SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we have a look at some prospects for some of the pilots for next season and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

TUESDAY (MAY 3) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

• Airwolf - The Complete Series (DVD, $44.98; Blu-ray, $99.98): The CBS (and later USA Network) series comes to DVD again from Mill Creek, and arrives on Blu-ray for the very first time. Also available: season 1.
• Knight Rider - Season 1 (DVD, $14.98): Mill Creek brings the classic David Hasselhoff series back to DVD in this value priced released. Also available: season 2.
• Mad About You - The Complete Series (DVD, $69.98): Mill Creek brings the entire series to DVD, which features some seasons never before released on DVD.
• Miami Vice - Season 1 (DVD, $14.98) Mill Creek also brings this classic series back to DVD, still complete with all of the original music but at a much lower price. Also available: season 2.

Who to Follow: Helen Hunt (Twitter)

Claim to Fame: With Mad About You - The Complete Series arriving on DVD next week, we are featuring one of the two stars from that series as our Follow Me. Helen Hunt got her start when she was just ten years old, and landed her first TV role in Amy Prentiss, a very short-lived series that was part of the NBC Mystery Movie franchise and a spinoff of Ironside. She played the daughter of the title character in that series. A little over a year later, she landed a role in the ABC series The Swiss Family Robinson. She had several guest starring roles on many series throughout the years after that and also developed a much larger film presence (which she does much more of today), but her biggest TV role came in 1992 with the series Mad About You. You can also find her directing some of the sitcoms airing today, including most recently, Life in Pieces.

Match Game, produced by FremantleMedia North America (FMNA), returns to primetime and will be hosted by Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor Alec Baldwin. Match Game is a panel game show that features two contestants as they attempt to match the answers of six celebrities in a game of fill-in the missing blank. Executive producers include Alec Baldwin and FMNA's Jennifer Mullin. The 10-episode series will air at 10:00pm EDT as part of ABC's "Sunday Fun & Games" block, alongside Celebrity Family Feud, with Steve Harvey, and The 100,000 Pyramid, with Michael Strahan, beginning on Sunday, June 26 from 8:00-11:00pm EDT, on the ABC Television Network. ABC has another game show set to premiere Tuesday, June 14, and it is a revival of the classic series To Tell the Truth, hosted by Anthony Anderson. And if that's not enough game shows for you this summer, the second season of the addicting 500 Questions premieres Thursday, May 26 for 5 nights.


It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of May 2-6, 2016, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVRs (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!


Saturday, April 30, 2016

• Josie Bissett (The Hogan Family) and Laura San Giacomo (Just Shoot Me!) - Josie and Laura will be featured on Oprah: Where Are They Now? at 10pm ET/PT on OWN.

Monday, May 2, 2016

• Louis C.K. (Louie) - Watch Louis on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Carol Kane (Taxi/American Dreamer/Pearl) - Carol drops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• John Stamos (Grandfathered/Jake in Progress/Full House) - John visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Tituss is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Riki Lindhome (Another Period/Super Fun Night) - Riki drops by The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
• Rachael Harris (Surviving Jack/Notes from the Underbelly) - Rachael appears on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Amanda Crew (Silicon Valley) - Amanda stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Dave Coulier (Fuller House/Full House) - Dave is a guest on The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Tichina Arnold (Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) - Tichina appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
• Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris discusses Rosewood on the AOL Build Show at 3:45pm.
• Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show) - Bill appears on The Doctors, so check your local listings.
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse is a guest on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 12:30pm ET.
• Sutton Foster (Younger) - Sutton appears on People Now.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

• Marc Maron (Maron) - Catch Marc on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Dakota drops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town) - Josh appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Matt Walsh (Veep/Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Matt is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Zoey Deutch (The Suite Lofe on Deck) - Zoey appears on Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
• Kate Micucci (Raising Hope/Scrubs) - Kate visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Rosewood on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - Jane stops by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Fran Drescher (The Nanny/Happily Divorced) - Fran appears on The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse is a guest on People Now.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

