SitcomsOnline Digest: Melissa McCarthy to Return for Gilmore Girls Netflix Revival; American Idol Finale Airs

Saturday, April 09, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Melissa McCarthy to Return for Gilmore Girls Netflix Revival; American Idol Finale Airs

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we've learned that Melissa McCarthy has a new gig (that is also really an old gig), we said goodbye to American Idol (or at least we think we did), and we've learned what Shout! Factory has in store for DVD releases in July. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

The Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls is really happening, and Melissa McCarthy will be part of it. (Entertainment Weekly)
A chapter of history was closed this week when the final episode of American Idol aired... well, "for now," as host Ryan Seacrest said at the end of the show, and that is being seen as a hint that it will be resurrected in some form (not necessarily as a TV series, but that isn't outside of the realm of possibilities either) in the future. (ABC News)
Steve Harvey and Mark Burnett are working together to bring a new reality series to ABC that will be somewhat along the lines of Shark Tank. (Deadline)
The series hasn't even officially debuted yet (although there has been a sneak preview), but TBS has already renewed The Detour for a second season. (SitcomsOnline)
TBS has also renewed the weekly talk show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee for an additional 26 episodes, bringing it through the end of 2016. (Deadline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

A very unexpected release was announced this week as Shout! Factory announced they would be bringing the 1960s legal drama (which also inspired a short-lived revival on CBS in 2010) The Defenders to DVD. The classic series starred E.G. Marshall and Robert Reed, and aired from 1961 until 1965. The Defenders - Season One arrives on DVD on July 12.
Shout! Factory will also be moving forward with Sisters in their release of Sisters - Season Five on July 19.

TUESDAY (APRIL 12) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Family Matters - The Complete Sixth Season (DVD, $29.99): Warner Archive moves ahead with their releases of the classic TGIF series with this release of the sixth season
Grace and Frankie - Season One (DVD, $29.98): The hit Netflix series arrives on DVD for the first time in this release.
Welcome to Sweden - The Complete Second Season (DVD, $34.98): It wasn't really much of a hit for NBC, but the second (and final) season of the series arrives for those who did enjoy it.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Joanna Kerns (Twitter), "Director/Actress/Dog lover"

Claim to Fame: Joanna Kerns got her start in guest appearances on TV series in the late 70s and early 80s, but had her first regular role in a series in the 1983 CBS sitcom The Four Seasons. It was a flop and only lasted one season. But it was for the best, as she bounced back in 1985 with the hit ABC sitcom Growing Pains, where she played mother Maggie Seaver for seven seasons. Around the same time, she began getting numerous roles in made-for-TV movies, which seemed to be a pretty steady gig for her from 1985 all the way through the late 90s. Of course, she also appeared in the two Growing Pains reunion movies that aired in 2000 and 2004. It seems that her acting career came to an end (for now, at least) around 2009, as her last credited appearance as an actress was in an episode Eastwick. She has made other appearances since then, though, such as on Alan Thicke's reality series Unusually Thicke. But around the same time, she began a more dedicated career as a director, and has had 53 directing credits, her first actually being a final season episode of Growing Pains. She has directed episodes of ER, Scrubs, Boston Public, Suddenly Susan, Grey's Anatomy, and Dawson's Creek (among others), and in the past five years, she has directed episodes of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Pretty Little Liars, Jane the Virgin, Nashville, Switched at Birth, and more.

Pick of the Tweets: "#PLL episode 612 written by the fab @Pllijah @jonell_lennon (pic)" (July 14, 2015)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, October 18

American Housewife - "Lasagna" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Greg hosts a meeting for the Westport Historical Guild to welcome back Stan (Timothy Omundson), and Katie’s homemade lasagna is a huge hit with the guys. After Stan makes several trips back for seconds and begins spending an inordinate amount of time at the Otto house, Chloe Brown Mueller (Jessica St. Clair) becomes convinced that Katie and Stan must be having an extra-marital affair. Meanwhile, Angela and Doris step in to help Oliver with his Teen Help Line.

Fresh Off the Boat - "S'Mothered" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
While Eddie faces his fears and finally introduces his girlfriend Tina to his mom, Louis is in search of his next passion.

Raven's Home - "Girls Just Wanna Have Phones" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Nia and Tess square off in a competition with Raven and Chelsea to see who can go without technology the longest; Booker tries to impress a new girl in the building.

Just Roll With It - "The Tutor" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Owen volunteers to tutor the school's star basketball player, Big Jim, so that he can pass an upcoming test and be eligible to play in the game.

Gabby Duran & the Unsittables - "Wesley and the Fischman" (Disney Channel, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Gabby has to choose between keeping her new secret alien-babysitting gig a secret or risking it all by confiding in her extraterrestrial-obsessed best friend, Wesley.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 14)

Friday, October 18

Chris O'Dowd (Family Tree/The IT Crowd) - Watch Chris on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kal Penn (Sunnyside/Deadbeat/We Are Men) - Kal appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
America Ferrera (Superstore) - America is a guest on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Regina King (227) - Regina visits The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Julie Andrews (Julie) - Julie speaks about her book Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Sean guest hosts The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Pam Grier (Bless This Mess) - Pam drops by The Real, so check your local listings.
Sara Gilbert (The Conners/Roseanne/Living Biblically/Bad Teacher) - Sara appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Angela Kinsey (The Office/Haters Back Off/Your Family or Mine) and Jenna Fischer (Splitting Up Together/The Office) - Angela and Jenna talk about the Office Ladies Podcast on ABC's GMA 3: Strahan, Sara & Keke at 1pm.
Kal Penn (Sunnyside/Deadbeat/We Are Men) - Kal visits Access Live, so check your local listings.
Marcus Scribner (black-ish) - Marcus appears on Access Live, so check your local listings.
William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) - William can be heard on The Morning Mashup on SiriusXM.
Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob talks about Goliath on Couch Surfing at 8am.