ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas 2014; Fox Picks Up Gotham for Full Season

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas 2014; Fox Picks Up Gotham for Full Season

ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas," cable's biggest programming event of the year, returns with 25-continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family. From December 1 – 25, viewers can ring in the holidays with new holiday episodes of original series, holiday specials and returning favorites. This year, "25 Days of Christmas" will feature original holiday episodes of comedy series Melissa and Joey, and Baby Daddy. And for the first time, holiday episodes of drama series Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters, Switched at Birth, and Chasing Life will also make their debut during the week of December 8. The holiday cheer continues with the network-television premiere of the delightful holiday movie Arthur Christmas, featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie and Jim Broadbent as Santa, on Saturday, December 6 from 9:00-11:00 PM ET/PT and the ABC Family debut of the new Christmas special Toy Story That Time Forgot on Sunday, December 7 from 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT.

On Sunday, December 21, the network will air a Rankin Bass holiday classics marathon, featuring such beloved programs as The Little Drummer Boy at 1:00PM ET/PT, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town at 3:00PM ET/PT, and The Year Without a Santa Claus at 4:00PM ET/PT. Other returning favorites include National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Monday, December 1 from 6:00–8:00 PM, holiday classic Elf on Monday, December 1 from 8:00–10:00 PM ET/PT, and a The Santa Clause & The Santa Clause 3 double feature begins Tuesday, December 2, at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Other highlights for the month include A Very Brady Christmas, The Polar Express, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Holiday in Handcuffs, Prep & Landing, Home Alone, Christmas Cupid and Santa Baby.

Gotham

Fox has ordered six more episodes of this fall's breakout new drama series, Gotham. The announcement raises the series order to 22 episodes. According to Fox, Gotham is tied as Monday night's No. 1 drama among Adults 18-49 and is this season's No. 1 broadcast drama overall among Men 18-49 - a full rating point ahead of the No. 2 drama in that demographic. The debut episode, which exploded into Premiere Week with a 6.0/18 rating among Adults 18-49 (Live+7), outperformed Blacklist and Scorpion and delivered Fox's highest-rated fall drama debut in 14 years. This Live +7 rating reflects the largest post-three-day ratings gain (+0.9) of any broadcast drama, ever. In addition, Gotham's premiere drew 14.1 million viewers in the first seven days and has been streamed more than two million times to date on FOX NOW and Hulu. The show's second and third episodes continued this positive trend, each delivering a 4.0 rating or higher in just the first three days, making it one of the Top Three dramas overall on broadcast television this season. The series is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (The Mentalist, Rome), Gotham follows one cop's rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering between good and evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time. The entirely new, untold chapter stars Ben McKenzie (Southland, The O.C.), Donal Logue (Vikings, Sons of Anarchy) and Jada Pinkett Smith (Hawthorne, Collateral).

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on 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.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.