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

Thursday, December 7

Ghosts (UK) - "The Grey Lady" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After a photographer accidentally captures a photo of Fanny and posts it on social media, Alison and Mike try to capitalize on the attention by offering admission to the haunted Button House.

Ghosts (UK) - "About Last Night" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After a night of partying, Alison tries to figure out why the ghosts are acting so strangely as she and Mike scramble to clean up the house for a wedding planner to view.

Son of a Critch - "The Perfect Storm" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mark learns new things about his parents after a historic storm knocks out power to the Critch house; when his father's back goes out, Mike Jr. has to broadcast all night alone.

Children Ruin Everything - "Weekends" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT)
With long days at the office, Astrid cannot shake the feeling that she is missing out on key moments with their kids; Astrid convinces James that what the family needs is an adventure together.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 4)

Thursday, December 7

Halle Bailey (grown-ish) - Catch Halle on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Olivia Rodrigo (Bizaardvark) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers) - Daniel appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Sara Bareilles (Girls5eva) - Sara is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Gael García Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle) - Gael appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Michelle Pfeiffer (Delta House) - Michelle appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Allison Williams (Girls) - Allison and writer/director Allison Flom talk about joining forces in their new podcast, Erased: The Murder of Elma Sand, on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. She can also be heard on the Morning Mashup on SiriusXM.
Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Stark Raving Mad/Wings) - NBC's Today catches up with Tony in the 9am hour.
Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - Kelsey talks about the reboot of Frasier on Paramount+ and opens up about the loss of his friend, Kirstie Alley, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Dennis Quaid (Merry Happy Whatever) - Dennis talks about Paramount+'s Lawmen: Bass Reeves on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier) - Jack talks about Paramount+'s Frasier on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
John Brotherton (Fuller House) - John and Erin Cahill are guests (tentative) on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.