Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Season 2 Launch Date of TV One Sitcom The Rickey Smiley Show; Remembering George Burditt, Writer/Producer of Three's Company

The Rickey Smiley Show

We mentioned a few months back that TV One has picked up a second season of original sitcom The Rickey Smiley Show, but now we have the exact premiere date. TV One will premiere the second season of the network's original hit sitcom The Rickey Smiley Show on Friday, July 26 at 9:00pm ET. Loosely inspired by the real-life experiences and antics of lauded comedian, TV, and radio personality Rickey Smiley, the series pulls TV One viewers even deeper into "Rickey's World" this season, introducing two additional alter egos to his already beloved, wacky troupe of trademark personalities. Season one introduced audiences to leading man Rickey, a popular, Atlanta-based national radio personality juggling career and life as a single father of three. Fatherhood and radio station duties were often complicated by appearances from hilarious alter egos made popular by the star in his radio and TV routines, including church lady Sister Bernice Jenkins, gospel crooner Joe Willie, and Rickey's Southern Baptist church leader, Pastor Watkins. Joining the chaos in Season Two are Smiley personas Lil' Darryl, a boy in coke-bottle glasses who's been in the fourth grade for nearly 12 years and often shows up at Rickey's door unannounced, and Clarence the Janitor, a Birmingham-area school custodian who wears an elevated orthopedic boot to combat his uneven leg condition and claims to be a "professional soft shoe dancer."

Rejoining Smiley for the 13-episode second season is a stellar ensemble cast including: Ray J as Kenny, Rickey's morning show producer and protégé; J. Anthony Brown as Rickey's radio station manager Maurice, aka "Mo-Sweets" from his earlier rap career; veteran actress Roz Ryan as Aunt Sylvia; Jay Lewis (Lil JJ) as Rickey's 18-year-old son Brandon; Ajiona Alexus as Rickey's 16-year-old daughter De'Anna; Gabriel Burgess as his youngest son Aaron; Noree Victoria as his business manager Simone Renee Jackson; and Demetria McKinney as Rickey's uber-career oriented ex-wife, Monica. Additionally, Season Two will feature a jam-packed lineup of celebrity guest stars and special appearances including: Kenya Moore, Cynthia Bailey, Syleena Johnson, Angie Stone, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, Antonia "Toya" Carter, Porsche Stewart, Creflo Dollar, Benji Brown, Dottie Peoples, Ann Nesby, Carl Payne, Corey Holcomb, Charlie Murphy, David Banner, Pierre, Joe Claire, Lil Scrappy, Momma Dee, and Doug E Fresh among others.


George Burditt - E! True Hollywood Story (1998)

Television writer and producer George Burditt, who worked on Three's Company, has died. He died on June 25 in Burbank, California. Mr. Burditt was 89.

Burditt wrote over thirty episodes of Three's Company. He also worked as an executive story consultant on over fifty episodes from 1976-1979. He served as a producer on the show for the final three seasons from 1981-1984. In addition to his credits on Three's Company, he worked on the spin-off series. He wrote eight episodes of The Ropers and three episodes of Three's a Crowd, which he also served as an executive producer on for its one season. He was interviewed for the E! True Hollywood Story in 1998 and the A&E Biography special on Three's Company in 2009.

His other sitcom writing credits included All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and Doc. He earned four Emmy nominations for his writing on the variety series The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1972 and 1974) and Van Dyke and Company (1976 and 1977). His other production credits included Silver Spoons and 227.

George Burditt - E! True Hollywood Story (1998)

Survivors include his wife Joyce, a television writer and one of the creators of Diagnosis Murder; three children; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. His son Jack Burditt is an Emmy-winning producer and writer of Frasier and 30 Rock and the creator of Last Man Standing. We thank him for the laughs he brought us on Three's Company. It's always sad when we lose a member of the Three's Company family. He will be missed.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, March 30

Young Sheldon - "A Stolen Truck and Going on the Lam" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Missy steals her dad’s truck and hits the road with her friend Paige (Mckenna Grace).

