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

Monday, September 16

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Conversation" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dave is thrilled when Calvin invites him golfing, confident that it represents progress in their relationship, but Calvin may have another motive. Also, Gemma and Tina team up to pull off an unforgettable surprise for Malcolm, Marty and Grover.

The Big Bang Theory - "The Stockholm Syndrome" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bernadette and Wolowitz leave their kids for the first time; Penny and Leonard try to keep a secret; Sheldon and Amy stick together; and Koothrappali makes a new friend, as the gang travels together into an uncharted future.

In The Cut - "America's Got Skillz, Part 1" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Kenny, Smitty and Percy audition for a talent show competition with Jay as Percy's manager; Mabel begins to lose customers when a famous food blogger writes a bad review.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 16)

Monday, September 16

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Watch Anthony on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney), Natasha Leggero (Another Period/Dice/Free Agents) and Henry Winkler (Barry/Out of Practice/Happy Days) - Whitney, Natasha and Henry make special appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Bless This Mess on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat) - Constance is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Doogie Howser, M.D./Stark Raving Mad) - Neil drops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy appears on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn visits A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Bill Burr (F is for the Family) and Jim Jefferies (Legit) - Bill and Jim are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Jane Lynch (Angel from Hell) and Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Sherri/Less Than Perfect) - Jane and Sherri guest co-host The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Brian Austin Green (Anger Management/Wedding Band/Freddie) - Brian appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
The Cast of The Brady Bunch - The cast of the most famous TV family, The Brady Bunch, is hanging with Rach today and they’re dishing on what it was like to renovate the Brady house on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Tony Danza (Taxi/Who's the Boss?/Hudson Street) - Tony will be on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Michelle Buteau (First Wives Club) - Michelle talks about BET+'s First Wives Club on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.