Monday, December 22, 2014
UP TV Acquires Growing Pains for January 2015; USA Network Orders Hacker Drama Starring Christian Slater
UP TV (Uplifting Entertainment) is going to show you that smile again to start off 2015! The cable network formerly known as GMC, has acquired the rights to the '80s sitcom Growing Pains starring Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns and Kirk Cameron. Growing Pains kicks-off on UP TV with a New Year's Day marathon on Thursday, January 1 from 8am-2pm. There will also be a second marathon on Friday, January 2 from 5pm-9pm. The sitcom will then join the line-up starting Saturday, Jan. 3 airing Saturdays from 1-3pm, weekdays from 5-7pm and Tuesdays in primetime from 9-11pm. The good news doesn't stop there! Beloved sitcom Family Ties will get an timeslot and will now also air weekdays from 4-5pm leading into the weekday run of Growing Pains. The Michael J. Fox sitcom will also still air weeknights from 2-3am. Dramas will air weekdays from 9am-3pm with Heartland, back-to-back Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Touched by An Angel and three hours of Judging Amy. The sitcoms will air from 4-7pm, with Supernanny moving to 7pm and 8pm. Primetime will have different programs from 9-11pm, including Growing Pains on Tuesdays. In late night, urban programming will still be airing with an hour each of The Parkers and Moesha beginning at 11pm. Talk show Steve Harvey airs at 1am leading into Family Ties at 2.
Saturdays will still kick-off with Sister, Sister from 8am-10am, followed by Supernanny from 10am-12pm. Encores of the upcoming UP TV original series Bringing Up Bates will air noon leading into Growing Pains from 1-3pm. The Parkers will air starting at 3pm, lasting usually 'til 7 or even 9pm. Sundays will be filled with movies and originals. Back to Growing Pains, this beloved sitcom revolves around the Seaver family of Long Island, New York. Dr. Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) is a stay-at-home Dad and psychiatrist who is married to reporter Maggie (Joanna Kerns). They are both kept very busy by their three children; troublemaker Mike (Kirk Cameron), brainy Carol (Tracey Gold), and rambunctious Ben (Jeremy Miller).
USA Network announced its first series pick-up from its existing pilot slate for the 2015-2016 season with a 10-episode order for Mr. Robot (wt). The intense hacker drama from Universal Cable Productions is from writer and executive producer Sam Esmail and executive producers Anonymous Content's Steve Golin (True Detective) and Chad Hamilton (Breakup at a Wedding). The series stars Rami Malek (24), Christian Slater (Breaking In), Portia Doubleday (Her), Carly Chaikin (Suburgatory) and Martin Wallstrom (Simple Simon). The pilot was directed by Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). The series will shoot in New York. The series is a contemporary and culturally resonant drama about a young programmer, Elliot (Malek), who suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot will find himself in the intersection between a cyber-security firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America. Slater stars in the title role of Mr. Robot, a mysterious anarchist who recruits Elliot into an underground hacker group.
Mr. Robot (wt) was the first of five pilots announced by USA Network, followed by Carlton Cuse's Colony, starring Josh Holloway (Lost) and Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead); Universal Cable Production's Stanistan, starring Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter); Queen of the South, based on the international best seller La Reina del Sur starring Alice Braga, and the most recent pilot pick-up Evil Men, starring Dallas Roberts (Dallas Buyers Club) and Clifton Collins Jr. (Pacific Rim). We'll let you know if these other pilots get picked-up to series like Mr. Robot (wt). And of course when this series premieres in 15-16.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Sunday, December 10
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)
Friday, December 8
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Watch Eddie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Only Murders in the Building/High Fidelity/People of Earth/Selfie) - Da'Vine appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- John Caponera (The Good Life) - John is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog aka Robert Smigel chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals) and Molly Gordon (Ramy) - Noah and Molly talk about Theater Camp on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Eric Stonestreet (The Santa Clauses/Modern Family) - Eric talks about The Santa Clauses on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan sits down with Sherri to talk about his new book, When I Was Your Age, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
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