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, April 18
Young Sheldon - "An Ankle Monitor and a Big Plastic Crap House" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon studies to be Meemaw’s lawyer when she is put on house arrest, and the Coopers have a plumbing emergency.
Ghosts - "Holes Are Bad" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Sam and Jay leave the ghosts home alone for the weekend in an attempt to have a romantic getaway, shocking revelations are made about two of Woodstone’s beloved spirits.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 15)
Thursday, April 18
- Zendaya (K.C. Undercover/Shake It Up) - Catch Zendaya on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Sandra Oh (Arliss) - Sandra is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She talks about Sympathizer on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Reid Scott (Veep/My Boys/It's All Relative) - Reid appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers) - Daniel will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Dulcé Sloan (The Great North) - Dulcé hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Chris O'Dowd (The Big Door Prize/Family Tree) - Chris appears on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am. He chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Tony Danza (Taxi/Who's the Boss?/Hudson Street/The Tony Danza Show) - NBC's Today catches up with Tony in the 10am hour.
- Jurnee Smollett (On Our Own) - Jurnee talks about We Grown Now on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Jay Hernandez (Hang Time) - Jay discusses his new film The Long Game on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Lil Rel Howery (Rel/The Carmichael Show) - Lil Rel talks about We Grown Now on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Michaela Watkins (Dinner with the Parents/Search Party/The Unicorn/Casual/Trophy Wife) - Michaela is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts