SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Looking at "Musical Funeral Home Soap" Series; Grace Under Fire DVD Date Announced

Saturday, September 12, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Looking at "Musical Funeral Home Soap" Series; Grace Under Fire DVD Date Announced

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been a slow news week with the holiday earlier in the week and preparations for the upcoming season also under way, but we are here with some news nonetheless, including a potential "musical funeral home soap" from NBC (whatever that is). Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

While it may be an unusually new idea in a world of reboots, NBC has decided that they want to do a series described as a "musical funeral home soap," which we're guessing would be a lot like Glee with a lot of dead people. (A.V. Club)
The Odd Couple will be adding Teri Hatcher to the cast as a recurring character once it returns later in the upcoming season. (Hollywood Reporter)
The CW has been on the air for almost a decade now, but the future of the network is going to going to depend upon a lot of factors which will be addressed soon. (Deadline)
The new late night war has put Stephen Colbert up against Jimmy Fallon, but the new competition isn't really hurting Fallon much so far. (Deadline)
Martin Milner, star of Route 66 and Adam-12, died this week at the age of 83. (ABC News)
Merv Adelson, co-founder of Lorimar Television (the studio that brought series such as Eight is Enough, The Waltons, and Dallas to television, and later sitcoms like Full House and ALF), died this week at the age of 85. (New York Times)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

It's (maybe) official, Grace Under Fire - The Complete Series arrives on DVD on October 6, though VEI has been known for unexpected delays in the past.
My Favorite Martian - The Complete Series will be arriving on DVD from MPI on October 20.
Rhino used to be a player in the TV-on-DVD business, but they have pretty much been music only for the past seven years... but now they're jumping back into it just temporarily as they release The Monkees - The Complete Series on Blu-ray in January.

SEPTEMBER 15 HOME MEDIA RELEASES

The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Eighth Season (DVD, $44.98; Blu-ray, $49.99): The hit CBS sitcom that shows no sign of stopping anytime soon keeps moving ahead on DVD (and Blu-ray) with this release.
black-ish - The Complete First Season (DVD, $29.99): The ABC sitcom arrives on DVD as an amazon.com exclusive on September 18.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Jane Lynch (Twitter), "Official #JaneLynch // #Actress #BonVivantess #GameShowHostess #CabaretSongstress"

Claim to Fame: For the most part, when people hear of the name Jane Lynch, they think of Glee... which, even though it was sort of a comedy, it is a series that we've sort of neglected around here since it wasn't actually a sitcom. That's no longer relevant, though, because Jane Lynch's next project actually is a legitimate sitcom (and, we should add, we will be featuring stars of the fall's new sitcoms as our Follow Me for the next few weeks, as we typically do), the upcoming CBS series Angel From Hell. Actually, the series will not debut until November 5, but in it, Lynch will play a guardian angel, quite a different character from her Sue Sylvester on Glee. Besides Glee, though, Lynch currently hosts Hollywood Game Night over on NBC, and has had numerous (too many to list) appearances in other past TV series, most notable a recurring role on Two and a Half Men.

Pick of the Tweets: "Belting away with @KateFlannery @projangelfood gala. 25 years of feeding people. All praise to @marwilliamson (pic)" (August 23, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, February 25

The Conners - "Bad Dads and Grads" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Dan starts to bond with his younger half-brother (guest star Noel Fisher), but he can’t get over the fact that their father paid for Ed Jr.’s college education, something he refused to do for Dan. Jackie hits it off with a fun married couple (guest stars and real-life husband and wife Clark Gregg and Jennifer Grey), so much so that they “invite” her into their relationship. Harris and Mark do not react well to the news that Darlene is trying to have a baby with Ben.

Bless This Mess - "Völsung and the Beef Boy" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When faced with choosing between meat judging (his dad Beau’s preference) or playing music (his shared bond with Mike), Jacob realizes he must figure out what his passions are on his own. Meanwhile, Rio takes driving lessons from Kay, but their friendship hits a bump in the road when Kay learns that Rio has secretly been getting lessons from other townspeople.

mixed-ish - "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The Johnsons welcome an African American family that has just moved into their mostly white neighborhood. Santamonica doesn’t get along with the new neighbor’s daughter, until she gives Santamonica attitude. Meanwhile, Rainbow is excited to celebrate her one-month anniversary with Bryce, but he tells her some devastating news.

black-ish - "You Don't Know Jack" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jack joins the robotics club and Dre worries it might be a detrimental failure for him after already being cut from the basketball team. Ruby embellishes a story for Diane’s school project.

Schitt's Creek - "The Presidential Suite" (Pop, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Johnny and Moira spend a night at the presidential suite in the new motel, while Alexis receives a surprise visitor.

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages - "Dark Ages: Holiday" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Al and Prince Chauncley struggle to deal with their families over the holidays.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 24)

Tuesday, February 25

Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Catch Nick on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Voice on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette drops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She will also be on the BUILD Series at 3pm.
Adam Pally (Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Karen Gillan (Selfie) - Karen appears on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tommy Davidson (Between Brothers) - Tommy is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse stops by The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Son of Zorn/Suburgatory) - Cheryl appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Leslie Odom Jr. (Big Day) - Leslie is a guest on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Chris Spencer (Significant Others) - Chris appears on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Jason Ritter (The Class) - Jason talks about Frozen 2 on E!'s Daily Pop at 12pm.