SitcomsOnline Digest: Two New Series From Established Sitcom Veterans to Come to Netflix?; James Burrows Tribute to Air on NBC

Saturday, January 16, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Two New Series From Established Sitcom Veterans to Come to Netflix?; James Burrows Tribute to Air on NBC

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been another busy week of news with new developments from Chuck Lorre and even Matt Groening, and it's also been a week of non-news rumors (that were passed around as actual news) regarding a Friends reunion... but we'll set the record straight! Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Chuck Lorre keeps cranking out sitcoms that aren't exactly your traditional or standard sitcoms, and now he is trying to get a network (most likely Netflix) to pick up a new comedy that is being described as The Big Bang Theory if the characters worked in a marijuana dispensery. (Hollywood Reporter)
It looks as if Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons and Futurama) may be bringing an animated series to Netflix, though details about everything are still very unclear. (IGN)
We'll set the record straight on the rumored Friends reunion that NBC will supposedly be airing: there is no actual Friends reunion coming to NBC. Rather, the real story is that NBC will air a tribute to James Burrows in honor of his 1000th television episode, which will include some (not all) of the cast members of some of the series he has worked on, including Friends. (Deadline)
Mike & Molly has now been officially canceled, though this shouldn't be a surprise given the cast rumors from last month. (Yahoo TV)
CBS has been trying to mix up their sitcoms lately by throwing single-camera sitcoms into the usual multi-camera sitcom mix for the network, but it seems that the network is looking to turn some of the future single-camera projects back into multi-camera projects. (Deadline)
NBC has enough confidence in Seth Meyers to renew his contract through 2021. (Hollywood Reporter)

TUESDAY (JANUARY 19) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Sister, Sister - The Complete Series (DVD, $109.99): The complete series of the series starring Tia and Tamera Mowry is expected to be released on Tuesday; however, it is possible that it has been delayed.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Caroline Rhea (Twitter), "Mother of Ava, Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Aunt to Sabrina, considering options for next major crush"

Claim to Fame: Caroline Rhea got her start in one very minor movie role and standup comedy, but she first became known to TV audiences in 1995 with the NBC sitcom Pride & Joy. It only lasted six episodes, but she bounced back (big time) in 1996 when she was cast in the role of Hilda Spellman on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. She remained in that role for the first six seasons of the series, and left in 2002 when she had the opportunity to replace Rosie O'Donnell when she left her daytime talk show. The Caroline Rhea Show lasted for one season, and since then, she has hosted the first two seasons of The Biggest Loser, played a regular voice role on the Disney series Phineas & Ferb, and much more.

Pick of the Tweets: "Sabrina the Teenage Bitch(Relax, the female dog term) #NewShowsForDogTV" (September 6, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, January 28

The Conners - "Mud Turtles, A Good Steak and One Man in a Tub" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Becky thinks that Jackie’s new friend Dawn (guest star Cheryl Hines), a restaurant supplier, is only cozying up to her to sell them things they can’t afford for the Lunch Box. Darlene is thrilled when Harris gets into Central Illinois State, but Harris might have found a better offer on her own. When Dan finds himself in an embarrassing situation nursing an injury, Louise (Katey Sagal) tries to help him out.

Bless This Mess - "The Letter of the Law" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Rio is bummed she can’t afford to go to Iceland for her best friend’s wedding, so the nuptials are moved and brought to the farm. Meanwhile, Rio is forced to take on Deb’s mail route after she quits, and Mike and Jacob help Rudy get over Constance.

mixed-ish - "True Colors" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Paul is shocked to hear from his estranged mother who wants to visit for Rainbow’s 13th birthday and soon learns more about why she abandoned him. Meanwhile, Rainbow sees turning 13 as a huge turning point in her life and wants a big birthday party, but Alicia wants to celebrate all the things Rainbow missed out on over the years while on the commune.

black-ish - "Adventure to Ventura" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Dre worries Diane and Jack don’t know how to fend for themselves and sends them out on an adventure, only to realize it’s his overbearing worries that hold the twins back. Meanwhile, Junior gets into a tricky situation at work when he befriends Josh in hopes of scoring a positive peer review.

Schitt's Creek - "Maid of Honour" (Pop, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Moira shares the newly released "Crows" movie trailer with the Jazzagals; Johnny and Roland find a suspicious bag of money at the new motel.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 27)

Tuesday, January 28

Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) - Catch Ben on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) - William drops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ashton Kutcher (The Ranch/Two and a Half Men/That '70s Show) - Ashton visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana is a guest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
Tony Rock (Living Biblically/All of Us) - Tony is a panelist on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Kumail stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Aidy Bryant (Shrill) - Aidy appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
Miles Brown (black-ish) - Miles is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Fox's The Resident on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland/Hot in Cleveland/Jake in Progress/Just Shoot Me!) - Wendie talks about Disney Channel's The Owl House on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Life) - Nia talks about Poisoned Love on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Bill Pullman (1600 Penn) - Bill talks about The Sinner on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on the BUILD Series at 12:15pm.
Janeane Garofalo (The Larry Sanders Show) and Grant Rosenmeyer (Oliver Beene) - Janeane and Grant are guests on the BUILD Series at 2pm.