Wednesday, October 22, 2014
CBS to Launch Decades, A New Digital Subchannel; The CW Orders Full Seasons of The Flash, Jane the Virgin
The CBS Television Stations group and Weigel Broadcasting announced plans to launch Decades, a new national entertainment programming service for distribution across local television stations' digital subchannels – broadcast channels that utilize a local station's available spectrum to provide a companion to that station's primary channel. For example, in the New York market, WCBS-TV will continue to be available digitally as Channel 2.1 and Decades will be available as Channel 2.2. In addition to being available as an over-the-air broadcast channel, Decades will appear on numerous local cable systems and other multichannel video programming distribution services along with the stations’ primary channels.
Utilizing a library of more than 100 classic television series, including select titles from the CBS library such as I Love Lucy from the 1950s, Star Trek from the 1960s, Happy Days from the 1970s and Cheers from the 1980s, as well as a wide selection of theatrical and made-for-television movies and footage of historical news events from the archives of CBS News and Entertainment Tonight, Decades will provide viewers with a new way to experience our shared historical and cultural past. As the ultimate TV time machine, Decades will differentiate itself from other subchannel programming services by varying the classic series and movies that appear on the network every day.
Decades will take viewers into a daily time capsule presentation of entertainment, popular culture and news. The service will feature Decades Retrospecticals, a daily one-hour program that will be produced around the news events and cultural touchstones of a specific day, week or other time frame or theme. The TV series and movies presented each day will reflect that day's theme or commemorative event. For example, Decades will look back at classic series such as Happy Days and its "jump the shark" episode, explain its historical significance and then broadcast that episode. Viewers will also be taken back in time to rediscover events that shaped our world, such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, the Beatles' U.S. debut on The Ed Sullivan Show and the birth of software and technology companies like Microsoft and Apple. Decades will connect these events to what people were watching on television, seeing at the movies and experiencing as a nation.
Decades is expected to debut during the second quarter of 2015, with the 16 CBS-owned stations that are part of the CBS Television Network serving as the new service's launch group. This includes the CBS stations serving New York City (WCBS), Los Angeles (KCBS), Chicago (WBBM), Philadelphia (KYW), Dallas (KTVT), San Francisco (KPIX), Boston (WBZ), Detroit (WWJ), Minneapolis-St. Paul (WCCO and its satellite stations KCCO and KCCW), Miami (WFOR), Denver (KCNC), Sacramento (KOVR), Pittsburgh (KDKA) and Baltimore (WJZ).
The CW has given full season orders to its two hit freshman series, The Flash and Jane the Virgin. The Flash debuted as the most-watched series premiere ever on The CW, scoring 6.1 million viewers in Live + 3 Day Nielsen ratings, and was the network's highest-rated series premiere among adults 18-49 in more than five years, since The Vampire Diaries debuted in 2009. The most critically acclaimed new series of the season, Jane the Virgin, bowed with The CW's most-watched and highest-rated show in its time period in two years. TV Guide called Jane the Virgin the "#1 Must-See" new show of the season, and named star Gina Rodriguez the "most inspiring young actress on TV today." Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter said Jane the Virgin was "by far the best network pilot –drama or comedy" this season.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, November 10
Bob's Burgers - "The Tina Table: The Tables Have Tina-Ed" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tina attempts to save her school news segment by interviewing Mr. Frond about his revolutionary new computer game; Bob and Linda entertain Teddy by making up the plots to popular horror movies they haven't seen.
Krapopolis - "Remedial Archeology" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tyrannis buys a magic shell; Shlub takes Deliria to a monster wedding.
The Simpsons - "Women in Shorts" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Homer and Marge Simpson raise Bart, Lisa and baby Maggie in Springfield, where eccentric residents make everyday life interesting.
Universal Basic Guys - "Mr. Cupcake Man" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mark writes a hit song that becomes the next Baby Shark, and enlists his family and neighbors to join his management team; David tries to capitalize in Mark's wake by resuscitating his old and out of touch climate change educational magic act.
Bob's Burgers - "Hope N' Mic Night" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The kids want to host an open mic night at the restaurant, but the hidden costs keep mounting and Bob worries that the night will ruin them.
Krapopolis - "National Lampoons's The Odyssey" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The family takes a vacation to Storgos for Shlub's mother's birthday.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 4)
Friday, November 8
- Allison Janney (Mom/Mr. Sunshine) - Watch Allison on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Kathy Bates (Disjointed) - Kathy appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Pamela Anderson (Stacked/Home Improvement) - Pamela is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Rachel Bloom (Reboot) and Jim Rash (Community/Help Me Help You/Thanks/Katie Joplin) - Rachel and Jim are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Lauren Graham (M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren is in the house on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Tim Matheson (Just in Time/Window on Main Street) - Tim talks about his book, Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches, on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Pete Holmes (How We Roll/Crashing) and Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - Pete and Judy are chatting about their new holiday movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Blockbuster/The Millers/Bent/'Til Death) - JB talks about Buy It Now on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Jeremy Piven (Entourage/Ellen/Pride & Joy/The Larry Sanders Show) - Jeremy is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:45am.
- Ms. Pat (The Ms. Pat Show) - Ms. Pat appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:10am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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