SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Yesterday at the Hulu Upfront Presentation in New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, they announced that Hulu has acquired the exclusive subscription video on-demand (SVOD) rights to all episodes of iconic sitcom Seinfeld, as well as a new, multi-year agreement with AMC that grants Hulu the streaming rights to future programming from AMC Networks. In addition to presenting groundbreaking content deals and the upcoming slate of Hulu Originals, the company took the stage to publicly unveil new business growth benchmarks - including a 50% increase in subscribers - advertising innovations, and a deal with Cablevision Systems Corporation that will be rolled out over the next year. Back to Seinfeld, Hulu has acquired the exclusive SVOD rights to all episodes of the award-winning, hit series. After becoming one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, all nine seasons of the timeless comedy series will make their SVOD debut exclusively on Hulu. The series comes to Hulu in a new deal with Sony Pictures Television. Every episode of Seinfeld will be available for Hulu subscribers to stream this June.

FX Networks has ordered a pilot co-created by the award-winning team of Gillian Robespierre and Elisabeth Holm, starring Jenny Slate and Ari Graynor. Production of the pilot has begun in New York. Robespierre (Obvious Child) will direct the pilot and write it with Holm (Obvious Child, Welcome to Pine Hill), both of whom will serve as Executive Producers along with Ravi Nandan and John Hodges of A24 Films (The Bling Ring, Obvious Child) and Slate (Obvious Child, Married). The pilot is being produced by FX Productions.

The pilot is an honest comedy exploring the adult female friendship of two creative partners as they embark on a cross-country road trip. Jenny Slate and Ari Graynor (For a Good Time, Call... , Bad Teacher) star as "Lou" and "Viv," two gutsy born and raised New Yorkers who discover each other in their 30s, make a movie together, and jump into the great unknown of their next project. Lou and Viv find strength and vulnerability in each other, learning how to have a fight and somehow still get back in the car. It's like Thelma and Louise - but nobody dies. The pilot is the first major project for Robespierre, Holm, Slate and A24 Films since Obvious Child, a 2014 romantic comedy that marked Robespierre's feature film directorial debut and starred Slate. Among other awards for the feature, Robespierre was honored with the National Board of Review USA Award for Best Directorial Debut, Holm won the Red Crown Producer's Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and Slate received the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Movie. Slate currently co-stars on the FX comedy series Married, which is returning for its second season on Thursdays at 10:30 PM e/p, beginning July 16. Graynor most recently starred on the CBS comedy Bad Teacher. Stay with us for continued updates, should this pilot move forward as a series.

WGN America is treating How I Met Your Mother fans to a binge-worthy programming extravaganza during the month of May, featuring four primetime marathons over back-to-back weeks with Lily, Marshall, Barney and the rest of the gang. The May festivities begin with a "Cinco de Madre" marathon on Friday, May 1, leading into a bouquet of laughs and countdown of all the reasons "Why I Love My Mother" marathon over Mother's Day weekend, Friday, May 8, exclusively on WGN America. Kicking off WGN America's How I Met Your Mother WTF programming -- Wednesday, Thursday, Friday -- the fun continues with the "Week of Stars" marathon, featuring superstars Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Britney Spears and more spanning three nights of comedy, Wednesday, May 13 – Friday, May 15. Then, die-hard How I Met Your Mother aficionados can put their knowledge to the test with the "Mother Loving Trivia Week," answering questions for the chance to win a trip to New York City and 'meet at MacLarens,' Wednesday, May 27 – Friday, May 29.

Following is WGN America's May 2015 How I Met Your Mother programming schedule:

Friday, May 1 – 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT -- "Cinco de Madre" marathon
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a special How I Met Your Mother six-episode "Cinco de Madre" marathon sponsored by Cheetos.

