SitcomsOnline Digest: Yahoo! Screen Shuts Down, Effectively Cancelling Community (Again); NBC Announces New Pilots

Saturday, January 09, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Yahoo! Screen Shuts Down, Effectively Cancelling Community (Again); NBC Announces New Pilots

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! Not surprisingly, with everybody back at work this week (including in the entertainment industry), there is lots of news to catch up on from the slow holiday weeks of news, including the shutdown of an online streaming service (though one that wasn't really making a big splash to begin with), new hope for sitcoms on NBC, new additions to Hulu, and much more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Community has managed to survive six seasons (though no movie... yet), but it can't seem to catch a break. After being on the verge of cancellation just about every season on NBC, it finally was cancelled and moved to Yahoo! Screen for the sixth season, except now, Yahoo! Screen has been shut down, effectively cancelling the series... again. (/FILM)
NBC may be falling short in the comedy realm lately, but they're not giving up, as they've picked up four new pilots from producers with a track record of success. (Hollywood Reporter)
Hulu has announced a new deal with Sony that will bring Dawson's Creek, Party of Five, and more to the service, though so far, the only sitcom announced is Happy Endings (which has actually already debuted on the service). (Hollywood Reporter)
TBS, which has been sort of redefining itself lately, has ordered a comedy pilot starring Wyatt Cenac, with Conan O'Brien and Greg Daniels producing. (Variety)
We still have another month before Fuller House debuts on Netflix, but everybody is excited over new photos from the series that have surfaced online. (Entertainment Weekly)
ABC is eager to make primetime a game show destination again (at least for the summer), as they've renewed Celebrity Family Feud and plan to introduce a Michael Strahan hosted version of $100,000 Pyramid. (Deadline)
Pat Harrington, Jr., best known for his role of Schneider on One Day at a Time, has died, and Antenna TV is airing a marathon of the series today. (SitcomsOnline)

TUESDAY (JANUARY 12) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Hill Street Blues - The Final Season (DVD, $34.93): The final season of the classic police drama arrives on DVD for those who skipped on the complete series release.
The Wonder Years - Season Four (DVD, $39.98): Time Life continues the series on DVD with this release, for those who did not pick up the previously released complete series set.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Patricia Richardson (Twitter, Facebook), "in transition"

Claim to Fame: Last week, we featured Tim Allen as our Follow Me, and this week, we move on to his Home Improvement co-star, Patricia Richardson. For eight seasons, she played Jill Taylor, the wife of Tim Allen's character on the series. Before Home Improvement, she mostly appeared in guest roles, beginning in 1981 with an episode of Love, Sidney, and continuing on with Kate & Allie, The Cosby Show, The Equalizer, and more. She had a brief starring role on the series FM in 1989, but that was cancelled rather quickly. Since Home Improvement ended, she has had roles in Strong Medicine and The West Wing, and now, most recently she appeared on an episode of Tim Allen's new series, Last Man Standing... and the good news is that there is a little more of that to come.

Pick of the Tweets: "How about as a Christmas present to my fans and Tim's fans and HI and LMS fans I tell you I'm going to do another episode of LMS in 2016?" (December 17, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by 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 Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.