• Julie Bowen (Modern Family) - Watch Julie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Rob Reiner (All in the Family) - Rob is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He also talks about Being Charlie on NBC's Today in the 9am hour, on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT and on the AOL Build Show at 2pm.
• Allison Janney (Mom/Mr. Sunshine) - Allison visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Bradley Whitford (Happyish/Trophy Wife) - Bradley appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Tom Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Tom is a guest on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Ron Funches (Undateable) - Ron appears on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Tituss stops by Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• Jussie Smollett (On Our Own) - Jussie sings for his supper and helps Rachael cook up Chicken Milanese on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
• CCH Pounder (Brothers/Women in Prison) - CCH is a guest on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse talks about his Broadway show Fully Committed on People Now.
• Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Sarah chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Garry Marshall (Creator of Happy Days/Laverne & Shirley/Mork & Mindy) - Garry is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

• Rob Lowe (The Grinder/Parks and Recreation) - Catch Rob on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Dana Carvey (One of the Boys) - Dana appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about First Impressions on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour.
• Zach Woods (Silicon Valley/Playing House/The Office) - Zach is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Louis C.K. (Louie) - Louis stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Mary Elizabeth Ellis (The Grinder/Perfect Couples/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Mary appears on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris visits Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• Geena Davis (The Geena Davis Show/Buffalo Bill) - Geena gives highlights of this year's Bentonville Film Festival on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
• Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Sarah is a guest on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The New Class) - Mario chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Alyssa Milano (Who's the Boss?/Romantically Challenged) - Alyssa is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
• Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - Eric appears on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 12:30pm ET and on the AOL Build Show at 3pm.
• Kristin Chenoweth (Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 12:30pm ET.

Friday, May 6, 2016

• John Stamos (Grandfathered/Jake in Progress/Full House) - Watch John on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andrew stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) - Kumail appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Tituss is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) - Raymond appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - Eric and his mom spill all his secrets on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
• Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town) - Josh discusses Quantico on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT and on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Emeril Lagasse (Emeril) - Emeril will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
• Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) and Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie/Malibu Country) - Jane and Lily talk about Netflix's Grace and Frankie on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. Lily also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. Lily will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. Jane visits The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea talks about Chelsea on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
• Kristin Chenoweth (Kristin) - People Now catches up with Kristin.
• Marliu Henner (Taxi/Evening Shade) - Marilu Henner and her husband, Michael Brown, discuss their new book Changing Normal on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Ernie Hudson (Grace and Frankie/The Last Precinct) - Ernie is a guest on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 12:30pm ET.
• Mila Kunis (Family Guy/That '70s Show) - Mila appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.

All listings are subject to change. Visit our blog and main site for daily updated listings. Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

Back by popular demand, COZI TV is excited to announce the return of the COZI TV Comedy Search, produced in association with The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. This original, fun and highly-unique contest offers undiscovered talent the opportunity to take their best shot at being crowned America's newest comic champ. The Grand Prize winner of this year's COZI TV Comedy Search will receive a $5,000 cash prize, an appearance contract with COZI TV and an all-expenses paid trip to Jamestown, New York – Lucille Ball's hometown – to perform at this year's festival. New Jerseyan Glen Tickle was voted Grand Prize winner of the 2015 COZI TV Comedy Search.

Kicking off on Sunday, May 1, the on-line contest will include multiple phases of competition, including viewer voting and a celebrity judge panel, which includes comedian Kelli Carlin. Additional members of the panel will be announced in the future. Participants are encouraged to submit stand-up videos to the contest's web page housed on both COZITV.com and COZI TV's FB page through Tuesday, May 31. Submissions can be up to 5 minutes in total length, and must be "cable clean." Following a screening process, the top ten comedians will be selected and revealed on-air and on-line, where viewers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite four finalists until Saturday, June 25. From there, COZI TV's celebrity judges will pick a winner, who will be revealed on Wednesday, July 20.

The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival (lucycomedyfest.com) runs from August 4 to 7, 2016 in Lucy's hometown of Jamestown, New York. Produced by National Comedy Center, Inc., the event is dedicated to preserving the legacy of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and the development of the comedic arts. The National Comedy Center, Inc. is open seven days a week, and features studio sets and memorabilia. Scheduled event headliners for the 2016 festival include Trevor Noah, Brian Regan and Lewis Black.

