Ted Danson Back at NBC, This Time with Kristen Bell; Showtime Picks Up Jim Carrey Produced Comedy

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Ted Danson Back at NBC, This Time with Kristen Bell; Showtime Picks Up Jim Carrey Produced Comedy

Two-time Emmy Award winner Ted Danson and acclaimed actress Kristen Bell have been cast in NBC's new Michael Schur comedy series Good Place. Bell plays Eleanor, a woman from New Jersey who comes to realize that she hasn't been a very good person. She decides to turn over a new leaf by learning what it actually means to be "good" or "bad," and then trying to make up for her past behavior. Danson plays Michael, who, through an unlikely set of circumstances, comes to be Eleanor's guide through her self-designed self-improvement course. Danson is widely known for his iconic role as bartender Sam Malone on the 28-time Emmy-winning NBC comedy Cheers. Over the course of the show's historic 11-season run, Danson was nominated for 11 Emmys, winning twice. He was also nominated for eight Golden Globes and won twice. Besides Cheers, Danson has made his mark on several other acclaimed comedies, including HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and Bored to Death. Most recently, he is coming off his role as a Minnesota state trooper in the critically applauded FX drama Fargo and also recently starred in CBS' CSI. Bell has extensive television experience, most notably the lead role in the popular drama Veronica Mars, which ran from 2004-07. She has many other TV credits, including Deadwood, Heroes, Party Down, Gossip Girl, Parks and Recreation and House of Lies. On the film side, Bell recently starred as the voice of Anna in Disney's box office hit Frozen, which grossed more than $400 million at the domestic box office. NBC ordered 13 episodes of Schur's Good Place last August during the network's TCA day.

I'm Dying Up here

SHOWTIME announced the pickup of a new one-hour comedy series I'm Dying Up Here. Set in L.A.'s celebrated, infamous stand-up comedy scene of the 1970s, during which the careers of many of the comedy superstars began, the series delves into the inspired and damaged psyches that are required to stand alone in front of an audience and make them laugh. From executive producer Jim Carrey, I'm Dying Up Here stars Academy Award(R) winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Louie), Ari Graynor (For A Good Time Call), Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Office), Michael Angarano (The Knick), Andrew Santino (Mixology), RJ Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Erik Griffin (Workaholics) and Stephen Guarino (Happy Endings) as part of a large ensemble cast. The comedy follows up and coming comedians in LA in the 1970s, who are mentored by "Goldie" (Leo), a brassy comedy club owner who rules over her business with an iron fist and nurtures her comedians with tough love. Graynor, Santino, Cyler, Griffin and Guarino star as the main stand-ups at the club. Angarano and Duke play ballsy young comedians from Boston who move to L.A. with the hopes of making it big. Emmy(R) Award nominee Alfred Molina (Chocolat), Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Martian), Oscar nominee Robert Forster (Jackie Brown), Jon Daly (Kroll Show), Al Madrigal (About A Boy, The Daily Show), Emmy nominee Dylan Baker (The Good Wife), Brianne Howey (Horrible Bosses 2), Ginger Gonzaga (Togetherness) and Oscar nominee Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull) guest star.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 22

Bob's Burgers - "The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the power goes out two days before Christmas, The Belchers must spend the holiday at Mr. Fischoeder's family's old hunting lodge.

Krapopolis - "Krapocalypse" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tyrannis is stuck in a time loop trying to save the city.

The Simpsons - "The Man Who Flew Too Much" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The new and improved Pin Pals travel to Capital City for their first ever state bowling championship.

Universal Basic Guys - "The Devil You Know" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark insists on teaching his son Darren how to throw a handmade boomerang that was gifted to Darren by his father; the two soon find themselves on a trek deep into the Jersey woods; David is the recipient of a sex doll that he swears he didn't order.

The Great North - "The Lies Aquatic Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While Beef is away, the Tobin fishing boat goes missing; the Tobin siblings wildly speculate on what could have happened.

Krapopolis - "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The family takes a vacation to Storgos for Shlub's mother's birthday.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Full-Frontal Dottie" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Excited by her physical therapy progress, Dottie insists she is ready to return to MaxDot, much to Bob, Douglas and Christina's dismay.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)

Friday, December 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.