Wednesday, March 12, 2014

CBS Summer 2014 Schedule; Remembering Sheila MacRae of The Honeymooners and Producer Ted Bergmann of Three's Company

Under the Dome

CBS has announced premiere dates for its summer 2014 slate of original programming, which includes the event series Under the Dome and Extant, the new steamy legal drama Reckless, the police drama Unforgettable and the return of the summer reality hit Big Brother. Together, CBS will present approximately 90 hours of first-run series programming this summer. It all starts with Big Brother, hosted by Julie Chen, which will debut early for the second straight summer, beginning Wednesday, June 25 at 8:00PM ET/PT with the first of its three weekly broadcasts. The Thursday edition, featuring the live eviction show, premieres June 26 at 9:00 PM with the first eviction the following week (July 3). The Sunday broadcast premieres June 29 at 8:00 PM ET/PT.

Beginning June 29, Sundays will feature a three-hour block of all original entertainment programming with the aforementioned Big Brother at 8:00 PM ET/PT, leading into new drama Reckless at 9:00PM ET/PT and followed by the third season of Unforgettable at 10:00PM ET/PT. As previously announced, Under the Dome, last summer's #1 program, returns for its sophomore season on Monday, June 30 at 10:00PM ET/PT. The premiere episode will be written by Stephen King, on whose bestselling novel the series is based. The summer event series Extant, starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry, will now premiere Wednesday, July 9 at 9:00PM ET/PT instead of its previously announced July 2 debut.


Sheila MacRae

Actress Sheila MacRae, who starred as Alice Kramden in The Jackie Gleason Show, has died. She died on March 6 at the Lillian Booth Actor's Home in Englewood, New Jersey. She suffered from dementia but was otherwise in good health and died of natural causes. Ms. MacRae was 92.

MacRae's early television credits included Search for Tomorrow, I Love Lucy (as herself), Lux Video Theatre, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Trials of O'Brien. She played Alice Kramden in around 50 episodes of The Jackie Gleason Show (aka The Color Honeymooners) from 1966-1970. She later co-hosted The Sheila MacRae show in 1971. Her other guest appearances included The Love Boat, General Hospital and Murder, She Wrote. In 1990, she played Marilyn Buckman in the NBC dramedy Parenthood.

Survivors include her children Heather and William "Gar" MacRae, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her daughter Meredith (actress in My Three Sons and Petticoat Junction) died in 2000 and son Robert in 2010. She was a beautiful, talented and funny woman. She will be deeply missed.



Ted Bergmann

Television producer Ted Bergmann, who worked as an executive producer for Three's Company and its spinoffs, has died. He died on March 2 following surgery at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Mr. Bergmann was 93.

Bergmann worked at the Dumont Television Network beginning in 1947. He sold commercial time to clients for such early Dumont TV shows such as The Original Amateur Hour, Fashions on Parade, Captain Video and His Video Rangers, The Arthur Murray Party, Cavalcade of Stars and Life Is Worth Living. He later worked as a producer of the Grammy Awards for seven years.

He was an executive in charge of production for Three's Company for all eight seasons on ABC from 1976-1984. He worked in the same capacity on its spinoff series The Ropers and Three's a Crowd. In 1998, he was interviewed for the E! True Hollywood Story on Three's Company.

The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with him on March 17, 2004. Survivors include his wife Beverly, six children, two stepsons, 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. We thank him for the entertainment he brought us over the years. He will be greatly missed.

Note: There are two people with credits that are mistakenly combined on IMDB and Wikipedia. Ted Bergmann is the executive producer born in 1920. Ted Bergman is a writer who worked on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Sanford and Son, What's Happening!!, Sanford, Gimme a Break!, What's Happening Now!!, Small Wonder, Out of This World, The Munsters Today and It's Garry Shandling's Show. We posted a behind-the-scenes article about Sanford and Son written by him last June. Writer Ted Bergman was born in 1940 and is still living. His website is Dogs and Cats Go Hollywood.


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