Monday, February 10, 2014

NBC Pulls The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World; TV Land's Darren Star Sitcom Gets Pilot Order Starring Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff

The Michael J. Fox Show Sean Saves the World

Late last week NBC announced it has pulled (and canceled) both of its remaining freshman Thursday comedies on the schedule. Sean Saves the World and The Michael J. Fox Show will not be returning after the Winter Olympics as planned, instead NBC will now air new episodes of Hollywood Game Night on Thursday nights in the 9pm hour (following Community and Parks & Recreation) starting February 27. Sean Saves the World already had its episode cut from 18 to 15, and now the remaining two episodes are unscheduled. 13 of the 15 episodes have aired. As for The Michael J. Fox Show, 22 episodes were ordered and only 15 have aired, with seven episodes still left to air. No word on if and when NBC will burn-off either of the show's remaining episodes. If it happens, it might be on a Saturday night, in the summer or just placed on nbc.com. Both really struggled in the ratings, with The Michael J. Fox Show on Jan. 16 doing less then 2 million total viewers (1.992 million) and just a 0.59 18-49 rating, both historic lows for NBC Thursday originals. We'll let you know if they schedule these remaining episodes. Stay with us.


TV Land

Production has begun on TV Land's newest sitcom pilot, Younger, starring Tony® Award winner Sutton Foster (Bunheads) Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire), Debi Mazar (Entourage) and Miriam Shor (GCB). The single-camera project, which is written, executive produced and directed by Darren Star (Sex and the City), is based on the novel Younger by Pamela Redmond Satran. Patricia Field, who worked with Star on Sex and the City, will be a costume consultant on the production. The Younger pilot follows 40-year-old Liza (Foster), a suddenly single mother who tries to get back into the working world, only to find out it’s nearly impossible to start at the bottom at her age. When a chance encounter with a 20-something guy at a bar convinces her she looks younger than she is, Liza tries to pass herself off as 26 – with the help of a makeover, courtesy of her best friend Maggie (Mazar). Armed with new confidence, she lands a job as an assistant to the temperamental Diana (Shor) and teams up with her new co-worker and fellow 20-something Kelsey (Duff) to make it in the career of her dreams.

TV Land also recently announced the series pick-up of another single-camera sitcom, Jennifer Falls, starring Jaime Pressly. The network's current original sitcoms includes hit series Hot in Cleveland, The Exes, The Soul Man and Kirstie, all multi-camera sitcoms starring pop culture icons and fan favorites including Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Kristen Johnston, Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche, Kelly Stables, Cedric "The Entertainer," Niecy Nash, Wesley Jonathan, Kirstie Alley, Michael Richards, Rhea Perlman and Eric Petersen. We will let you know if and when Younger will get a series pick-up, but for now, this is just a pilot order. Stay tuned.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, March 23

Animal Control - "Skunks and Llamas" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Emily and Victoria assist Dr. Summers with an alpaca birth; Frank and Patel visit Frank's dad.

Call Me Kat - "Call Me Uncle Dad" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Carter hosts a Halloween Octoberfest party at The Middle C, but struggles to get customers in; Kat continues her journey to find a donor; Phil has a great night with a potential love interest.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 20)

Thursday, March 23

  • Jeff Goldblum (Search Party) - Catch Jeff on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Regina Hall (Black Monday/Insecure/Grandfathered/Second Generation Wayans) - Regina is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men/Togetherness) - Melanie appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10:15pm on Bravo. She will also be on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Al Franken (LateLine) - Al guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Dove Cameron (Schmigadoon!/Liv and Maddie) - Dove unpacks what to expect on the new season of Schmigadoon! on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
  • Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) and Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie/Malibu Country) - Jane and Lily are chatting with Drew all about meeting her as a kid, their new film, Moving On, their secrets to a lasting friendship and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike is joining Drew and talking about how he met his wife in Las Vegas, his new show and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Danielle Jalade (Saturdays) - Danielle chats about her new Disney Channel series Saturdays, a coming-of-age roller-skating comedy, on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Halle Bailey (grown-ish) - Halle discusses her upcoming projects on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Julie talks about Disney+'s Prom Pact on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, 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

03/22 - 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
02/28 - Apple TV+ Releases Trailer for Ted Lasso S3; More on Chris Rock's Netflix Special
02/27 - Modern Family Star Heads to Season 2 of The Santa Clauses; 29th Annual SAG Awards Winners
02/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 27, 2023)
02/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Goldbergs to End After 10 Seasons; Decades to Rebrand as Catchy Comedy
02/24 - BUZZR's African American Greats Marathon; Hulu and Onyx Collective Comedy Completes Cast
02/23 - Kerry Washington Comedy on Hulu March 10; Mo'Nique's Comedy Special Premieres April 4 on Netflix
02/22 - CBS Renews 9 More Series for 2023-24; Not Dead Yet Scores Big in Delayed 7-Day MP Viewing