Monday, February 16, 2015
LAFF Acquires Empty Nest, Night Court, Drew Carey, Ellen & Grace Under Fire; CW's 3rd Season of Beauty and the Beast Starts in May, Picked Up for 4th Season
LAFF, the country's first-ever, over-the-air broadcast television network devoted to comedy around-the-clock set to launch on April 15, 2015, made the first in what-will-be a series of programming acquisition announcements, landing the broadcast television rights to more than 800 episodes of some of the most popular sitcoms in contemporary television. In the three individual, multi-year licensing agreements, LAFF licenses: all nine seasons of both The Drew Carey Show (233 episodes) and Night Court (193 episodes) from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Two series from The Disney/ABC Television Group: Ellen DeGeneres' first sitcom Ellen (109 episodes) and all seven seasons of Empty Nest (170 episodes). And finally, Grace Under Fire (112 episodes) starring Brett Butler from Carsey-Werner Productions. LAFF will feature a mix of contemporary off-network sitcoms and popular theatrical motion pictures, with a target audience of adults 18-49. The LAFF brand will cross multiple platforms, with the linear network carried on the signals of local broadcast television stations and corresponding cable carriage while a selection of companion digital content will be available at LAFF.com and via the LAFF app.
The newly-announced LAFF already has two major distribution agreements in place. The ABC Owned Television Stations will carry LAFF in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh and Fresno. The E.W. Scripps Company will also launch LAFF on its stations in Detroit, Phoenix, Tampa, Denver, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Baltimore, San Diego, Kansas City, Cincinnati, West Palm Beach, Buffalo and Tulsa. These initial agreements will make LAFF available to more than 35% of the country, with more distribution additions expected to be announced shortly. Stay with us for continued updates, along with a launch schedule!
Moving on to some network news. The third season of fan favorite drama Beauty and the Beast will begin its 13-episode run on Thursday, May 21 at 8:00pm ET on The CW Network, following the conclusion of The Vampire Diaries season. In addition, The CW announced that Beauty and the Beast has also been renewed a fourth season, which will air later the 2015-2016 season. As season three begins, Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and Vincent (Jay Ryan) are able to focus on their love, finally free from Muirfield, manhunts and beasts.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Saturday, March 6
Danger Force - "Radioactive Act" (Nickelodeon, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bose's mother picks up Schwoz's lost radioactive cat from outside SW.A.G. and takes it home, so Danger Force and Captain Man have to try and get it back before she goes nuclear.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 1)
Friday, March 5
- Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) - Watch Soleil on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) - Harvey is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Adam DeVine (Workaholics/Modern Family) - Adam is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Kathryn Hahn (Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Kate Walsh (Bad Judge/The Drew Carey Show) - Kate is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Eddie Murphy (The PJs) - Eddie talks about Coming 2 America on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) - Randall appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Kyle Massey (Cory in the House/That's So Raven) - Kyle is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
- Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - Amy will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Ben Feldman (Superstore/A to Z/Living with Fran) - Ben appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Zach Braff (Alex, Inc./Scrubs) and Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Zach and Donald talk about the Fake Doctors, Real Friends podcast on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Keshia Knight Pulliam (Tyler Perry's House of Payne/The Cosby Show) - Keshia is a guest on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (October-February)
10/13 - The Jetsons - The Complete Series (Diamond Collection)
10/13 - Our Cartoon President - Season Two
10/23 - Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - The Complete Collection
10/27 - The Flintstones - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/27 - Head of the Class - The Complete Second Season (WBShop.com)
11/10 - Letterkenny - Seasons 5 & 6
11/10 - The Office - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/10 - Schitt's Creek - The Complete Collection
11/17 - Carol's Second Act - The Complete Series
11/17 - Robbie - Season 1
11/24 - Corporate - Season 1
11/26 - Man with a Plan - Season Four
12/01 - The Neighborhood - Season Two
12/15 - Avenue 5 - The Complete First Season
01/22 - Corporate - Season 2
01/22 - Corporate - Season 3
02/02 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - The Complete Series (2021 Retail Release)
02/16 - Fam - The Complete Series
02/23 - Betty White's Pet Set - The Complete Series
03/02 - Blue Mountain State - The Complete Series
03/02 - Happy Together - The Complete Series
03/02 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-4 (DVD) (Blu-ray)
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