SitcomsOnline Digest: MacGyver Reboot Officially Picked Up; New NBC Comedies from Tina Fey and Marlon Wayans

Saturday, May 14, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: MacGyver Reboot Officially Picked Up; New NBC Comedies from Tina Fey and Marlon Wayans

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This is that time of the year (specifically this week) where just about all of the news is about what has been cancelled, what has been renewed, and what new series we'll be seeing in the fall, so not surprisingly, most of our news this week relates to these issues. But we also have a few other things, including the passing of more sitcom stars and the retirement of a 60 Minutes correspondent. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

It seems like we've been hearing about it forever, but now it is official, CBS has picked up the reboot of MacGyver. (USA Today)
Even though they've cancelled much of their comedy slate aside from The Carmichael Show and Superstore (the first one hasn't been renewed yet but is expected to be, while the second has been renewed), NBC is making an attempt to make themselves a destination for great comedy once again, with pickups of new comedies from Tina Fey (Great News) and Marlon Wayans (Marlon). (Entertainment Weekly)
Since October 2000, one thing that you could count on is CBS having some version of CSI on the air, but don't count on that much longer, as the last piece of that legacy (and, if you ask many of the fans, one of the worst) has been cancelled. (Hollywood Reporter)
You could count on him being there Sunday nights on 60 Minutes for years, but Morley Safer is now preparing to retire. (The Daily Beast)
Tonita Castro isn't exactly a household name, but she essentially started her acting career in the past decade when she was in her 50s, and most recently landed roles on Go On and Dads. Unfortunately, she died this week at age 63. (Entertainment Weekly)
William Schallert of The Patty Duke Show died this week, and is also the third former SAG president to die in the past two months (after Ken Howard and Patty Duke). (New York Times)
There were more cancellations this week, including the somewhat surprising cancellation of the long-running Castle just days before the planned season finale and the cancellation of every new Fox comedy from the past season. (SitcomsOnline)

TUESDAY (MAY 17) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

The Facts of Life - The Final (Ninth) Season (DVD, $29.93): For those interested in having all of the "facts" on DVD, Shout! Factory wraps up the individual season releases with this release.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Greg Evigan (Twitter), "Actor, writer, producer, director, singer"

Claim to Fame: We've spent the past two weeks doing Mad About You stars as our Follow Me, and as we often do, we're using last week to pivot into this week with Paul Reiser's co-star from his earlier series My Two Dads: Greg Evigan. While Evigan may be known to (slightly) younger people from his role on that short-lived (but memorable) series, his bigger claim to fame came a decade earlier in another short-lived (but very memorable) series, BJ and the Bear. After My Two Dads, he had another role on yet another short-lived (but memorable) series, TekWar. He has never been on a series that has lasted more than three seasons, but despite that, the series that he has appeared on have been memorable ones. He still does some acting these days, most recently appearing in a Hallmark Channel film with his own daughter Briana Evigan, Once Upon a Holiday. He also has another acting daughter, Vanessa Evigan, with whom he is also appearing in movie roles.

Pick of the Tweets: "We're on our way to Hollywood Today Live! @OfficialHTL to talk about @onlygodcanmovie @VanessaEvigan and I (pic)" (April 22, 2016)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 22

St. Denis Medical - "Bruce-ic and the Mus-ic" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
At the annual fundraiser, Alex and her husband, Tim, try to have a wild, kid-free night; Ron and Joyce butt heads over hosting duties; Bruce sets out to win this year's "Dancing with the Caregivers" competition.

Night Court - "Passing the Bar" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby gets more than she bargained for when she offers to help Wyatt's friend stay sober for the night; Dan and Julianne battle for the best prize in Gurgs' annual evidence locker lottery.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Piece by Piece" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Calvin teams up with his ex-wife Miranda to get to the bottom of why Laura broke off their engagement; Calvin works with Ella to repair his relationship with Calvin Jr.; Curtis and Floyd attempt to get publicity for their barbecue sauce brand.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Tough Love" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Phillip makes a decision, Jeremy rethinks the way he handled the recent argument between them; everybody worries about Phillip's safety; Jeremy wonders if his tough love did more harm than good; Mr. Brown goes through a breakup.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 21)

Tuesday, April 22

Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Will on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Dove Cameron (Schmigadoon!/Liv and Maddie) - Dove appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael makes a special appearance on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Jon Bernthal (The Class) - Jon talks about The Accountant 2 on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
Terry Crews (Everybody Still Hates Chris/Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry is hitting the headlines with Drew and Ross Mathews on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew and Valerie are covering the latest headlines and hearing from a dance group of all senior citizens on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Susan Kelechi Watson (Louie) - Susan talks about Netflix’s unique murder mystery The Residence on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Daniella Pineda (The Detour) - Daniella is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.