SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

• Just before the April premiere of the sixth season of the Showtime series, Lionsgate is set to release Nurse Jackie - Season Five on DVD and Blu-ray on February 18. As usual, the set will contain plenty of special features.
• eOne Entertainment is prepared to bring a somewhat forgotten '80s syndicated gem to DVD with their release of Monsters - The Complete Series. For those unfamiliar with the series, it was a horror anthology series from the same producer who previously brought fans the syndicated series Tales from the Darkside.

• Family Guy - Volume Eleven: The three-disc set brings all 23 episodes of the 2011-2012 season of the animated Fox series to DVD, along with a few nice special features.
• MADtv - The Complete Fourth Season: Shout! Factory's latest release of the late night Fox series that ran for 15 seasons brings fans one of the greatest seasons of the series.

The MeTV Network is making the holiday season for classic television fans even more wonderful time of year... with the launch of Wonder Woman! The popular series starring Lynda Carter joins the MeTV Sci-Fi Saturday Night line-up at 8|7c on Saturday, December 28, 2013. All 60 episodes of the original 1970's TV series will be shown on MeTV beginning with a special airing of the pilot episode at 8|7c on Friday, December 27 leading into the series premiere the following day. As a result of the addition, Lost in Space will move to Saturday nights at 12|11c on MeTV effective Saturday, December 28.

Wonder Woman will have the '60s classic Batman as its lead-in at 7|6c. Since Lost in Space is moving to midnight, this will mean Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea will be off the line-up for now. The addition of Wonder Woman is the second acquisition announcement in a week, with H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost being previewed tonight before officially being added to the schedule on Dec. 28 (the same day as Wonder Woman). Stay with us for continued updates if MeTV adds anything else in the new year!


It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of Dec. 2-6, 2013, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVRs (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, December 2, 2013

• Anna Faris (Mom) - Watch Anna on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - The legendary Ms. White is a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS. She will also be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Chris D'Elia (Whitney) - Chris visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Kirstie Alley (Kirstie/Veronica's Closet/Cheers) - Kirstie guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She will also be on ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am.
• Allison Janney (Mom/Mr. Sunshine) - Allison stops by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Keke Palmer (True Jackson, VP) - Keke appears on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• John Ratzenberger (Cheers) - John drops by Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Josh Gad (1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh plays a snowman in the newest holiday hit, Frozen, so he's challenged to a game of Frozen Shot Chocolate on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
• Tisha Campbell-Martin (My Wife and Kids/Martin/Rita Rocks) - Tune in to see Tisha on The Arsenio Hall Show, so check your local listings.
• Debby Ryan (Jessie) - Debby will be on The Better Show, so check your local listings.
• Nicole Ari Parker (Second Time Around) - Nicole appears on The Arsenio Hall Show, so check your local listings.
• Kim Richards (Hello, Larry) - Kim is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• Lisa Whelchel (The Facts of Life) - Lisa chats on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.

• Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) - Catch Ray on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Jayma Mays (The Millers) - Jayma appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Will Arnett (The Millers/Arrested Development) - Will visits The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Michael J. Fox (The Michael J. Fox Show/Spin City/Family Ties) - Michael is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• The Cast of Kirstie - The cast of TV Land's Kirstie stars Kirstie Alley, Rhea Pearlman and Michael Richards take us behind-the-scenes on their new show and what it's like to work together on Katie, so check your local listings.
• Malin Akerman (Trophy Wife) - Malin will be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.

• Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Watch Woody on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) - Melissa is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Eric André (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Eric appears on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
• Alyssa Milano (Who's the Boss?/Romantically Challenged) - Alyssa stops by The Arsenio Hall Show, so check your local listings.
• Kirstie Alley (Kirstie/Veronica's Closet/Cheers) - Kirstie cooks with co-host Clinton Kelly as the co-hosts dish up recipes reminiscent of their holidays as children, personal favorites from past decades on The Chew on ABC at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
• Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show) - Steve chats with Rach at the kitchen table and dishes out super-funny stories from his own family on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
• Lisa Whelchel (The Facts of Life) - Lisa talks about what she's working on now and her every day workout tips for busy moms on Katie, so check your local listings.

• Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show) - Catch Jennifer on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) - Jim stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Chelsea is a guest on The Pete Holmes Show at midnight on TBS.
• Whoopi Goldberg (Whoopi/Bagdad Cafe) - Whoopi visits Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• John Goodman (Roseanne) - John stops by NBC's Today between 7-9am.

• Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory/Roseanne) - Watch Johnny on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Josh Gad (1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Jennie Garth (What I Like About You) - Jennie guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Danny DeVito (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/Taxi) - Danny and Mara Wilson talk about Matilda on NBC's Today between 7-9am.
• John Goodman (Roseanne) - John will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
He also chats about the new film Inside Llewyn Davis on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/Hot Properties/The Knights of Prosperity) - Sofia dresses audience members in looks from Kmart on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show, so check your local listings.
• Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) - Josh appears on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show, so check your local listings.
• Tim Conway (McHale's Navy/Rango) - Tim will be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! We thank you for visiting us on this special day and every other day, all-year. We also are very thankful that you all will continue to visit every single day and making this blog a continued huge success. We get thousands of visitors every day (even on weekends). So, we thank you for the growth each year! It is simply amazing and I can't believe it has been over 8 years now of posting on this blog every single day no matter what! No days off!

Before we let you all go back to your families (or special friends), we want to let you know the marathons on TV you and your family might want to watch during the day and after Thanksgiving dinner. We love TV marathons and you all come here on each holiday to see what marathons are airing, so as always we will do that today, too, of course!

We have told you about many of the sitcom related marathons already in our regular news stories. Our pick of the weekend is the I Dream of Jeannie 27-hour marathon today (Thanksgiving Day) that started at 12am ET on Antenna TV! Last night on Thanksgiving Eve they aired classic sitcom Thanksgiving episodes including WKRP in Cincinnati's "Turkey's Away!" TV Land has a Laugh More-a-thon Weekend with many classics and modern classics including I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Cosby Show and more. MTV2 will feature a Boy Meets World marathon today from 2pm-7pm. TBS will once again present a Friends marathon today, Thanksgiving Day, from 10am-5pm. If you can't watch during the day, then Nick at Nite will have a Friends marathon for you at night from 10pm-6am. Family is the most important thing on a holiday like Thanksgiving, and USA Network will bring us a marathon of Modern Family today from 9:30am-1:30am! WE tv will have all the Thanksgiving episodes of Roseanne and Will & Grace airing from 10am-4pm today in marathon block. And New York City is lucky to have a marathon of The Honeymooners for the second straight year on Thanksgiving, today on WPIX from 11am-3pm, sandwiched in between two airings of the movie March of the Wooden Soldiers! Also in New York, we get the second straight year of Taxi on the Day After Thanksgiving, Friday from 9am-9pm on WLNY TV 55/10. So yeah we told you about all these already either recently or many moons ago. Now let's get to some we haven't had a chance to mention!

We didn't get a chance to mention CMT's Reba Thanksgiving marathon airing today from 3pm-8pm leading into the network premiere of the 2012 movie A Christmas Story 2. On FXX, it's a 12-hour Thanksgiving marathon of How I Met Your Mother today from 7am-7pm! BET and Centric have sitcom marathons this weekend as well. BET will feature a The Game marathon Friday from 8am-7am and Saturday as well, while sister network Centric will feature a Steve Harvey marathon this Saturday and Sunday. For Thanksgiving Day, BET will feature a marathon of Real Husbands of Hollywood, while Centric has a Roots marathon. We also have many many Thanksgiving themed episodes airing that are not in marathons like The Golden Girls on Logo, The Beverly Hillbillies & Rhoda on MeTV Network, and sitcoms like A Different World, Martin, and Living Single on TV One.

Non-sitcom wise, INSP has a Waltons Thanksgiving movie marathon from 2pm-10pm today and a JAG Black Friday Marathon from 2pm-12am. TNT once again has a Castle marathon today from 10am-11pm featuring the great duo of Castle & Beckett for the second straight Thanksgiving! BBC America has a Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon today from 8am-6am. WGN America has a marathon of America's Funniest Home Videos from 2pm-8pm today, while Cloo gives us a 24-hour White Collar marathon today starting at 6am. Another Waltons marathon hits the airwaves on UP from 9am-2:30am. Other notables for Thanksgiving Thursday include a Impractical Jokers marathon on truTV today from 8pm-5am, a Ridiculousness marathon on MTV from 3-10pm, a Cops Thanksgiving marathon on Spike TV from 9am-9pm, an Undercover Boss Thanksgiving marathon on TLC from 2pm-3am, a Family Feud Thanksgiving marathon on GSN from 8am-8pm and a 007 James Bond movie marathon on Syfy from 8am-5am. We also have many many movies marathons on networks like ABC Family, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movie Channel, Lifetime, Universal HD, TV Guide Network and Bravo.

