SitcomsOnline Digest: Potential Sitcom Projects at TV Land and TBS; Carol Burnett DVD Update

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.

FOLLOW ME

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

Wednesday, June 7

Night Court - "Just Tuesday" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abby makes a mistake in the courtroom, she decides to adopt an all-business approach to get things back on track, but her new style catches everyone off guard.

Night Court - "Dan v. Dating" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
With Abby's encouragement, Dan attempts to venture back into the dating world, but reigniting his love life proves more complicated than anticipated; Gurgs and Olivia search for a new office and find something they weren't expecting.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang Inflates" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Dennis and Mac get into inflatable furniture to deal with the economy's inflation; Dee tries to find a place to crash after being evicted by her greedy landlord; Charlie wants to pitch Frank his investment idea.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - " Frank Shoots Every Member of the Gang" (FXX, 10:33PM ET/PT)
After Frank shoots Dennis and Dee, they resolve to take Frank's gun away; Mac and Charlie go on a road trip with their moms to get their inheritances.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)

Wednesday, June 7

Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Watch Chris on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/George/It's a Living) - Sheryl Lee is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Laura Benanti (Younger/The Detour/Go On/Starved) - Laura appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ben Schwwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - Ben appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Betty Gilpin (GLOW/Nurse Jackie) - Betty is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken will be on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) - Sarah appears on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/Luis) - Charlie appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Chris is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Brittany Snow (Ben and Kate) - Brittany and entrepreneur Jaspre Guest talk about their online platform September Letters on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) - Maitreyi appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:45am.