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

Tuesday, March 25

St. Denis Medical - "Sometimes It's Good to Be Cautious" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bruce and Alex give conflicting medical advice to a young athlete; Joyce competes with Tiger Woods in her alumni magazine; Matt and Serena (almost) drop an unconscious patient.

Night Court - "A Few Good Hens" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Dan goes up against Julianne to defend the Wheelers and his professional reputation; Abby's love life takes an exciting turn when she meets a handsome man in the courthouse, but there's a catch.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Tricks No Retreats" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Curtis surprises Ella with a new gift that brings unexpected results; Calvin struggles with whether he and Laura are ready to walk down the aisle.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Total Knockout" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jeremy enters a charity boxing match, only to find out his opponent is Leah's wealthy ex; Mr. Brown hires someone huge and unexpected as his trainer; Reginald is on a quest to regain his youth and solicits Philip to give him a new look.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 24)

Tuesday, March 25

  • Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Catch Adam on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Jenna Ortega (Stuck in the Middle/Richie Rich) - Jenna is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Don Johnson (Kenan) - Don appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) and Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Do Not Disturb/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Mayan and Jerry are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim) - Kimberly tells Sherri about hosting the new season of the hit dating reality show Farmer Wants a Wife on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tone appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

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

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03/24 - Peacock April Highlights Include Three's Company; Antenna TV's 50 Years on the Beat Barney Miller Anniversary Marathon
03/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 24, 2025)
03/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* Coming to DVD; American Dad! Moving Back to Fox
03/21 - Big Mouth Final Season; The Four Seasons Premieres in May on Netflix
03/20 - HBO's Brett Goldstein Comedy Special; Disney+ Adds The Simpsons 24/7 Stream
03/19 - Solar Opposites Final Season This Fall; NBC to Move Grosse Pointe Garden Society to Fridays
03/18 - Game Show Network New Shows Launch April 14; NBC Picks Up 3rd Comedy Pilot, While Bobby Moynihan Joins Tracy Morgan Pilot
03/17 - It's True! Ted Lasso Renewed for Season 4; Jane Goodall Returns for Jane Season 3
03/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 17, 2025)
03/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Neighborhood Renewed for Eighth and Final Season; NBC Picks Up New Cheerleading Comedy
03/14 - NBC Comedy Pilots Wheeling & Dealing; Hulu's Got to Get Out
03/13 - Prime Video Comedy Series Overcompensating Premiere Date; Eric Stonestreet Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/12 - Hacks Season 4 Premieres April 10; Nickelodeon Orders Wylde Pak
03/11 - The Neighborhood Renewed for Final Season; Max's The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast
03/10 - Netflix Renews Running Point for Season 2; Apple TV+ Trailer for The Studio
03/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 10, 2025)
03/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Tracy Morgan to Star in NBC Pilot from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock; Nobody Wants This Returning for Second Season
03/07 - Trailer for Apple TV+ Comedy Government Cheese; Remembering Saved by the Bell and TV Producer Peter Engel
03/06 - The CW Spring Premiere Dates; Henry Winkler Heads to HISTORY Channel
03/05 - Hacks Brings Out the Stars in Season 4; NBC Orders Pilot with Tracy Morgan
03/04 - Apple TV+ Side Quest Launches March 26; Krysten Ritter Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/03 - HBO's The Rehearsal Returns April 20; Sharon Horgan Signs Deal for HBO Comedy Series
03/02 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 3, 2025)
03/01 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Premiere Date for Mid-Century Modern Set; Roseanne Remastered in High Definition
02/28 - Remembering John Lawlor, Michelle Trachtenberg, Lynne Marie Stewart, Alice Hirson, Isaac Ruiz Jr., and Others We Lost in February
02/27 - Fox Orders Season 2 of Doc; Law & Order: Organized Crime Moves to Peacock in April
02/26 - Peacock's Poker Face Season 2 Premieres This Spring; Bert Kreischer Returns with His Fourth Netflix Special
02/25 - Hulu Sitcom Mid-Century Modern Premiere Date; NBC Renews Happy's Place for Season 2