And don't forget classic holiday specials, as tonight at 8pm on ABC the holiday classic A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving airs. It's an annual tradition to watch! Can't get enough of old Chuck! If you haven't seen it already, view our 2013Network TV Holiday Specials and Movies Guide, so you don't miss anything on network TV this holiday season. And also view our ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas schedule, because that is the place to be as always during the holiday season, but that starts Dec. 1, but the countdown has begun with the Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas!

Can you believe the holiday season is nearing? Thanksgiving is tomorrow, which means Christmas is right around the corner! And then it will be 2014 already a week after Christmas. Time flies! Anyway as I mentioned, I have put together our annual network television (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW) holiday specials list that we all like to watch every year like Frosty the Snowman and A Charlie Brown Christmas, new classics like Shrek the Halls and Disney Prep & Landing 2: Naughty Vs. Nice and we even get some all-new specials like Lady Gaga & The Muppets' Holiday Spectacular. Sure the network holiday line-ups are not as detailed as some cable networks like ABC Family, but the main holiday specials are still on network television! These are just actual holiday related specials and movies, not movies or specials airing during the holiday season on broadcast network television:



ABC
Thursday, Nov. 28, 8-9pm: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving/This is America Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers
Thursday, Nov. 28, 9:30-11pm: Lady Gaga & The Muppets' Holiday Spectacular (NEW!)
Friday, Nov. 29, 8-9pm: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated) and Shrek the Halls
Sunday, Dec. 1, 9-11pm: Hallmark Hall of Fame: Christmas in Conway (NEW!) 
Monday, Dec. 2, 8-9pm: A Charlie Brown Christmas/Charlie Brown Christmas Tales plus seven-minute short from Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa
Monday, Dec. 2, 9-11pm: CMA Country Christmas (NEW!)
Monday, Dec. 9, 8-9pm: Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Monday, Dec. 9, 9-10pm: The Great Christmas Light Fight (NEW Series!)
Saturday, Dec. 14, 9-11pm: CMA Country Christmas ENCORE
Sunday, Dec. 15, 4-6pm ET/2-4pm PT: ABC Movie of the Week: The Borrowers
Monday, Dec. 16, 8-9pm: Disney Prep & Landing and Disney Prep & Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice
Thursday, Dec. 19, 8-9pm: A Charlie Brown Christmas/Charlie Brown Christmas Tales plus seven-minute short from Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa ENCORE
Saturday, Dec. 21, 8-9pm: I Want A Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
Sunday, Dec. 22, 4-6pm ET/2-4pm PT: CMA Country Christmas ENCORE
Sunday, Dec. 22, 7-11pm: ABC Sunday Movie of the Week: The Sound of Music
Monday, Dec. 23, 8-9pm: Shrek the Halls ENCORE/A Chipmunk Christmas
Tuesday, Dec. 24, 8pm: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated) ENCORE
Tuesday, Dec. 24, 8:30-11pm: ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week: Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Monday, Dec. 30, 8-9pm: Happy New Year, Charlie Brown/She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
Monday, Dec. 30, 9-10pm: Rudolph's Shiny New Year
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 8-10pm New Year's Rockin' Eve Presents The 30 Greatest Women In Music (NEW!)
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 10-11pm Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2014 (NEW!)
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 11:35pm-2:12am Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2014, Parts 1 and 2 (NEW!)

CBS:
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 8-9pm: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Friday, Nov. 29, 8-9pm: Hoops & Yo-Yo Ruin Christmas and Elf on a Shelf: An Elf's Story
Saturday, Nov. 30, 8-9pm: The Flight Before Christmas
Saturday, Nov. 30, 9-10pm: The Story of Santa Claus
Friday, Dec. 6, 8-9pm: Frosty the Snowman and Yes, Virginia There Is A Santa Claus
Saturday, Dec. 14, 9:30pm: Frosty Returns
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 8-9pm: A Home for the Holidays with Celine Dion (NEW!)
Friday, Dec. 20, 8-9pm: I Love Lucy Christmas Special

