Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Amazon's First Pilot Season; ABC Family Greenlights Two Comedy Pilots

Amazon Studios

Amazon Studios announced it will debut its first pilot season of 2015 on Thursday, January 15 on Amazon Instant Video in the US, UK and Germany. Seven drama and comedy pilots will premiere, including hour-long shows Cocked from Samuel Baum (Lie to Me) and Sam Shaw (Manhattan - TV series), Mad Dogs from Cris Cole (The Bill) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Man in the High Castle from Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), and Point of Honor from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Randall Wallace (Braveheart). In addition, pilots for two half-hour shows will debut, including Down Dog from Robin Schiff (Are You There, Chelsea?) and Salem Rogers from Will Graham (Onion News Network) and newcomer Lindsey Stoddart, along with a documentary series, The New Yorker Presents, inspired by non-fiction and fiction material from one of the most acclaimed and longest running publications, The New Yorker. The New Yorker Presents is Executive Produced by Oscar and Emmy-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie).

Customers will once again be invited to watch and provide feedback on the shows they want to see turned into full series. All pilots will be available via the Amazon Instant Video app on Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, as well as hundreds of other connected devices such as smart TVs--or customers can visit Amazon.com/AIV to watch online. Cocked stars Sam Trammell, Jason Lee, Brian Dennehy, Laura Fraser and Dreama Walker. Mad Dogs stars Steve Zahn, Billy Zane, Romany Malco, Michael Imperioli and Ben Chaplin. The Man In The High Castle stars Alexa Davalos, Luke Kleintank, Rupert Evans, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Joel De La Fuente, Rufus Sewell and DJ Qualls. Point of Honor stars Nathan Parsons, Christopher O'Shea, Annabelle Stephenson, Riley Voelkel, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Patrick Heusinger, Luke Benward, Adrienne Warren, Lucien Laviscount and James Harvey Ward. As for the comedies, Down Dog stars Josh Casaubon, Paget Brewster, Lyndsy Fonseca, Will Greenberg, Andrea Savage, Amir Talai, Kris Kristofferson and Alysia Reiner. And finally, Salem Rogers stars Leslie Bibb, Rachel Dratch, Jane Kaczmarek, Brad Morris, Harry Hamlin, Toks Olagundoye and Scott Adsit. Stay tuned on which make it to series!


ABC Family

We have more pilot news. As part of its expansion in comedy, ABC Family has greenlit two new comedy pilots, Kevin From Work and Tough Cookie. Both pilots are single-camera and will go into production later this month. These orders join the second-season pick up of comedy series Young & Hungry, announced in September. Comedy favorites Melissa and Joey and Baby Daddy will premiere their fourth seasons on January 14 at 8:00pm ET/PT and 8:30pm ET/PT, respectively. Kevin from Work is a half-hour workplace comedy about a young man unluckily in love who professes his love to a co-worker, thinking he'll never see her again after he accepts a job offer overseas. But then that job offer is rescinded, and now they have to continue to work with each other. The pilot is written, created and executive-produced by Barbie Adler (How I Met Your Mother, My Name Is Earl, and Arrested Development).

The half-hour comedy Tough Cookie is a fresh take on the friends-and-family convention. It's centered on a young mother who isn't ready to parent and her daughter who doesn't want to be parented. As everyone knows, it takes a village to raise a child, or rather a child to raise a village. The pilot is written and created by Lauren Iungerich (Awkward), who will also serve as executive producer and direct the pilot. Casting for both pilots have not been announced yet. Stay with us if either of these pilots will make it to series.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, March 16

The Neighorhood - "Welcome to Murder at Sea" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Gemma throws Dave an unforgettable murder mystery birthday party. Meanwhile, Malcolm uses the celebration to introduce Mercedes to his family.

DMV - "Test Drive" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
During Teen Outreach Day at the DMV, Colette pushes Gregg to mentor a disengaged teen. Meanwhile, Vic suspects one of the students may be his biological son, and Barb’s attempt to film a promo with Ceci spirals into chaos.

St. Denis Medical - "Everyone Loves Portland General" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bruce considers a new chapter in his career; Serena uses a baby to get out of work; Matt helps Ron log onto his computer.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins - "You May Hug Your Hero" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Reggie and Monica restart their youth football camp and face off against their old rivals, Jerry and Tisha Basmati.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 16)

Monday, March 16

  • Zendaya (K.C. Undercover/Shake It Up) - Watch Zendaya on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) - Sarah appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Trey Parker and Matt Stone (Creators of South Park) - Trey and Matt are guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Andrew and Josh are guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Daniel Radcliffe (The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins/Miracle Workers) - Daniel stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Arden Myrin (Free Bert/Working/Still the King) - Andy Cohen interviews Arden on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3am on Bravo.
  • Leanne Morgan (Leanne) - Leanne swings by for a chat on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse talks about Tru on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Nate Berkus joins Drew and Valerie to hit the news on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Chris Appleton gives Drew and Valerie a gray hair makeover.
  • Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy tells Sherri about the hit Scrubs reboot and her new film Freestyle: A Love Story on Sherri, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)

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