Tuesday, June 10, 2014

ABC Family Working on 3 Pilots; Kickstarter Campaign to Bring Back Beat the Geeks

ABC Family

ABC Family has begun production in Los Angeles on three drama series pilots: Recovery Road, Stitchers and Unstrung. All three are just pilot orders and are for consideration. If they like it, they could pick the pilot to series. Based on the popular young adult novel by Blake Nelson, Recovery Road focuses on a teenage girl dealing with addiction. Recovery Road stars Samantha Logan as Maddie, Sebastian De Souza as Wes, Kyla Pratt as Trish, Sharon Leal as Charlotte, Alexis Carra as Cynthia, Justin Prentice as Dallas, Caroline Sunshine as Emily, and also guest stars Doug Savant as Alan. Stitchers is a procedural drama series written by Jeffrey A. Schechter (Overruled!) and follows a young woman recruited into a covert government agency to be 'stitched' into the minds of the recently deceased, using their memories to investigate murders and decipher mysteries that otherwise would have gone to the grave. It stars Emma Ishta as Kirsten, Kyle Harris as Cameron, Felix Gomez as Dr. Pecha, Minni Jo Mazzola as Camille, and also guest stars Diane Farr as Maggie. And finally, Unstrung explores the sexy, cutthroat, and emotional stakes of the professional world tour of tennis as brother and sister Luke and Ellie Holt compete to move up the ranks. Unstrung stars Alex Roe as Luke, Chanel Celaya as Ellie, Sofia Mattsson as Ninotchka, Travis Winfrey as Brett, and also guest stars Josh Stamberg as Phil. Stay with us for continued updates should these go further. And don't forget to tune in tonight for the season premiere of Pretty Little Liars followed by the series premiere of Chasing Life all starting at 8|7c on ABC Family!


Remember the game show Beat the Geeks? It was a comedy game show that aired on Comedy Central from 2001 to 2002. On the show, contestants face off in trivia matches against "geeks" who are well-versed in music, movies, and television, as well as a fourth guest geek with an alternate area of expertise which varies from episode to episode. The object is to outsmart the geek at their own subject; as a handicap, the geeks are given questions of considerably greater difficulty than the contestants. Some of the regular geeks included: Marc Edward Heuck as the Movie Geek, Paul Goebel as the TV Geek and Andy Zax as the Music Geek. Now you can help bring back this show via Kickstarter!

Help us bring back the definitive game show for geeks so we can show today's nerds how it's actually done. Let's face it. The world contains exactly two types of people - the dummies and the smarties. Watch a random movie trailer or click over to any given TV channel and you’ll find that there are an infinite number of projects dedicated solely to celebrating the idiocy of idiots. Whether it's shows featuring vapid commentary on video fail compilations or multi-series franchises about wealthy drunks having pseudo-scripted screaming matches with each other, you don’t have to search far and wide for content about stupid people that appeals to a stupid audience. So how about we change that and make a show for smart people to enjoy? But it's more than just a show for geniuses to passively watch...they can also participate in it, influence it, and help create something special. This project isn't going to exploit fans of nerd culture like some sort of dork-filled freak show. It’s going to elevate geekdom to a proper art form. By donating to this project, you’re joining a movement towards bringing intelligent, interesting, and fun content back to the airwaves. If this project is successfully funded, we can produce a quality pilot that will be released online and then used to pitch as a network-ready game show. From there, the sky’s the limit - fancier celebrity judges, a bigger contestant pool, and all kinds of cool audience interactivity that’s never been done in a show before. Back this project today!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, February 12

Animal Control - "Bagged Birds and Alley Dogs" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Frank spends the day with influencer and park benefactor Roman Park ahead of the grand opening of their annex kennel; friction arises within the newly combined precincts when Emily assigns Templeton, Shred and Patel to work together.