NBC:
Wednesday, Nov. 27, 9-11pm: SNL Thanksgiving (NEW!)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 8-10pm: The National Dog Show Presented by Purina (NEW!)
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 8-9pm: Christmas in Rockefeller Center (NEW!)
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 9-11pm: SNL Christmas (NEW!)
Saturday, Dec. 7, 8-9pm: Christmas in Rockefeller Center ENCORE
Wednesday, Dec. 11, 10-11pm: Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale (NEW!)
Saturday, Dec. 14, 8-11pm: NBC Movie of the Week: It's a Wonderful Life
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 10-11pm: Michael Buble: Home for the Holidays (NEW!)
Tuesday, Dec. 24, 8-11pm: NBC Movie of the Week: It's a Wonderful Life ENCORE
Wednesday, Dec. 25, 8-9pm: Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale ENCORE
Wednesday, Dec. 25, 9-10pm: Michael Buble: Home for the Holidays ENCORE
Saturday, Dec. 28, 9-10pm WWE Tribute to the Troops (NEW!)
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 10-11pm: NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly - Primetime (NEW!)
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 11:30pm-2am: NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly (NEW!)

Fox:
Monday, Dec. 16 9-10pm: Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas and Dreamworks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury
Friday, Dec. 20 8-9pm: Happiness is Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown
Wednesday, Dec. 25, 8-9pm: Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas and Dreamworks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury ENCORES
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 11pm: Fox New Year's Eve Live (NEW!)

The CW:
Friday, Nov. 29 8-9pm: Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Monday, Dec. 2 8-10pm: CW Movie: It's a Very Muppet Christmas
Monday, Dec. 9 8-9pm: Kung Fu Panda Holiday and Merry Madagascar (NEW! to The CW)
Monday, Dec. 16 8-9pm: Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer ENCORE
Wednesday, Dec. 18 8-9pm: iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2013 (NEW)
Monday, Dec. 23 8-9pm: iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2013 ENCORE
Tuesday, Dec. 24 8-10pm: CW Movie: The 12 Dogs of Christmas (NEW! to The CW)
Wednesday, Dec. 25 8-9pm: Kung Fu Panda Holiday and Merry Madagascar ENCORES

It's back for the second straight year! One of the most classic New York comedies in television history will have you laughing on Friday, November 29, when WLNY-TV (Channels 10/55) presents the Taxi marathon from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm for the second straight Friday after Thanksgiving! The marathon will include 24 unforgettable episodes introduced by Carolina Bermudez, John Elliott and Jodi Applegate, the co-hosts of WLNY's Live From the Couch, the station's morning show which airs weekdays from 7:00 am to 9:00 am. Bermudez, Elliott and Applegate will present Taxi trivia and discuss classic scenes from the series. The marathon will culminate in primetime with the 1982 "Jim's Inheritance" episode, when Jim receives an inheritance after his father dies and is declared incompetent by his siblings in an effort to gain control of the money, airing at 8 pm and the fun filled 1982 "Elegant Iggy" episode, when Elaine attends an upscale dinner party with Jim as her date, and is embarrassed by his behavior until he impresses guests by playing the piano, airing at 8:30 pm.

WLNY's Taxi marathon will also feature the 1979 "Reverend Jim-A Space Odyssey" episode, where the cabbies try to persuade Louie, the head dispatcher for the Sunshine Cab Company to hire Jim but first they have to help him pass his exam (5:00 pm) and the 1981 "Latka’s Cookies" episode when Latka's grandmother passes away, he inherits her cookie recipe and plans on opening a business until he discovers the secret ingredient (7:00 pm), and the entertaining 1981 "Latka The Playboy" episode, when Laka alters his appearance to become a ladies' man but the other cabbies are not happy with his transformation (7:30 pm).

ABC Family continues its rollout of all new episodes of original series with the return of the hit comedies Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy on January 15 from 8:00PM-9:00 PM ET/PT. Both comedy series will return in January 2014 with all-new episodes, along with the previously announced all-new episodes of the second half of Pretty Little Liars and Ravenswood on Tuesday, January 7 and Switched at Birth and The Fosters on Monday, January 13. With the comedies returning, this means ABC Family will have three nights of original programming per week this winter. To mark the returns of Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy, ABC Family will air marathons prior to the premiere on Jan. 15 Baby Daddy will have a marathon on Tuesday, Jan. 14 from 1pm-7pm, while Melissa & Joey will have a marathon the day of premiere from 12-8pm. The other series returning in January will also have marathons with Ravenswood on Jan. 1 from 1-6pm, Pretty Little Liars on Jan. 7 from 12-8pm, Switched at Birth on Jan. 13 from 12-8pm and The Fosters on Jan. 20 from 12-8pm. Also, Twisted will return with all-new episodes on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, after Ravenswood finishes its season.

