TCA Summer 2014 Press Tour: NBC; Entourage Coming to VH1 Classic

Monday, July 14, 2014

TCA Summer 2014 Press Tour: NBC; Entourage Coming to VH1 Classic

The TCA Summer 2014 press tour continued this weekend and it was time for broadcast networks to take over. First up is NBC. Among the key announcements made were: renewals to a 10th season of America's Got Talent, a ninth season of Last Comic Standing and a fourth season of American Ninja Warrior, which airs in partnership with Esquire Network. These series all air in the summer. A new special is coming to NBC next May. Red Nose Day, the U.K.'s #1 television fundraising event, is finally coming to America in a spectacular star-studded special live on NBC. In collaboration with Comic Relief U.K. - the British charity behind Red Nose Day - NBC will televise a three-hour benefit in May 2015 as a celebration for the U.S. inaugural Red Nose Day event. Guest stars on the NBC broadcast, as well as the charities involved, will be announced at a later date. Then, Oscar-winning actor Christopher Walken, one of the most revered talents of his generation and a veteran of film, television and stage, will portray the iconic Captain Hook in NBC's Thursday, Dec. 4 telecast of Peter Pan Live!

As far as the panels yesterday, after the executive session there was a panel for the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards hosted by Seth Meyers. The telecast airs Monday, Aug. 25 on NBC. The first series panel was for the upcoming new drama State of Affairs starring Katherine Heigl and Alfre Woodard. After lunch, there was a panel for The Mysteries of Laura. On hand were stars Debra Messing, Laz Alonso, Janina Gavankar and Josh Lucas. The first sitcom panel went to the new comedy Marry Me starring Casey Wilson, Ken Marino, John Gemberling, Tymberlee Hill, Sarah Wright and Tim Meadows. Then the floor was to the new drama Constantine with stars Matt Ryan, Charles Halford and Harold Perrineau. Next up was the risque comedy Bad Judge starring Kate Walsh and Tone Bell and produced by Anne Heche. More comedy was next with a panel for A to Z with stars Lenora Crichlow, Ben Feldman, Christina Kirk, Cristin Milioti, and Henry Zebrowski, along with producers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. And finally, the final panel of the day went to just showrunners of NBC's signature dramas: The Blacklist, Grimm, Parenthood, and Chicago Fire/Chicago P.D. The All-Star Party closed the day out. Up today will be NBC Cable networks, NBC Sports and NBC Television Distribution. We'll cover anything noteworthy from it.

Entourage

Entourage is now going to air on another Viacom cable network. It has aired on other Viacom-owned networks like Spike TV, Comedy Central, TV Land and MTV2 but it never has taken off in the ratings. Now VH1 Classic will try airing the series. It will launch on Sunday, July 20 with a primetime marathon from 8pm-12am (with an encore from 3-7pm on July 21). The series will then regularly air Mon-Thurs at 11:30pm beginning Monday, July 21. An encore of the the previous night's episode will air Tues-Fri at 4pm beginning July 22. The series chronicles the acting career of Vincent Chase, a young A-list movie star, and his childhood friends from Queens, New York City, as they navigate the unfamiliar terrain of Los Angeles, California. The series stars Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Jeremy Piven, Debi Mazar, Perrey Reeves, Rex Lee, Rhys Coiro, Gary Cole, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Scott Caan.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, January 28

The Conners - "Mud Turtles, A Good Steak and One Man in a Tub" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Becky thinks that Jackie’s new friend Dawn (guest star Cheryl Hines), a restaurant supplier, is only cozying up to her to sell them things they can’t afford for the Lunch Box. Darlene is thrilled when Harris gets into Central Illinois State, but Harris might have found a better offer on her own. When Dan finds himself in an embarrassing situation nursing an injury, Louise (Katey Sagal) tries to help him out.

Bless This Mess - "The Letter of the Law" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Rio is bummed she can’t afford to go to Iceland for her best friend’s wedding, so the nuptials are moved and brought to the farm. Meanwhile, Rio is forced to take on Deb’s mail route after she quits, and Mike and Jacob help Rudy get over Constance.

mixed-ish - "True Colors" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Paul is shocked to hear from his estranged mother who wants to visit for Rainbow’s 13th birthday and soon learns more about why she abandoned him. Meanwhile, Rainbow sees turning 13 as a huge turning point in her life and wants a big birthday party, but Alicia wants to celebrate all the things Rainbow missed out on over the years while on the commune.

black-ish - "Adventure to Ventura" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Dre worries Diane and Jack don’t know how to fend for themselves and sends them out on an adventure, only to realize it’s his overbearing worries that hold the twins back. Meanwhile, Junior gets into a tricky situation at work when he befriends Josh in hopes of scoring a positive peer review.

Schitt's Creek - "Maid of Honour" (Pop, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Moira shares the newly released "Crows" movie trailer with the Jazzagals; Johnny and Roland find a suspicious bag of money at the new motel.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 27)

Tuesday, January 28

Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) - Catch Ben on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) - William drops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ashton Kutcher (The Ranch/Two and a Half Men/That '70s Show) - Ashton visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
Tony Rock (Living Biblically/All of Us) - Tony is a panelist on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Kumail stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Aidy Bryant (Shrill) - Aidy appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
Miles Brown (black-ish) - Miles is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Fox's The Resident on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland/Hot in Cleveland/Jake in Progress/Just Shoot Me!) - Wendie talks about Disney Channel's The Owl House on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Life) - Nia talks about Poisoned Love on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Bill Pullman (1600 Penn) - Bill talks about The Sinner on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on the BUILD Series at 12:15pm.
Janeane Garofalo (The Larry Sanders Show) and Grant Rosenmeyer (Oliver Beene) - Janeane and Grant are guests on the BUILD Series at 2pm.