SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Renews Pair of Sitcoms; New Adventures of Gilligan's Island to Finally Arrive on DVD

Saturday, March 26, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Renews Pair of Sitcoms; New Adventures of Gilligan's Island to Finally Arrive on DVD

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! Sadly, this week has been a busy week with deaths of TV stars and producers, and we're covering three of those today (not counting Garry Shandling, who was covered yesterday). We've also got some renewals from Fox, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Fox has renewed Last Man on Earth and Brooklyn Nine-Nine for next season. (Entertainment Weekly)
Billy Gardell's next TV series role will be more dramatic than his role on Mike & Molly. (Deadline)
Ken Howard, best known for his role on The White Shadow (as well as being the president of SAG-AFTRA until his death), died this week at age 71. (People)
Tom Whedon, a producer and writer who worked on series such as The Golden Girls, Benson, and Alice (and is also the father of Joss Whedon), died this week at age 83. (Hollywood Reporter)
Earl Hamner Jr., the creator of both The Waltons and Falcon Crest, also died this week, at age 92. (New York Times)
The TV Land Awards ceremony will return this year, with a (slightly) new name and George Lopez taking hosting duties. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

It was over a half decade ago (very near the beginning of Warner Archive) when it was announced that The New Adventures of Gilligan's Island (the animated spinoff of the classic series) would be released on DVD. We've been waiting for a long time, long enough that we assumed it was abandoned, but this week TVShowsOnDVD.com revealed that the wait will finally end on April 26.

TUESDAY (MARCH 29) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

CPO Sharkey - The Best of Season Two (DVD, $12.95): Though we'd recommend splurging for a few extra dollars and going with the previously released complete second season in CPO Sharkey - The Complete Season Two, this option is available for those who just want the best episodes.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Will Friedle (Twitter), "Actor (with my voice and sometimes my face), Writer, Panic-Attacker, Proffessionull Speller and Inventor of the Harpsichord (that last one was just a lie)"

Claim to Fame: We have another Boy Meets World star this week, and it is Will Friedle, who played Eric Matthews on the series. That series was his first regular series role, and as far as appearing on camera, it was really his last regular screen appearance (he has had guest roles here and there, including on Girl Meets World). He also appeared in the (very) short-lived NBC series Go Fish in 2001. However, don't be fooled: though he hasn't had many screen appearances, he has been very busy with voice work. He has had regular roles in many cartoons beginning in 1999, as the role of Batman in Batman Beyond. He followed that up with a regular role in Kim Possible. Today, he appears in numerous animated series on a regular basis.

Pick of the Tweets: "Skittles Ads from 1992 - Fruit Flavor Combinations - YouTube And...I found my other one. Man...what's with the vest? (link)" (March 17, 2016)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, November 29

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Family Business" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Tina struggles to keep up with her job at Calvin’s auto shop, due to her burgeoning baking business, he faces a tough decision: should he fire his own wife? Also, Malcolm delays breaking up with a girlfriend when her son becomes an unexpected asset to his youth baseball team.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Light Duty" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abishola and Kemi take a directionless Christina to see a Yoruba priest, where she learns that her toxic relationship with her mother may be stifling her growth. Also, Bob deals with the fallout of promoting Kofo over Goodwin when Goodwin has a panic attack at work.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 29)

Monday, November 29

Kathy Griffin (Suddenly Susan) - Watch Kathy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Alan Ruck (Spin City/Muscle/Going Places) - Alan appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Tracy Morgan (The Last O.G./30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Tracy is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rami Malek (The War at Home) - Rami appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Vanessa Lachey (Truth Be Told/Dads) - Vanessa will be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT. NBC's Today has Make Ahead Monday with Vanessa in the 9am hour.
Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry is a guest on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Leah Remini (Kevin Can Wait/The Exes/Family Tools/The King of Queens/Fired Up) - Leah guest co-hosts The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Jennifer Tilly (Out of Practice) - Jennifer appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jane Levy (Suburgatory) - Jane will be on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
AnnaLynne McCord (Let's Get Physical) - Anan discusses her childhood sexual abuse, trauma and dissociative identity disorder diagnosis on a repeat of The Doctors, so check your local listings.
Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Kevin talks about True Story on CBS This Morning sometime between 7-9am.
Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita talks about West Side Story on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - NBC's Today catches up with Julie in the 9am hour.
Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Tituss talks about NBC's Annie Live! in the 9am hour.
Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke talks about Castle for Christmas in the 10am hour.
Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim talks about VH1's Adventures in Christmasing on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Kyle is a guest on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.