SitcomsOnline Digest: Saturday Night Live and New Girl to Pay Tribute to Prince; Morning Show Drama at Live!

Saturday, April 23, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Saturday Night Live and New Girl to Pay Tribute to Prince; Morning Show Drama at Live!

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! We've had (yet another) busy week with celebrity deaths, including sitcom star Doris Roberts and musician Prince (who had some TV connections that become relevant to our news this week), and we've also stumbled into some more morning show drama, this time over at Live! with Kelly and Michael. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

This has been a busy year with celebrity deaths but undoubtedly the biggest one in the media (perhaps since Michael Jackson in 2009) came this week with the unexpected death of musical artist Prince. Saturday Night Live has enough Prince material to fill an entire 90 minute special, as they will be doing tonight in their regular timeslot. Additionally, the Fox sitcom New Girl will replay the episode "Prince" next week, which (not surprisingly) featured Prince. (Hollywood Reporter)
The story was supposed to be that Michael Strahan is leaving Live! with Kelly and Michael to go full-time at Good Morning America, but the real story has ended up becoming a tale of another behind-the-scenes soap opera at a morning show that nobody wanted or expected. (Deadline)
We often forget that Netflix is working on a reboot of the series One Day at a Time, but this week, Todd Grinnell was cast as Schneider. (Deadline)
A reunion of the cast of Everybody Loves Raymond just in time for the 20th anniversary was planned for June at the ATX Television Festival, but with the death of Doris Roberts this week (and other factors), it has been scrapped. (Yahoo!)
Comcast is letting customers ditch their cable box for a Roku app, something that Time Warner Cable has had for a few years now. (CBS News)
ABC is making summer plans, which include the new sitcom Uncle Buck. (SitcomsOnline)

TUESDAY (APRIL 24) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

The Beverly Hillbillies - The Official First Season (DVD, $29.98): CBS is going slightly backwards with this release, which brings the first season (which was previously released in an authorized, though not by CBS, release from MPI as well as numerous public domain entities) to DVD.
Hot in Cleveland - Season Six (DVD, $29.98): TV Land's first successful sitcom wraps up on DVD with this release. Complete series also available.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Bronson Pinchot (Facebook, Twitter)

Claim to Fame: Bronson Pinchot got his start in several movies from the 80s, such as Beverly Hills Cop and Risky Business, but for sitcom stars, he came to fame playing the role of Balki on Perfect Strangers. He later went on to play the role of Jean-Luc in the final season of the series Step by Step. He has had other small guest roles and movie appearances in between and since then, but these days, his focus is on The Bronson Pinchot Project, a DIY Network show about restoring old homes, which happens to be one of his hobbies and passions.

Pick of the Tweets: "BRONSON PINCHOT & DEBRA MESSING A marriage made in Comedy Heaven. But not yet consummated; our scenes were dramatic!" (pic) (November 6, 2014)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, January 21

Young Sheldon - "Freshman Orientation and the Inventor of the Zipper" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
College orientation does not go as Sheldon planned. Also, Mary is invited to a party when she’s mistaken for a university student, and George Sr. helps Pastor Jeff set up a children’s nursery.

B Positive - "Open Heart Surgery" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Gina needs to keep herself together to pass a psych evaluation while dealing with the news of an ex’s engagement.

Mom - "Woo-Woo Lights and an Onside Kick" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Bonnie and the ladies indulge Jill when she goes to extremes to get her relationship with Andy (Will Sasso) back on track.

The Unicorn - "The First Supper" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Wade decides to introduce Shannon to his friends, the get-together quickly takes an awkward turn. Also, Noah tries to fit in with the older kids since he’s tired of being one of the babies.

Call Me Kat - "Therapy" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Sheila comes to stay with Kat to avoid being home alone, Sheila's lack of boundaries leads them to try therapy; Phil and Randi make a road trip to buy Phil's mother medicinal marijuana.

Last Man Standing - "Jen Again" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Mike surprises Vanessa with a visit from Jen that might last longer than expected; Ryan asks Chuck for advice to impress his new corporate boss on the golf course.

Mr. Mayor - "The Sac" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
A special assignment forces Jayden and Arpi to get to know each other; Neil sets out on a mission to reconnect with Orly after she gets into a little trouble.

Superstore - "Biscuit" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After returning from quarantine, Glenn enlists Cheyenne and Bo's help to get Dina to relinquish control; Jonah and Mateo have second thoughts about helping Sandra with her cat's medical needs; Garrett struggles with customer returns.

grown-ish - "Public Service Announcement" (Freeform, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After dropping out of Cal U and diving into her dream job, Zoey balances the demands of her work life and her personal life.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 18)

Thursday, January 21

Allison Janney (Mom/Mr. Sunshine) - Catch Allison on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Alison Brie (GLOW/Parks and Recreation) - Alison appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Regina King (The Boondocks/227) - Regina is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Jane Krakowski (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/30 Rock) - Jane will be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Francia Raisa (grown-ish) - Francia appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara talks about grown-ish on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace is a guest on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about The Resident on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Sara Gilbert (The Conners/Roseanne/Living Biblically/Bad Teacher/Twins) - Sara talks about The Conners on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.