Thursday, October 16, 2014

Sitcom Alum Neil Patrick Harris to Host 2015 Oscars; Yahoo! Orders Another Comedy, This Time From Bridesmaids Producer

Neil Patrick Harris

Award-winning star of stage and screen Neil Patrick Harris will host the 87th Oscars(R), show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced. This will be Harris' first time hosting the ceremony. The show will air live on ABC on Oscar(R) Sunday, February 22, 2015. A triple-threat performer, Harris has enjoyed a successful career in entertainment. He can currently be seen starring opposite Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in David Fincher's critically-acclaimed feature film, Gone Girl. Harris garnered multiple Emmy(R) and Golden Globe award nominations for his role as Barney Stinson on the hit television series, How I Met Your Mother, and he won an Emmy for his guest-starring role on Glee in 2010. He also recently starred in the title role of Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, earning the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Harris served as host of the 61st and 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as the 63rd, 65th, 66th and 67th Tony Awards, for which he won four Emmys. Most recently, Harris added the title of author to his list of accomplishments with the release of his autobiography from Crown Publishing, Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography.

The last two Oscars telecasts, which were produced by Zadan and Meron, received a major spike in the ratings. The 86th Oscars was TV's most-watched entertainment event in 10 years and attracted the biggest viewership since 2000, with more than 45 million viewers. The show resulted in dramatic gains in younger demos and social media conversation, with more than one billion impressions generated on Twitter and 25 million interactions happening on Facebook on Oscar Sunday. Additionally, the star-studded "selfie" became the most retweeted photo of all time with 32.8 million views to-date. The Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre(R) at Hollywood & Highland Center(R) in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 4:00 pm, PT/7:00 pm, ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.


Other Space

First a Malin Akerman comedy, now Yahoo! has another comedy coming. Yahoo! has confirmed that production has begun on Other Space, a new half-hour comedy series slated for release on Yahoo! in Spring 2015. Created by the multi-talented, three time Emmy Nominee, Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Freaks and Geeks, and the upcoming Spy ), Other Space is a journey in unknown space set in the early 22nd century, when the human race has mapped most of the known universe, failed to find alien life, and frankly gotten a little tired of the whole thing. Feig, who wrote the pilot, will executive produce the eight episode series with Owen Ellickson. Academy Award winner Luke Matheny. Lucia Aniello, primetime Emmy Award Winner Rob Cohen, The Nix Brothers and Matt Sohn will direct the series along with Feig who is slated to direct the finale. Other Space will feature a group of young, fresh actors cast by longtime Feig collaborator Allison Jones. Playing the ship's crew - a collection of over-matched rookies, feuding siblings, burned-out veterans and obsolete robots include Karan Soni (Betas), Eugene Cordero (House of Lies), Milana Vayntrub (Silicon Valley), Conor Leslie (Klondike), Neil Casey (Broad City, The League), Bess Rous (Murder in the First), and the reunion of Trace Beaulieu and Joel Hodgson of Mystery Science Theater fame.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, April 24

The Conners - "Manifesting, Marriage Testing and Cheeseballs" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners relish national cheeseball day as a family. Meanwhile, Harris falls behind in her work duties at the Lunch Box, and Darlene and Ben must figure out how to spend time together despite their two separate schedules.

Not Dead Yet - "Not the End Yet" / "Not a Ghost Yet" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Nell finds out that Duncan is selling the SoCal Independent, so she takes matters into her own hands to save her job when Lexi seems unwilling to help. Then, Nell navigates an unexpected incident that leaves the sale of the newspaper on hold.

Animal Control - "Skunks and Swans" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Shred take on an aggressive swan; Shred has a meet-cute with a mysterious woman; Emily makes a mistake that results in Victoria having very little time to prepare for her big exam; Patel gets his father to help Victoria cram for the test.

Family Guy - "A Stache From the Past" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Peter loses the Griffins' home in a reverse mortgage, he and Mayor West travel to confront the man advertising the scheme, Tom Selleck; Stewie and Brian open a booth at the flea market, leading to a rivalry with Bruce.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 22)

Wednesday, April 24

  • Carol Burnett (Palm Royale/Mad About You/Mama's Family) - Watch Carol on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Nicole Richie (Great News) - Nicole is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits in with The 8G Band on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) and Michaela Watkins (Dinner with the Parents/Search Party/The Unicorn/Casual/Trophy Wife) - Lisa and Michaela are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • John Early (Search Party) - John appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - E! News has an interview with Tiffany at 11pm on E!.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny guest co-hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
  • Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry talks about Unfrosted on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan talks about NBC's Lopez vs Lopez on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie, a fan-favorite on The Good Wife, tells Sherri about her new show Elsbeth on Sheri, so check your local listings.
  • Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry has a cooking demo on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD/Blu-ray

Father Knows Best - The Complete Series Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series Check It Out! - The Complete Series

12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)

The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


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