Netflix has announced an order for the comedy series Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later. Finally, fans can make it their beeswax to see what happens to their favorite campers and counselors ten years after the original film in a new Netflix original comedy series Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later. The series will include eight all-new 30-minute episodes and is set to premiere in 2017. The series will be written by Michael Showalter and David Wain and Wain will direct. Executive Producers for Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later are Michael Showalter, David Wain, Peter Principato, Jonathan Stern and Howard Bernstein. "Let's all promise that in ten years from today, we'll meet again, and we'll see what kind of people we've blossomed into." -- Ben

In celebration of Mother's Day and the endless contributions of "Bionic Moms" everywhere, COZI TV announced a special mini-marathon of The Bionic Woman which will air on Sunday, May 8 - Mother's Day. Kicking off at noon on Mother's Day, COZI TV's Bionic Mom mini-marathon will feature five, fan-favorite episodes of the action sci-fi classic. The series casts Emmy-winner Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers, who secretly takes on special high-risk government missions using her tremendous bionic powers. The Bionic Woman regularly airs on COZI TV on Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. Additionally, fans of the iconic television series are invited to tell their fellow COZI TV viewers what makes their Mom truly "bionic." Starting Thursday, April 28 and continuing through Mother's Day, viewers can share their memories on COZI TV's Facebook or Twitter page. All submissions should use the hashtag #BIONICMOM and feature a picture of their own "Bionic Mom." The winning entries will be featured on-air during the Mother’s Day mini-marathon.

Among the fan-favorite episodes of The Bionic Woman included in COZI TV's five-hour special "Bionic Mom" block on May 8 are: Welcome Home Jaime Part I (12:00 PM), Welcome Home Jaime Part II (1:00 PM), Angel of Mercy (2:00 PM), Bionic Beauty (3:00 PM) and Jaime’s Mother (4:00 PM).

Hallmark Channel will premiere three original movies this May celebrating the end of Spring and starring socially influential young talent Alexa PenaVega (Spy Kids, Nashville), Shenae Grimes-Beech (Degrassi: The Next Generation, 90210), Bailee Madison (The Good Witch, Trophy Wife) and Fiona Gubelmann (Wilfred, Blades of Glory). First up on May 14 at 9pm, it is Fiona Gubelmann in Tulips in Spring. Shenae Grimes-Beech and Bailee Madison star in Date with Love on May 21 at 9pm. And Alex PenaVega stars in Ms. Matched on May 28 at 9pm. Then in June, Hallmark Channel says "I do" to new original movies every Saturday night this June celebrating wedding bells and romance with its annual June Weddings programming event. Walk down the aisle with some of Hallmark Channel's favorite stars including Jack Wagner, Danica McKellar, Rachel Boston, Vanessa Marcil, Josie Bissett, and more. The event returns and they have another incredibly romantic line-up of originals, including a story of reuniting with a lost love in Wedding March starring Jack Wagner alongside his Melrose Place co-star Josie Bissett on June 25 at 9pm. Danica McKellar portrays a woman who finds that true love can take you by surprise in Wedding Bells on June 4 at 9pm, and fans will also be charmed by Vanessa Marcil in The Convenient Groom on June 18 and Rachel Boston & Alan Thicke in Stop The Wedding on June 11 at 9.

After a marathon airing of George Lopez this past Saturday (April 23) on TV Land, the network will now air the series as a regular beginning next week. On Sunday, May 1, the popular 2002-2006 ABC sitcom is joining the TV Land line-up! The Sunday, May 1 debut will feature a debut block from 8-11pm. After that special stunt, it will air every night at 10pm & 10:30pm beginning Monday, May 2. Of course TV Land airs original episodes of George's new comedy Lopez every Wednesday night at 10pm. Now the 10pm hour every night is "all Lopez." It's 10pm, do you know where your Lopez's are? George Lopez will also continue to air on sister network Nick at Nite in the overnight every night from 3:18am-7am. That's a whole lotta Lopez! Sheeow!

