SitcomsOnline Digest: First Cancellation of the New Season; CSI Season Cut Short; New Mill Creek DVDs

Saturday, October 25, 2014

SitcomsOnline Digest: First Cancellation of the New Season; CSI Season Cut Short; New Mill Creek DVDs

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! We finally have news of the first cancellation of the season, new developments on the remake of Bewitched, news of more Mill Creek DVDs, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

This year, it took almost five weeks (unusually long by broadcast network standards) for the first new fall series to be canceled by one of the networks. The series receiving this distinction was ABC's Manhattan Love Story. (Entertainment Weekly)
CBS has decided to cut the current season of CSI down to 18 episodes, which already has some wondering if the long-running series may be reaching the end. (Deadline)
We mentioned last week that the classic TV series Bewitched was being eyed for a remake, and things have moved very fast... so fast, that it has finally been given a pilot production commitment at NBC following what is being described as an intense bidding war between NBC and ABC. (Deadline)
Fox is being sued by actor Frank Sivero over the use of The Simpsons mobster character Louie, because Sivero says that the character is a ripoff of his character from the movie Goodfellas. (People)
The debut of new episodes of American Dad was a huge success for TBS earlier this week. (TV By The Numbers)
Saturday Night Live is adding current writer Leslie Jones as a cast member, and given some of her cameo appearances on the series, it is certain to be a good thing for the series. (CBS News)
Another retro TV digital network is coming, and this time it is coming from CBS and Weigel Broadcasting. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Mill Creek is moving ahead once again with more Married... with Children on DVD as they prepare for January 6 releases of Married... with Children - Season Seven, Married... with Children - Season Eight, and Married... with Children - Seasons Seven and Eight.
Mill Creek also has more of The Cosby Show on the same date, with The Cosby Show - Season Five, The Cosby Show - Season Six, and The Cosby Show - Seasons Five and Six.

OCTOBER 28 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00KYCA4QY/ref=nosim/happydaysonline5-20

WKRP in Cincinnati - The Complete Series (DVD, $139.99): One of the most anticipated series ever comes to DVD, and despite a few music licensing hiccups, a significant amount of the original music is intact on this excellent release of the series (much more than what Fox included on their season 1 release). We'll have a full review of this set very soon.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Dick Van Dyke (Twitter), "the barefoot prince of Malibu"

Claim to Fame: The legendary actor is, in fact, on Twitter. Of course, he started out on television in the 1950s as host of The Morning Show on CBS and quickly rose to fame, particularly in a lot of films on the 1960s. But at the same time, he also had just as much fame from his CBS sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show. The series ran for six years, and is now considered one of the greatest classic TV series of all time. After that series ended, he mostly stayed with films for a few years, until 1971 when he got a second chance with The New Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS. The second series struggled initially before picking up, but ultimately, it left the air after Carl Reiner walked away from the series in protest of a scene in an episode that CBS found to be too "family unfriendly" (despite the fact that the network was airing several sitcoms at the time that were even less family friendly). Following that, he went back into movies again and even tried his hand at a variety series, Van Dyke and Company. A third sitcom in the 80s, The Van Dyke Show, was an instant flop. He did find success again by 1993, though, with the long-running series Diagnosis Murder.

Pick of the Tweets: "Arlene is dragging me into the 21st century - This is a joint blog for my wife and I. We are inseparable! ... http://tmblr.co/Z1FiFm1TD_kcx" (October 15, 2014)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, December 5

Young Sheldon - "A Party Invitation, Football Grapes and an Earth Chicken" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mary gets Pastor Jeff involved when Sheldon isn’t invited to Billy’s birthday party. Also, George Sr. has “male-bonding time” with Dr. Sturgis.

The Unicorn - "No Pressure" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Wade pretends to be dating Caroline (Betsy Brandt) to avoid being set up on blind dates by Delia. Also, Ben and Michelle throw an anniversary party for themselves, but have issues with the catering.

Mom - "Tuna Florentine and a Clean Handoff" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Christy and the ladies rally around Tammy when she has trouble adjusting to early release from parole. Also, Bonnie is disappointed when her perfect birthday gift for Adam gets a lukewarm response.

Carol's Second Act - "Therapy Dogs" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
As the hospital hosts therapy dogs to help care for their patients, Carol helps Lexie when the emotional burden of being a doctor becomes too “ruff."

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)

Thursday, December 5

Sam Rockwell (F Is for Family) - Catch Sam on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class) - Lizzy appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel drops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Anna Faris (Mom) - Anna is a guest on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
John Lithgow (Trial and Error/Twenty Good Years/3rd Rock from the Sun) - John visits Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
Casey Wilson (The Hotwives/Marry Me/Happy Endings), Nico Santos (Superstore) and Chris Hardwick (Guys Like Us) - Casey, Nico and Chris are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) - Jameela stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings. She talks about Same Time Next Christmas on ABC's GMA 3: Strahan, Sara & Keke at 1pm.
Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Sean appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon) - Iain is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kristin Chenoweth (Trial and Error/Kristin) - Kristin talks about Hallmark Channel's A Christmas Love Story on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT and on Access Daily, so check your local listings.