SitcomsOnline Digest: Shout! Factory Begins Streaming Service; Complete Series Sets for Cheers, What's Happening!!, and More

Saturday, February 14, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: Shout! Factory Begins Streaming Service; Complete Series Sets for Cheers, What's Happening!!, and More

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It has been a pretty busy news week this week, not to mention big things that are happening in TV (including the upcoming finales for Two and a Half Men next week and Parks and Recreation in two weeks), but we're here with some highlights, including a new streaming service from Shout! Factory, a sitcom pilot at ABC with Annie Potts in a supporting role, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Shout! Factory has (somewhat) quietly launched Shout! Factory TV, a new online streaming service featuring several classic movies and TV series, including Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Laverne & Shirley, and others. While many of these are already available on other streaming services, this service is ad-supported and free, and there is even a Roku app (although it has been reported that not all of the content can be found on the Roku app). (Shout! Factory TV)
Annie Potts is looking to get back into a sitcom once again, and a pilot at ABC starring comedian Fortune Feimster and executive produced by Matt Hubbard, Tina Fey, and Robert Carlock could have her playing a southern belle (again). (Hollywood Reporter)
Tomorrow night's SNL 40th Anniversary Special just got even bigger in the past few days, with NBC now giving it three and a half hours and will air 8-11:30 PM. (Deadline)
Reboots of classic series have been big lately, but here is an interesting one: Amazon Studios is planning to reboot Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, with the help of Sid and Marty Krofft. (io9)
Your hipster friends should (ironically) be thrilled to hear that Portlandia has been renewed for a sixth and seventh season. (SitcomsOnline)
Weigel Broadcasting is now taking MeTV to the radio, with MeTV FM in Chicago. The radio station will air a classic hits (the new name for "oldies" as it has evolved to include the 80s) format. Technically, the station will be on the low-power TV channel 6, although audio from channel 6 can be heard on the FM dial on 87.7. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00TGNLZSI/ref=nosim/happydaysonline4-20

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and if so, you'll love what CBS has in store: Cheers - The Complete Series. Although each season has been released (as well as a complete series that shrinkwrapped all of those seasons together), this is the first time fans will be able to get every episode in one box set. It is set to be released on May 5 at a $117.99 MSRP.
CBS will also be re-releasing The Fugitive - The Complete Series on DVD on May 5, and it will come at a very low $79.99 MSRP.
Mill Creek has another re-release of a Sony series in the works, and this time it is a complete series, with What's Happening!! - The Complete Series. It will be released April 21 at a $29.98 MSRP.
Mill Creek will also be re-releasing Tour of Duty - The Complete Series on April 21, at a $44.98 MSRP.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Jake Johnson (Twitter)

Claim to Fame: Jake Johnson is best known for his current role of Nick Miller in the Fox series New Girl. His first credited role didn't come until he was almost 30 years old, with a guest appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He also appeared in episodes of The Unit and FlashForward before making the leap to New Girl. Since New Girl, he has reached new levels of fame with starring roles in two feature films, Drinking Buddies and Let's Be Cops.
Pick of the Tweets: "If you need me I'll just be here listening to Hall & Oates, drinking strong coffee and feeling pretty damn good about the weekend." (November 8, 2014)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, November 12

The Conners - "Tempest in a Stew Pot" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Jackie and Becky pitch their business plan to Darlene in hopes of getting the Lunch Box back, but Darlene’s decision leads to hostility among the three. Meanwhile, Dan bans Odessa from the house, causing a rift with Harris; and Mark makes extensive Thanksgiving plans that may inevitably fall apart.

Bless This Mess - "The Visit" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Donna springs a last-minute trip to Nebraska on Mike and Rio, which she claims is to relax, but Mike and Rio soon find out she has other plans in mind when she steps into competitive mode to get them to participate in the harvest. Meanwhile, Constance’s son Brandon is driving her crazy working at the store, so she pawns him off on Rudy.

mixed-ish - "Puttin' on the Ritz" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The kids are excited to learn more about their grandad after Harrison invites the crew to family day at his country club. Although Paul thinks it’s a bad idea, he is eventually overruled. Meanwhile, Alicia attempts to fit in at the country club but ends up fighting with Denise about keeping it real.

black-ish - "Daughters for Dummies" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Dre realizes that his relationship with Diane has been distant, he plans some daddy-daughter bonding sessions, but the plans backfire when he realizes the interest is one-sided. Meanwhile, Bow covers for Junior at his ChoreBoar gig.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 11)

Tuesday, November 12

Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Catch Patrick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (People of Earth) - Da'Vine appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen visits The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Frozen 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/Getting On/The Norm Show) - Laurie stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Jenny Slate (Married/Parks and Recreation/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Rob Schneider (Real Rob/Rob) and Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) - Rob and Esther are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class) - Lizzy drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Robin Givens (Head of the Class) - Robin visits The Real, so check your local listings.
Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Donald appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
Nicole Byer (Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim talks about Dark Waters on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Kristin Davis (Sex and the City/Bad Teacher) - Kristin talks about Holiday in the Wild on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.