Wednesday, March 07, 2012

ABC Family Acquires The Middle For Fall 2013, Also In Local Syndication; TV One's March Sitcom Madness


The Middle

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

Tuesday, April 16

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Let It Go" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
George joins a meditation group led by Carlos the Curandero, a spiritual healer whose mantra is "let it go"; however, Mayan worries her dad is letting go of too much, including their living room furniture; a burnout threatens to move next door.

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Raider Nation" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
As part of Alcoholics Anonymous, George makes amends with everyone except Oscar, who seeks an apology at a football game, but a run-in with Marshawn Lynch fumbles the plan; Mayan and Quinten try to spark Rosie's love life but end up getting burned.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 15)

Tuesday, April 16

  • Nick Offerman (The Great North/Parks and Recreation) - Catch Nick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Austin Butler (Ruby & the Rockits/Zoey 101/Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide) - Austin appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • DulcĂ© Sloan (The Great North) - DulcĂ© hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • George Takei (Supah Ninjas) - George is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. NBC's Today catches up with George in the 9am hour.
  • Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits in with The 8G Band on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Michael talks about Apple TV+'s Franklin on NBC's Today some time between 7-9am and in the 9am hour. He chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Amy Ryan (Only Murders in the Building/The Office/The Naked Truth) - NBC's Today catches up with Amy in the 10am hour.
  • George Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez/Lopez/Saint George/George Lopez) and Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - The hilarious George Lopez and his daughter Mayan talk about their hit NBC sitcom, Lopez vs Lopez, on Sherri, so check your local listings. Mayan will also be on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Vanessa Lachey (Truth Be Told/Dads) - Vanessa talks about NCIS on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Carl Anthony Payne II (Tyler Perry's Young Dylan/Rock Me Baby/Martin) - Carl talks about the recent Martin reunion and his NAACP nominated show, MTV's Binged to Death, on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray

Father Knows Best - The Complete Series Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series Check It Out! - The Complete Series

12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)

The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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