Thursday, December 11, 2014
ABC Schedules Fresh Off the Boat for February Premiere; Remembering Mary Ann Mobley and Ken Weatherwax
ABC announced the premiere date today for new half hour comedy Fresh Off the Boat. Inspired by Eddie Huang's best-selling memoir by the same name, Fresh Off the Boat will be sampled twice in ABC's Wednesday night comedy block on Wednesday, February 4 at both 8:30pm and 9:31pm following The Middle & Modern Family, followed by its time slot premiere on Tuesday, February 10 at 8:00pm ET. It's 1995 and 11-year-old hip-hop loving Eddie Huang (Hudson Yang) has just moved with his family from Chinatown in Washington D.C. to suburban Orlando. They quickly discover things are very different there. Orlando doesn't even have a Chinatown -- unless you count the Huang house. Eddie's dad, Louis (Randall Park), has dragged the family to the 'burbs to pursue his version of the American dream, opening Cattleman's Ranch Steakhouse, a struggling western-themed restaurant. Louis thinks that the best way to get customers in the door is to hire a white host to greet them and make them feel comfortable. Eddie's mom, Jessica (Constance Wu), has agreed to the move, but she finds Orlando a strange place -- from the rollerblading stay-at-home moms, to the hospital-like grocery stores, to the fact that the humidity has ruined her hair.
Inspired by a true story, Fresh Off the Boat stars Randall Park as Louis, Constance Wu as Jessica, Hudson Yang as Eddie, Forrest Wheeler as Emery and Ian Chen as Evan. Eddie Huang provides the voice over narration. Fresh Off the Boat was written by Nahnatchka Khan (Don't Trust the B--- In Apartment 23), who also serves as executive producer.
Actress Mary Ann Mobley, who appeared as Maggie McKinney Drummond in the final season of Diff'rent Strokes, has died. She died at her home in Beverly Hills, California on December 9 from breast cancer. Ms. Mobley was 77.
Mobley won the Miss America crown in 1959, the first Mississippian to achieve this honor. Her film credits from 1964-1968 included Get Yourself a Girl, Girl Happy (with Elvis Presley), Harum Scarum (with Elvis Presley), Young Dillinger, Three on a Couch and For Singles Only. She won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer in 1965.
She made multiple guest appearances in Burke's Law, Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible, Run for Your Life, The Sixth Sense, Love, American Style, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat and Falcon Crest. Some of her other television guest appearances included General Hospital, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Virginian, Iron Horse, Ironside, Police Story, Vega$, Matt Houston, Hotel and Dead Like Me. Her sitcom guest appearances included The Partridge Family, Designing Women, Hearts Afire, Hardball and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
Mobley had a recurring role as Maggie McKinney Drummond, the wife of Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain), in ten episodes in the final season of Diff'rent Strokes, which aired on ABC in 1985-1986. She replaced Dixie Carter in the role. Mobley had previously played Arnold's teacher and Drummond's love interest Nancy Osborne in the second season episode "Teacher's Pet."
She was married to actor Gary Collins from 1967 until his death in 2012. Survivors include their daughter, Clancy Collins White; a stepdaughter, Melissa Collins; a stepson, Guy William Collins; a sister, Sandra Young; and two stepgrandsons, Garrett and Gaston.
Actor Ken Weatherwax, who played Pugsley Addams in The Addams Family, has died. He died on December 7 of a heart attack at his home in West Hills, California. Mr. Weatherwax was 59.
Weatherwax appeared as Puglsey Addams, the oldest child of Morticia and Gomez Addams, in The Addams Family. The popular sitcom ran for two seasons on ABC from 1964-1966. Pugsley was known for wearing striped shirts and shorts. He reunited with the cast in the 1977 NBC TV movie Halloween with the New Addams Family. He played Puglsey Addams, Sr., who had become a witch doctor.
At the age of 17, he entered the U.S. Army. He later worked in Hollywood behind the camera as a movie studio grip and set builder. He also made appearances at fan conventions and Addams Family-related events.
Survivors include his brother Joey D. Vieira (also known as Donald Keeler), an actor who appeared in Lassie; a niece, Shanyn Vieira; and a nephew.
We thank them for the entertainment they brought us. They will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our Diff'rent Strokes and The Addams Family message boards.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, September 8
Universal Basic Guys - "Pet Projects (Pilot)" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Threatened by a doctor's kindness toward Tammy, Mark tries to get her an exotic animal; Hank bonds with the chimpanzee via its bluetooth; David's dog saves David and Mernft Man from a pet snake.
Bob's Burgers - "The Big Stieblitzki" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The family gets invited to Rudy's father's birthday party; Tina attempts to convince a woman to commit to a relationship with Rudy's father.
The Great North - "Welcome To Miami Adventure" / "Worst Drives Club Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Coming off the heels of her break-up, Judy is taken on a wild adventure with Honeybee and Aunt Dirt; Judy tries to learn to drive.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 2)
Friday, September 6
- Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Watch Kumail on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - Michael appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Conner O'Malley (Shrill) - Conner is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Edie Falco (Bupkis/Nurse Jackie) - Edie talks about her film I'll Be Right There on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh is joining Drew and telling her about getting denied from his college's musical theater program and making his return to Broadway after eleven years with bestie Andrew Rannells on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Diane Farr (Splitting Together/Like Family/The Job) - Diane discusses the CBS drama series Fire Country on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
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)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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