Wednesday, October 07, 2015
ABC Family Rebranding to Freeform; Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration on PBS
ABC Family President Tom Ascheim announced that ABC Family will be renamed and rebranded as Freeform in January 2016. This evolution builds on ABC Family's existing strategy of super serving "Becomers" - a life stage that spans people who are 14-34. The name, look, feel and attitude of the network will capture the nature of the Becomer audience and the modern way this audience generates and consumes media. The name Freeform speaks to the mindset and attitude of what the channel has defined as Becomers. Traditionally, Becomers are in high school, college and the decade that follows and are navigating the wonderful, fun, exciting, and scary time in life when you experience the most firsts - first car, first apartment, first job, first love, first heartbreak - all the firsts that exists between who they are and who they want to become. Becomers represent a life stage rather than a generation. Eleven years ago, ABC Family was ahead of the curve when it began super-serving Millennials to become their entertainment staple. Today, nearly 70% of 12-34 year olds are Millennials, but in five years, Millennials will be less than half of the target. Becomers are 69 million strong in the US, with an estimated spending power in the trillions. There are two billion Becomers worldwide.
The audience's identity and experience are fluid as they explore endless possibilities and their passions take shape. Freeform personifies this fluidity and will deliver ideas, forms of content and ways of interacting with the brand. Freeform is inspired by the interconnection between content and audience, media and technology, interactive and linear, life stage and life style and the way Becomers interact with them all. The network remains committed to the critically acclaimed original series and programming stunts that have become pop-culture phenomena and made it so successful with the Becomer audience. Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters, Young and Hungry and Baby Daddy will all return in early 2016 for their winter premieres alongside the world premieres of new original series Shadowhunters and Recovery Road. Freeform will also continue the programming trajectory announced this April and will double the networks original programing over the next four years. New series pick-ups and series returns will also be announced later this month.
During the 2014/15 season, ABC Family landmarked as cable TV's #1 network in Prime for the first time in the channel's 15-year history in Women 18-34 and was the #1 ad-supported cable TV network for the fourth-consecutive season in Females 12-34. In addition, ABC Family extended its streak as a Top 5 cable TV network to seven-straight seasons in Women 18-49 and placed among the Top 10 for the seventh season in a row in Adults 18-34 and Viewers 12-34.
On the eve of the 45th anniversary of the premiere of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, PBS announces a new documentary about the TV legend featuring new interviews with an array of Moore's colleagues, friends and admirers. Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration airs October 13, 2015, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings). Not only did Moore "turn the world on with her smile," as her show's theme song declared, she also influenced a generation of women to become more independent and to pursue successful and fulfilling careers. Moore's own 50-plus-year career has spanned award-winning films and Broadway shows, as well as two beloved television series that broke ground and continue to entertain viewers. Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration includes heartfelt interviews with Dick Van Dyke, Betty White, Valerie Harper and many others who recall Moore's career highlights and underscore the importance of her television characters in shaping today's society.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, January 29
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Dirty Hands and a Barbed-Wire Fence" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Ruben are forced to get their hands dirty when Fred Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher) tries to run them out of business. Meanwhile, Mandy grows suspicious of Georgie’s lies.
Ghosts - "Soul Custody" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam, Jay and the ghosts attempt to extricate Jay from his deal with Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), the devil. Also, Isaac helps Patience (Mary Holland) through a crisis of confidence and Pete and Alberta navigate the fallout from their kiss.
Animal Control - "Lost Dogs and Bar Flies" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Roman Park takes Frank's beloved dog away from him; in an effort to get his dog back, Frank and Shred find themselves on a late-night rescue mission; Patel's house sale spirals.
Going Dutch - "There's No PX Like Home" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
With the celebration of the U.S.'s 250th birthday coming up, the base's festivities are on the line when their supplies are held up by a petty and vengeful Davidson; Team Shiny must pull off a daring undercover mission.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 26)
Thursday, January 29
- Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simple Rules/Ladies Man) - Catch Kaley on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kermit the Frog (The Muppets) - Kermit the Frog appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Patrick Dempsey (Fast Times) - Patrick is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Memory of a Killer on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Animal Control on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- J.C. Currais (Just Roll with It) - J.C. is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Andy Cohen interviews Kyle, Kathy Hilton and Paris Hilton on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
- Katherine LaNasa (Three Sisters) - Katherine appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. She also talks about The Pitt on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Shrinking on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin talks about Solo Mio on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Annie Potts (Young Sheldon/Over the Top/Love & War/Designing Women/Goodtime Girls) - Annie tells Sherri about her role in Fox's Best Medicine on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will tells Drew all about his awareness campaign for Huntington's disease on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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