SitcomsOnline Digest: Pilot Casting Updates for Potential Sitcoms Based Upon Uncle Buck and Problem Child; New Facts of Life and Hart to Hart DVD Releases from Shout!

Saturday, March 07, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: Pilot Casting Updates for Potential Sitcoms Based Upon Uncle Buck and Problem Child; New Facts of Life and Hart to Hart DVD Releases from Shout!

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we've got casting updates for sitcom pilots based upon movies from a quarter century ago, news of some new Shout! Factory releases, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Mike Epps has been cast for the title role in the possible sitcom based upon the movie Uncle Buck. (Entertainment Weekly)
Meanwhile, Matthew Lillard has been cast in the male lead role in the comedy in development based upon the movie Problem Child. (Deadline)
TV Land has undergone many changes over the years, but it appears that most of the changes have not been good for the network. This week, Viacom announced several layoffs, and it appears that TV Land suffered the most. (LA Times)
Judge Judy recently signed a new contract extending her show all the way through the year 2020. (CNN)
Netflix has been becoming a major player in the original series realm lately, and now they've announced some additional premiere dates for some of those original series for 2015. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Shout! Factory isn't leaving those who didn't buy The Facts of Life - The Complete Series out in the cold, as The Facts of Life - Season Six will arrive on DVD on June 9.
Shout! Factory will also be wrapping up a series on June 9, with their release of Hart to Hart - The Final Season.

MARCH 10 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (DVD, $59.98): The classic spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show starring Jim Nabors comes to DVD once again as a complete series.
Petticoat Junction - Family Favorite Episodes (DVD, $12.98): A best-of release of the classic series arrives on DVD from CBS.
Quincy, M.E. - The Final Season (DVD, $39.97): Nearly a decade after the very first release of the Jack Klugman series on DVD, Shout! Factory finally wraps it up with the eighth and final season.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Retta (Twitter), "I cuss a lot, got an itchy block finger & not afraid to use it. #Unemployed P.S. I live tweet my fave shows: #UveBeenWarned (Did I mention I'm unemployed?)"

Claim to Fame: As her own description of herself indicates, Retta is unemployed... but that is only a new development in the past few weeks. Born Marietta Sirleaf, the standup comedian is best known for playing the role of Donna on the NBC series Parks and Recreation. She has also appeared in guest roles on series such as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Moesha, and even The Jenny Jones Show (though not for one of the more outrageous shows, but rather showing off her standup comedian skills). Also worth noting is that she even has an aunt who is a prominent political figure... in fact, her aunt is the president of Liberia.

Pick of the Tweets: ""When Beyoncé wants to get inspired, she looks up Donna quotes on Tumblr." http://www.vulture.com/2015/02/parks-and-rec-recap-season-7-episode-7-microwave.html?mid=twitter_vulture … #GoodLookinOut @Vulture" (February 4, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.