SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Kevin James, star of CBS's new comedy series Kevin Can Wait, will host CBS Fall Preview, a primetime special highlighting the network's six new fall series. It will air Monday, September 12 (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and on CBS All Access, the network's digital subscription video on demand and live-streaming service.

In addition, the special will be available on demand across multiple platforms through mid-October, providing viewers with convenient anytime access to information about the Network’s new fall lineup. The platforms include CBS.com, the CBS App, select CBS Audience Network partner sites and participating CBS stations’ sites, as well as on demand via the Network’s various cable, satellite and telco partners.

Throughout the special, Kevin (joined by Kevin Can Wait co-star Erinn Hayes in one segment) introduces the six new series with a mix of “first look” behind-the-scenes moments, cast interviews and select scenes from the shows’ premiere episodes. Their other new comedy series are Man with a Plan (starring Matt LeBlanc) and The Great Indoors (starring Joel McHale). New dramas are Bull, MacGyver and Pure Genius. Stay with us for updates on other fall preview specials.

Heroes & Icons TV Network (H&I) is beaming up weekly Sunday evening broadcasts of the Emmy Award-winning Star Trek: The Animated Series beginning Sunday, September 4 at 7:00 and 7:30pm ET. The debut helps mark the 50th anniversary of the 1966 premiere of Star Trek: The Original Series. Adding fireworks to H&Is Star Trek: 50 Iconic Years programming celebration are broadcasts of all five Star Trek live action series plus six rarely seen authentic Star Trek documentaries featuring interviews with creator Gene Roddenberry, and stars William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelly, George Takei and others. The full-day documentary schedule includes:

1-3pm ET: Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special (1991)
3-4pm ET: Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier (2007)
5-6pm ET: Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories (1983)
6-7pm ET: Star Trek: A Captain's Log (1994)
1-2am ET: Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments (1999)
2-3am ET: Journey's End: Saga of Star Trek Next Generation (1994)

Star Trek: The Animated Series expands H&I TV’s weekly broadcast of all five live action Star Trek TV programs, including: Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. These live action series air six nights a week on the H&I TV Network, Sunday nights beginning at 8:00pm ET and weeknights beginning at 6:00pm ET. Viewers can find out where to watch each night of All Star Trek programming on the H&I AllStarTrek.com website.

Silver Spoons is now on FamilyNet! The hit '80s sitcom is airing every night in primetime at 9pm & 9:30pm ET and Mon-Sat 12pm & 12:30pm ET. The sitcom joins a Sony Pictures Television shows filled schedule with sitcoms like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, All in the Family, Benson, Barney Miller, The Facts of Life and Archie Bunker's Place. Weekends have all those plus The Monkees. This is the second addition of Silver Spoons recently, as Logo started airing the series, too, but Logo has removed the series from its schedule. But not to worry, at least the sitcom is now on FamilyNet, if you receive it. There might be another network adding it soon over the next year or two, too. Stay tuned! In this classic '80s series, Ricky Stratton (Ricky Schroder) arrives at the mansion of the father he has never met to introduce himself, moves in, and gets to know him better.

Freeform has announced the series finale for Pretty Little Liars. The series finale will be a two-hour television event. The final 10 episodes of season seven, airing in April 2017, will be followed by the series premiere of I. Marlene King's new series Famous In Love. As for Pretty Little Liars, it will premiere its final 10 episodes for its last season in April 2017 after seven seasons of the hit original drama series. Freeform announced the news via a Facebook live interview with creator and showrunner I. Marlene King and cast members Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell and Sasha Pieterse. The Pretty Little Liars summer finale will air tonight (Tuesday, Aug. 30) at 8:00pm EDT, on Freeform, the new name for ABC Family.

The final season will continue to be filled with homecomings and reunions, bringing back old characters as it has already done in the first half of the season, including Wren Kingston (Julian Morris), Pastor Ted Wilson (Edward Kerr), Jenna Marshall (Tammin Sursok), Paige McCullers (Lindsey Shaw) and Sydney Driscoll (Chloe Bridges). A #PLLWedding for one of the Liars is also in store for the latter half of the season. To conclude the series, the season seven finale will be a two-hour, drama-filled television event. While Pretty Little Liars will be concluding, executive producer I. Marlene King will launch her highly anticipated new series Famous In Love. The one-hour soapy drama that puts the spotlight on the dark side of fame will premiere following the Pretty Little Liars final season premiere in April.

Based on the novel by Rebecca Serle published by Little, Brown and Company, Famous In Love follows ordinary college student Paige (Bella Thorne) as she gets her big break after auditioning for the starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster. She must now navigate her new star-studded life and the highs and lows that come with being the new It Girl in town as well as balancing her college workload. Famous In Love stars Bella Thorne, Carter Jenkins, Charlie Depew, Georgie Flores, Niki Koss, Pepi Sonuga, Keith Powers and Perrey Reeves.

getTV gets you through the dog days of summer with a September lineup of cinematic favorites featuring award-winning dramas, side-splitting comedies, and beloved stars. The month includes a special In the Heat of the Night Labor Day Marathon; as well as a final salute to The Judy Garland Show; a new Monday Night Variety Block featuring the addition of Sonny & Cher at 8 p.m. ET; and modern classics starring Sylvester Stallone, Brad Pitt, Robert Redford and Matt Damon; among others. Spend the day with the brave law enforcement officers of Sparta, Mississippi, in this special In the Heat of the Night Labor Day Marathon starting at 6am featuring every two-hour episode from the acclaimed series starring Carroll O’Connor, Alan Autry, Howard E. Rollins Jr., and Carl Weathers. getTV’s Monday Variety Block bids farewell to Judy Garland with a trio of unforgettable episodes of The Judy Garland Show on Sept. 5 at 8pm.

getTV continues its tribute to The Merv Griffin Show, putting the spotlight on some of the groundbreaking talk show's most classic episodes from the '70s and '80s every Monday at 10 p.m. ET beginning Sept. 12. This month boasts a trio of star-studded episodes, kicking off with singer-songwriter Barry Manilow in an early appearance, as well as comedy power couple Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara (September 12); followed by The Golden Girls stars Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Estelle Getty (September 19); and folk icon John Denver (September 26).

Production started last week in Los Angeles on the new Freeform comedy pilot Alone Together by The Lonely Island team of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. In addition to series stars Esther Povitsky (Lady Dynamite, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and Benji Aflalo (Not Safe with Nikki Glaser), Freeform has cast guest stars Chris D'Elia (Undateable), Ginger Gonzaga (Wrecked, Mixology), Edgar Blackmon (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), Hayley Marie Norman (Adam Ruins Everything), Kamilla Alnes (American Horror Story), Jim O'Heir (Parks and Recreation) and Justine Lupe (Younger).

Alone Together is a half-hour, single-camera comedy about two overlooked millennial misfits from different backgrounds trying to make their way into the vain and status-obsessed culture of Los Angeles only to find salvation in their male/female strictly platonic friendship. Esther Povitsky, Benji Aflalo and Eben Russell (Last Man Standing) serve as writers and executive producers on the pilot. Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Billy Rosenberg and Hunter Covington also serve as executive producers. Daniel Gray Longino (Lady Dynamite, Portlandia) will direct the pilot.

We're in Summer mode. We will be back with our normal weekly ratings report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long! Here are our summer ratings: