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


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

Saturday, September 23

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 18)

Friday, September 22

  • Kathryn Newton (Gary Unmarried) - Watch Kathryn on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Ralph Harris (On Our Own) and Jimmie "JJ" Walker (Good Times/At Ease/Bustin' Loose) - Ralph and Jimmie are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso is a guest on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Sam Jay (Bust Down) - Sam appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 8:50am.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)

Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition)

06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

09/22 - The Santa Clauses Season 2 Launches November 8; CBS Alters Fall Schedule
09/21 - Penn & Teller: Fool Us Gets New Return Date; Netflix's Unicorn Academy Premieres November 2
09/20 - Paramount+ Announces Colin from Accounts; The Really Loud House Gets Halloween Movie
09/19 - The Simpsons Season 34 Streams October 11 on Disney+; Good Burger 2 Set for Holiday Season
09/18 - Hulu's Huluween and Disney+'s Hallowstream Line-Up; Shining Vale Returns October 13 on STARZ
09/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 18, 2023)
09/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Cancels Wonder Years Reboot; Byron Allen Makes $10 Billion Offer to Buy ABC
09/15 - Antenna TV's Bewitched Halloween Marathon; Rewind TV's Sabrina the Teenage Witch-O-Ween Marathon
09/14 - Dancing with the Stars Season 32 Cast; BUZZR Celebrates 40 Years of Press Your Luck
09/13 - TBS Acquires Modern Family; The Frasier Awards on COZI TV
09/12 - Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen Gets CBS Late Night Run; Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy Special
09/11 - Matt Rife Gets Netflix Special; Star Trek Day and Kid Cudi Join Forces
09/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 11, 2023)
09/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner Bros. Television Suspends Deals with Top Creators; Fran Drescher Re-Elected President of SAG-AFTRA
09/08 - CBS Announces Hosts of Game Show; New Goosebumps Premieres Friday the 13th This October on Disney+ and Hulu
09/07 - MeTV Presents Svengoolie's Halloween BOOnanza!; The CW Moving Fall Comedies to Thursdays
09/06 - CBS to Air NCIS: Sydney This Fall; Fox Makes Fall Change
09/05 - TBS and TNT September Stunts Include Big Bang Theory Batman Day Marathon; Netflix UK Produced Series Updates
09/04 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2023 Include Three's Company
09/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 4, 2023)
09/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: No Third Season for How I Met Your Father; Spectrum Dispute with Disney Could Spell End of Cable
09/01 - September Is Anniversary Month on Hulu; Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween Returns for Its 25th Anniversary
08/31 - Max's Original Comedy Series Starstruck Season 3 and Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Premiere Dates; AXS TV Announces Fall Programming Lineup
08/30 - The Partridge Family Coming to AXS TV Starting Oct. 2; CBS to Air A Tribute to Bob Barker Special Aug. 31, Marathon of Match Game Episodes to Air Sept. 2 on Game Show Network
08/29 - Once Upon a Time Coming to Hulu; Young Love Launches on Max in September
08/28 - Remembering TV Legend Bob Barker; Wolf Like Me Returns in October on Peacock
08/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 28, 2023)
08/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Frasier Reboot Date Set, With CBS Also Airing First Two Episodes; Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. Cancelled
08/25 - Rick and Morty Returns October 15; Switch New Season Begins September 18 on Game Show Network
08/24 - Hulu Fall 2023 Slate; Apple TV+ Series Still Up Debuts Trailer
08/23 - Frasier Returns October 12 on Paramount+; And Just Like That... Renewed for Season 3
08/22 - ABC Fall 2023 Premiere Dates and Revised Schedule; Upload Season 3 Returns October 20