Friday, May 8 – 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT -- "Why I Love My Mother" marathon
In partnership with Edible Arrangements, fans can share personal photos and stories on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #WhyILoveMyMother to show the love they have for the special women in their lives, and lucky fans will see their photos and stories featured on-air.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015 - Friday, May 15, 2015 – "Week of Stars" marathons
Tune into this triple-helping marathon of How I Met Your Mother featuring three nights of celebrity guest stars including Katy Perry, Bryan Cranston, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and more, sponsored by Macy's. The "Week of Stars" marathons begin at Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CT, and Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. ET.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - Friday, May 29, 2015 ­– "Mother Loving Trivia Week"
WGN America and Geico will offers fans an extraordinary prize as part of the grand finale of the month-long How I Met Your Mother programming event that gives fans the opportunity to prove who's the best mother-loving fan among them with the "Mother Loving Trivia Week," airing Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CT and Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT. Fans can answer trivia questions on WGN America's website and social platforms for a chance to win a plethora of prizes, including a grand prize trip for two to New York City for three fun-filled nights, capped off with dinner at McGee's (the bar on which MacLaren's Pub is based).

A new half-hour animated comedy series Golan the Insatiable premieres Sunday, May 31 on Fox. The new animated comedy is inspired by quarter-hour installments that aired on Animation Domination High-Def. Rob Riggle (22 Jump Street, FOX NFL Sunday) and Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) lead the voice cast. The new half-hour animated comedy series will premiere on Sunday, May 31 from 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT on FOX. The comedy follows a mighty godlord (Rob Riggle) from an alternate dimension who arrives in Oak Grove, MN, where his only friend is a macabre, nine-year-old girl named Dylan (Aubrey Plaza), who constantly urges him to wreak havoc on her town. Featuring an all-new voice cast, it is the first Animation Domination High-Def series to land a primetime series order. Additional voice talent includes Ken Marino (Children's Hospital), John DiMaggio (Futurama) and comedic actors Maria Bamford, Rachel Butera and Nick Rutherford.

Antenna TV, Tribune's multicast broadcast network, will celebrate "mom" with a 40 episode/20 hour One Day at a Time Marathon on Mother's Day, on Sunday, May 10, 2015. One Day at a Time featured the relationship between Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) a divorced mother, and her two teenage daughters, Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) and Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli). Antenna TV will air 40 of the most popular "Mom-centric" episodes of the series beginning at 7am ET and running through 3 am on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10. Antenna TV, which airs in 97 TV markets across the U.S. reaching 76% of TV households, will air the following One Day at a Time episodes:

7:00 AM Ann's Decision
7:30 AM Jealousy
8:00 AM All the Way
8:30 AM College Man
9:00 AM Barbara's Emergence
9:30 AM The Travelling Salesperson
10:00 AM The New Car
10:30 AM The Upholstery Ripoff
11:00 AM Ann's Out of Town Client
11:30 AM Second Mrs. Cooper
12:00 PM Ann's Crisis
12:30 PM Ann's Competitor
1:00 PM Julie's Big Move (Part 1)
1:30 PM Julie's Big Move (Part 2)
2:00 PM The Dating Game
2:30 PM The Married Man (Part 1)
3:00 PM The Married Man (Part 2)
3:30 PM The Married Man (Part 3)
4:00 PM Back to School
4:30 PM Between Mother and Daughter
5:00 PM Heart Attack
5:30 PM So Long, Mom
6:00 PM Grecian Yearn
6:30 PM Ann Meets Nick (Part 1)
7:00 PM Ann Meets Nick (Part 2)
7:30 PM Once a Mom
8:00 PM Tiny Romance
8:30 PM Shake Hands at the Bell
9:00 PM Julie Shows Up (Part 1)
9:30 PM Julie Shows Up (Part 2)
10:00 PM Ann, the Failure
10:30 PM Barbara's Crisis
11:00 PM Meow, Meow
11:30 PM Last Time I Saw Paris
12:00 AM Miracle of Birth (Part 1)
12:30 AM Miracle of Birth (Part 2)
1:00 AM Shakedown
1:30 AM Never Hire a Relative
2:00 AM Parting Company
2:30 AM Off We Go
All times Eastern.

One Day at a Time joined Antenna TV's permanent lineup in April and currently airs weeknights 11pm-12am ET and Sundays in primetime from 9-10 pm ET.

Bravo Media continues its foray into scripted programming announcing the development of three new series including My So Called Wife, a dark comedy from Adam Brooks and Paul Adelstein following a female con-artist, White Collar Wives, revealing the scandals surrounding a FBI investigation of a New York hedge fund, and All that Glitters, a mini-series based on the book examining how Anna Wintour and Tina Brown dominated the 1980's publishing world. Season one of Bravo's first original scripted series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce averaged 824,000 A18-49, 910,000 A25-54 and 1.38MM total viewers in Live+7. From Universal Cable Productions, the series is scheduled to commence production on season two early this summer. Additionally, Bravo's first half-hour scripted comedy series, Odd Mom Out, will premiere with back-to-back episodes on Monday, June 8 at 10pm ET/PT. The series stars acclaimed author Jill Kargman playing a satirical version. Stay with us for more on that series and stay tuned should these other thre projects move forward.

BET Networks announced its upcoming programming schedule for BET and Centric at its annual Upfront presentation. BET Networks' 2015 slate features more original programming hours than ever before in the history of the network, anchored by high quality scripted and reality shows, star studded tentpoles and original movies that reflect and celebrate the lives of African American adults. Among the big news was a sitcom starring Brandy (Moesha, The Game). The sitcom is Zoe Moon, a romantic sitcom featuring Zoe Moon (Brandy Norwood), a live-out-loud newly single mom embarking on a new life and career as a fledgling cosmetics mogul - but it won't be easy. Gemini, a famous boxer and Zoe's soon to be ex-husband, is not ready to take a back seat in her life, nor is her precocious 8 year-old son, Xavier, ready for Zoe's new dating life. Surrounded by a cast of colorful characters, Zoe puts a new spin on the old song "You're Gonna Make It After All!"

Other projects coming soon include a reboot of Punk'd, the popular hidden camera series tailored for the BET audience. For the first time, audiences will be taken behind the scenes as the pranks are conceptualized and carried through. Stakes are high as our viewers follow the ticking clock on the journey of pranking their favorite celebrities. Also reality project, Chasing Destiny takes us behind the scenes as Grammy-award singer Kelly Rowland, and member of one of the biggest female groups of all time Destiny's Child, goes on a quest to find the next big female superstar group to make their mark in a dog-eat-dog music industry. And sister network Centric has a project coming soon produced by Whoopi Goldberg! In According to Alex, Alex Martin Dean (Whoopi's daughter) is NOT your typical mom, and she doesn't have a typical family. Sure, they get loud and have their own drama, but in the end, there's nothing but love! Now that the kids are getting old enough to step out of the house and make their own plans, Alex and her best friend, Leisa, are talking about what they want to do with the rest of their lives, both professionally and personally-- that is, until a new grandchild, Alex's daughter Amara and her fiancé, Chris, move home, turning to Alex and the rest of the family to help raise their new baby girl. Can they balance family, fun and future plans without losing their cool, or their minds?

Actor Sawyer Sweeten, who starred as Geoffrey Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond, has died. He died on April 23 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his relative's home in Austin, Texas. He was only 19.

Sawyer and his real-life twin brother Sullivan played Geoffrey and Michael Barone, the twin sons of Raymond (Ray Romano) and Debra (Patricia Heaton), in Everybody Loves Raymond. The popular CBS sitcom ran for nine seasons on CBS from 1996-2005. The Sawyer twins were just 16 months old when they landed the roles. They appeared in approximately 139 episodes of the series. Their real-life sister Madylin Sweeten played Alexandra "Ally" Barone, the oldest of the Barone children. They appeared together at the 8th Annual TV Land Awards in 2010 when Everybody Loves Raymond won the Impact Award. The Sullivan twins other credits included a 2000 episode of Even Stevens and the 2002 film Frank McKlusky, C.I.

Ray Romano had this to say about him: "He was a wonderful and sweet kid to be around. Just a great energy whenever he was there. My heart breaks for him, his family, and his friends during this very difficult time."

Our thoughts are with his family. He will be greatly missed. Share your memories on our Everybody Loves Raymond message board.