ASPiRE Acquires Mod Squad, Soul Food; Syfy's Twilight Zone Marathon Goes HD

Thursday, December 17, 2015

ASPiRE Acquires Mod Squad, Soul Food; Syfy's Twilight Zone Marathon Goes HD

ASPiRE has acquired all five seasons (124 episodes) of cool crime drama series The Mod Squad. The series will debut Monday, January 4, launching "Mod Squad Mondays" from 2 to 8pm EST. All three members of The Mod Squad were on probation when they were recruited for a special "Youth Squad" to infiltrate the counterculture and ferret out criminals. The series stars Michael Cole (Mr. Brooks) as Pete Cochran, Peggy Lipton (Psych) as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III (Lee Daniels' The Butler, American Gangster) as Linc Hayes and the late Tige Andrews as Captain Adam Greer. Cole, Lipton and Williams were billed as the hippest cops on TV. The series premiered on ABC in 1968 and earned six Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe nominations (including one win). A 1970 episode, "Mother of Sorrow," was ranked #95 on TV Guide's "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time."

Soul Food

ASPiRE also announced it has acquired all five seasons (74 episodes) of the critically acclaimed family drama series Soul Food. The award-winning series reunites the Joseph family and a talented, eclectic ensemble cast starring Malinda Williams (UP's A Baby for Christmas, Girlfriend's Getaway) as Tracy "Bird" Van Adams, Vanessa Williams (UP's Raising Izzie), as Maxine Chadway, Nicole Ari Parker (Rosewood, Murder in the First) as Teri Joseph, Rockmond Dunbar (Sons of Anarchy, The Mentalist) as Kenny Chadway, Darrin Dewitt Henson (UP's In the Meantime) as Lem Van Adams, Boris Kodjoe (Real Husbands of Hollywood, The Last Man on Earth) as Damon Carter and Aaron Meeks (Crossing Jordan) as Ahmad Chadway. Soul Food will premiere on ASPiRE with a three day New Years weekend marathon beginning at noon EST on Friday, January 1.

ASPiRE will support the premiere of Soul Food with a multi-level social media campaign that will include a family photo contest, pop-up facts and trivia about the series, Facebook ads, #FoodfortheSoul countdown menus, a special pre-holiday email blast, "Soul Food Sunday Recipes" shared weekly on the network's social media platforms, and a Soul Food countdown clock and quiz on ASPiRE.tv.

The TWilight Zone

Syfy will take viewers into a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity during its 21st annual New Year's Eve The Twilight Zone marathon, which will air all 156 episodes of Rod Serling's legendary TV series in chronological order and in HD for the first time ever on the channel. The 87-hour marathon will begin Wednesday, December 30 at 7PM (ET/PT), concluding Sunday, January 3 at 12PM. The only interruption will be the telecast of WWE SmackDown(R) on Thursday, December 31 from 8-10PM. Among The Twilight Zone fan favorites will be Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (starring William Shatner); The Encounter (starring George Takei); Time Enough At Last; Living Doll; To Serve Man and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.