Thursday, June 06, 2013
TVGN Acquires Cheers to Launch June 15; Tracy Morgan to Star in FX Comedy Pilot
One of television's most acclaimed comedies of all-time joins TVGN's (TV Guide Network) daytime line-up this summer with daily weekday episodes. That sitcom is Cheers and it will air beginning Monday, June 17, 2013 and air from 11:00AM-1:00PM ET/PT and 5:00–7:00PM ET/PT. To locate TVGN on cable or satellite, viewers can visit www.tvgn.tv for a channel finder. Leading up to the premiere, TVGN will air a one-hour original special The Cast of Cheers: Where Are They Now? on Monday, June 10 at 9:00PM ET/PT. The special catches up with the all-star cast including Ted Danson, John Ratzenberger, Shelley Long, Kristie Alley, Rhea Pearlman and many more, to see what they have been up to since they left their barstools behind. For a preview of The Cast of Cheers: Where Are They Now?, view the video clip below.
Back to the TVGN schedule, Cheers will replace an hour of Cybill and originals from 11am-1pm, while the 5-7pm block is replacing an hour each of Designing Women and Who's the Boss? The schedule will now be Ugly Betty still from 9-11am, Cheers from 11am-1pm, specials at 1pm, Designing Women from 2pm-4pm, Who's the Boss? 4-5pm, Cheers from 5-7pm, and more Who's the Boss? from 7-8pm. As of now, it looks like Cybill and Early Edition will be off the schedule. The network will add same day runs of Young & the Restless soon to weekdays at 7pm but first the special The Young & the Restless On-Set: inFANity will premiere Monday, June 17 at 9pm. Stay with us for updates.
Cheers will actually launch with a marathon prior to its June 17 regular schedule debut. On Saturday, June 15 from 12:00 Noon–8:00PM ET/PT, viewers can tune-in for "Cliff Notes," an eight-hour marathon of back-to-back fan favorite episodes hosted by John Ratzenberger, who of course played the role of Cliff Clavin on Cheers. John reminisces about his time on the long-running sitcom with insider stories and fun facts about the show. If you don't know, Cheers focuses on the colorful staff and off-beat patrons of a friendly Boston bar owned by a former Red Sox pitcher where "everybody knows your name." The sitcom starred Ted Danson as Sam Malone, Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe, Nick Colasanto as Coach, Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli, George Wendt as Norm, John Ratzenberger as Cliff, Woody Harrelson as Woody and Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane. The sitcom will continue to air on the other networks it airs on (Hallmark Channel, ReelzChannel TV and USA Network).
Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan has closed a deal to star in the FX Networks comedy series pilot, Death Pact, from Rob Long and Tad Safran. Production of the single-camera, half-hour pilot episode will take place this summer in New York or New Jersey. Death Pact was co-created by Rob Long (Sullivan & Son, Cheers) and Tad Safran (The Long Weekend), who also serve as Executive Producers/Writers. Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men and the new CBS comedy We Are Men) of the Tannenbaum Company are Executive Producers. Death Pact is produced by FX Productions. In Death Pact, Morgan stars as a formerly lazy, pot-dealing assistant high school coach, who returns to his hometown as a decorated war hero. He runs across three down-on-their-luck friends and former students and sucks them into his new radical self-help philosophy, which involves harsh consequences for failure. Stay with us for continued updates and if this series gets picked-up to series or not. Right now it is just a pilot.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 22
Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.
Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Wednesday, January 22
- Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
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
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