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
Monday, January 30
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Pit Stop, How May I Help You?" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Calvin takes Dave’s suggestion to try a new method of promoting his business, he soon comes to regret it. Also, Gemma recruits Tina to rescue her struggling after-school music program.
Bob Hearts Abishola - "Bibles to Brothels" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob reconsiders his future at MaxDot and seeks advice from an unexpected source (Joel Murray), while Abishola questions Bob’s erratic behavior.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 30)
Monday, January 30
- Salma Hayek Pinault (30 Rock/The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She talks about Magic Mike's Last Dance on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
- Austin Butler (Ruby & the Rockits/Zoey 101) - Austin appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Murray Bartlett (Physical/Looking) - Murray is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Christopher Meloni (Happy/Surviving Jack/Misery Loves Company/The Fanelli Boys) - Christopher will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place/Barry) - D'Arcy appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Emma Roberts (Scream Queens/Unfabulous) - Emma is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty/Reno 911!/Betas) - Paul will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- D. L. Hughley (The Hughleys/Double Rush) - D. L. guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. He will also be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Christa Miller (Shrinking/Cougar Town/Scrubs/The Drew Carey Show) - Christa appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Hilary Duff (How I Met Your Father/Younger/Lizzie McGuire) - Hilary is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face/Russian Doll) - Natasha talks about her new show, her partnership with Maya Rudolph and whether she would do an American Pie reboot on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Sam Jay (Pause with Sam Jay/Bust Down) - Sam appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (October-January)
10/04 - Mr. Mayor - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/04 - The Munsters - Marineland Carnival with The Munsters TV Cast
10/18 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete First Season
11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/08 - Young Rock - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/15 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Seven / The Complete Season Eight
11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts