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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, November 22

Happy's Place - "Happy's House" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bobbie agrees to take Isabella to Happy's house in search of a connection to their late father, leading Bobbie to worry about what they may find; Gabby hopes to strike it rich by searching through Happy's penny collection looking for a rarity.

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Orlando" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Rosie's spoiled nephew Orlando visits, Mayan sets out to expose Rosie's cultural gender bias; George wants to teach Chance the value of hard work, but, instead, helps him create a toxic work environment.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Whacking the Mole" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abishola has a romantic dream about Bob, she tries to suppress her feelings for him and pays the price.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Ralph Lauren and Fish" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob and Abishola finally go on a proper date, which is interrupted by Dottie's medical emergency.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Tough Like a Laundromat Washing Machine" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob hires Abishola to take care of Dottie in his home while she recovers; Dottie has a hard time dealing with her limitations and takes it out on Abishola.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Useless Potheads" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
With Abishola only helping part-time, Bob, Douglas and Christina struggle to take care of Dottie.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Wiz-Taken Identity" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Billie struggles with a spell, Roman says he could do it if he was a wizard: to prove him wrong, Billie uses a Power Glass to transfer her powers to Roman.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - " Ain't Gnome Party Like a Wizard Party" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Justin embraces mortality to live with his family; his new challenge arises when Alex introduces Billie, a wizard-in-training, seeking Justin's mentorship.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Friday, November 22

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Watch Kerry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jimmy O. Yang (Interior Chinatown/Space Force/Silicon Valley) - Jimmy is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Lopez vs Lopez/Search Party/Corporate) - Andy, Thomas and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her new book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Drew is joined by the hilarious Andrew to celebrate all things Thanksgiving on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie tells Sherri about her new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Before on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace will be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.