SitcomsOnline Digest: Remembering Jack Riley and Fyvush Finkel; New Family Matters DVDs

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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 1

St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.

Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Tuesday, April 1

Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.