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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, March 13

Happy's Place - "Social Discontent" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Steve and Isabella begin shooting marketing content for the tavern, they quickly realize Bobbie has a case of camera madness, causing them to recast her with a local influencer.

Stumble - "Daytona" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Buttons experience the cheerleading championships, competing on cheer's biggest stage; as the ragtag team attempts to win the title, they first must overcome not only Sammy Davis Senior Jr. College, but a surprising foe from Courteney's past.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 9)

Friday, March 13

  • Kym Whitley (Act Your Age/Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) and Dustin Ybarra (Ghosts/Us & Them) - Kym and Dustin are guests on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie talks about The Faithful with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin talks about Stumble on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Alexandra Breckenridge (Save Me) - NBC's Today catches up with Alexandra in the 10am hour.
  • Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren talks about Reminders of Him on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Melba Moore (Melba) - Melba shares stories from her new memoir on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Michelle Pfeiffer (Delta House) - Drew sits down with the cast of The Madison - Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Beau Garrett, Patrick J. Adams and Elle Chapman to talk all about their exciting new tv series, and a play a round of memory bank on >The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local iistings.
  • Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Apple TV's Shrinking on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (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)

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


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

03/13 - NBC Summer 2026 Schedule; Malcolm in the Middle Revival Series Trailer
03/12 - Season 9 of Rick and Morty This May; Fox Entertainment Studios Lines Up Frankie Quiñones for Comedy Series
03/11 - Antenna TV's Hazel 65th Anniversary Marathon; Kountry Wayne Prime Video Comedy Special
03/10 - XO, Kitty Season 3 Trailer Released for April 2 Launch; The Drew Barrymore Show Talker Gets 2 Season Renewal
03/09 - Beef Returns April 16 on Netflix; Remembering Jennifer Runyon of Charles in Charge
03/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 9, 2026)
03/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Scrubs Returns to Big Ratings; New Garfield Series Coming to Paramount+
03/06 - The Four Seasons Returns on May 28; More Details on I Suck at Girls
03/05 - COZI TV Pairs Up Al Bundy and Hondo at Last; ABC Renews Abbott Elementary for Season 6
03/04 - ABC's Scrubs Returns Big; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Renewed for Season 2
03/03 - Prime Video's Kevin Premieres April 20; Fox Renews Best Medicine
03/02 - Running Point Returns April 23 on Netflix; A Different World Sequel Starts Production
03/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 2, 2026)
02/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner Now Set to Merge with Paramount, Not Netflix; X-Files Reboot Given Greenlight
02/27 - The Comeback Returns for Final Season on March 22; Animal Control Renewed for Season 5; Remembering Lauren Chapin of Father Knows Best and Robert Carradine of Lizzie McGuire
02/26 - AspireTV Gets First Ever Original Sitcom; Sullivan's Crossing Returns for Season 4 in April on The CW
02/25 - Scrubs Returns Tonight, Sneak Peek at Title Sequence; Stranger Things: Tales From '85 Reveals Odessa A'zion as Nikki Baxter
02/24 - Netflix's Wednesday Season 3 Adds to Cast; Wonder Pets: In the City Returns March 20
02/23 - Celebrities for ABC's Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars; Hallmark's Mistletoe Murders Renewed for Season 3
02/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 23, 2026)
02/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Hulu Orders New Adult Animated Comedy From Creator of Bluey; Casting News for Upcoming CBS Comedy Regency
02/20 - ABC Wednesday Comedies Find Valentine's Magic; Netflix Announces Dang!
02/19 - The Golden Girls Coming to MeTV in March; Adult Swim Announces My Two Cars
02/18 - Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special Coming to Disney+; Fox Spring 2026 Schedule and Finale Dates
02/17 - New Animated Comedy from Big Mouth Creators Coming May 22; Scottish Comedy Returns to Hulu February 25
02/16 - Saturday Night Live Returns Following the Olympics on February 28; Fox Pays Tribute to James Van Der Beek on Wednesday
02/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 16, 2026)
02/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Trailer Released for Scrubs Reboot; Tubi to Add 100 Cartoon Series from Warner and Cartoon Network Library
02/13 - Remembering James Van Der Beek of Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23; The Way Home Returns for Final Season in April on Hallmark