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

Sunday, May 28

The Conners - "Possums, Pregnancy and Patriarchy" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Harris makes a big announcement. Meanwhile, Ben is overwhelmed with family responsibilities.

The Conners - "Hiding In and Moving Out" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Harris takes her anger out on Darlene. Elsewhere, Dan and Louise spend an entire day in bed together.

The Conners - "The Contra Hearings and the Midnight Gambler" (ABC, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mark fights for a spot in the Lanford High chamber orchestra. Elsewhere, Jackie puts a lottery machine in the Lunch Box.

The Conners - "Road Trip and Guilt Trip" (ABC, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dan and Jackie take a road trip to a hardware wholesaler in Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Darlene heads out of town and leaves behind a plethora of to-do notes for Becky and Ben.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 22)

Friday, May 26

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ali Wong (Big Mouth/American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - Ali is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Chris appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Sebastian Maniscalco (How to Be a Bookie) - Sebastian talks about his new film About My Father on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
Issa Rae (Insecure) - Issa is a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Bill Bellamy (Mr. Box Office/Men, Women & Dogs/Cousin Skeeter) - Bill appears on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Ming-Na Wen (The Single Guy) and BD Wong (All-American Girl) - Ming-Na and BD talk about Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Hailee Steinfeld (Dickinson) - Hailee and actor Shameik Moore sit down together to talk about their new film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, in theaters on June 2 on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Leslie Odom Jr. (Love in the Time of Corona/Big Dady) and Nicolette Robinson (Love in the Time of Corona/Perfect Couples) - Leslie and Nicolette chat with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Daniel Wu (American Born Chinese) - Daniel talks about American Born Chinese on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim) - Kimberly is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.