SitcomsOnline Digest: Kevin Nealon and Jane Kaczmarek Cast in CBS Comedy Pilot; Community Returns to Air on Yahoo! Screen

Saturday, March 21, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: Kevin Nealon and Jane Kaczmarek Cast in CBS Comedy Pilot; Community Returns to Air on Yahoo! Screen

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It has been a slow news week this week (is news taking a spring break?), but we've got an update on another CBS comedy pilot, news of another Donna Reed Show re-release, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Kevin Nealon and Jane Kaczmarek have been cast in a CBS comedy pilot based upon the life of standup comedian Tommy Johnagin. (Deadline)
Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is something a little different, but does it really prove that the network sitcom is dead? (Washington Post)
In case you missed it, the sixth season of Community started this week on Yahoo! Screen, and some early reviews are in. (Slate)
With so many series blurring the lines between comedy and drama these days, it is sometimes hard to know which category they are going to compete in for awards ceremonies. Last year, Orange is the New Black competed as a comedy and won big... but this year, it has been ruled ineligible to compete as a comedy and must run as a drama. (Hollywood Reporter)
Betty White is set to be honored by the Daytime Emmy Awards with a lifetime achievement award. (People)
Pop, the network formerly known as TVGN, has renewed Schitt's Creek for a second season. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

The Donna Reed Show - Season 2 comes to DVD on Tuesday, but the re-release of the third season is not too far behind. On June 30, MPI will release The Donna Reed Show - Season 3.

MARCH 24 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

The Donna Reed Show - Season 2 (DVD, $39.98): MPI brings this now out-of-print release (previously released by Virgil Films) back to DVD.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Bryan Cranston (Twitter)

Claim to Fame: There was a time when nobody knew who Bryan Cranston was, and now everybody knows that he played Walter White on the series Breaking Bad. But despite the fame he achieved from Breaking Bad, he played a role before that which he probably would have been remembered from much more if not for Walter White: the role of Hal (no last name!) on Malcolm in the Middle. Cranston began to appear on series all the way back in the early 80s, with episodes of CHiPs, Airwolf, Murder, She Wrote, Hill Street Blues, and Matlock, and he finally got a regular role in the 90s with Louie Anderson's sitcom, The Louie Show... for six episodes. He also had recurring roles on Seinfeld and King of Queens before landing the role on Malcolm in the Middle. Following that, he had even more guest roles on other series, including How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, and others, but his real fame to many came with Breaking Bad. In addition to acting, he is also a director, and has directed episodes of not only the shows he starred in, but also episodes of Modern Family and The Office.

Pick of the Tweets: "Since getting my Breaking Bad tat I've gone a little crazy. Here's my new Malcolm salute. Next a Seinfeld? (photo link)" (June 25, 2013)