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."
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.
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
Monday, June 30
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Sting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Calvin and Marty send Courtney on a mission to find out information about Fuse Box’s impressive new rival. Meanwhile, Malcolm attends an event for his creative writing program at USC, where he scores a meeting with a book agent, Lisa (Angelique Cabral).
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Your Own Medicine" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Dave’s disastrous attempt to dunk a basketball, Calvin takes care of his injured neighbor. Also, Gemma befriends a cool mom group while babysitting Daphne.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)
Monday, June 30
- Don Johnson (Kenan) - Watch Don on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - George appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Christopher Sieber (It's All Relative/Two of a Kind) - Christopher is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Kel Mitchell (Game Shakers/Kenan & Kel) and Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Kel and Thomas are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Evan Handler (And Just Like That...) - Evan talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Hugh Jackman (Human Resources) - Hugh chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere/Nightcap) - Jeff talks about Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - NBC's Today has Prompter Wars with Amy in the 10am hour.
- Kevin Hart (Lil Kev/Die Hart/The Big House/Undeclared) - NBC's Today catches up with Kevin in the 10am hour.
- Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - NBC's Today catches up with Amy, Jillian and Brianne on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Drew is introducing the newest Drew-crew member, Valerie Bertinelli on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, Valerie is making a shrimp and veggie cups recipe from her latest cookbook, Indulge.
- Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about Max's And Just Like That... on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Edwin Lee Gibson (The Bear/Unprisoned) - Edwin is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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