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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, May 29

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Tire Convention and the Moral High Ground" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie discovers that Jim’s annual tire convention trip isn’t what he says it is. Meanwhile, Mandy has doubts about the strength of her and Georgie’s marriage.

Ghosts - "The Not-So-Silent Partner" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam and Jay are forced to cover when Mark demands to meet the silent investor in Jay’s restaurant who has been holding up construction.

Bob's Burgers - "Like a Candle in the Gym" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Linda forces everyone to go on a family walk; the kids stumble onto a bizarre conspiracy theory.

Grimsburg - "Blue Light District" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Roles get reversed in Flute and Summers' partnership after male sex workers start turning up dead.

Family Guy - "Cool Hand Lois" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Peter suspects Lois of betraying his trust with Quagmire at a swanky vacation resort.

The Great North - "Sunset Beeflevard Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Judy joins the cast of a dinner theater production; Wolf and Honeybee help Moon sell jerky door-to-door.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)

Thursday, May 29

Ricky Gervais (After Life/The Office) - Catch Ricky on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kaitlyn Dever (Last Man Standing) - Kaitlyn appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Bill Burr (F Is for Family/Townies) - Bill is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Glenn Howerton (Sirens/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/A.P. Bio/The Mindy Project/That '80s Show) - Glenn appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Thomas, Paul and Joe are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
The Cast of And Just Like That... - E! News has an interview with the cast at 11pm on E!.
Tia Mowry (Family Reunion/The Game/Sister, Sister) - Tia has a big announcement to help you plan your summer vacation on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. Plus, she catches us up on family and her hit TV show Tia Mowry: My Next Act.
Megan Hilty (Sean Saves the World) - Megan joins the hosts for a chat about Death Becomes Her on Broadway on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Sarah chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Chloe Fineman (Big Mouth/Search Party) - Featured host Vlad Duthiers attends an acting class and partners with Chloe Fineman, actor and comedian, in an attempt to land a film role on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Justina talks about the Broadway musical Real Women Have Curve on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Paul Scheer (Black Monday/Fresh Off the Boat/The League) - Paul is telling Drew all about his new memoir and answering questions from his wife June Diane Raphael on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jack Innanen and Malik Elassal (Adults) - Jack and Malik talk about Adults on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.