Saturday, August 20, 2016
SitcomsOnline Digest: Remembering Jack Riley and Fyvush Finkel; New Family Matters DVDs
Welcome
to SitcomsOnline Digest! It has been yet another busy week with deaths of classic TV stars, news of the upcoming death of a relatively new cable network, and also a bit of good news with some new series for Antenna TV. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- Jack Riley, known for his roles on The Bob Newhart Show and many other sitcoms, as well as the the voice of Stu Pickles on Rugrats, died this week at age 80. (People)
- Fyvush Finkel, who spent most of his career as a Yiddish theater actor but transitioned into TV thanks to David E. Kelley casting him in roles on Picket Fences and Boston Public, died this week at age 93. (New York Times)
- The cable network Pivot will be pivoting toward going off the air sometime in the next year. (USA Today)
- Antenna TV has a lot of new (to them, anyway) sitcoms coming along the way over the next year or two. (SitcomsOnline)
- Comedy Central abruptly and somewhat unexpectedly canceled The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore this week, and it seems that it was in large part due to the inability to translate the series into clips that could go viral on YouTube. (Vox)
- John McLaughlin, the host of the PBS series The McLaughlin Group, unexpectedly missed an episode for the first time in the 34 year history of the program earlier this week, and then died earlier this week. Now, the series that pioneered the modern "noisy" political talk show will end this weekend, with a special tribute to the host. (Deadline)
- The Wonder Years - The Complete Series is coming to retailers soon, but we have a chance for you to win a copy of it. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
- Warner Archive is moving ahead with Family Matters, bringing Family Matters - The Complete Eighth Season (the last one to air on ABC before the series moved to CBS for the ninth) to DVD on September 20.
TUESDAY (AUGUST 23) HOME MEDIA RELEASES
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Three (DVD, $39.98): The third season of the Andy Samberg sitcom on Fox arrives in this release.
- Superstore - Season One (DVD, $29.98): The first season of the NBC comedy arrives in this release.
- The Wonder Years - The Complete Series (DVD, $119.95): In case you skipped the deluxe version that came packaged in the metal locker and was only available directly from Time Life, this complete series now arrives at retailers.
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Jason Hervey (Twitter), "Executive Producer/Actor/Co-Founder of Bischoff Hervey Entertainment Television (BHE TV) AKA brother from hell on the Emmy Award Winning series The Wonder Years"
Claim to Fame: We're (sort of) continuing a theme of actors who played memorable characters in 80s sitcoms, but were never part of the regular cast this week with Jason Hervey, even though Hervey did go on to an actual regular role in the late 80s on The Wonder Years. Jason Hervey's career began with a few guest roles here and there, most notably in the final season of Diff'rent Strokes, where he played Charlie in nine final season episodes. Of course, his best known role came from The Wonder Years, where he was much more than just a minor supporting character. Today, he does much more work on the production side of television, and much like his friend Scott Baio, seems to have some very strong pro-Donald Trump political opinions... just so you know before viewing his Twitter page.
Pick of the Tweets: ".@thirsty_lawyer Me and my brother (aka the REAL Wayne Arnold) at our cousin David's wedding! #JenBern #Congrats" (February 27, 2016)
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Thursday, July 9
Young Sheldon - "A Party Invitation, Football Grapes and an Earth Chicken" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mary gets Pastor Jeff involved when Sheldon isn’t invited to Billy’s birthday party. Also, George Sr. has “male-bonding time” with Dr. Sturgis.
The Unicorn - "Splitting the Hairs" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob, Douglas and Christina try to get Dottie to make a will. Also, Abishola and Kemi’s friendship is tested after Abishola catches Kemi in a lie.
Mom - "Goat Yogurt and Ample Parking" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Christy is asked to perform questionable tasks for her demanding new boss, Veronica (Paget Brewster), and Bonnie has second thoughts about taking Adam’s last name.
Mom - "Twirly Flippy Men and a Dirty Bird" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Christy escorts a reluctant Chef Rudy (French Stewart) to court-ordered AA meetings. Also, Bonnie attempts to make Adam feel more at home in the apartment.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 6)
Thursday, July 9
- Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ramy Youssef (Ramy) - Ramy is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Abby Elliott (Indebted/Odd Mom Out) and Adam Pally (Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Abby and Adam are guests on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
- Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) - Jameela will be on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie/The Secret Lives of Men) - Peter appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered) - Regina talks about Black Monday on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
- Patricia Heaton (Carol's Second Act/The Middle Back/Back to You/Everybody Loves Raymond) - Patricia will be on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
- Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory/Blossom) - Mayim appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood/New Girl/Modern Men) - Max is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Chloe x Halle (grown-ish) - Chloe x Halle are guests on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Jenny Slate (Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - NBC's Today catches up with Jenny in the 10am hour.
- Ron Livingston (Loudermilk) - Ron appears on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (April/May/June/July)
04/07 - Cheers - The Complete Series (2020 Release)
04/14 - Police Squad! - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
04/14 - The Righteous Gemstones - The Complete First Season
04/21 - Step by Step - The Complete Seventh and Final Season (WBShop.com)
05/05 - Kidding - Season 2
05/19 - The Good Place - The Final (Fourth) Season
05/19 - The Good Place - The Complete Series - Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)
05/26 - Silicon Valley - The Complete Sixth and Final Season
05/26 - Silicon Valley - The Complete Series
06/02 - Work in Progress - Season 1
06/09 - Head of the Class - The Complete First Season (WBShop.com)
06/09 - How to Be a Gentleman - The Complete Series
06/09 - Letterkenny - Seasons 3 & 4
06/09 - Modern Family - The Eleventh and Final Season
06/09 - No Activity - Season 1
06/09 - Superior Donuts - Season Two
06/23 - Bob's Burgers - The Complete 10th Season
06/23 - Fresh Off the Boat - The Complete Sixth and Final Season
06/23 - Last Man Standing - The Complete Seventh Season
06/23 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Third Season (Blu-ray)
06/30 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Seven
07/07 - Will & Grace - The Revival - Season Three - The Farewell Season
07/21 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Tenth Season
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