TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour: CBS and The CW; MeTV Network Coming to 5 More Markets; Sullivan & Son Grows for TBS

Monday, July 30, 2012

TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour: CBS and The CW; MeTV Network Coming to 5 More Markets; Sullivan & Son Grows for TBS

Yesterday at the TCA Summer 2012 Press Tour, CBS was up. After some breakfast it was time for the executive session with Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment. There was nothing major announced. Very quiet. After that there was a panel with the cast and crew of upcoming new drama Elementary. After that, we saw the cast and crew of the new sitcom Partners, which stars Michael Urie. That panel took us to a lunch break. After lunch, the focus was on the new Tuesday drama Vegas starring Michael Chiklis and Dennis Quaid. The new Friday drama Made in Jersey was up next at the panel. Then there was a short break with refreshments brought to you by The Jeff Probst Show. That was the perfect segue for a panel for that new syndicated series, which premieres Sept. 10. After that there was a panel for CBS This Morning, which just announced that Norah O'Donnell is replacing Erica Hill as a co-host. And the Sunday wrapped with the annual Summer stars party with talent, producers and executives from CBS, The CW, Showtime and CBS Television Distribution. It was right across Merv Griffin Way, in front of the hotel at their customized, outdoor event location. Fresh air...good cocktails... plenty of good food...and lots of conversation.

Then today, The CW will be up. Breakfast will be sponsored by the summer reality series Oh Sit! with Jamie Kennedy. After that, there will a panel with the cast and crew of the new drama Arrow, which is coming this fall. Then it is time for the executive session with Mark Pedowitz, President, The CW. If there is anything of note, we will come back and post it here. After that, it's time for more series panels. We have one for the new drama Emily Owens M.D., which stars Mamie Gummer. And finally, the last panel will be for the new version of Beauty and the Best. That concludes The CW, as in the afternoon Showtime will take over with panels for Weeds, Dexter and Homeland.

Weigel Broadcasting Co. and Hearst Television announce an affiliation agreement in which five additional Hearst markets will be adding the MeTV Network to its local stations. Joining MeTV will be WCVB, Boston; KCRA, Sacramento; WBAL, Baltimore; KOCO, Oklahoma City and WXII, Greensboro. This brings the total of Hearst's MeTV Network affiliates to 13. In addition, Hearst has extended its commitment to the network with the renewal of its existing nine MeTV affiliate agreements to 2015. As you know, MeTV features a wide range of programming which audiences and advertisers find comfortable and engaging. Me-TV's library includes almost 100 series from Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, CBS Television Distribution, NBCUniversal Television as well as many independent series owners and producers. MeTV's line-up include some of the most beloved television programs ever produced, including: M*A*S*H, The Brady Bunch, Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, Perry Mason, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gunsmoke, That Girl, I Love Lucy, and Hawaii Five-O series.

Sullivan and Son

And finally, the second week (third episode) of TBS's popular new sitcom Sullivan & Son drew 2.5 million viewers on Thursday night, matching previous week's series launch while also outperforming previous Thursday's special two-episode premiere average by +9%. Among TBS' targeted demos, Thursday night's episode of Sullivan & Son brought in 615,000 adults 18-34 (+15% vs. previous week's two-episode average) and 1.2 million adults 18-49 (+5%), with a 0.9 adults 18-49 rating (tying MTV's Snooki & JWOWW head-to-head).
The telecast of Sullivan & Son's third episode also drew +22% more viewers, +35% more adults 18-34 and +15% more adults 18-49 (grew from a 0.8 to a 0.9 adults 18-49 rating) than the series' second episode (previous Thursday at 10:30pm). Sullivan & Son airs Thursdays at 10pm (ET/PT) on TBS, which episode four airing this Thursday (August 2). Ten episodes in all will air, with the finale scheduled for Sept. 13.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, January 25

Abbott Elementary - "Student Transfer" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After a negative teacher review, Janine gets a confidence boost when a student gets transferred from Melissa’s class into hers, but it turns out the student proves to be too much to handle. While trying to forge a friendship with an uninterested Gregory, it is revealed that Jacob is constantly getting roasted by his students. The two bond after Gregory unintentionally gives Jacob the idea to incorporate the roasts in an educational way.

black-ish - "Hoop Dreams" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jack gets a job as the locker room attendant for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Dre and Bow feel like they need to step in before letting the job get to his head. Meanwhile, Pops and Ruby realize their daily routine has gotten boring and heed advice from Junior and Olivia.

American Auto - "Commercial" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Katherine and the team reshoot a commercial to make it more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.

Grand Crew - "Wine & Pie" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Noah's dad is in a funk, so he asks Fay to make his favorite pie; Sherm teaches Anthony to play chess; Wyatt introduces the crew to his brother.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 24)

Tuesday, January 25

Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Catch Kristen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Thomas Middleditch (B Positive/Silicon Valley) - Thomas will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Belushi (According to Jim) - Jim is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Mike Schur (The Office/Creator of Parks and Recreation/Brooklyn Nine-Nine/The Good Place/Rutherford Falls) - Mike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. NBC's Today catches up with Mike in the 9am hour.
Francia Raisa (How I Met Your Father/growni-ish) - Francia appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect) - Sherri guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show.
Jay Pharoah (White Famous) - Jay guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings.
Autumn Reeser (Complete Savages/Grounded for Life) - Autumn appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Marsai Martin (black-ish)- Marsai talks about her new Discovery+ series Remix My Space! on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin talks about Home Team on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Ming-Na Wen (The Single Guy) - Ming-Na talks about The Book of Boba Fett on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.