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
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.
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.
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
Sunday, April 18
The Simpsons - "Dairy Queen" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bart finds his old teacher's diary and learns a surprising secret; Lisa discovers an even bigger surprise.
Bless the Harts - "Hoot 'N Haw" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT)
When Wayne finds out he owns extra land, his family unexpectedly moves in on his property; Violet searches for Wayne's "Uncle Tommy" after he goes missing.
The Simpsons - "Panic on the Streets of Springfield" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa gets a new imaginary friend -- a depressed British singer from the 1980s; Homer becomes a truck guy.
The Great North - "Tusk in the Wind Adventure" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Beef and Wolf meet their hero, legendary mountain man Tusk Johnson; Judy and the rest of the Tobin clan become addicted to '80s prime-time soap "Dynasty."
Bob's Burgers - "Some Kind of Fender Benderful" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Bob gets into a four-car fender bender right outside the restaurant, he realizes finding out who is at fault will not be as simple as he had thought.
Family Guy - "Young Parent Trap" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Lois and Peter are mistaken for young parents by another couple at Stewie's school and are invited to live in a millennial apartment complex, leaving Meg and Chris home alone.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 12)
Friday, April 16
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Yvette Nicole Brown (The Mayor/The Odd Couple/Community) - Yvette chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Lorraine Toussaint (Where I Love) - Lorraine appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about The Resident on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Lil Rel Howery (Rel/The Carmichael Show) - Lil Rel will be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany guest hosts The Real, so check your loca listings.
- Maya Rudolph (Forever/Up All Night) - Maya talks about Netflix's The Mitchells vs. The Machines and hosting Saturday Night Live on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-April)
01/22 - Corporate - Season 2
01/22 - Corporate - Season 3
02/02 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - The Complete Series (2021 Retail Release)
02/16 - Fam - The Complete Series
02/23 - Betty White's Pet Set - The Complete Series
03/02 - Blue Mountain State - The Complete Series
03/02 - Happy Together - The Complete Series
03/02 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-4 (DVD) (Blu-ray)
04/20 - 'Til Death - The Complete Series
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