SitcomsOnline Digest: Sketch Comedy Returning to Fox Saturday Nights; Pair of MacGyver Reboots in the Works; New Shout! Factory May Releases

Saturday, February 06, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Sketch Comedy Returning to Fox Saturday Nights; Pair of MacGyver Reboots in the Works; New Shout! Factory May Releases

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we have news of Fox getting back into the Saturday night sketch comedy series for the first time since 2009, a pair of MacGyver reboots, several new releases from Shout! Factory that aren't just re-releases in any manner, and much more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Fox is bringing sketch comedy back to Saturday nights next month with Party Over Here, which comes from The Lonely Island (best known for their Saturday Night Live fame). However, the series will only air for a half hour at 11:00 PM, to avoid going head-to-head with Saturday Night Live (which has a lot to do with the fact that The Lonely Island, which included Andy Samberg, owe their career to Saturday Night Live and wouldn't feel right becoming the competition). (Hollywood Reporter)
MacGyver is set to get two reboots, one in the form of a potential new series on CBS and the other in the form of a theatrical release. (/FILM)
Netflix is going big on what is perhaps their biggest series, Orange is the New Black, by sentencing it to three more seasons, not including the fourth season that begins in July. (CNNMoney)
Joe Alaskey, known for playing many cartoon voices (including Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in recent years), died this week. (CNN)
ASPiRE has added the sitcom Room 222 to their lineup. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Shout! Factory made a very surprising announcement this week, by announcing that they will be releasing Cop Rock on DVD. Cop Rock - The Complete Series is due to arrive on May 17.
That wasn't the only surprise announcement this week. The other surprise announcement from Shout! Factory this week was the spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant. Lou Grant - The Complete First Season will arrive on May 3.
Finally, Shout! has announced one other release that is much less of a surprise (but it is a continuation of a series that hasn't seen a release in a while), with Newhart - The Complete Fifth Season on May 10.

TUESDAY (FEBRUARY 9) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

The Carol Burnett Show - Treasures From the Vault (DVD, $59.95): Available as a retail release for the first time, this six disc set brings 15 classic episodes from the earlier years of The Carol Burnett Show to DVD. Also available (with fewer episodes) in a three disc and single disc configuration.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Janet Hubert (Facebook), "BLACKTRESS, inside my mind are the many characters that I created. Life is too short, open your door and let the breeze blow through. Parody can be fun!"

Claim to Fame: Janet Hubert, or as she refers to herself on social media, Blacktress Janet Hubert, first appeared on TV in 1988 on an episode of 21 Jump Street, and made other small appearances here and there before landing her first major role as Vivian Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Unfortunately, that was not a very long-lived role, as she ended up leaving that role following a contract dispute, and another actress replaced her. Since then, she has had several guest starring and recurring roles on various series. In recent weeks, though, her social media page has garnered more attention as her disputes with Will Smith have resurfaced in relation to the racial diversity controversy regarding the upcoming Oscars, which you can read more about in this article from People. She is not, in any way, afraid to run away from controversy. In any event, for those who want to interact with her on social media, she does sometimes personally respond... but if you are disrespectful to her, she will respond accordingly. These days, she seems to be preparing to appear in a pilot for some sitcom, Ward of the State, which we can't seem to find anything else about online, so we don't know what the status of this is or really anything about it for that matter... but she has a preview of it on her Facebook page, and we would love to see it become a reality.

Pick of the Facebook Posts: "On this very day the Fresh Prince aired, and my life changed, I met so many wonderful people who have shown me such love. But FAME ain't always what you really want. So here's to the next 25 years of peace and good health for me. No funny characters, (well maybe a few funny faces). As always I will never do press again unless it is live and cannot be altered. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did making it for you and for me. (video)" (September 10, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, April 2

The Conners - "Fame, Flying Fists and Cold Feet" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners get a taste of fame when their family restaurant is featured in a reality TV show, which inspires Becky to become an influencer. Meanwhile, Jackie and Dan meet with a lawyer, and Darlene connects with someone at The Lobo Lounge.

Abbott Elementary - "Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Abbott teachers turn their open house into a carwash to help raise money for the school.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Wednesday, April 2

Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Watch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Sinners on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Sasheer and Greta are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
Jennifer Lopez (South Central) and Jamie Foxx (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has interviews with Jennifer and Jamie at 11pm on E!.
Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - NBC's Today catches up with Judy in the 9am hour.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - NBC's Today catches up with Glen and Kristin in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) - Tasha, who stars in Netflix's Surival of the Thickest, joins Tamron Hall to discuss how she found her freedom by sharing her story on her own terms and learning to embrace self-love, so check your local listings.
Gabourey Sidibe (Difficult People/The Big C) - Gabourey talks about starring in the new Lifetime movie Give Me Back My Daughter on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Seth is joining Drew to tell her all about his new show The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.