Ghosts - "Alberta's Descendant" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Alberta is thrilled when a living relative, Alicia (Ashley D. Kelley), visits Woodstone to learn more about her, but things take a turn when she hits it off with Todd (Rodrigo Fernandez Stoll), Sam’s podcast co-host. Also, Nigel uses his knowledge of Trevor and Hetty’s secret tryst to try to blackmail Hetty.

Animal Control - "Peacocks and Pumas" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Victoria stake out a squawking peacock; Emily and Patel attend to Shred.

Call Me Kat - "Call Me Not Okurrr" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
In the heat of the moment, Zoey kisses Kat at karaoke night; when Randi discovers a secret hideaway in the condo, she hides it from Carter and makes it a place for her to unwind.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 27)

Thursday, March 30

  • Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) - Catch Brett on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits-in with the 8G Band​ on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra and Kevin Bacon are guests on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. Kyra will also be on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan (check your local listings) and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Animal Practice/Better with You/Reba) and Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - JoAnna and Morris guest co-host The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
  • Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Julie is a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Method Man (Method & Red) - Method Man will be on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Larenz Tate (South Central/The Royal Family) - Larenz appears on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.


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

Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Ghosts - Season One Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Ten Growing Pains - The Complete Series

11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/08 - Young Rock - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/15 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Seven / The Complete Season Eight
11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

03/30 - Single Drunk Female Returns April 12; ABC's Not Dead Yet Premiere Scores Big in 35-Day Data
03/29 - Adult Swim Orders Season 2 of Royal Crackers; Game Show Network 2023 Upfront
03/28 - Platonic Gets Premiere Date on Apple TV+; SNL April Guest Hosts and Music Guests
03/27 - ABC Summer 2023 Schedule, Includes Return of The Wonder Years; HBO Max's Clone High Details
03/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 27, 2023)
03/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Arrested Development Staying on Netflix (and Leaving Hulu); Grey's Anatomy Gets Season 20 Renewal
03/24 - Rewind TV Celebrates Mork & Mindy's 45th Anniversary on Earth Day; Disney's 6th Season of Raven's Home on April 9
03/23 - Antenna TV's Earth Day My Favorite Martian Marathon; Neil Patrick Harris Returns on How I Met Your Father
03/22 - Game Show Network Orders Tom Cavanagh Hosted Game Show; A Black Lady Sketch Show Returns for Season 4
03/21 - All That Stars to Reunite for Good Burger 2; Jim Belushi Returns For Another Season of Growing Belushi
03/20 - 2023 90s Con Recap in Hartford; Bel-Air Gets Season 3 on Peacock
03/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 20, 2023)
03/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New Sitcoms for Terry Crews and Wendi McLendon-Covey; Zachary Levi Holding Out Hope for Chuck Movie
03/17 - AXS TV Acquires The Monkees for Retro Night Block; HBO Max's The Other Two Returns in May
03/16 - Monk Returns with One Final Case on Peacock; John Mulaney Gets 3rd Netflix Comedy Special
03/15 - Apple TV+ Orders Comedy with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey; CBS 2023 Season Finale Dates
03/14 - Disney+ Comedy American Born Chinese Premieres May 24; Tim Robinson Comedy to Return May 30 on Netflix
03/13 - New Girl Coming to Hulu and Peacock; Apple TV+ Renews Shrinking for Season 2
03/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 13, 2023)
03/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Beavis and Butt-Head Gets Second Season Renewal; Roles Cast in Bedrock Series
03/10 - Act Your Age Opens as Biggest Launch in Bounce History; Starz Comedy Blindspotting Returns April 14
03/09 - Mary Tyler Moore Film Premieres This May on HBO; Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head Returns for Season 2
03/08 - HBO's Barry Returns April 16; Schmigadoon! Trailer for Season 2
03/07 - American Dad! Season 18 Premieres March 27; Hulu's Tiny Beautiful Things Launches April 7
03/06 - Antenna TV Spring 2023 Schedule; Rewind TV Spring 2023 Schedule
03/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 6, 2023)
03/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Rachael Ray to End After 17 Seasons; Fox Renews Krapopolis for Third Season
03/03 - The Thundermans Return; TMZ's New Game Show
03/02 - Fox Renews Krapopolis for Season 3; Disney Channel's New Comedy Saturdays
03/01 - HBO Max Chuck Lorre Comedy Sets Production; New Shonda Rhimes White House Series