Wednesday, March 07, 2012
ABC Family Acquires The Middle For Fall 2013, Also In Local Syndication; TV One's March Sitcom Madness
Warner Bros. Television has sold the ABC hit family sitcom The Middle into broadcast syndication and cable for Fall 2013! In broadcast syndication, Tribune Broadcasting stations will air it in 11 markets, including WPIX-CW New York, KTLA-CW Los Angeles and WGN-CW Chicago. Also, Sinclair Broadcast Group has picked up the sitcom in 19 markets, including Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The Middle has been cleared on stations reaching 92% of TV homes so far, having also been sold to stations owned by CBS, Communications Corp., Raycom, Newport, Belo, Cox, Local TV, New Age Media, Titan, Grant, News Press & Gazette, Barrington, Mission, Venture, LIN, Pappas, Weigel, Acme, and others. A full list of stations will be available closer to fall 2013. More clearances will come.
As for cable, The Middle has been acquired by ABC Family for also fall 2013. This marks the first major current sitcom acquisition by the network, as the other comedies they previously acquired were of canceled sitcoms like My Wife & Kids and 8 Simple Rules or older comedies like That '70s Show and Full House. The hit family sitcom will likely air in the early evenings, probably sometime between 6-8pm during family time. We'll have more on that as we get closer to fall 2013, as we are still a while away!
The series premiered in fall 2009 on ABC (Wednesdays at 8PM) and is currently in its third season. By the time the series hits syndication, it will have four full seasons of episodes to air five-days-a-week. Two-time Emmy winner Patricia Heaton stars in this warm and witty single-camera comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations. Middle-aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country in Orson, Indiana, Frankie Heck is a harried wife and working mother of three who uses her wry wit and sense of humor in an attempt to get her family through each day intact. The Middle stars Patricia Heaton as Frankie, Neil Flynn as Mike, Charlie McDermott as Axl, Eden Sher as Sue, Atticus Shaffer as Brick and Chris Kattan as Bob. It is created and is executive produced by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline.
It's March and sports fans know that March means it's time for March Madness (the college basketball tournament). TV One will have its own March Madness with Sitcom Madness! TV One will air sitcom marathons every weekday all-month long from 11am-5pm. The stunt started this week on Monday (March 5) and will continue through Friday, March 30, so you have plenty of time to join the Sitcom Madness! On Mondays, TV One will air six hours of Martin in March. On Tuesdays, spend the day with twelve helpings of The Jeffersons from 11am-5pm. The sitcoms continue mid-week with Good Times on Wednesdays. On Thursday, it's not a half marathon but we get a Half & Half marathon. And close the week out on Fridays with Eve. That's five different sitcoms, so what show do you think is the best show from these five if TV One were doing a bracket style elimination? Luckily they're not, so you can watch all five series if you like them!
Everything else on TV One in March will remain as it is, as the 11am-5pm portion is preempted this month for these marathons. No other stunts are planned, so it's all about the Sitcom Madness in March!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, February 23
The Neighorhood - "Welcome to the Zhuzh" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin secretly coaches Dave during a big job interview. Meanwhile, Marty plans his proposal and Malcolm’s secret romance hits the tabloids.
DMV - "Hot Gurlz" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Colette goes on a date with Ceci’s cousin Miguel (Eddie Ramos) and discovers he may be the key to Ceci’s heart. Meanwhile, Barb finds out about Gregg’s lawsuit against the DMV while Vic helps Noa deal with rude customer Brent (Mark Feuerstein).
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins - "Pilot" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Twenty years after a career-ending scandal, former running back Reggie Dinkins enlists filmmaker Arthur Tobin to make a documentary he hopes will rehabilitate his image.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins - "Nittany Means Big" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Tobin spends the day with Monica and uncovers the truth about Reggie's famous food poisoning game; Reggie struggles to apologize to Brina.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 23)
Monday, February 23
- Christina Applegate (Dead to Me/Up All Night/Samantha Who?/Jesse/Married... with Children) - Watch Christina on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Tracy Morgan (The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins/Crutch/The Last O.G./30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Tracy is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
- Ray Romano (No Good Deed/Everybody Loves Raymond) - Ray appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He sits down with Sherri to talk about his star turn in Broadway's All Out on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling discusses Paradise on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Isabel May (Alexa & Katie/Young Sheldon) - Isabel talks about Scream 7 on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Laura Linney (The Big C) - NBC's Today catches up wit Laura in the 9am hour.
- Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Drew is sharing more of her sit-down interview with Jennifer on The Drew Barrymore Show, 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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