SitcomsOnline Digest: Contract Negotiations Ahead for The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family; New Blu-Ray Releases from Mill Creek; More Family Matters on DVD in July

Saturday, July 02, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Contract Negotiations Ahead for The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family; New Blu-Ray Releases from Mill Creek; More Family Matters on DVD in July

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we are hearing about contract negotiations for two of the biggest sitcoms on TV that need to be worked out in short time, news of a Lost in Space reboot, and some new Blu-ray releases from Mill Creek. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Two of the biggest sitcoms on TV, The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family, are about to start negotiations for new contracts for the cast, and while the prospects for The Big Bang Theory look very good, the Modern Family cast might be looking at somewhat shorter contracts. (Deadline)
This past season, there was an episode of The Carmichael Show that took on the Bill Cosby scandal, and as it turns out, NBC (which was in no small part built by the strength of Bill Cosby) fought against the episode. (Deadline)
Netflix has ordered ten episodes of the Lost in Space reboot. (CNN)
Gilmore Girls is coming to Netflix soon as a "reboot," but if you just want the original series, all seven seasons debuted on the service yesterday. (CBS News)
Most people probably have no idea who Stuart Nisbet is, but as it turns out, he was a character actor who guest starred in 120 different TV series (mostly in the 60s and 70s, but his last TV appearance was a 2001 episode of The Practice), and he died this week at age 82. (MeTV)
Antenna TV will be featuring some of Norman Lear's favorite episodes of his series tomorrow. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Mill Creek is continuing with their re-releases of series with some new Blu-ray releases of Universal series on October 4, including Miami Vice - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) and Knight Rider - The Complete Series (Blu-ray). That's not all, though. On the same day, they will also re-release the complete series on DVD with Miami Vice - The Complete Series (DVD) and Knight Rider - The Complete Series (DVD).
That isn't all for Mill Creek. On September 6, they will re-release Coach, beginning with Coach - Seasons One and Two (of course, we're hopeful that they'll eventually give us the entire series of it on DVD).
Warner Archive is moving forward with Family Matters, with a July 26 release of Family Matters - The Complete Seventh Season.

TUESDAY (JULY 5) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

The Rockford Files - Season One (Mill Creek) (DVD, $14.98): Mill Creek continues their re-releases of hit Universal series with this release. Also available is the release of The Rockford Files - Season Two (Mill Creek).

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Steve Harvey (Twitter), "Jump!"

Claim to Fame: Steve Harvey is, by all means, a jack of all trades. While his Miss Universe gaffe from last year may very well be one of his most well-known moments, he actually has quite an extensive background in, well, everything. He started out as a standup comedian, and hit it big in 1990 when he was named host of Showtime at the Apollo, a role that he kept for over a decade. In the mid-90s, he got his sitcom credits, first with the not-so-successful ABC sitcom Me and the Boys in 1994, but he did much better with The Steve Harvey Show (a sitcom), that ran for six seasons on The WB beginning in 1996. In 2000, he moved away from TV for a bit to host The Steve Harvey Morning Show, a very popular morning radio talk show that airs nationally, primarily on urban adult contemporary radio stations. But he returned to TV in 2010 as host of Family Feud, where he has brought the series to levels of success that it hasn't seen in decades, and in 2012, he returned with the syndicated TV talk show, The Steve Harvey Show.

Pick of the Tweets: "This is backstage at BET. His wife came and got me and said Ali wants to speak with you...I cried the entire time. (pic)" (June 4, 2016)

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.