Stand-up comedian George Lopez stars as George, a guy who has made lemonade from lemons at every turn. Since he became plant manager at an L.A. airplane parts factory, George has handled a complicated job, a strong but demanding marriage, two rebellious children, a mother who can't keep track of her own lies about his childhood and an adult niece with an enormous inheritance and absolutely no sense of boundaries -- all with his sense of humor intact. Constance Marie, Belita Moreno, Masiela Lusha, Luis Armand Garcia and Valente Rodriguez co-star.

Mom co-creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre, series star Allison Janney and recurring guest star Emily Osment will join governmental leaders at the White House Champions of Change event on Friday, April 29 to honor 10 individuals from across the country who are being recognized as "White House Champions of Change for Advancing Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery." During the event, the Mom team will participate in a panel discussion with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy about the portrayal of addiction and recovery in the media, including on the critically acclaimed CBS/Warner Bros. Television comedy (Thursdays 9/8c). Additionally, the event will feature remarks by White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Director of National Drug Control Policy Michael Botticelli. Since its debut in 2013, Mom has tackled subject matter rare for a broadcast series, including addiction, recovery, sobriety and, most recently, the overdose and death of Osment's character.

Antenna TV, Tribune's multicast broadcast network, will celebrate Mom with a 34 episode/17 hour Family Ties Marathon on Mother's Day, on Sunday, May 8, 2016. Antenna TV is celebrating the joys and struggles of mothers everywhere with a Family Ties marathon this Mother's Day, featuring iconic feminist, liberal mom, Elyse Keaton, who is lovingly at odds with her conservative and materialistic kids. The "Family Ties Mother's Day Marathon" will feature 34 of the best episodes from its 7 season run, and begins at 5am ET on Sunday, May 8, 2016. Antenna TV now airs in 128 TV markets across the U.S. reaching 88% of TV households. The episodes for the marathons are below:

5am I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend
5:30am Ooops!
6am The Fugitive (part 1)
6:30am The Fugitive (part 2)
7am Suzanne Takes You Down
7:30am Stage Fright
8am Elyse D'Arc
8:30am The Harder They Fall
9am This Years Model
9:30am Speed Trap
10am Batter Up
10:30a Birthday Boy
11am Lady Sings the Blues
11:30a Working at It
12noon Anniversary Waltz
12:30pm The Gambler
1pm Here We Go Again
1:30pm Birth of a Keaton (part 1)
2pm Birth of a Keaton (part 2)
2:30pm Bringing Up Baby
3pm Remembrance of Things Past (part 1)
3:30pm Remembrance of Things Past (part 2)
4pm The Old College Try
4:30pm Engine Trouble
5pm Once in Love with Elyse
5:30pm Be True to Your Preschool
6pm The Big Fix
6:30pm My Mother, My Friend
7pm Super Mom
7:30pm The Way We Were
8pm The Boys Next Door
8:30pm The Wrecker's Ball
9pm Alex Doesn't Live Here Anymore (part 1)
9:30pm Alex Doesn't Live Here Anymore (part 2)
All times Eastern.

Family Ties airs on Antenna TV weekdays 10-11 pm ET and Sundays 8-9 pm ET.

Music royalty Prince makes a guest appearance in a special episode of New Girl that originally aired after Fox Sports' coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII in February 2014. In the episode, Jess is ready to paint the town purple when a chance encounter finds her and Cece invited to a once-in-a-lifetime mansion party thrown by music legend Prince, guest-starring as himself. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Nick, Schmidt, Winston and Coach are determined to crash the festivities, building toward an unforgettable ending. The special episode also features cameo appearances by Victoria Secrets' supermodels Alessandra Ambrosio and Ana Beatriz Barros and Los Angeles Dodger and Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. The encore broadcast of the "Prince" episode of New Girl airs Tuesday, April 26 at 9:30pm (replacing an airing of The Grinder). Also on this night, Fox will air two original episodes of New Girl at its regular time of 8pm and at a special time of 9pm.

2015-16 Week 31 TV Ratings (first four nights Mon-Thu, LIVE+SD):