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

Tuesday, January 25

Abbott Elementary - "Student Transfer" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After a negative teacher review, Janine gets a confidence boost when a student gets transferred from Melissa’s class into hers, but it turns out the student proves to be too much to handle. While trying to forge a friendship with an uninterested Gregory, it is revealed that Jacob is constantly getting roasted by his students. The two bond after Gregory unintentionally gives Jacob the idea to incorporate the roasts in an educational way.

black-ish - "Hoop Dreams" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jack gets a job as the locker room attendant for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Dre and Bow feel like they need to step in before letting the job get to his head. Meanwhile, Pops and Ruby realize their daily routine has gotten boring and heed advice from Junior and Olivia.

American Auto - "Commercial" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Katherine and the team reshoot a commercial to make it more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.

Grand Crew - "Wine & Pie" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Noah's dad is in a funk, so he asks Fay to make his favorite pie; Sherm teaches Anthony to play chess; Wyatt introduces the crew to his brother.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 24)

Tuesday, January 25

Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Catch Kristen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Thomas Middleditch (B Positive/Silicon Valley) - Thomas will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Belushi (According to Jim) - Jim is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Mike Schur (The Office/Creator of Parks and Recreation/Brooklyn Nine-Nine/The Good Place/Rutherford Falls) - Mike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. NBC's Today catches up with Mike in the 9am hour.
Francia Raisa (How I Met Your Father/growni-ish) - Francia appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect) - Sherri guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show.
Jay Pharoah (White Famous) - Jay guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings.
Autumn Reeser (Complete Savages/Grounded for Life) - Autumn appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Marsai Martin (black-ish)- Marsai talks about her new Discovery+ series Remix My Space! on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin talks about Home Team on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Ming-Na Wen (The Single Guy) - Ming-Na talks about The Book of Boba Fett on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.