SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Looking to Do Musical Version of Dirty Dancing; More Releases from Shout! Factory

Saturday, December 12, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Looking to Do Musical Version of Dirty Dancing; More Releases from Shout! Factory

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we have news of more musicals on broadcast television (they have sort of become the new reboot of 70s and 80s series), news of a death of a sitcom star from the golden era of television, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

It looks as if these musical remakes of classic movies on broadcast networks have become the latest trend in television, as ABC is now jumping in with a planned musical version of Dirty Dancing. (Hollywood Reporter)
Some sitcom fans may not like Survivor, but apparently Survivor fans (or at least contestants) love sitcoms, as a previous Survivor winner is now working with Greg Garcia (best known for My Name is Earl and Raising Hope) to develop a sitcom for CBS. (Deadline)
NBC struck ratings gold again with the TV movie Coat of Many Colors this week, including scoring their best total-viewer ratings (excluding sports and musical events) in the timeslot since the finale of ER in 2009. (Rolling Stone)
Actress Marjorie Lord, who was best known for playing matriarch Kathy on Make Room for Daddy, has died at age 95. (Entertainment Weekly)
Willard Scott has been semi-retired from Today for almost two decades, but now he is ready to retire for good. (Today)
Golden Globe nominations were announced this week, and as has become more common, the leaders in nominations were not the broadcast television networks. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

It probably comes as no surprise that after releasing all of the other versions of The Bold Ones, Shout! Factory (under TMG) will be wrapping things up by releasing the most successful of the series, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors - The Complete Series on March 1.
Shout! Factory is finishing up The Nanny on DVD (for those who skipped on the complete series) with The Nanny - The Final Season on March 15.
Maude - The Complete Fourth Season will be arriving on DVD on March 22.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Don Most (Twitter)

Claim to Fame: "Don Most" is not the name we think of when we see the face, because we knew him better as Donny Most, who played Ralph Malph on Happy Days. Since that time, he has had guest roles on several series, including Murder, She Wrote, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and Glee, among other series. He has had some cartoon voice roles as well. Lately, he is returning to what he says is his first love: singing.

Pick of the Tweets: "Appearing on "Home & Family" on the Hallmark Channel on Nov. 19, with Anson Williams and Marion Ross. Bringing my band on and singing." (November 15, 2014)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, November 20

The Goldbergs - "Angst-Giving" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Even though Beverly’s patience with Pop Pop is put to the test due to his endless Thanksgiving demands, she is able to put aside her own feelings to help heal the longstanding rift between Murray and Pop Pop. Meanwhile, Barry and Erica are ready to return home for the holiday, but Uncle Marvin accidentally drives them to Pittsburgh. Marvin attempts to make it right not knowing if they will make it to Jenkintown in time to celebrate the holiday. Judd Hirsch and Dan Fogler return to guest star as Pop Pop and Uncle Marvin.

Schooled - "Friendsgiving" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
CB celebrates Thanksgiving by having all of William Penn rally around him after a cooking incident at his house, while the alumni faculty football game brings out the competitive sides of Wilma and Coach Mellor.

Modern Family - "The Last Thanksgiving" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Cameron and Mitchell’s friends mistakenly assume they have split up and have definitely chosen a side; and Haley attempts to cook Thanksgiving dinner as a thank you for Claire and Phil’s support with the twins. Meanwhile, Jay invites Phil and Dylan out to fly his model plane, and Phil thinks this is his chance to reclaim his dignity after their first outing 10 years ago went so wrong.

Single Parents - "Every Thursday Should Be Like This" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Will gets busy cooking Thanksgiving dinner at Douglas’ home, he asks Angie to hang out with Tracy Freeze (guest star Jama Williamson). Angie reluctantly does so, only to realize that Tracy is actually wonderful, except for a secret she’s keeping from Will. Meanwhile, Miggy shows up to Thanksgiving dinner with the kids’ teacher, Ms. Pronstroller (Sarah Yarkin), as his date, and he enlists Douglas’ assistance in helping them form an in-person connection, given all of their previous communication has been via texts, DMs and memes.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "A Woman's Right to Chop" / "Waiting for Big Mo" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Trapped inside Paddy's with a suicidal jumper on the roof, the gang wonders if it should bother intervening; Dennis ponders the reasons of playing laser tag and if the pursuit of a victory is worth the effort.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Wednesday, November 20

Adam Driver (Girls) - Watch Adam on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Julie Andrews (Julie) - Julie stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. She will also be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Michael Rapaport (Awkward/The War at Home) and Tony Rock (Living Biblically/All of Us) - Michael and Tony are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Craig Ferguson (The Drew Carey Show) - Craig appears on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory/Roseanne) - Johnny is a guest on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Brie Larson (United States of Tara/Raising Dad) - Brie appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Lena Waithe (Master of None) - Lena is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Ed Quinn (One Day at a Time/2 Broke Girls) - Ed visits The Real, do check your local listings.
Tisha Campbell (Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings.
Maura Tierney (NewsRadio) - Maura talks about The Report on People Now at 12pm.
Robin Givens (Head of the Class) - Robin talks about OWN's Ambition on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens/Anything But Love) - Jamie Lee talks about Knives Out on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Ashley Williams (The Jim Gaffigan Show/Good Morning, Miami) - Ashley talks about Holiday Hearts on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.