Wednesday, October 09, 2013

WGN America Acquires Exclusive Cable Rights for Person of Interest; Script Deal for TV Land Project from Ben Silverman

WGN America has announced that the network has acquired the exclusive cable syndication rights to the drama series Person of Interest in an agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. This deal marks the first time WGN America has purchased the exclusive cable window to a syndicated series. The deal also marks the premiere for the series in syndication. Person of Interest is set to premiere on WGN America in fall 2015. We will have more info on this closer to the premiere but it will also enter local broadcast syndication on weekends in fall 2015.

Person of Interest stars Jim Caviezel, Emmy® Award winner Michael Emerson, Academy Award® & Emmy® nominee Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Chapman, Sarah Shahi and Amy Acker in a thought-provoking crime drama set in New York City, with all of its multifaceted elements of justice — cops, criminals and corruption. In this action-crime thriller from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions (Star Trek, Fringe, Lost, Alias) and creator Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy), a presumed-dead former CIA agent John Reese teams up with a mysterious billionaire, Finch, to prevent violent crimes by using their own brand of vigilante justice. Reese’s special training in covert operations appeals to Finch, a software genius who invented a program that uses pattern recognition to identify people about to be involved in violent crimes. Using state-of-the-art surveillance technology and national security data siphoned off the United States intelligence agencies’ threat matrix, the two work outside of the law using Reese’s adept skills and Finch’s unlimited wealth to unravel the mystery of the person of interest and stop the crime before it happens. Reese’s actions draw the attention of the NYPD -- including homicide detective Carter (Henson) and Lionel Fusco (Chapman), a compromised cop whom Reese uses to his advantage. With infinite crimes to investigate, Reese and Finch find that the right person, with the right information, at the right time, can change everything. From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television, Person of Interest is executive produced by Abrams, Nolan, Greg Plageman (Cold Case) and Bryan Burk (Star Trek, Fringe, Lost, Alias). Kathy Lingg (Revolution, Fringe) is co-executive producer.


TV Land has closed a half-hour workplace comedy script deal with multimedia studio Electus, an operating business of IAC. The script revolves around a 30-something woman as she navigates the executive ranks among her old-school male counterparts while her 20-something male assistant tries to make it amid his female-dominated peers – two fish, a big corporate pond, and very little water. The untitled script will be written and executive produced by Jon Sherman (Frasier) with Electus' Chairman and Founder, Ben Silverman and Jimmy Fox also executive producing. In addition to the Electus project, TV Land also recently announced a sitcom pilot, Jennifer Falls, starring Jaime Pressly, and a second for a single camera show, Younger, written by Darren Star. This December, TV Land will debut its newest original series, Kirstie, which stars Kirstie Alley, Michael Richards, Rhea Perlman and Eric Petersen. TV Land's other original sitcoms, Hot in Cleveland, The Exes and The Soul Man, just wrapped their summer seasons.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, February 22

Family Guy - "Pumpkin Spice Girls" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Meg discovers the seasonal delight that is the pumpkin spice latte, but when the limited time offering lapses, her and Lois concoct an elaborate heist to steal the formula.

Universal Basic Guys - "Shorty Hoagies" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark and Tammy get adventurous on a date night at the Philadelphia Flower Show; Darren and JD prank David.

American Dad! - "Aw Rats, A Pool Party" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The Smiths throw a pool party attended by Francine's sister and Steve's ex when a dead rat is found in the pool.

Family Guy - "Man-Fest Destiny" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Peter and the guys become shipwrecked at Fire Island; Chris and Brian perform a lobotomy on a social-media-crazed Stewie.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 16)

Friday, February 20

  • Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Watch Nick on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Laura Benanti (Life & Beth/Younger/The Detour/Go On/Starved) - Laura makes a special appearance on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Hilary Duff (How I Met Your Father/Younger/Lizzie McGuire) - Hilary appears on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Jennifer Garner (Party Down/Camping) - Jennifer chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Marilu Henner (Taxi/Evening Shade) - Marilu tells Sherri about her guest-starring role on The Neighborhood on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Dove Cameron (Schmigadoon!/Liv and Maddie) and Avan Jogia (Victorious) - Dove and Avan talk about their Prime Video series 56 Days on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul and Jack Black are telling Drew all about their hilarious adaptation of Anaconda on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Odessa A'zion (I Love LA/Fam) - Odessa tells Drew about her role in new movie Marty Supreme and hit series I Love LA on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi talks about her It's Not That Deep tour on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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02/03 - NBC Renews St. Denis Medical and Happy's Place for Season 3; Pilot Orders for Comedy Projects on NBC
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01/28 - Nikki Glaser's New Hulu Special Premieres April 24; HBO Announces Late-Night Series
01/27 - Trailer for The Muppet Show Special Event; New Evolution of The Handmaid's Tale Series
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