SitcomsOnline Digest: The End of Cristela?; Terry Crews to Exit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire; More King of the Hill DVDs Coming

Saturday, April 18, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: The End of Cristela?; Terry Crews to Exit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire; More King of the Hill DVDs Coming

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, it is all about goodbyes, as we say goodbye (maybe?) to ABC's Cristela, goodbye to the longest running variety series in the world, and goodbye to a (relatively new) game show host. We also have news of some new DVD re-releases and the launch of a new digital broadcast network. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

While the series hasn't even officially been canceled yet, Cristela Alonzo has already written a "possible goodbye" letter to fans of the series Cristela, in which she reflects on why the series was important. (Hollywood Reporter)
It is unlikely that many of those who speak English watch the series Sábado Gigante, but it is worth noting that the longest running variety series is about to come to an end after an astonishing 53 seasons. (Entertainment Weekly)
Who wants to be the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? It seems that this is something that changes each year now, and this week, it was announced that Bachelor host Chris Harrison will be taking over that role (currently occupied by Terry Crews) this fall.. (Entertainment Weekly)
The broadcast network LAFF launched this week, with sitcoms including Spin City, Ellen, Empty Nest, and others. (SitcomsOnline)
CBS has made airing the colorized Christmas I Love Lucy episode sort of a tradition in recent years. Now they'll be airing some "late spring" colorized episodes. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

We had news about The Simpsons last week that wasn't necessarily positive (that there may be no future home media releases of the series), but for King of the Hill, things are looking pretty good for the remainder of the series. This week, TVShowsOnDVD.com uncovered that plans are in the works to have the entire series finished by the end of the year.
Mill Creek isn't giving up on The Cosby Show, and will in fact be re-releasing the final two seasons with The Cosby Show - Seasons 7 and 8 on June 16.
Mill Creek is also bringing the entire series of Soap back together on DVD, with a June 2 release of Soap - The Complete Series.

APRIL 21 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

What's Happening!! - The Complete Series (DVD, $29.98): Mill Creek is packaging the entire run of this series into a six disc set with a very low MSRP, and it can be found much cheaper online.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Ernest Lee Thomas (Twitter)

Claim to Fame: Ernest Lee Thomas began his career on stage, and made it onto Broadway in 1974 at age 25. He went into TV with a role on The Jeffersons, and it wasn't long until he got the role of Raj on the TV series What's Happening!!, where he played a character almost ten years younger than he was in real life. He later returned to that same role on the follow-up series, What's Happening Now!! While he mostly does work on stage now, he most recently had a recurring role on the UPN/CW series Everybody Hates Chris.

Pick of the Tweets: "Working on the "What's Happening" Chapter of my Autobiography. Fred Berry,Shirley Hemphill and Mabel King are aliveand funny on DVD. Bless" (October 10, 2012)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, July 21

Last Man Standing - "The Passion of Paul" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Rev. Paul calls on Mike to teach Sunday school, Mike calls on Kyle to take his place; Eve fears Mandy and Kristin are taking advantage of Jen at home.

Last Man Standing - "Yass Queen" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
In an effort to help get her clothing line off the ground and into stores, Mike invites Mandy to sit in on a business meeting with an aggressive sales rep; Ed hires Kyle to transcribe his life story.

The Simpsons - "From Russia Without Love" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
On a mission to play hardcore pranks, Bart, Nelson and Milhouse get Moe a mail-order bride.

Bob's Burgers - "What About Blob?" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Gene convinces Tina and Louise to help him save a misunderstood plankton blob from being destroyed by a yacht club.

Family Guy - "Pawtucket Pete" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The brewery's new bosses decide to change the company's mascot; in an attempt to be crowned the new face of Pawtucket Ale, Peter and Brian go head-to-head.

What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage - "Preempted" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
A crazy car chase on the news stops "The Flare" from airing, and Fred doesn't have anything to discuss until a call from a fan changes everything; Joel McHale stops by the show.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 15)

Friday, July 19

The Jonas Brothers (Jonas) - The Jonas Brothers are guests on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Louie Anderson (Baskets/The Louie Show/Life with Louie) - Louie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Allison Williams (Girls) - Allison is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place), Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me!/Hope and Gloria), Ryan Hansen (Bad Judge/Bad Teacher/Party Down) and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Barry/The Good Place/Downward Dog)- Kristen, Enrico, Ryan and Kirby talk about Veronica Mars on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ricky Gervais (After Life/The Office) - Ricky chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Sutton Foster (Younger) - Sutton stops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Louie Anderson (Baskets/The Louie Show/Life with Louie) - Louie visits Couch Surfing at 8am.
Marcia Gay Harden (Trophy Wife) - Marcia talks about Netflix's Point Blank on Access Live, so check your local listings.
JD McCrary (Tyler Perry's The Paynes) - JD talks about The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Francesca Reale (Haters Back Off) - Francesca talks about Stranger Things on the BUILD Series at 2pm.