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

Monday, March 18

The Neighborhood - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Worth the Cooties" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After Christina kicks Abishola and Dottie out for making light of her pre-pregnancy preparations, Christina bonds with Douglas and Abishola spends a fun day with Dottie. Also, when Bob, Goodwin and Kofo are stumped on a work issue, Bob insists they go out to lunch to loosen up.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 18)

Monday, March 18

  • Christina Applegate (Dead to Me/Up All Night/Samantha Who?/Jesse/Married with Children) - Watch Christina on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock) - Rachel appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and John Hodgman (Up Here/Married) - Sasheer and John are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) - Lisa will be on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
  • Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Married/Go On) - Brett talks about The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
  • William Shatner ($h*! My Dad Says) - NBC's Today catches up with William in the 9am hour.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)

Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Father Knows Best - The Complete Series The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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