Saturday, March 22, 2014
SitcomsOnline Digest: Potential Sitcom Projects at TV Land and TBS; Carol Burnett DVD Update
Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest!
Today, we've got a few sitcom development stories, news about Carol Burnett DVDs in April that is sure to please fans, and more. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- TV Land has given a pilot order to Teachers, a project from Allison Brie (of Community). It is based upon a web series of the same name that follows six dysfunctional elementary school teachers. (Entertainment Weekly)
- John Krasinski is looking to go from paper salesman at Dunder-Mifflin to executive producer with a sitcom that he has in the development phase with TBS. The project, currently titled Jackass of All Trades, "centers on a devoted stay-at-home dad who, after landing his family in dire financial trouble, resorts to earning a living doing odd jobs off of Craigslist." (Deadline)
- One of cable TV's biggest series, The Walking Dead, is about to head to broadcast TV primetime... at least in reruns on MyNetworkTV. (Deadline)
- A sitcom in development at ABC could potentially put both the Fonz and Angela Bower on one stage... and if it happens, they'll both be Winklers, as the series would tentatively be called The Winklers. (Deadline)
- Two and a Half Men was renewed for next season, but it looks even less likely that we'll see much of Angus T. Jones, as the original "half man" on the series, as he refers to his experience of being on the series as being a "paid hypocrite." (KHOU)
- The Sweathogs are about to return to TV next month, as MeTV adds Welcome Back, Kotter to their lineup. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
- A while back, Time-Life/StarVista announced a new release of The Carol Burnett Show, which appeared to be just a rehashing of the material previously released on DVD. There has been a lot of confusion about this release, but the studio has finally clarified that that six disc retail release (the one that will be sold in traditional stores and amazon.com) of The Carol Burnett Show - Carol's Crack-Ups will be a release that consists of 17 uncut episodes that were not included in the Ultimate Collection release, so it will allow fans to get more of Carol on DVD. The release date for this set is coming up very soon, on April 15.
RECENT REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE.COM
- Eight is Enough - The Complete Fifth Season: The Warner Archive release wraps up the classic comedy-drama series that follows a very large family.
- L.A. Law - The Complete First Season: Shout! Factory's release of the United States debut of the classic legal drama on DVD, containing all of the first season episodes and plenty of nice special features.
- Nurse Jackie - Season Five (Blu-ray): The hit Showtime series returns to Blu-ray (and DVD) once again, along with the usual slate of special features.
MARCH 25 HOME MEDIA RELEASES
- Here's Lucy - The Complete Series (DVD, $159.98): Classic TV's favorite redhead gets another big box-set release of one of her series, and this time it is her last successful sitcom to air on CBS. It is a nice set that is loaded with special features.
Who to Follow: Betty White (Twitter)
Claim to Fame: Almost literally, everything since TV was invented. But specifically, the actress got her start in radio before she first tried TV in 1939 (that isn't a typo) on an experimental TV station in Los Angeles. By 1949, she was cohosting (and later hosting by herself) a Los Angeles variety show that aired five and a half hours a day, six days a week. A string of other things followed, but she mostly ended up doing game shows for a while, at least until the '70s when she was cast as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Her greatest success, though, came in 1985, as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls. Now, in 2014, she can still be seen on TV in TV Land's Hot in Cleveland, and is perhaps the only actor/actress in the world who can claim that she has appeared on TV at least once in each decade for nine decades... and we're looking forward to 2020, when it'll make ten decades.
Pick of the Tweets: "On way to Vegas to be inducted into NAB Hall of Fame. Have to lay low- what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!" (April 16, 2012)
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Saturday, May 15
Side Hustle - "Bot Club" (Nickelodeon, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Lex, Presley and Munchy discover that Fisher is a big-time player in the underground robot fight club scene in Altoonisburg; having not lost a robot fight yet, the kids decide to bet their KidDING money on a Fisher win.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 10)
Friday, May 14
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Big Mouth) - Watch Fred on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) and Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Billy and Tiffany are guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Richard Kind (Mad About You/Spin City) - Richard appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Jerry guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Denise Richards (Blue Mountain State) - Denise discusses the movie The Treasure of Pirates Cove and the show The Bold and The Beautiful on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Office) - Ellie is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh of Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Denis Leary (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/The Job) - Denis and Rachael share the work they did together on International Firefighters' Day on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
- Jean Smart (Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/The In-Laws/Designing Women) - Jean talks about HBO Max's Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-May)
01/22 - Corporate - Season 2
01/22 - Corporate - Season 3
02/02 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - The Complete Series (2021 Retail Release)
02/16 - Fam - The Complete Series
02/23 - Betty White's Pet Set - The Complete Series
03/02 - Blue Mountain State - The Complete Series
03/02 - Happy Together - The Complete Series
03/02 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-4 (DVD) (Blu-ray)
04/20 - 'Til Death - The Complete Series
05/11 - Dead to Me - Season Two
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