Girl Meets World Premiere Does Big in Ratings; Remembering Meshach Taylor of Designing Women, Dave's World

Monday, June 30, 2014

Girl Meets World Premiere Does Big in Ratings; Remembering Meshach Taylor of Designing Women, Dave's World

It's back and it's off to a great start! The highly-anticipated premiere of the comedy series Girl Meets World (which reunites Cory and Topanga of Boy Meets World) delivered 5.2 million Total Viewers and ranked as the #1 series launch of 2014 among major target youth demographics: Kids 2-11 (2.3 million/5.7 rating), Kids 6-11 (1.8 million/7.7 rating) and Tweens 9-14 (1.7 million/6.9 rating). The premiere aired Friday night at a special time of 9:45pm, following the premiere of the Disney Channel Original Movie Zapped, starring Disney Channel and Disney XD favorites Zendaya and Spencer Boldman, which delivered 5.7 million Total Viewers. Girl Meets World will air regularly every Friday night at 8:30pm beginning next Friday (July 11) only on Disney Channel. Look for guest appearances from other former Boy Meets World stars throughout this first season (of 21 episodes).

Girl Meets World, from executive producer Michael Jacobs, tells the wonderfully funny, heartfelt stories that the nostalgic favorite ABC sitcom Boy Meets World is renowned for - only this time from a tween girl's perspective. It introduces Rowan Blanchard as Riley Matthews, the tween daughter of Cory and Topanga Matthews, while Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel reprise the roles of one of television's favorite couples. Sabrina Carpenter (Sofia the First and a Hollywood Records recording artist) plays Riley's best friend, Maya Hart. August Maturo plays younger brother Auggie Matthews, Peyton Meyer plays Riley's crush Lucas Friar and Corey Fogelmanis is Farkle, an intelligent and quirky classmate (and son of Minkus).

Meschach Taylor

Actor Meshach Taylor, best known for his roles as Anthony Bouvier in Designing Women and as Dr. Sheldon Baylor in Dave's World, has died. He died from cancer on June 28 at his home in Altadena, California. Mr. Taylor was 67.

Taylor's early television career included guest appearances in Barnaby Jones, The Incredible Hulk, The White Shadow, M*A*S*H, Barney Miller and Cagney & Lacey. He landed his first starring role as Tony in the 1983-84 NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill. The short-lived series starred Dabney Coleman, Joanna Cassidy, John Fielder, Max Wright, Geena Davis and Charles Robinson. The critically-acclaimed series received 11 Emmy Award nominations, including two for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Designing Women

Taylor starred as Anthony Bouvier in the 1986-93 CBS sitcom Designing Women. The popular series ran for 7 seasons. It starred Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Jean Smart and Annie Potts. Anthony was an ex-con who worked as the deliveryman-handyman at the interior decorating business, Sugarbakers. He later became a partner of the design firm. Taylor received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1989. He reprised his role of Anthony Bouvier in an episode of the spin-off series Women of the House in 1995. In 2003, he appeared in The Designing Women Reunion on Lifetime.

Dave's World

He next starred as Dr. Sheldon Baylor in the 1993-97 CBS sitcom Dave's World. The series was based on the writing of Pulitzer Prize-winning Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry. It focused on the daily trials and tribulations of Barry and his family. The series starred Harry Anderson, DeLane Matthews, Shadoe Stevens, J.C. Wendel, Zane Carney and Andrew Ducote. Sheldon (Shel) was their neighbor and Dave's best friend from high school. He was a recently divorced plastic surgeon.

Taylor had a recurring role in the 2004-07 Nickelodeon sitcom Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. He played Alastair Wright, the social studies teacher and later school principal. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included The Golden Girls, ALF, What's Happening Now!!, Punky Brewster, Caroline in the City, The Drew Carey Show, All of Us, Hannah Montana and Jessie. His best known film role was as Hollywood Montrose, a flamboyant window dresser in Mannequin. Some of his other film credits included Damien: Omen II, The Howling, Explorers, The Allnighter and Mannequin Two: On the Move.

Survivors include his wife of 30 years, Bianca Ferguson; his daughters Yasmine, Tamar and Esme; his son, Tariq; and four grandchildren. Mr. Taylor was a very talented actor. He added so much to Designing Women. We thank him for the laughter he brought us over the years. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Designing Women message board. View photos in our galleries.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 9

Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.

Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.

Abbott Elementary - "Volunteers" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava announces the school district is sending a group of volunteers to help out at Abbott; however, when they arrive, things don’t go as planned.

Abbott Elementary - "100th Day of School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
During Abbott’s 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter. Melissa, Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Months after the Gang visited, Abbott's Principal Ava walks viewers through some of the unseen footage of the Gang's volunteerism and reveals their true intentions.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank Is in a Coma" (FXX and FX, 9:33PM ET/PT)
The five stages of grief set in for Dee as Frank lies on his deathbed; the Guys plot their new path forward by pitching their business ventures to Philadelphia's elite.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Wednesday, July 9

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Cole Escola (Human Resources/Search Party/Mozart in the Jungle/Difficult People) - Cole appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Richie, Betsy and Punam are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/Final Space/The Game) - Tika sits down with the Tam Fam to talk about her new children's book I Got It From My Mama a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela chats about her film Superman on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Mindy Project) and Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Anna and Justin discuss their film Nuked on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) - Simon talks about Peacock's Poker Face on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.