Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Catastrophe Gets 2 Season Renewal for Amazon; Lucille Ball Comedy Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Catastrophe

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.


Lucille Ball Comedy Festival

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

Friday, March 13

Happy's Place - "Social Discontent" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Steve and Isabella begin shooting marketing content for the tavern, they quickly realize Bobbie has a case of camera madness, causing them to recast her with a local influencer.

Stumble - "Daytona" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Buttons experience the cheerleading championships, competing on cheer's biggest stage; as the ragtag team attempts to win the title, they first must overcome not only Sammy Davis Senior Jr. College, but a surprising foe from Courteney's past.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 9)

Friday, March 13

  • Kym Whitley (Act Your Age/Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) and Dustin Ybarra (Ghosts/Us & Them) - Kym and Dustin are guests on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie talks about The Faithful with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin talks about Stumble on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Alexandra Breckenridge (Save Me) - NBC's Today catches up with Alexandra in the 10am hour.
  • Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren talks about Reminders of Him on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Melba Moore (Melba) - Melba shares stories from her new memoir on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Michelle Pfeiffer (Delta House) - Drew sits down with the cast of The Madison - Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Beau Garrett, Patrick J. Adams and Elle Chapman to talk all about their exciting new tv series, and a play a round of memory bank on >The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local iistings.
  • Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Apple TV's Shrinking on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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