SitcomsOnline Digest: The Mindy Project Out and Undateable In (And Completely Live) for 2015-2016 Season; VEI Announces Huge Slate of Releases

Saturday, May 09, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: The Mindy Project Out and Undateable In (And Completely Live) for 2015-2016 Season; VEI Announces Huge Slate of Releases

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! Early May is always the busiest time of the year for news as we learn which shows will be coming, going, and which ones will be abandoned before they could even be picked up, and this week is no exception! We have just a small taste of some of the bigger announcements here today (stay with us next week for full details as the networks finalize everything). Additionally, we have some major DVD news coming out of one studio that will bring nearly a dozen (if not more) abandoned or never released series, mostly from the CBS library, to DVD. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

The Mindy Project is dead on Fox, but it hasn't been knocked out just yet, as Hulu may pick up the series for another season or two. (Hollywood Reporter)
It isn't completely surprising that NBC renewed the series Undateable for a third season, but what is surprising is the one condition of that renewal: the entire third season will be broadcast live on the east coast. (Entertainment Weekly)
John Stamos may be about to become a very busy man now that Fox has picked up his sitcom Grandfathered for next season. (Deadline)
The CW passed on the reboot of Tales From the Darkside, but it looks like some other networks (and Hulu) may be interested. (Deadline)
Grace Lee Whitney, best known for her role on Star Trek, died this week at the age of 85. (CNN)
It looks like there won't be an end to The Simpsons anytime soon, as the series has been renewed for two more seasons. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

VEI announced a huge slate of DVDs this week, including (but not limited to) Angie, Cannon, Grace Under Fire, Hotel, The Parkers, and Petrocelli. They are saying that these will be coming later this year, although we anticipate there could be some delays in releasing this huge slate.
Shout! Factory is moving ahead with their releases of the All in the Family spinoffs, with Maude - The Complete Second Season and The Jeffersons - The Complete Eighth Season on August 11.

RECENT REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE.COM

Wanda at Large - The Complete First Season: Warner Archive brings the very short first season of this series to DVD in this single disc release. It is a very basic release that contains the six episodes of the first season, but there are no real problems with the DVD.

MAY 12 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00T73AUUG/ref=nosim/happydaysonline5-20

Bob's Burgers - The Complete 4th Season (DVD, $29.95): The series that managed to become a staple on the Sunday night Fox lineup returns for another season as a MOD release.
Mister Ed - The Final Season (DVD, $16.97): The short sixth (and final) season of the series about a talking horse arrives on DVD in this release.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Chris D'Elia (Twitter), "The ONLY official twitter account for the movie Best Man Holiday starring Taye Diggs."

Claim to Fame: With the somewhat unusual renewal for NBC's Undateable, we're featuring the star of that series as our Follow Me this week. He plays the starring role of Danny Burton in that series which just got a third season (unusual for an NBC sitcom, also unusual since even executive producer Bill Lawrence didn't expect the series to really last) of all live episodes. This isn't D'Elia's first sitcom on NBC in recent years, though, as he was previously on the series Whitney. One of his first roles was as a teenager in the series Chicago Hope, and he has also appeared in Monk, Boston Legal, and Jennifer Falls.

Pick of the Tweets: "Hey my TV went out but let me guess. Justin is dressed terribly. #Undateable" (April 28, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, December 26

Ghosts - "The Christmas: Spirit One" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
In part one of a special one-hour #Ghostsmas episode, Jay’s sister, Bela (Punam Patel), visits Woodstone Mansion and brings along an adoring male friend, inspiring Sam to spark a romance between them in the spirit of the holiday rom-coms she loves. Meanwhile, the ghosts have conjured up a very different holiday plan for Trevor and Bela. Also, Isaac has an awkward encounter with Nigel that forces him to look back on events in his life.

Ghosts - "The Christmas: Spirit Two" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
In part two of a special one-hour #Ghostsmas episode, Sam and Thorfinn get caught in the crossfire as the scheme Jay’s sister, Bela (Punam Patel), and the ghosts have conjured up goes awry. Also, Isaac’s marriage to Beatrice sheds light on how apprehensive he has been in communicating his feelings to Nigel.

Ghosts - "A Very Arondekar Christmas Part 1" / "A Very Arondekar Christmas Part 2" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A leaky water heater mishap threatens to ruin holiday plans as Sam and Jay prepare to host Jay’s hard-to-please dad, Mahesh (Bernard White), difficult-to-impress mom, Champa (Sakina Jaffrey), and sister Bela (Punam Patel), on a one-hour GHOSTSMAS special.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 23)

Thursday, December 26

Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Catch Jenny on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Paul Feig (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/The Louie Show/The Jackie Thomas Show/Dirty Dancing) - Paul is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Luke Wilson (No Good Deed/Englightened) - Luke is joining Drew for a round of "Behind-the-Scenes" with tidbits from his roles in movies like Legally Blonde on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. He's also telling her about his role in the thrilling new show, No Good Deed.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney is chatting with Drew about joining her on Hollywood Squares, going back to work in comedy after becoming a mother, and hosting her new trivia show about Friends on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle appears on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Sanaa Lathan (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show/LateLine) - Sanaa and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor talk about the enduring power of friendship in their new Hulu film The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Carol Kane (Taxi/All Is Forgiven/Amerian Dreamer/Pearl/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Carol chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Lamorne Morris (Woke/New Girl) - Lamorne sits down for an interview on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL) - Jay talks about his new virtual reality series Soapstone Comedy Presents on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.