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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, May 15
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Guilt Boots" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie panics when he learns that Jim is considering selling the tire store to his rival, and Mandy’s forced to confront a long-running lie, on part one of the first season finale.
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Big Decisions" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Tensions rise when Georgie finds out the truth about Mandy’s boss, and Georgie does all he can to buy the tire store before Jim sells it, on part two of the first season finale.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 12)
Thursday, May 15
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Watching Ellie/Seinfeld/Day by Day) - Catch Julia on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Mo Amer (Mo/Ramy) - Mo is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/A.P. Bio/The Mindy Project/That '80s Show) - Glenn appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Keyla Monterroso Mejia (Abbott Elementary/Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Brandon Kyle Goodman (Human Resources) - Keyla and Brandon are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - E! News has an interview with Stanley at 11pm on E!.
- Method Man (Method & Red) - Method Man is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) and Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - CBS Mornings has CBS Deals with Anthony and Cedric sometime between 7-9am.
- Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Mario and Kit Hoover talk about Access Daily on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour.
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Nick chats about his Broadway show The Last Five Years on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette talks about Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke, author of Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman, is revealing to Drew her cover photo on AARP magazine in celebration of her 50th birthday on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Valerie and Drew are sharing some gadgets to help with menopause symptoms on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Terry Crews (Everybody Still Hates Chris/Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry talks about NBC's America's Got Talent on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Dulé Hill (The Wonder Years) - Dulé Hill is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
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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