of 60 Minutes then the season premiere of Amazing Race, followed by new episodes of Good Wife and CSI: Miami. Fox has new episodes of Animation Domination starting at 7:30pm.
As for the week (week 22), it will be CBS with win in HH/viewers for sure and Fox will win 18-49. Fox will be second in HH/viewers and CBS perhaps second in 18-49. ABC will be third everywhere, with NBC settling for fourth place. As for the coming week (week 23), will ratings be back to where they should be? I think it will be, at least I hope so. It was a depressing week 22. The Oscars are next Sunday.
Week 22 How the Sitcoms Did
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Week 21 -- Feb. 6-12)
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A new episode did just 4.26 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating against one of the all-time best Grammy Awards showing (helped by the passing of Whitney Houston).
- Napoleon Dynamite (Fox) - A new showing did 3.81 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, as this is not good enough but it did face the big Grammy's. More telling will be tonight.
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A new episode at 7:30pm did just 2.72 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, as it is being wasted in this time period where only 60 Minutes and AFV do well.
- Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm did 1.87 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, not good but more than doubled its last airing against the Super Bowl.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A new episode did 5.03 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating, below normal but not bad against a big Grammy showing.
- American Dad! (Fox) - A new episode at 9:30pm did 3.59 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, yes Grammy Awards were against it but given the lead-in, it should have been a bit better.
Monday Sitcoms
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode did 9.01 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, which is solid but a season low.
- 2 Broke Girls (CBS) - A new episode did 10.48 million and a 3.8 18-49 rating, which is great but down a half a point for a series low. Still don't get the appeal of this show.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 12.45 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating for this show is below normal again and a season low. Tough week for live+same day ratings.
- Mike & Molly (CBS) - A new airing did 10.91 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, nearly exactly the same as previous week but below average.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- Last Man Standing (ABC) - A new airing in its 8pm half-hour did 7.64 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating, which is down a tenth from previous week and below normal.
- Cougar Town (ABC) - The season premiere did a disappointing 4.88 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, but this week has been on tough on nearly everyone. I think it will go up this week and for sure in March when everyone knows it is on with Glee on hiatus.
- New Girl (Fox) - A new episode did 6.47 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, down four tenths from previous week and a series low. Still good, but the tough week continues.
- Raising Hope (Fox) - A new episode did just 4.58 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, on par with previous week.
- The Middle (ABC) - A new episode did 8.04 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, which is down a few from previous week. Not bad considering many shows were down big this week.
- Suburgatory (ABC) - A new airing did 6.92 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, as it nearly always retains or builds from the lead-in in 18-49. Safely has secured a season season, I think.
- Whitney (NBC) - A new episode did just 4.48 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, which is up some from previous week. Whitney Houston fans probably thought it was a special on her life, but found this bad show instead.
- Are You There, Chelsea? (NBC) - Week six did only 3.42 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, not good folks.
- Modern Family (ABC) - A new episode did 11.23 million and a 4.7 18-49 rating, a season low yet still #2 for the week in scripted series. Should be back in the 5's this week unless the across the board ratings problem continues on network TV.
- Happy Endings (ABC) - A new episode did 5.44 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating, down to a season low.
Thursday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A new episode did 15.65 million and a 5.1 18-49 rating, down a half a point from previous week, as most big shows have dropped 0.4-0.8 this week.
- Rob (CBS) - Week six of eight did 10.65 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating, down just a tenth from previous week. This is proof that the same day DVR viewing is down this week thanks to Valentine's Day or Grammy's as this show was just down a tenth while the lead-in was down bigger.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - A new episode at 8 did just 3.59 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down from previous week when it was an hour.
- Parks and Recreation (NBC) - A new episode did just 3.45 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating.
- The Office (NBC) - A new episode did just 4.38 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, down two tenths from previous week to a series low I believe. Even those first season Tuesday airings were better than this.
- Up All Night (NBC) - A new episode did just 2.98 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, for a series low. I was more impressed by the 8pm hour NBC comedies this week than the 9pm hour.
Friday Sitcoms
- None.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10pm with new episodes starting at 7:30pm.
Summing it up. New episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, New Girl, Rob were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Happy Endings, Last Man Standing) or just plain old terrible (such as The Office, Up All Night).
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, December 23
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Vote" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dave gathers everyone for a lengthy ballot-palooza party to discuss the merits of every candidate and prop on each of their election ballots. Also, Gemma is determined to run a tight ship as their local precinct captain when polls open at Walcott Academy.
Poppa's House - "Sleepover" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Dr. Ivy Reed joins Poppa’s family for dinner, she begins scrutinizing Nina and Junior’s relationship for potential catastrophe. Junior spends the night at his dad’s house while Nina and Ivy devise a plan over a bottle of wine.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Black Ice" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
On Valentine's Day, when it comes to showing affection, Bob and Abishola have to find a way to meet each other in the middle.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Where's Your Other Wives, Tunde?" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dottie, Auntie Olu and Uncle Tunde must find a way to reconcile when they're forced to eat dinner together; Bob and Abishola have differing opinions on the progress of their relationship.
The Conners - "Rage Against the Machine" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Dan gets injured while covering D.J.'s vending machine route, the decision to sue the company could cost D.J. his job; Jackie is appalled when Becky seeks life coaching from her nemesis.
The Conners - "Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa Action" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dan is disappointed when everyone but Becky forgets about his birthday; Darlene faces another issue; Dan excludes Jackie from the family Christmas Santa photo for mistreating Louise.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 23)
Monday, December 23
- John Mulaney (Mulaney) - Watch John on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Linda Cardellini (No Good Deed/Dead to Me/Guys Like Us) - Linda is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Sabrina Carpenter (Girl Meets World) - Sabrina appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Nathan Lane (Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Rosemarie DeWitt (United States of Tara) - Rosemarie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Brandon Kyle Goodman (Human Resources) - Brandon is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana appears on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Megan Hilty (Sean Saves the World) - Megan appears on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
- James Van Der Beek (Friends with Better Lives/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - James chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Stark Raving Mad/Wings) - NBC's Today has The 70 Club with Tony in the 9am hour.
- Jennifer Love Hewitt (Shaky Ground) - Jennifer talks about Lifetime's The Holiday Junkie on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Alexa PenaVega (Ruby & the Rockits) - Alexa talks about Great American Family's Love at the Kettle on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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