SitcomsOnline Digest: Henry Winkler and William Shatner Cast in NBC Alternative Comedy Series; Raven-Symoné to Enjoy The View

Saturday, June 13, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: Henry Winkler and William Shatner Cast in NBC Alternative Comedy Series; Raven-Symoné to Enjoy The View

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! As usual for a summer week after everything for the fall season has been announced and doesn't start for about three more months, we have a slow news week. But we have developments regarding an alternative comedy in development at NBC with Henry Winkler, news of yet another Sony re-release from Mill Creek, a reminder that Rue McClanahan died five years ago (not this week), and surprisingly, for the first time in several weeks, no new developments about Fuller House or any old Full House news... although technically, John Stamos did manage to keep the streak of his name in the news going with some negative news of his own last night, but it isn't newsworthy for us). Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Henry Winkler, William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, and George Foreman have all been tapped as cast members for Better Late Than Never, an "alternative comedy" in development at NBC. (Deadline)
Raven-Symone is best known for her roles on The Cosby Show and That's So Raven, but now it is official: she is going to take a lot of time to enjoy The View, as she is the newest co-host. (ABC News)
Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan died over five years ago, yet news of her death began trending on social media this week (and the same thing happened approximately a year ago as well). So why? (CBS News)
Comedy writer Paul Raley, who worked on series including Grace Under Fire, Night Court, and Saturday Night Live, died this week at the age of 71. (Variety)
Bounce TV is freshening up their sitcom offerings, by adding The Bernie Mac Show and Cosby to the lineup. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

When Mill Creek announced that they would be re-releasing certain Sony series on DVD, they really meant just about everything. On August 18, they will be releasing The Jeff Foxworthy Show - The Complete Series.

JUNE 16 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00US8DH5Y/ref=nosim/happydaysonline5-20

The Cosby Show - Seasons 7 & 8 (DVD, $14.98): Mill Creek finally wraps up their re-releases of the classic sitcom with this release. Season 7 and Season 8 also available individually.
Laverne & Shirley - The Complete Series (DVD, $79.99): CBS gives fans of the classic Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams series a chance to own the entire series in one set with this release.
The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (DVD, $59.98): With the new series entering a second season later next season, the original with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall is compiled in one set for this release.
Two and a Half Men - The Twelfth and Final Season (DVD, $29.98): Who knew that the series that seemed to be unstoppable for years would finally come to an end? Of course, it did end in March, and now Warner Home Video is finishing it up on DVD. Another option for fans is the complete series, which carries a $275.68 MSRP.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Kurtwood Smith (Twitter), "Still don't know what I am doing here!"

Claim to Fame: The name may not be familiar to some, but the face (and who he is) certainly is familiar: Kurtwood Smith came to fame from playing Red Forman (dad) on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. His TV and movie career actually started in 1980 with a small role in an episode of Soap. From that point, he made other small appearances in TV series, but mostly stuck with movie roles, including RoboCop. Of course, to TV fans, he was in That '70s Show, and more recently, he appeared on the (now canceled) ABC series Resurrection.

Pick of the Tweets: "How nice to have Ma back! Only on #Resurrection does your mother come back younger than you!" (September 28, 2014)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, October 2

The Simpsons - "Pixelated and Afraid" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Homer and Marge are lost in an icy wilderness, they must push themselves to their limits to survive.

Bob's Burgers - "Frigate Me Knot" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Linda encourages Teddy to attend a farewell ceremony for the ship on which he served in the Navy, but it means confronting his Navy pals and his past.

The Simpsons - "One Angry Lisa" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa gets called for jury duty; Marge becomes obsessed with her exercise bike.

The Great North - "Cillian Me Softly Adventure" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
During Lone Moose's Disaster Day event, Wolf and Honeybee have their very first fight.

Bob's Burgers - "The Reeky Lake Show" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The family's Labor Day lake trip takes a turn when the Belchers find themselves trapped in their cabin, hiding from what lurks outside.

Family Guy - "Bend or Blockbuster" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Resolved to enjoy a family movie night, the Griffins take a road trip to Bend, Ore., to rent a VHS from the last Blockbuster in existence.

The Villains of Valley View - "Havoc-Ween" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Amy brings her mischievous body-snatching Grandma to a party. Vic and Eva scam kids out of their candy untill they come across a villain even bigger than themselves.

Raven's Home - "The Girl Who Cried Tasha" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Alice uses a spell to bring her doll, Tasha, to life; when Tasha refuses to return to being a doll, Alice must enlist the help of Booker, Ivy and Neil.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 26)

Friday, September 30

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Quinta is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Kevin appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Alison Brie (GLOW/Community) - Alison will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
David Alan Grier (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - David appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Topher Grace (Home Economics/That '70s Show) - Topher is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy stops by to chat and play a rousing game of Never Have I Ever with a twist on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jim Rash (Community/Help Me Help You/Thanks/Katie Joplin) - Jim appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jason Alexander (Seinfeld/Bob Patterson/Listen Up!/Hit the Road) - Jason shares stories from his hit sitcom on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso dishes about the new season of Dancing with the Stars on Disney+ on Sherri, so check your local listings. He will also be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick talks about Don't Worry Darling and Little Big Boys on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show/The Good Life) - Drew is a guest on Sherri, so check your local listings.