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
Wednesday, April 15
Scrubs - "My Celebration" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
A chaotic day at Sacred Heart forces the doctors and interns to face burnout, life-changing decisions, and their relationships with one another.
Abbott Elementary - "Night Out" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Janine and Gregory have a night out. Meanwhile, Melissa, Barbara and Mr. Johnson have a movie night.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 13)
Wednesday, April 15
- Bob Odenkirk (The Larry Sanders Show) - Watch Bob on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Zendaya (K.C. Undercover/Shake It Up) - Zendaya is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Zoe Lister-Jones (Slip/Life in Pieces/Friends with Better Lives/Whitney) - Andy Cohen interviews Zoe on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo. She also talks about Peacock's The Miniature Wife on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Ramy Youssef (#1 Happy Family USA/Ramy/See Dad Run) - Ramy is a guest on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim) - Kimberly talks about 9-1-1: Nashville on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings) and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair talks about A Soldier's Wife: My Mother, the Marvelous Mrs. Marilyn A. Underwood on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) and Amy Sedaris (No Activity/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Strangers with Candy) - Aubrey, Amy and John Waters talk about Kevin with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry talks about Terry's Many Hats on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - Jennie shares her new book, I Choose Me: Chasing Joy, Finding Purpose & Embracing Reinvention, and opens up about a deeper emotional truth hiding behind what people thought they knew about her, reinventing herself, and leading a movement of women who are choosing themselves on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Andie MacDowell (Four Weddings and a Funeral/Cuckoo) - NBC's Today catches up with Andie in the 9am hour.
- Lena Dunham (Girls) - Lena talks about her new memoir Famesick on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show) - Bryan talks about coming back for the Malcolm in the Middle reboot, his daughter starring in The Pitt and some of his most iconic roles over the years on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and 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)
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