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

Sunday, October 26

Krapopolis - "Ty Died" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ty is tired of his family thinking he's not important enough to be assassinated.

The Simpsons - "Treehouse of Horror XXXV" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Giant monsters created by political rage threaten to tear the town apart; a Victorian Mr. Burns is jump-scared on Thanksgiving by the ghosts of his abused workers; Homer bonds with a pair of extra-terrestrial jeans.

The Simpsons - "Men Behaving Manly" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Springfield's men are in crisis.

Universal Basic Guys - "Down the Shore" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Hoagies go down the shore; Tammy tries to make amends with her estranged sister.

Krapopolis - "There's Something About Viscera" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Shlub's Endless Wine, Cheese, and Pita Festival causes a famine; Stupendous and Deliria have a girls weekend.

Bob's Burgers - "The Skids in the Hall" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Louise and Gene try to help Tina clear her name after she is fired as a hall monitor.

Electric Bloom - "How We (Sorta) Got Our First Big Break: Part One" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The girls get a potentially life-changing audition, but get asked to perform at a wedding at the exact same time; what do they do?

Electric Bloom - "How We (Sorta) Got Our First Big Break: Part Two" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Electric Bloom gets the opportunity of a lifetime, to meet with a famous music producer; the experience is not at all what they expected.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 20)

Sunday, October 26

  • Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Catch Glen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (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)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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