SitcomsOnline Digest: No Big Surprises in Fall Lineups for the Broadcast Networks; Warner Archive Bringing McClain's Law and The Eleventh Hour to DVD

Saturday, May 21, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: No Big Surprises in Fall Lineups for the Broadcast Networks; Warner Archive Bringing McClain's Law and The Eleventh Hour to DVD

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! The time has arrived, and this week, we got a look at what every major broadcast network plans to do this fall. We have a brief synopsis of a few highlights we saw here today, and you can see all the full lineups by looking at the past few days of our blog entries. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

It looks like NBC is slowly attempting to bring comedy back to Thursday nights, with the 8 PM hour on Thursday nights in the fall returning to their comedy roots (though with Chicago Med in the 9 PM slot, we may have to wait a little longer to see a full two hour block). (SitcomsOnline)
Sitcom fans will be pleased to see that ABC isn't disturbing their comedy lineup too much. (SitcomsOnline)
We reported last week that the CSI franchise was dead when CBS canceled the last series in the franchise, and although that is true for the fall 2016 lineup, it turns out that declaration may not be completely accurate for the long-term. (Deadline)
It's been another week, and unfortunately, another sitcom star from the past has died, and this time it is Alan Young of Mister Ed. (New York Times)
Morley Safer retired from his long career at 60 Minutes just this week, and now just a few days later, he has died. (CNN Money)
Customers of Time Warner Cable won't have Time Warner Cable to complain about much longer, as the acquisition of it by Charter was completed this week. (CNET)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Warner Archive is laying out plans for June, and although there are no sitcoms in there, there are some very surprising treats for fans of classic TV, such as the the complete series of the 1980s crime drama McClain's Law and the first season of the 1960s medical drama The Eleventh Hour.

TUESDAY (MAY 24) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Lou Grant - The Complete First Season (DVD, $39.97): One of the most unexpected releases of the year, for sure, is this first season release of the successful (yet rarely seen today) spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
The Wonder Years - Season Five (DVD, $29.95): Though the complete series has been out for some time, this release brings to retailers the final piece of the classic series that many thought would never arrive on DVD.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Matt LeBlanc (Twitter), "Actor, writer, producer, director, singer"

Claim to Fame: In the last half of the 90s and the first half of the 00s, Matt LeBlanc was one of your Friends. Literally. He played the role of Joey Tribbiani in that successful series, and after it ended, he continued to play the same role in a spinoff that was doomed from the beginning. That wasn't exactly his first role, though, as before that he had a couple of guest spots on Just the Ten of Us, and also appeared on Married... with Children, which in turn had a spinoff called Top of the Heap. Oddly enough, that spinoff was canceled after only seven episodes, but it gave birth to yet another continuation which he starred in, called Vinnie & Bobby, also canceled after seven episodes. Obviously, this business of getting roles in failed spinoffs of failed spinoffs worked out for the best, as it wasn't long after all of this nonsense that he was cast in Friends. This fall, he makes a return to comedy on CBS with the series Man with a Plan.

Pick of the Tweets: "Coming this fall. Hope you tune in. (pic)" (May 18, 2016)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, October 2

The Simpsons - "Pixelated and Afraid" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Homer and Marge are lost in an icy wilderness, they must push themselves to their limits to survive.

Bob's Burgers - "Frigate Me Knot" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Linda encourages Teddy to attend a farewell ceremony for the ship on which he served in the Navy, but it means confronting his Navy pals and his past.

The Simpsons - "One Angry Lisa" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa gets called for jury duty; Marge becomes obsessed with her exercise bike.

The Great North - "Cillian Me Softly Adventure" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
During Lone Moose's Disaster Day event, Wolf and Honeybee have their very first fight.

Bob's Burgers - "The Reeky Lake Show" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The family's Labor Day lake trip takes a turn when the Belchers find themselves trapped in their cabin, hiding from what lurks outside.

Family Guy - "Bend or Blockbuster" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Resolved to enjoy a family movie night, the Griffins take a road trip to Bend, Ore., to rent a VHS from the last Blockbuster in existence.

The Villains of Valley View - "Havoc-Ween" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Amy brings her mischievous body-snatching Grandma to a party. Vic and Eva scam kids out of their candy untill they come across a villain even bigger than themselves.

Raven's Home - "The Girl Who Cried Tasha" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Alice uses a spell to bring her doll, Tasha, to life; when Tasha refuses to return to being a doll, Alice must enlist the help of Booker, Ivy and Neil.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 26)

Friday, September 30

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Quinta is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Kevin appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Alison Brie (GLOW/Community) - Alison will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
David Alan Grier (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - David appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Topher Grace (Home Economics/That '70s Show) - Topher is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy stops by to chat and play a rousing game of Never Have I Ever with a twist on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jim Rash (Community/Help Me Help You/Thanks/Katie Joplin) - Jim appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jason Alexander (Seinfeld/Bob Patterson/Listen Up!/Hit the Road) - Jason shares stories from his hit sitcom on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso dishes about the new season of Dancing with the Stars on Disney+ on Sherri, so check your local listings. He will also be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Nick talks about Don't Worry Darling and Little Big Boys on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show/The Good Life) - Drew is a guest on Sherri, so check your local listings.