Before the comedies return on Jan. 15, ABC Family rings in the holidays with back-to-back Christmas episodes of the hit comedies Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy, premiering Wednesday, December 11 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT. Cast members from both shows will also be live tweeting that night during the East Coast feeds, answering fan questions and sharing behind the scenes tidbits about the episodes. Jaime Pressly guest stars on Melissa & Joey, while Leslie Jordan guests on Baby Daddy's Christmas episode. Back to the winter premieres on Jan. 15, on Melissa & Joey: In picking up where the summer cliff-hanger left off, Joe rushes home to tell Mel that he has feelings for her after their romantic night together in New Jersey. When he arrives, he's shocked to find Austin (guest star Trevor Donovan) has shown up and wants to give his relationship with Mel another try. Deciding he can't stay and watch them fall in love all over again, Joe quits. Meanwhile, Lennox plots to get Joe and Mel together and Ryder gets sick from his own cooking. On Baby Daddy on Jan. 15: In "The Naked Truth," Ben and Riley try to transition from friendship to being a couple, which results in a hugely embarrassing moment for Riley. Ben is still angry with Bonnie for bringing Emma's mom Angela (guest star Mimi Gianopulos) back into their lives. Angela tries to show Bonnie she's a capable mother while hoping for a fresh start with Ben. Meanwhile, Tucker tries to help Danny get over Riley and Amy with his five-step "T.U.C.K.




On the next...Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox, 8:30pm):
By: Vincent

Fox's new Tuesday police comedy starring an ensemble cast airs Tuesdays at 8:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (Nov. 26). In the episode airing tonight, "Thanksgiving," Amy (Melissa Fumero) is intent on hosting the perfect holiday dinner for the precinct. But her plans spiral out of control when Holt (Andre Braugher) and Jake (Andy Samberg) must leave to go catch a perp. Although the celebration appears to be a lost cause, Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) steps in to save the day – in what can only be described as a true Thanksgiving miracle.

Almost every sitcom in the history of the medium is, at its core, about family. Whether it's about a literal family or a makeshift one, most sitcoms (particularly ensemble sitcoms) are about a group of people coming together and forming some sort of makeshift group with each other, one that functions as a source of love and frustration and all-around tomfoolery just like any family does. So of course, around the holidays, just about every sitcom puts together a plot that demonstrates how much its central cast of characters care about one another, because they pretty much have to. On some shows, this feels like an obligation. There's little to no evidence that these people care about each other during the rest of the year, and they only make it seem like they do at the holidays because it's what we've come to expect from stories about the holidays. But some shows take this idea and create something incredibly meaningful out of it. It's hard to pull this off – "the holidays made us realize how much we love each other!" is such a tired plot by this point that it's hard to not make it seem cloying, but if it's done right, it can pack a powerful punch.



So it's very encouraging to see Brooklyn Nine-Nine succeed at pulling together a strong, fresh and funny holiday episode with "Thanksgiving." There are a few moments in the episode where it looks like the show is going to fall straight into saccharine convention, but it manages to mostly resist this by sticking to the root of its characters and by utilizing the gift at subtle character development it's demonstrated at several points over the course of the season so far. "Thanksgiving" doesn't come on too hard with the idea that its characters are using the holiday to relate to each other, instead choosing to convey it through smaller character moments that also don’t mute the shows' crazy-strong sense of humor. It's a holiday episode that's very clearly Brooklyn Nine-Nine from start to finish, delivering the character-based gags and hilarious asides while quietly mixing in a dash of sweetness to make the whole thing just a bit more poignant. It's a promising step forward for a comedy that continues to impress, week after week. A-

Fox is making additional changes to its mid-season 2014 schedule. Last season's No. 1 new series, The Following, returns for its thrilling 14-week second season with a special two-night season premiere event, beginning Sunday, Jan. 19 at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT, following the NFC Championship Game, live from 6:00-10:00 PM ET (previously new drama Rake was announced for this slot). The two-night The Following event continues with its time period premiere on Monday, Jan. 20 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following the season finale of Sleepy Hollow, airing at a special time of 8:00 PM ET/PT (Almost Human is preempted on Jan. 20, but will return Jan. 27). Bold new legal drama Rake will now debut on its regular night and time of Thursday, Jan. 23 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following an all-new American Idol at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Making his broadcast television series debut, Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine, The Kennedys) plays a brilliant and frustratingly charming criminal defense attorney, whose chaotic and self-destructive personal life often gets in the way of his professional one.

