Saturday, February 08, 2014
SitcomsOnline Digest: New Amazon.com Pilots; New Donna Reed Show DVD Rumors; April Mill Creek DVD Releases
Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This weekend, we've got news about new pilots on amazon.com, expansion of the Adult Swim lineup on Cartoon Network, and some more (credible) rumors about The Donna Reed Show on DVD. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- Pilot season has returned to amazon.com! Once again, the website has introduced ten new pilots for potential Prime series that fans can watch, and ultimately choose which ones will be produced as new series to be streamed exclusively through the website. Last year, this introduced both Alpha House and Betas. Among the current batch, there are three comedy pilots, so check them out and let them know what you think. (New York Times)
- Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup is getting even bigger, and will soon include all of primetime hours as the start time for the lineup moves to 8 PM beginning March 31. The lineup launched in September 2001 with a start time of 11 PM and has slowly been adding time over the years. King of the Hill will kick off the lineup in the 8 PM hour, a role that it currently serves in the 9 PM hour. (Multichannel News)
- Last week was a great week for showrunner Chuck Lorre. Lorre, who has four primetime sitcoms that he can call his own on CBS, managed to have all four of his sitcoms land in the Nielsen Top 20 last week among adults last week, a feat that hasn't been accomplished by any showrunner since the introduction of electronic ratings measurement in 1991. (Deadline)
- Of course, not everybody is a fan of Chuck Lorre. Charlie Sheen, in particular, is not a fan of Lorre, nor is he a fan of Ashton Kutcher, who replaced him on Two and a Half Men. This week on Twitter, Sheen apologized to Kutcher for some of the things he has said about him on Twitter... but then followed up with another tweet that was a lot less pleasant. (Deadline)
- Good Times turns 40 years old today, and you can celebrate the anniversary with the 12 hour marathon airing today on Antenna TV. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
- We've posted plenty of very credible rumors about releases of The Donna Reed Show on DVD over the years (thanks to a poster on Home Theater Forum who has been regularly communicating with Mary Owen, Donna's daughter), and this week, it seems that this source has some new inside scoop regarding re-releases of the first three seasons. MPI is now working on plans to re-release the first three seasons, which were released by another studio and are now out-of-print, and fixing many of the technical problems that plagued those releases. Not all of the news is great, though. MPI has been trying to negotiate releasing the final three seasons of the series as well, and the rights for these seasons are held by Sony. Negotiations are still going on here and there really hasn't been any progress in getting this accomplished, but there seems to be some hope that something can be worked out in the future.
- Mill Creek has a few more re-releases in the horizon. On April 1, they will release The Cosby Show - Seasons 3 and 4, I Dream of Jeannie - Seasons 1 and 2, Married with Children - Seasons 3 and 4, and Newsradio - Seasons 1 and 2. Each will come at a $14.98 MSRP, but as usual, expect to find nice discounts on all of them.
- For those who didn't get the complete series release of Mama's Family (but would still like the series), Mama's Family - The Complete Fourth Season is on the way on June 24 from StarVista Entertainment. The four disc set will come at a $29.95 MSRP.
- Shout! Factory is already preparing to bring fans another season of L.A. Law, announcing it even before the upcoming release of L.A. Law - Season One. On May 20, L.A. Law - Season Two arrives on DVD at a $29.93 MSRP.
FEBRUARY 11 HOME MEDIA RELEASES
- Newhart - The Complete Second Season (DVD, $29.93): Shout! Factory puts together the second season of this classic Bob Newhart sitcom (review).
Who to Follow: Dave Coulier (Twitter),
"I yam what I yam."
Claim to Fame: After last week's big week for the Full House, we realized that there was one more adult star of the series that we had yet to feature here as a "Follow Me," so it is only natural to remember Uncle Joey this week. Coulier got his start as a stand-up comedian (something he often brought to his role on Full House) and doing cartoon voices, but of course, he is best known for playing the role of Joey on Full House.
Pick of the Tweets: "Thank you @jimmyfallon for the Mr. Woodchuck. You're the greatest guy I know - Ranger Joe http://www.whosay.com/l/npK7HKG" (January 30, 2014)
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Tuesday, November 30
The Last O.G. - "Smush" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
After they find a suspicious hat in Amira's room, Tray and Josh decide to follow her and find out whose it is.
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Paynefully Honest" (BET, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin and Miranda are in uncharted waters as they begin navigating co-parenting; Ella and a reluctant Curtis work on their intimacy.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Little Miss Sunshine" (BET, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After Cora struggles to get the residents of Pleasant Days to partake in activities, a new resident comes in and breathes new life into everyone.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 29)
Tuesday, November 30
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Catch Billy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Maya Rudolph (Forever/Up All Night) - Maya will be on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced) - Rita is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nicholas Braun (10 Things I Hate About You) - Nicholas will be on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Kristin Chenoweth (Schmigadoon!/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Kal Penn (Sunnyside/Deadbeat/We Are Men) - Kal is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry will be on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo. He talks about The Hot Zone: Anthrax on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Leah Remini (Kevin Can Wait/The Exes/Family Tools/The King of Queens/Fired Up) - Leah guest co-hosts The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Tisha Campbell (Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Jenifer Lewis (black-ish/The PJs) - Jenifer appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke is a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - NBC's Today catches up with Mario in the 9am hour.
- Elizabeth Berkley (Saved by the Bell) - Elizabeth talks about Peacock's Saved by the Bell on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (August-November)
08/20 - The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet - Deluxe Edition (100 Episodes) (Time Life)
08/20 - The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet - Standard Edition (50 Episodes) (Time Life)
08/24 - The Jim Gaffigan Show - Season 2
09/07 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Fourth Season (Blu-ray)
10/19 - Maude - The Complete Series (2021 Release)
11/02 - The Honeymooners Specials - A Christmas Carol
11/02 - Mom - The Eighth and Final Season
11/02 - Punky Brewster (1984-88) - The Complete Series (2021 Release)
11/02 - Sex and the City - The Complete Collection (Blu-ray)
11/09 - Saved by the Bell (2020) - Season One
11/09 - Younger - The Complete Series
11/16 - Kevin Can F*** Himself - Season 1 (Blu-ray)
11/23 - Dead Pixels - Seasons One and Two
11/30 - I Dream of Jeannie - The Complete Series (Mill Creek) (2021 Release) (Blu-ray)
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