Monday, April 15, 2013

Esquire Network Launch Schedule; TVGN Acquires Young and the Restless Reruns, CBS Buys 50% of the Network

The A-Team

We have the Esquire Network launch schedule for you today. The network currently known as G4 (owned by NBC Universal), will re-brand and re-launch as Esquire Network next week (April 22), as we mentioned. The network will start the new schedule at 12 noon ET on Monday, April 22 with The A-Team starring Mr. T! The '80s action drama will air as a block to launch the network from 12-6pm (and will air every Monday after that from 1-5pm). A special airing of the Will Ferrell movie Semi-Pro will follow at 6pm leading into the Parks & Recreation block from 8-10pm. Parks & Recreation will air every Monday from 8-10pm leading into the short-lived comedy Party Down from 10-11pm. Both comedies will encore the next afternoon, on Tuesdays from 3-6pm with Party Down starting it off this time. In primetime on Tuesdays, original series Knife Life and The Getaway will air from 9-11pm.

On Wednesday, April 24, more acquisitions will launch. First up, '80s Tom Selleck drama Magnum P.I. will air every Wednesday from 1pm-5pm (but on this day it will be longer from 12-5pm). Magnum also will still air on the NBC-owned mutlticast digital station Cozi TV. The Tom Selleck drama will lead into reruns of USA Network series Burn Notice at 5pm & 6pm. The series will air weekdays at 5pm & 6pm (and an encore at 11pm & 12am in late night). Also launching April 24, are a week later airings of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 7pm, as we mentioned. It will also air weekdays and air at 7pm with a next day encore at 12 noon. Movies will air in primetime on Wednesdays, with Shutter Island airing on April 24. As mentioned Burn Notice will air in late night at 11pm & 12am, leading into another off-network buy with the '90s drama New York Undercover. That series will air weeknights at 1am. It will also continue to air on Centric, so this is a shared deal between Esquire and Centric. On Thursdays, Parks & Recreation will encore two of its Monday airings and air 1-2pm and again from 8-9pm, as it will be good promotion for its first-run NBC airings at 9:30pm. The Wednesday primetime movie will encore on Thursday afternoons leading into Burn Notice and Fallon. In primetime on Thursdays, as mentioned Parks will air 8-9pm leading into encores The Getaway and Knife Life from 9-11pm. On to Fridays, we have another classic '80s drama airing from 1-5pm, this time it is Airwolf! In primetime, reruns of USA Network series Psych will air Fridays from 8-11pm. Mornings (9:30am-12am) and late nights (2am-4:30am) will continue to be Cops every weekday, as it was on G4.

On to weekends, we have a lot of encores and movies. Of note, Parks & Recreation will encore its Monday airings once again, this time Sundays 7-9pm leading into encore of Party Down from 9-10pm. Anyway, it's good to see The A-Team, Magnum P.I. and Airwolf join this network. Hopefully we see more classic '80s series join the line-up. As of now Knight Rider and Quantum Leap will not be on Esquire, as they have been airing on G4. Stay with us for continued updates on Esquire Network and for any scheduling updates.


Up next, TVGN announced that it will become the exclusive basic cable home for the #1 daytime soap, The Young & The Restless (Y&R). The acquisition of the top-rated daytime franchise from Sony Pictures Television marks the first TVGN programming announcement as part of the new CBS Corporation/Lionsgate partnership. Beginning this summer, Y&R will move from SOAPnet, where it has already been a basic cable ratings success, to TVGN, keeping the 7:00 PM, ET/PT time slot where it has built a loyal fan base, and will appear day-and-date with its broadcast on the CBS Television Network. One of the most popular franchises in daytime television history, Y&R recently celebrated 40 years on the air on CBS, where it has dominated the ratings in daytime. TVGN recently announced that is has changed its name from TV Guide Network to just TVGN. Currently, the TVGN line-up consists of reruns from 9am-8pm will series like Ugly Betty, Cybill, Designing Women, Early Edition and Who's the Boss? It is unclear what will happen now that CBS has partnered with Lionsgate to buy the network. There is speculation that same-day reruns of Entertainment Tonight, OMG! Insider and Inside Edition could pop-up on the network. Or perhaps CBS will also delve into the CBS Paramount library and air reruns of classic sitcoms from their library. It's too early to tell, but we will keep you up to date...for now you can still continue to enjoy the current slate of sitcoms/dramas. Stay with us.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, March 21

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 16)

Saturday, March 21

  • Kate Hudson (Running Point) - Kate reveals her love language on The Weekend View on ABC News Live at 7:30am and streaming on Disney+, Hulu, Samsung TV+, Fire TV, Prime Video and Roku Channel.


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

03/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Sets Plans for Final Episode of The Neighborhood; ABC Pulls The Bachelorette
03/20 - TBS Orders Season 13 of Impractical Jokers; HBO's Josh Johnson Comedy Special
03/19 - Netflix Casts Scooby-Doo Live-Action Series; Darren Star's Next Comedy Series Uncorked
03/18 - Saturday Night Live UK to Launch This Weekend; Hulu Renews Paradise for Season 3
03/17 - Netflix Renews Free Bert for Season 2; The Neighborhood: A Farewell Special in April
03/16 - Color Theories by Julio Torres on HBO; Lifetime's Ripped from the Headlines Spring Slate with Two New Movies
03/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 16, 2026)
03/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Family Guy's Stewie Griffin Getting Spinoff; NBCUniversal Cancels Several Daytime Shows, Including Last of the Daytime "Trash Talk"
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