Wednesday, March 27, 2013

TV One Acquires Gimme a Break for May 2013, Stunts in April on Fridays; TBS Picks Up Cougar Town for Season 5

Gimme a Break! The hit '80s sitcom, Gimme a Break! is coming to TV One! Hot off of their acquisition of What's Happening!! in March, TV One will add Gimme a Break! to its schedule beginning Friday, May 3, 2013. The sitcom will join the Friday night comedy block featuring classic sitcoms. The series has not regularly aired on cable in about 15 or so years when USA Network aired it weekday mornings. The series has aired in a couple of markets in local syndication in recent years, but that's it. We last saw the sitcom on cable back in 2006 when TV One aired a special day marathon in celebration of the series' first season coming to DVD. However, it was just a stunt marathon and this will be a regular addition! TV One will air Gimme a Break! Fridays from 8-9pm and also 11pm-12am beginning Friday, May 3. It will kick-off the new Friday night comedy block line-up. Sanford & Son will return to the TV One line-up and air Fridays 9-10pm (encores 12-1am). What's Happening!! will be moving timeslots to 10-11pm now, instead of the current 11pm-12am hour. The series will also encore 1-2am. Only Gimme a Break! doesn't encore, as the 11pm-12am airings are different from 8-9pm. With the addition of Gimme a Break! and the return of Sanford & Son, this means That's My Mama and The Jeffersons are not going to be a part of the Friday night comedy block schedule. Not to worry, as they are still airing on the schedule on other days, with The Jeffersons remaining weekday mornings and its Tuesday daytime marathon block. You'll also see sitcom marathons/stunts continue on Saturdays after the Good Times block beginning at 2pm, with What's Happening!! getting a block on Saturday, May 4 from 2-6pm featuring the first eight episodes. You will also see Sanford & Son and What's Happening!! pop-up Sunday mornings with an hour each from 8-10am beginning May 5. No word if Gimme a Break! will regularly air yet on any other day besides Fridays, but you'll for sure see it pop-up on the Saturday stunt block from time to time after 2pm.

In Gimme a Break!, the late singer/actress Nell Carter starred as Nell Harper, housekeeper and den mother to the three daughters of the Kanisky Family, headed by Dolph Sweet as the recently widowed local police chief. Controversial in its day for the 'stereotypical' set-up of a wise-cracking and overweight Black housekeeper who takes care of a white family, the show nevertheless endured six seasons on the strength of Carter's powerful persona, strong comic timing and musical chops. The show featured rare guest appearances from some of the biggest stars, 'before they were stars', including Whitney Houston, Dennis Haysbert, and Danny Glover.

Before Gimme a Break stars, we'll have some Friday night comedy block stunting going on in April. TV One's popular reality series R&B Divas Atlanta returns to the network for its second season premiere Wednesday, May 1, 10PM/ET. In celebration, TV One is branding the month of April "Destination Divas" and will pack the network's schedule with a mix of new original specials, iconic movies and sitcoms plus encores of R&B Divas season one. We of course are interested in the sitcom part. In April, TV One will turn the Friday night comedy block into marathon stunts for "Destination Diva." TV One tells us that each week the sitcom marathons will be focused on the "divas" of the series. For instance, Whitley from A Different World and Regina from Living Single. The April marathons for Fridays are as scheduled from 8-11pm (encores 11pm-2am): The Jeffersons on April 5, Eve on April 12, A Different World on April 19, and Living Single on April 26. The regular Friday night comedy block schedule will return on May 3 with the addition of Gimme a Break. The last regular Friday night block schedule for the current schedule is this Friday (March 29) before a new line-up begins on May 3. Stay with us for continued updates.


Break out the wine! TBS has renewed its hit original comedy Cougar Town, produced by ABC Studios and starring Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez, Josh Hopkins and Brian Van Holt. The network has ordered 13 episodes for season five, which is expected to launch in 2014. Cougar Town joined the TBS lineup in January for the show's fourth season. It currently airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), with the season finale slated for April 9. The fourth season consist of 15 episodes. Since launching its fourth season on TBS Jan. 8, Cougar Town has averaged 2.8 million viewers, 1.7 million adults 18-49 and 812,000 adults 18-34 in Live + 7 delivery. The show ranks as TBS's top original primetime series ever with adults 18-49 and total viewers. As part of Cougar Town's successful transition to cable, new episodes on TBS are drawing an audience whose median age is seven years younger than the show's last season on broadcast. #cougartownrenewed


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, February 26

Shifting Gears - "The Picnic" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The feud between Parker Customs and Premiere Dance Lab heats up when Matt confronts the owner over a picnic table placed in the shared alleyway. Meanwhile, Carter’s need for “me time” sparks a man-to-(almost)-man conversation with Matt.

Abbott Elementary - "100th Day of School" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
During Abbott’s 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter. Melissa, Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 24)

Wednesday, February 26

  • Mindy Kaling (Running Point/The Mindy Project/The Office) - Watch Mindy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone) - Natasha is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Simu appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) - Lisa appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Rosebud Baker (Life & Beth) - Rosebud is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea talks about I'll Have What She's Having on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Kate Hudson (Running Point) - Kate discusses the new series Running Point on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl and her husband, Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, sit down for an EXCLUSIVE conversation about their choice to live in separate cities, which set off the internet on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/CafĂ© Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross to discuss the hottest news stories on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Then, it's Drew & A and Drew is joined by Ross and Valerie to answer audience member's burning questions.
  • Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) - Sarah is telling Drew about starring as Daisy in The Great Gatsby on Broadway on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local lisitngs. Plus, she's answering questions from Modern Family co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson in a round of Fast Five.
  • Tori Spelling (Mystery Girls/So Notorious) - Tori talks about Lifetime's Abducted in the Everglades on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series

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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02/12 - Official Trailer for Hulu's Deli Boys; Doctor Odyssey Returns with a 2-Part Event
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02/05 - Fox Midseason Tuesday Change; 2025 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Rosters
02/04 - NBC Summer Staples Return in Summer 2025; Gronk Guests on Animal Control
02/03 - The Conners Final Season Premieres March 26; Tyler Perry Gets 2nd Comedy Series for Netflix
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01/31 - Final Season of The Righteous Gemstones; Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell's Audible Original
01/30 - Netflix's New Little House on the Prairie Series Coming Soon; Sabrina Brier Gets Awesomeness TV Series
01/29 - MGM+ Orders Comedy Series; Peacock's Amanda Seyfried Series Premieres March 13
01/28 - Ellen Pompeo's Hulu Series Gets Premiere Date; The White Lotus Season 3 Launches February 16
01/27 - Hulu's Deli Boys Adds Tan France; Joel McHale Taking Over The 1% Club
01/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 27, 2025)
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