Monday, January 07, 2013

TCA Winter 2013 Press Tour: NBC; Chiller Acquires Pushing Daisies, R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room

NBC kicked off the broadcast portion of the TCA Winter 2013 press tour yesterday. It started off with breakfast with the cast of the upcoming Celebrity Apprentice: All-Stars, which includes Trace Adkins, Stephen Baldwin, Gary Busey, Penn Jillette, Marilu Henner, Lil Jon, Omarosa and Lisa Rinna, premieres March 3. Then it was the all-important executive session with Robert Greenblatt (Chairman, NBC Entertainment) and Jennifer Salke (President, NBC Entertainment). Among the things we learned was that NBC has picked-up a new drama for summer called Camp. In the tradition of Meatballs and Dazed and Confused, Little Hawk Family Camp is a wicked slice of lake-side heaven. In the one-hour drama, parents decompress with gin while teenagers make gleeful mischief and fall in and out of love. Little Hawk Family Camp – where mother nature and human nature collide. Casting will be named at a later date. Production is scheduled to begin in Australia in March.
Among the other notes, NBC still is keeping Jay Leno for the foreseeable future (no surprise, I guess) and that Community, which returns in February for its fourth season, could still come back next season depending on ratings. The Office will have a one-hour series finale in May, but no exact date has been announced and likely will not feature a return of Steve Carell. Still no word on an exact date for the return of Up all Night, which is now going to be a multi-camera sitcom and now has lost its creator, Emily Spivey. Also, like canned before it aired comedy Next Caller, reality series Surprise with Jenny McCarthy has been canned before it even premieres. And finally, NBC still hasn't announced plans for Hannibal or comedy Save Me, but both could be saved for summer or just before that and NBC has already a few shows that are being scheduled for next fall including Michael J. Fox's new comedy and Dracula, while Crossbones could be late summer.

After that session, it was time for panels with cast and crew of NBC series. First up was Revolution, which returns on March 25. The series will only be 20 episodes now instead of 22 episodes since NBC doesn't have room to air 22. This means the series will air for 10 weeks when it returns. Then it was time for lunch with the cast of upcoming comedy 1600 Penn, which previewed on Dec. 17 but the ratings were not so presidential so far. New series Deception, which premieres tonight at 10, was the next series to have a panel. NBC announced it has cut its order from 13 to 11 as well,so they can fit every episode and have a seamless transition into Revolution when it returns. Then the next panel was for sophomore drama Grimm, which also is on a hiatus and won't return until March 8. It seems like all of NBC's series that do well are on hiatus this winter. However, the next panel was for a new NBC drama that premieres Jan. 31: Do No Harm. NBC has 12 episodes of this series to air on Thursdays at 10. Up next, there was a panel for The Biggest Loser, which returned last night with part one of its season premiere, along with the return of Jillian Michaels. And the final panel for the day was for NBC's Smash, which returns Feb. 5 at 10pm with guest stars like Jennifer Hudson, to take the place of Parenthood. Then finally, it was time for the reception to close the day's schedule.

Up today at the TCA Winter 2013 press tour will be cable networks for NBC Universal. Among the networks going are USA Network, Oxygen, Golf Channel, E!, CNBC and Syfy. Stay tuned for any updates, if anything is of note for us. And tomorrow we will have Fox up at the TCA Winter 2013 press tour, as they will be second among broadcast to go.


Pushing Daisies

Sticking with the NBC Universal theme, we have some news on cable network Chiller. Chiller kicks off a new year of scary good programming with the debut of its first original special of 2013, Chiller 13: Most Horrifying Hookups. In addition, this winter the network will feature two new-to-Chiller debuts with R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room and cult favorite Pushing Daisies, which marks the first re-air of this series since its original run on ABC in 2007-09. First up R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room, this 2001-02 anthology series from Goosebumps author R.L. Stine proves that our childhood fears never quite leave us. Three episodes air back-to-back every Monday in January beginning tonight (Jan, 7) at 8pm. 13 episodes were produced for Kids' WB and featured stars like Amanda Bynes, Shia LaBeouf, Kaley Cuoco, Dan Byrd, Frankie Muniz and Danielle Fishel popping in.

As for Pushing Daisies, the critically acclaimed series premieres Tuesday, March 5 at 9:00pm. This dark comedy centers on a pie-maker (Lee Pace), with the power to bring dead people back to life. He solves mysteries with his alive-again childhood sweetheart (Anna Friel), a cynical private investigator (Chi McBride), and a lovesick waitress (Kristin Chenoweth). Pushing Daisies was nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three. Chiller brings both seasons (22 total episodes) back for the first time since the series' original run with two back-to-back episodes airing Tuesdays at 9pm, starting March 5. And finally, the special Chiller 13: Most Horrifying Hookups, premieres Friday, February 8 at 8:00pm. Chiller's popular countdown franchise returns with this newest installment, just in time for Valentine's Day! CJ Thomason (Harper's Island), Colin Ferguson (Eureka), Magda Apanowicz (Caprica, Kyle XY) and Judah Friedlander (30 Rock) count down Hollywood's most fatal attractions of all time. Chiller 13 is produced by Emmy Award-winning company Associated Television International.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, July 3

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Sportsbook and a Breakup" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mandy finds out Meemaw runs an illegal sportsbook and decides she wants in on the action. Meanwhile, Georgie struggles to keep Mandy’s new job a secret.

Ghosts - "His Girl Shiki" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Pete makes good on his promise to find someone for Sasappis by bringing in a wisecracking 1940s screenwriter who also has the ability to roam.

Bob's Burgers - "The Shell Game" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bob competes in a competition to inherit Mr. Fischoeder's 100-year-old tortoise.

Grimsburg - "Molly" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Flute forgets to buy Stan a gift for his birthday, he steals an AI doll from the evidence locker; Wynona is forced to confront her ex-boyfriend.

Family Guy - "Row v. Wade" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Brian wins a boat on "The Price is Right" and decides to sail to Texas to help women seeking legal abortions.

The Great North - "Silence of the Dams Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Honeybee accidentally revives an old Lone Moose curse, sending a terrifying creature after her and the Tobins.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)

Thursday, July 3

  • Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) - Catch Steve on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Zach Cherry (Duncanville/I Feel Bad/Crashing) - Zach is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Sandy Honig (Three Busy Debras), Mitra Jouhari (Clone High/Three Busy Debras) and Alyssa Stonoha (Three Busy Debras) - Sandy, Mitra and Alyssa are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Rob Lowe (Unstable/The Grinder/Parks and Recreation/A New Kind of Family) - Rob discusses cancer research and how it changed his life with GMA lifestyle contributor Lori Bergamotto on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Laurence Fishburne (black-ish) - Laurence chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Justin talks about Nuked on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down), Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) and Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Adam, Britt and Ben talk about Severance on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series 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)

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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (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

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