SitcomsOnline Digest: Mid-Season Debut Dates Set; New Family Matters and Growing Pains DVDs Ahead From Warner Archive

Saturday, December 26, 2015

SitcomsOnline Digest: Mid-Season Debut Dates Set; New Family Matters and Growing Pains DVDs Ahead From Warner Archive

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! Christmas has come and gone, which means that next week it'll be a whole new year. But before this year is done, we've got a list of when all of your favorite series will return next year, news of some new Warner Archive releases of some classic sitcoms... and Sarah Palin playing Tina Fey in 30 Rock parody? Seriously? You betcha! Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

In recent years, mid-season has become almost as big of a deal (if not a bigger deal, since it tends to give series an opportunity to thrive with less competition) as the beginning of the fall season. Deadline has all of the dates you need to know for when your favorite series returns, along with debut dates for new series. (Deadline)
Tina Fey has been playing the role of Sarah Palin off and on for the past seven years, but now, Sarah Palin has decided to play Tina Fey as Lynn Melon in 31 Rock (as well as John McCain playing a character similar to Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy), a spoof of 30 Rock. (Rolling Stone)
As it turns out, there will a well-known (and current) pop star voice behind the theme song for the upcoming series Fuller House: Carly Rae Jepsen. (Billboard)
We suggest avoiding clicking on the article if you want to avoid a spoiler, but The Big Bang Theory is still managing to set records when it comes to ratings. (CinemaBlend)
... but how much longer can The Big Bang Theory continue to set records? While the series is a hit and there are no signs of audiences going away, showrunner Steve Molaro says there is only so much more that they can do with the series, and suggested that it is possible next year's tenth season could be the last unless they can come up with new ideas to naturally move the story along (to be clear, we wouldn't start writing the obituary yet). (Vulture)
In a very pleasant Easter (sorry, Christmas) weekend surprise for Steve Harvey, it seems that flubbing the announcement of the winner of the Miss Universe Pageant has given the pageant attention that it has perhaps never seen, and also made the organizers want to keep him around for a few years. (New York Daily News)
As a reminder, Syfy will be going big with their annual Twilight Zone marathon that starts on Tuesday evening, airing the entire series (including episodes that haven't aired on TV in decades) in HD. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

TVShowsOnDVD.com had an exclusive this week, announcing that Family Matters will be moving forward on DVD after a bit of a break, but it will now be coming from Warner Archive. According to their information, Family Matters - The Complete Fifth Season will arrive on February 16.
It looks like Warner Archive will also be wrapping up Growing Pains on January 12, with the release of Growing Pains - The Complete Seventh Season (i.e. the Leonardo DiCaprio season).

TUESDAY (DECEMBER 29) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Shameless - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD, $39.98; Blu-ray, $44.96): One of the most dysfunctional families in all of television history returns with this release on DVD and Blu-ray.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Eva Longoria (Twitter), "Actress, Producer, Director, Activist, Philanthropist, Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Friend, HUMAN!"

Claim to Fame: Eva Longoria got her start in beauty pageants, but it didn't take long for it to be seen that she had the potential to be an actress. Her first TV role was as a flight attendant in a final season episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, and she quickly became a soap star on The Young and the Restless. From there, she went on to star in the short-lived 2003-2004 Dragnet. Her biggest claim to fame came in 2004, though, when she was cast as Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives. She then went on to serve as executive producer in Devious Maids. Now, with all of this "soap opera" experience behind her, she is ready to move on to a new role in a sitcom... a sitcom that is all about being a telenovela star who can't speak a word of Spanish, NBC's upcoming series (which already had a preview debut), Telenovela.

Pick of the Tweets: "Merry Christmas everyone! Santa is here!!! (pic)" (December 25, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, April 20

The Simpsons - "Desperately Seeking Lisa" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Lisa has a misadventure in the dark world of Capital City's downtown art scene.

Family Guy - "Drunk With Power" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Peter swaps lives with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and is forced to make a ruling on the constitutionality of gay marriage, meanwhile, Brett tries to become friends with Quagmire, Cleveland and Joe.

Krapopolis - "John Fate Comes A-Knockin'" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Deliria's clairvoyant ex comes to town and gives the family some bad news.

The Great North - "The Prince of Hides Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Wolf fulfills the Tobin dream of going on a survival show; Honeybee introduces Aunt Dirt to margaritas.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 14)

Friday, April 18

David Alan Grier (St. Denis Medical/Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - Watch David on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Chet Hanks (Running Point) - Chet appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody takes "The Colbert Questionert" on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Bobby Moynihan (Mr. Mayor/Me, Myself & I), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Mary Eliabeth Ellis (Santa Clarita Diet/The Grinder/Perfect Couples/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Bobby, Thomas and Mary are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Luke Kirby (Étoile) - Luke talks about Étoile on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross Mathews to hit the headlines on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) - Annaleigh is telling Drew about the thrilling new series Happy Face based on a real life serial killer on The Drew Barrymroe Show, so check your local listings.
Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) and Delroy Lindo (UNPrisoned) - Michael, Delroy and others tell Sherri about their highly anticipated new film Sinners on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel talks about Bravo's Love Hotel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.