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, October 8

Shifting Gears - "Date" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Matt and Eve go on their first date but have different ideas of what it should entail. Riley befriends the mom of Georgia’s new friend while Carter mediates a tiff between Gabe and Stitch. LA Dodger Mookie Betts and Lilly Singh guest star.

Abbott Elementary - "Cheating" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Melissa tries to outsmart her students; Tariq causes chaos in Janine’s class, and a new guidance counselor joins the school.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 6)

Wednesday, October 8

  • Tim Allen (Shifting Gears/Last Man Standing/Home Improvement) - Watch Tim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • David Henrie (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place/Wizards of Waverly Place/How I Met Your Mother/The Pitts) and Janice Leann Brown (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place) - David and Janice talk about Wizards Beyond Waverly Place on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey talks about Luna and the Witch Throw a Halloween Party on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Ryan stops by for a talk with the hosts about John Candy: I Like Me on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Tom Papa (Come to Papa) - NBC's Today catches up with Tom in the 9am hour.
  • Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - The Drew Crew team is sharing their best pro tips including newest Drew Crewer Amirah Kassem sharing how to make the perfect party dish and easy ways to level up hosting on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Tom Arnold (Roseanne/The Jackie Thomas Show/Tom/The Tom Show) - Tom is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.


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


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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