Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been somewhat of a busy news week (unusual for the week before Thanksgiving), with the cancellation of a TV Land favorite, news of a planned sitcom for NBC going to Netflix instead, and more. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- The very series that introduced the idea of original sitcoms to TV Land, Hot in Cleveland, is coming to an end at the end of the current season. (Hollywood Reporter)
- While NBC has (sort of) canceled the Tina Fey produced Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt before it could even start, Netflix is stepping in to "bring it back" and even ordering a second season already. (LA Times)
- Saturday Night Live poked fun at the entire process of developing a sitcom and how tweaks are made to try to please everybody in the development in a hilarious sketch that aired on last week's episode which starred Woody Harrelson. (Deadline)
- For those who enjoy Jimmy Fallon's "Lip Sync Battle" segments on The Tonight Show, it is actually being made into a series of its own, to be produced by Fallon, John Krasinski, and Stephen Merchant, and to be aired on Spike TV. (Variety)
- While we don't really report on celebrity controversies or take a point of view either way, it is worth noting that the recent Bill Cosby controversy has caused TV Land to remove all upcoming airings of The Cosby Show from their lineup, and has also caused NBC to scrap the potential sitcom that was in development with Cosby. (Hollywood Reporter)
- It is safe to say that Fox makes quite a few mistakes, and one of the most recent ones is the move of American Dad! to TBS make room for Mulaney, as American Dad! thrives on TBS (enough so to have another season ordered already) and Mulaney has been a bit of a disappointment for Fox. (SitcomsOnline)
- It was only a matter of time before CBS announced the return of Mike & Molly, and with The Millers gone, that time has come. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
- The Wonder Years - Season 2 is set for a general retail release on February 3, though if you have a Costco membership, the wholesaler is already offering it in a bundle with the first season.
- It wasn't just a random listing: as it turns out, CHiPs - The Complete Third Season really is coming to DVD on March 3, from Warner Home Video.
- For those who were wondering about music on The Facts of Life - The Complete Series from Shout! Factory, TVShowsOnDVD.com reveals that the studio has announced that only one song was unable to be cleared.
NOVEMBER 25 HOME MEDIA RELEASES
- Better Off Ted - The Complete Second Season (DVD, $34.95): While it certainly wasn't a success for the network, fans loved the series, and now it is finished on DVD thanks to Olive Films.
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Steve Carell (Twitter)
Claim to Fame: Carell made his Hollywood debut in the 1991 film Curly Sue, but came to TV with the short-lived series The Dana Carvey Show on ABC. After that, he went on to star in two more sitcoms that were more or less flops, but along the way, he also picked up a job that drove him to fame: the role of correspondent on the Comedy Central series The Daily Show. It was 2005, though, when he ended up getting a role on another series that seemed to have the makings of one that wasn't designed to last, but ended up lasting and has become one of NBC's few sitcom successes in the past decade: The Office. He left that series at the end of the seventh season (though he did return for the final episode in season nine), and since then, he has been more focused on a film career that moves at a pace that helps him keep a balance between his family and his career. He isn't exactly a frequent tweeter, but when he does make a Tweet, it is rarely about self-promotion.
Pick of the Tweets: "I binge watched my children today. Best show ever." (May 30, 2014)