Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Bounce Acquires Sitcoms for January 2015, Roc, Different World, Parent 'Hood, Hughleys; ABC Family Picks Up New Drama Recovery Road
Finally! In its first foray into off-network series acquisition, Bounce TV has landed the television rights to four shows in individual, multi-year licensing agreements they announced. In the deals, the nation's first-ever and rapidly-expanding broadcast television network for African Americans acquires Roc (72 episodes) and The Parent 'Hood (90 episodes) from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD), A Different World (144 episodes) from Carsey-Werner Distribution and The Hughleys (89 episodes) from Twentieth Television. The four popular series will be scheduled together to create a new line-up leading into prime time, with the network airing two episodes of each show back-to-back Monday-Friday starting at 5:00pm beginning Monday, January 5, 2015. It kicks off with Roc from 5:00-6:00pm, followed by The Parent 'Hood from 6:00-7:00pm. A Different World will air from 7:00-8:00pm into The Hughleys from 8:00-9:00pm. This will be the first time all four series will air on a digital multicast network.
The critically-acclaimed Roc aired originally on Fox and stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and Ella Joyce as his wife, with appearances by a then-unknown Jamie Foxx. The Parent 'Hood was part of the original Wednesday night lineup that helped launch The WB network, starring Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas. The multiple Emmy-nominated A Different World debuted as the #1 new show of its premiere season, staying at #1 in its time period for five consecutive seasons, with Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison leading the cast. Based on D. L. Hughley's real-life experiences, The Hughleys stars the comedian and Elise Neal as his wife who move their family from the inner to city to the Los Angeles suburbs with hilarious results. Bounce TV features programming mix of original series, theatrical motion pictures, documentaries, specials and now off-net series. Bounce TV is currently seen in 90 markets, including all of the top African American television markets, 90% of African American television homes and 73% of the total television homes in the United States.
ABC Family has picked up a new scripted drama to series Recovery Road. This announcement comes on the heels of the recently announced pick-up of the docu-series My Transparent Life, as the network continues to grow its impressive slate of original programming. Based on the popular young adult novel by Blake Nelson, Recovery Road focuses on a teenage girl dealing with addiction. Maddie has a reputation as a party girl who doesn't think she has a problem, until she's confronted one day by her school guidance counselor and is forced to choose between expulsion and rehab. Maddie makes the difficult decision to live with other recovering addicts at a rehab facility while facing the daily pressures of her teenage life.
ABC Family says casting will be announced at a later date, but their orginal announcement a few months back mentioned the series stars Samantha Logan (666 Park Avenue) as Maddie, Sebastian De Souza (Skins) as Wes, Kyla Pratt (One on One, Fat Albert) as Trish, Sharon Leal (Boston Public) as Charlotte, Alexis Carra (Mixology) as Cynthia, Justin Prentice (Malibu Country) as Dallas, Caroline Sunshine (Shake It Up) as Emily, and also guest stars Doug Savant (Desperate Housewives, Melrose Place) as Alan. We shall see if this cast remains intact or if we will see some changes to this. Stay tuned.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, May 28
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "House of Tough Decisions" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
House of Payne is the hilarious comedy about Retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Parental Woes" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Tension escalates as tempers flare between Reginald and Brandon's rocky relationship; Leah's disconnect with Sandra leaves her terribly confused.
The Ms. Pat Show - "Pick Up Your Feelings" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
The family arrives in Atlanta to find Pat's cousin and former partner in crime, Tanya, has been released from prison, which leads to a difficult walk down memory lane.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)
Wednesday, May 28
- Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Watch Ryan on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) and Arden Myrin (Working/Still the King) - Esther and Arden are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Joe Mande (Hacks/Parks and Recreation) and Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Joe and Fred are guests on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
- Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity talks about The 13th Wife: Escaping Polygamy on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Julianne Moore (Sirens) - Julianne chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Sarah talks about her special Sarah Silverman: PostMortem on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Ashley Tisdale (Carol's Second Act/Merry Happy Whatever/Clipped/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Ashley stops by the studio to talk Disney's Phineas and Ferb on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ming-Na Wen (The Single Guy) - NBC's Today catches up with Ming-Na in the 9am hour.
- Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Ralph talks about ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Drew is having a candid conversation with Demi about how growing up in the spotlight inspired her new documentary Child Star on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny talks about Fox's The Masked Singer on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) and Wendell Pierce (The Odd Couple/The Michael J. Fox Show/The Weber/The Brian Benben Show/The Gregory Hines Show) - Carrie and Wendell talk about CBS' Elsbeth on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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