Monday, July 08, 2013

5 Classic NBC Series Returning as Online Comic Books; ION Television Acquires White Collar, Burn Notice

Saved by the Bell Comic Book

NBCUniversal has partnered with digital publisher Lion Forge Comics to develop licensed comic books based on popular TV shows from the 1980s and 90s. Under the agreement licensed through the NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group, Lion Forge will write, develop and publish digital comics based on five classic series. From hugely popular characters such as Crockett and Tubbs, Zack Morris and Punky Brewster to highly stylized music and clothing choices, these TV franchises have had a significant impact on pop culture. The five series are: Airwolf, Knight Rider, Miami Vice, Punky Brewster and Saved by the Bell. All of these shows are owned by NBCUniversal. Airwolf actually aired on CBS in its original run from 1984-87, while Knight Rider and Miami Vice aired on NBC in primetime. Punky Brewster aired on NBC in its first two seasons before moving to first-run syndication. The series also had a Saturday morning animated series that also aired on NBC. And finally Saved by the Bell was a staple for NBC Saturday mornings and of course spawned two follow-up series: Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Saved by the Bell: The New Class.

Well-known writers currently signed on to work on the projects include: Joelle Sellner (Teen Titans, Jackie Chan Adventures); Jonathan London (Geekscape); Geoffrey Thorne (Leverage, Ben 10) and David Gorden (Catalyst Prime: Accel and Catalyst Prime: Quincredible). Currently, Jason Johnson (Wetworks, Godstorm) and Lion Forge's own Carl Reed and Lorenzo Lizana are on board as artists. The comics are planned for distribution in Q3 and Q4 2013, and will be available through the Amazon Kindle Bookstore, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble's The Nook Book Store and Kobo. Lion Forge executives will participate on a panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego from 6:30–7:30pm PDT on Saturday, July 20, in Room: 26AB (SDCC), where they will discuss these and other properties in development. So more information and a possible sneak peek will likely come then. Stay with us for continued updates!


Burn Notice White Collar

ION Television has acquired two more cable dramas to their rotation. ION will now air reruns of USA Network's Burn Notice and White Collar. Both series will join the line-up this fall. These two will join other current or former USA Network series like Psych, Monk and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. They also have aired reruns of TNT's Leverage, but currently it is not on the schedule. ION also has reruns of popular broadcast dramas like Criminal Minds, Cold Case, House and Without a Trace, along with Canadian drama Flashpoint. In addition to all of this drama-rama, ION airs many movies, WWE Main Event and filler airings of the sitcom Married...with Children. But of course the bread and butter of this network now are these TV dramas. Burn Notice is currently airing its seventh and final season on USA, while White Collar will return for season five this fall on USA. Burn Notice is also airing in syndication currently on weekends on local affiliates, while White Collar is airing on Thursday nights on MyNetwork TV. However, White Collar will be off of the MyNetwork TV schedule this fall, replaced by new addition Bones, thus the reruns of Collar will move to ION.

Meanwhile, ION Television announced the acquisition option pick-up of season seven of USA's hit series Psych. The deal with NBCUniversal Cable & New Media Distribution adds all 16 new episodes to ION's existing library of seasons 1-6 of Psych and includes rights to future seasons. The series was just renewed for an eighth season. Stay with us for continued updates and the schedule timings for Burn Notice and White Collar as we get closer to the fall.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, July 13

Ghosts - "Patience" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
While Sam and the ghosts race to find him, Isaac comes face to face with Puritan ghost Patience (Mary Holland) for the first time since she was lost in the dirt.

The Simpsons - "Homer and Her Sisters" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a fight in an escape room, Krusty's aunt fixes Homer's relationship with Patty and Selma.

Krapopolis - "Ice Week!" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ty struggles to keep his cool when he gets the hots for a visiting reporter; Shlub is paid a visit by an old friend; Hippocampus and Stupendous risk missing the festivities altogether.

Animal Control - "Giraffes, Gorillas and Penguins" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The crew must contain a freak zoo break; Frank realizes that he needs to break up with Yasmin; Emily finds an unexpected benefactor in a celebrity businesswoman.

Going Dutch - "Pilot" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The colonel is reassigned to take emergency command of USAG Stroopsdorf in the Netherlands; Sgt. Conway provides the colonel and Shah with a tour of the things Stroopsdorf is known for... cheese, laundry and bowling.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Friday, July 11

  • Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Fairview/Corporate) and Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Aparna and Whitney are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Malachi Barton (Stuck in the Middle) and Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Malachi and Meg discuss Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires and perform on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. They will also be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton talks about Black Coffee and Ice Water on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - CBS News contributor Lisa Ling talks with Margaret and Joel on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE sitdown with actress/director/author Krysten Ritter who recently released her new thriller/mystery novel Retreat, so check your local listings.
  • Maggie Q (Pivoting) - Maggie Q talks about Prime's Ballard on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Tisha Campbell (Act Your Age/Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) and Wendy Raquel Robinson (Poppa's House/The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Tisha and Wendy chat about their film Operation: Aunties on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings. They will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
  • David Zayas (The Bear/Saint George) - David appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series 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)

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)

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

07/12 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Scrubs Reboot Headed to ABC; New King of the Hill Trailer Released
07/11 - The Office Spinoff The Paper Premieres September 4; Upload Season 4 Returns August 25
07/10 - The Big Bang Theory's Stuart Spinoff Ordered by HBO Max; Long Story Short Premieres August 22 on Netflix
07/09 - New Girl Summer on Hulu; Vir Das Gets Brand New Netflix Special
07/08 - Tubi Comedy Series Demascus Premieres in August; LEGO Masters Jr. Lines Up Celebs for 4-Week Event
07/07 - Digman! Season Premiere Moved to July 23; Hulu's Reasonable Doubt Returns September 18
07/06 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of July 7, 2025)
07/05 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Comedy Central Delays South Park and Digman! Season Premieres; Jackée to Appear in Guest Role in Netflix Series
07/04 - Happy 4th of July; Antenna TV's McHale's Navy Red, White and Navy Independence Day Marathon
07/03 - The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 3 Premieres August 6; South Park New Season Moves by Two Weeks
07/02 - FETV Acquires The Rookies; Hulu Renews The Bear for Season 5
07/01 - Bert Kreischer Gets Netflix Sitcom; NBC Gets Into Survival Mode This Summer
06/30 - The Comeback Makes Another...Comeback; First Look at Black Rabbit at Netflix
06/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 30, 2025)
06/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Comeback Returning for a Third and Final Season; South Park to Remain on HBO Max
06/27 - The White Lotus Star Teams Up with Netflix; Remembering Bobby Sherman, Lynn Hamilton, and Rick Hurst
06/26 - The CW's Fall Movie of the Week; First Look at New York Comic Con 2025
06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
06/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 23, 2025)
06/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Officially Dead After Not Finding New Home; Weigel Announces New WEST Network
06/20 - Great American Media Announces New Danica McKellar Movie; Jennifer Love Hewitt ID True Crime Series
06/19 - Bad Thoughts Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix; Zarna Garg Gets Hulu Special This July
06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
06/17 - Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife on A&E Series; Digman! Returns July 9 on Comedy Central
06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
06/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 16, 2025)
06/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Mulls Airing The Paper on Primetime Lineup; Fox Revives Baywatch Reboot Talk
06/13 - My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Renewed for 2 More Seasons; Hanna-Barbera Developing Adult Animated Series
06/12 - Comedy Superstar Jack Black Is the King of Comedy at Nickelodeon; Doc Adds Felicity Huffman