Changes to the Fox Tuesday night comedy block begin after The Mindy Project airs its Winter Finale on Jan. 28 at 9:30PM ET/PT. Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 4, Brooklyn Nine-Nine moves to its new time period premiere at 9:30 PM ET/PT, following all-new installments of New Girl. The new duo will also air after the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 2. Dads continues to kick off Tuesdays at 8:00 PM ET/PT until Tuesday, Feb. 11, while a special two-hour Tuesday Idol will air on Feb. 18. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, Glee makes Tuesdays sing when it moves to a new night and time and returns with all-new episodes for the remainder of the season. All-new installments of New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine follow, until The Mindy Project returns Tuesday, April 1 with a special one-hour event featuring all-new back-to-back episodes. The series returns to its regular time period beginning Tuesday, April 8 at 9:30PM ET/PT following New Girl. As for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, its season finale will be on March 25. As previously announced, new comedy Enlisted will debut Friday, Jan. 10 at 9:30 PM ET/PT following Raising Hope. Additional premiere dates and schedule information to be announced, such as new comedies Surviving Jack and Us & Them.

Nickelodeon has ordered a second season of its hit family comedy for Nick at Nite and NickMom, Instant Mom. In addition, the series, starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict (Sister Sister, Tia & Tamera), has also been greenlit for six additional episodes to add to its first season, bringing the season total to 26 episodes. The second season order will be for 20 episodes. The multi-camera, scripted half-hour series features Mowry-Hardrict as Stephanie, a party girl who trades in Cosmos for carpools when she marries Charlie (Michael Boatman, Spin City), who already has three kids. Airing regularly on Nick at Nite Sundays at 8:30 pm (ET/PT), the series also airs on the adult-targeted NickMom comedy block on the Nick Jr. channel. Instant Mom continues to be a hit on Nick at Nite posting year over year gains with Adults 18-49 (0.31 rtg/336K viewers, +15%) and Women 18-49 (0.43 rtg/237K viewers, +23%) and drawing 1.2 million total viewers per episode, since its Sept. 29 premiere. Additionally, the series launch on NickMom that same night was the block's highest-rated premiere ever with W18-49 and total viewers.

The series follows Stephanie as she struggles to maintain some sense of her fun-loving, slightly irresponsible life while managing being a full-time stepmom. Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha) stars as Stephanie's mother Maggie, and rounding out the cast are Charlie's three kids played by Sydney Park (CSI: NY), Tylen Jacob Williams and Damarr Calhoun. Instant Mom is executive-produced by Howard Michael Gould and Aaron Kaplan.

Meanwhile, Lifetime is set to scare up a second season of its new freshman drama Witches of East End (#WitchesofEastEnd), starring Emmy(R) Award-winner Julia Ormond, Mädchen Amick, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Rachel Boston as a family of witches living in the secluded seaside town of East Haven, with a 13 episode order for a 2014 return. Based on Melissa de la Cruz's New York Times best-selling novel, Witches of East End centers on the mysterious Beauchamp family: free-spirited artist Joanna (Ormond) and her two grown daughters, wild-child bartender Freya (Dewan Tatum) and shy librarian Ingrid (Boston), both of whom are unaware that they are gifted (and cursed) with a magical birthright. Freya is recently engaged to the man of her dreams, wealthy playboy Dash Gardiner (Eric Winter), but when she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Dash's troubled, enigmatic brother Killian (Daniel DiTomasso), bizarre occurrences begin to manifest. Meanwhile, Joanna's long-estranged sister Wendy (Amick) shows up with a warning that could change the Beauchamps' fate forever, forcing Joanna to reveal to her daughters they are, indeed, immortal witches who possess great untapped powers. Witches of East End also stars Jason George and Oscar(R) and Golden Globe(R) Award nominee Virginia Madsen as recurring players.

One of Lifetime's youngest skewing scripted series ever, with a median age of 46, Witches of East End is averaging 3.0 million Total Viewers, 1.7 million Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 viewers, and 1.3 million Women 18-49 and Women 25-54 viewers on a Live+7 basis through five weeks. The series' first season will conclude on Sunday, December 15 at 10:00pm ET/PT with its tenth episode.