Monday, July 08, 2013
5 Classic NBC Series Returning as Online Comic Books; ION Television Acquires White Collar, Burn Notice
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!
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
Wednesday, November 29
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 27)
Wednesday, November 29
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Bradley Cooper (Kitchen Confidential) - Bradley appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- John Pinette (Parker Lewis Can't Lose) - John (RIP) is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy/American Dad!/The Cleveland Show) and Liz Gillies (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/Victorious) - NBC's Today has Seth and Liz for the Citi Music Series in sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour.
- Dennis Quaid (Merry Happy Whatever) - Dennis chats and performs on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Jennifer Garner (Party Down) - Jennifer chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry is joining Drew to talk about her memoir Thicker Than Water: A Memoir, which covers navigating writing about her family, meeting her husband while working on a play and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian arrives to speak about his new comedy series Bookie on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Melissa McCarthy (God's Favorite Idiot/Nobodies/Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa speaks about her new Christmas film Genie on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
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 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
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