SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Unedited episodes of The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son and Good Times are coming to Encore Black beginning Tuesday, December 1, 2015. The classic '70s sitcom will air in primetime and will be available on Encore Black onDemand. Good Times will start it off at 8pm, followed by Sanford and Son at 8:30pm and then a double dose of The Jeffersons at 9pm & 9:30pm. The lineup will be kicked-off from 7-8pm with Diff'rent Strokes, which has been airing on the network for awhile. Leaving the lineup will be What's Happening!!, 227 and Amen after their airings on Nov. 30. No word on if and when these series will return at some point, but it seems their contracts could have expired, since three shows are coming in to replace them. All three of the newest additions are seen elsewhere on cable (TV One) and on digital simulcast networks (Antenna TV). Stay with us for continued updates on these series and Encore Black.

Disney Channel has ordered the comedy series Bizaardvark, which will introduce newcomers Olivia Rodrigo and Madison Hu as the lead characters Paige and Frankie, respectively. Production begins early 2016 for a summer premiere. Bizaardvark creators Kyle Stegina and Josh Lehrman were participants in Disney Channel's inaugural Storytellers program. Now in its second year, the program continues to foster creative ideas and develop the next generation of series creators and writers of programming for kids, tweens and families. Paige and Frankie are quirky 13-year-old best friends who write funny songs and create music videos for their online channel, Bizaardvark. Now with 10,000 subscribers, the girls get to work from a creative studio space that they hope will take their videos to the next level. In this cool new environment - and with the help of family and friends -they'll embark on a series of comedic adventures in their quest to become online stars.

Marc Warren (Full House, Even Stevens, That's So Raven, Cory in the House), who supervised Disney Channel Storytellers, served as Executive Producer for the pilot. Eric Friedman (Austin & Ally, Crash & Bernstein) will serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner. Stegina and Lehrman are co-executive producers. Casting information will be announced at a later date.