Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Catastrophe Gets 2 Season Renewal for Amazon; Lucille Ball Comedy Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Amazon announced it has greenlit two additional seasons of the critically-acclaimed comedy series, Catastrophe. Written by and starring Rob Delaney (Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.) and Sharon Horgan (Pulling), Catastrophe, produced by Avalon Television, with co-producers Birdbath Productions and Merman, is a comedy following an Irish woman and an American man who, after making a bloody mess as they struggled to fall in love in London, have embarked on a series of best-attempts to clear it up and generally do the right thing. The highly anticipated third season of Catastrophe is scheduled to premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in the US in 2017, and the fourth season is expected to premiere in 2018.
The entire first and second seasons of Catastrophe are now available on Prime Video. In the second season of the show, the stakes are higher as we rejoin the now married Sharon and Rob who are struggling to stay in love-and lust-while taking their trademark mayhem into parenthood. A monstrous family (Carrie Fisher, Star Wars) and crazy friends (Ashley Jensen, Ugly Betty), also seem hell-bent on ensuring that whatever new life-journey Rob and Sharon embark on will be anything but simple. With times having changed for our turbulent lovers, and with their new arrival back home; at the start of the season we rejoin the chaos as they decide on an ill-considered party to get the introductions complete in one hit. Unfortunately for Sharon, the gathering coincides with a visit from Rob's eBay obsessed (and "card-carrying sadist") mom, a disturbing revelation about her father's health and an unfortunate incident with the family dog.
National Comedy Center, Inc., the cultural institution developing the first national visitor experience dedicated entirely to the celebration of comedy, celebrates the 25th anniversary of its annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, August 4–7, in Lucille Ball's hometown of Jamestown, NY. The Center broke ground last year for its forthcoming museum of comedy, which will celebrate the art form's past, present and future in all its forms. Headlining this year's festival is Daily Show host Trevor Noah, the "king of the rant" Lewis Black, and one of this country's premier comedians, Brian Regan. Festival highlights also include a discussion with the Farrelly Brothers and the critically-acclaimed Story Pirates kids-comedy troupe. Additional tribute programming planned include a roundtable discussion with daughters Kitty Bruce, Rain Pryor and Kelly Carlin, of the comedy legends Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and George Carlin.
The festival features more than 50 events at a dozen venues throughout Jamestown including three late night showcases, a Stand-Up Showcase free to members of the military past and present, and a special exhibition in honor of the 65th anniversary of I Love Lucy. Tickets can be purchased at www.lucycomedyfest.com or by calling the festival box office at 716.484.0800. Lewis Black first came to the festival in 1991 and returns with his iconic 'comedic yelling and finger pointing' act on August 4, Trevor Noah will perform his acclaimed stand-up act on August 5, and coming off making history as the first comedian to perform a live Comedy Central special broadcast from Radio City Music Hall, Brian Regan will perform on August 6. Kliph Nesteroff, author of The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy, will moderate a discussion with the Farrelly Brothers. Additionally, Bobby and Peter Farrelly will be bringing the iconic Mutt Cuts van from Dumb and Dumber to this year's annual festival, which will then be incorporated into the future exhibit experience at the National Comedy Center.
The National Comedy Center, a non-profit cultural institution, recently announced the acquisition of the George Carlin Archives for its collection. The Center is a $50 million project funded by public-private partnership and to date has been awarded more than $3.5 million from New York State, Empire State Development and I Love NY™. Design of the immersive, interactive visitor experience has been provided by renowned creative firm Jack Rouse Associates and interactive specialist Local Projects, who was recently awarded a Cannes International Creativity award for its work on the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The National Comedy Center, Inc. embodies Lucille Ball's vision for her hometown of Jamestown to become a destination for the celebration of all of the comedic arts. The organization operates the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, and for the last 25 years has produced the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival where performers included Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Ray Romano, Ellen DeGeneres, Bob Newhart, Paula Poundstone, The Smothers Brothers and 100 plus other comedic artists.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, September 15
The Great North - "You've Got Sail Adventure" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Wanting a chance at casually making out, Judy suddenly finds herself with three separate dates to handle simultaneously; Beef goes to meet a friend he met online, only to find out that he's a cruise ship captain, and therefore a dire enemy.
The Simpsons - "Cremains of the Day" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When someone in Homer's life passes away, he and some guys from Moe's go on a road trip to scatter the ashes.
Universal Basic Guys - "Sunset Cruise" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When David, Andrea, Mark, and Tammy go on a cruise together, David and Andrea unexpectedly rekindle their romance; Mark's preoccupation with reeling in a big fish leads to him catching a whale that jeopardizes the safety of the entire cruise.
Bob's Burgers - "The Right Tough Stuff" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Gayle tells the family she's sending in an audition tape to be on Tough Stuff Island, Linda is determined to make her tape boring to save her from being humiliated on a rejection reel; Bob struggles with his new electric grinder.
The Great North - "Look Who's Squawking Adventure" / "Am I The Ice Hole? Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When the eagle Moon is pet sitting escapes, he enlists Beef and Wolf to go searching for it; Honeybee and Beef bond on an ice fishing trip and try to find a compromise between quiet fishing and fun games.
The Conners - "Sober Sex, Plastic Silverware, and Losing My Religion" (The CW, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Part of Becky's recovery program mandates she make amends with people she has lied to over the years, leading her to meet up again with a former high school friend; Darlene visits with Pastor Phil; Louise continues planning her wedding.
The Conners - "The Wedding of Dan and Louise" (The CW, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A weather report forecasting that a tornado is headed for Lanford creates chaos and surprises on Dan and Louise's wedding day.
The Conners - "Peter Pan, The Backup Plan, Adventures in Babysitting, and a River Runs Through It" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Conner home is decked out for Halloween, despite the leak in the roof that forces Dan and Louise to cancel their honeymoon; Becky surprises the newlyweds and takes them on a virtual adventure around the world.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 9)
Friday, September 13
- Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Watch Brian on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Al Franken (LateLine) - Al is a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher at 10pm on HBO.
- Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - Kelsey will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Sanaa Lathan (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show/LateLine) - Sanaa and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor talk about the enduring power of friendship in their new Hulu film The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Dana Delany (The Comedians) - Dana discusses her television series Tulsa King on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Josie Davis (Charles in Charge) - Josie will be on Good Day LA on FOX 11 in Los Angeles at 11:30am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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