Going Dutch - "The Canuck Stops Here" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Capt. Maggie invites her idol, Gen.Martin, to the base in hopes of pitching herself as a mentee; things get complicated when the Colonel and Gen. Martin develop an immediate attraction toward each other.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 9)

Thursday, February 12

  • Tyler Perry (House of Payne/Love Thy Neighbor) - Catch Tyler on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Constance Zimmer (Entourage/Good Morning, Miami) - Constance talks about the new season of Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer on Live with Kelly and Mark and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - It's a pizza palooza with Valerie, Joe Isidori and Sunny Anderson on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. It's a Drew Crew game night and Drew, Valerie, Sunny Anderson and Mikel Welch are playing Pictionary with Ross hosting.
  • Trinity Jo-Li Bliss (Best Foot Forward) - Trinity is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:45am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

02/12 - ABC's Scrubs Revival Trailer and Details; XO, Kitty Returns April 2 on Netflix
02/11 - The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Gets Post Saturday Night Live Encore; Chris Fleming HBO Special
02/10 - Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars Premiere Shifting by Two Weeks; Virgin River Season 7 Trailer
02/09 - Shoresy Returns with Season 5; HBO Max Acquires Schitt's Creek
02/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 9, 2026)
02/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Roku Adds New Channels for Bernie Mac, Blossom, and Cougar Town; Catchy Comedy Introduces Catchy Loves Lucy
02/06 - Rooster Premieres March 8 on HBO; MGM+ Comedy American Classic Trailer
02/05 - NBC Unveils Trailer and Guest Stars for The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins; Adult Swim's Anime Series Rooster Fighter Premieres March 14
02/04 - Netflix Renews A Man on the Inside for Season 3; Apple TV Premiere Date for Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
02/03 - NBC Renews St. Denis Medical and Happy's Place for Season 3; Pilot Orders for Comedy Projects on NBC
02/02 - Remembering Demond Wilson of Sanford and Son, Catherine O'Hara of Schitt's Creek, Yvonne Lime of Father Knows Best, and TV Director Bruce Bilson
02/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 2, 2026)
01/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Orders Pair of Comedy Pilots; Final Episode Airdate Announced for The Late Show
01/30 - Jury Duty Returns March 20 on Prime Video; Katt Williams 4th Netflix Special
01/29 - Season 4 of Ted Lasso Premieres This Summer; Shrinking Renewed for Season 4 as Season 3 Premieres
01/28 - Nikki Glaser's New Hulu Special Premieres April 24; HBO Announces Late-Night Series
01/27 - Trailer for The Muppet Show Special Event; New Evolution of The Handmaid's Tale Series
01/26 - FETV Acquires '70s S.W.A.T. Series; Paramount+ Releases Date for Can You Keep a Secret? Comedy Series
01/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 26, 2026)
01/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Kenan and Kel Back Together for Upcoming Movie; Amazon Barbershop Series Adds to Cast
01/23 - CBS Renews 10 More Series for 2026-27; Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary Return Big in January
01/22 - Dancing with the Stars Live Tour Starts TODAY; Beef Returns April 16
01/21 - Prime Video's Bait Premieres March 25; Production Underway on Season 2 of Arctic-set Comedy North of North
01/20 - Baywatch Casting Call for Reboot on Fox; Mike Epps Netflix Special Trailer
01/19 - MGM+ Comedy Series American Classic; Taylor Tomlinson Returns to Netflix
01/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 19, 2026)
01/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Rockford Files Reboot at NBC; Daniel Stern Fired From ABC Comedy Pilot
01/16 - Ted Season 2 Trailer Released; Remembering T.K. Carter of Punky Brewster, TV Director Tom Cherones, and Others We Recently Lost
01/15 - The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Gets Special Preview; ABC Midseason Changes for Monday and Tuesday Night Lineups
01/14 - NBC Orders Pilots, Including The Rockford Files; The CW to Premiere Celebrity Series
01/13 - 83rd Golden Globe Winners; Tubi's Upcoming YA Film Slate
01/12 - Peacock's The 'Burbs Trailer; The Jeff Foxworthy Show Launch Back on COZI TV