SitcomsOnline Digest: New Pilots from Zach Braff and Judge Judy?; Popular Scripted Cable Series Coming to an End

Saturday, September 03, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: New Pilots from Zach Braff and Judge Judy?; Popular Scripted Cable Series Coming to an End

Happy Labor Day weekend, and welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we have news of new scripted pilots from Zach Braff and (seriously) Judge Judy, news of the end of two popular scripted cable series, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Zach Braff is looking to return to the sitcom world as both star and director in a new put pilot for ABC. (Deadline)
Lifetime has canceled the series Devious Maids after four seasons. (Deadline)
The cult favorite Pretty Little Liars is coming to an end as well. (ABC News)
If two hours a day of Judge Judy on your local TV station wasn't enough for you, then CBS is convinced that you'd be interested in an autobiographical drama series about her life that is in development. (New York Daily News)
Is it too soon to be talking about a revival of the NBC series Parenthood? The cast and crew of the NBC series don't think it is, and it might just become a reality if they have their way. (Variety)
Actor Gene Wilder died this week, and while his career was more memorable for his movie roles, such as his starring role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, he did occasionally appear on television. Most notably, he starred in his own series called Something Wilder on NBC in the 1990s, which included an unlikely union with Alice Cooper in one episode. (Bloody Disgusting)
Silver Spoons stayed in relative obscurity in reruns for over two decades (occasionally popping up here and there), but now, it has once again been added to another network, and this time it is FamilyNet. (SitcomsOnline)
In case you missed it, here is our interview of Josie Davis from yesterday. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Shout! Factory is cranking through those release of Newhart, with Newhart - The Complete Seventh Season expected on December 13.

TUESDAY (AUGUST 30) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01HSAIOTI/ref=nosim/happydaysonline4-20

Coach - Seasons One and Two (DVD, $14.98): Mill Creek makes their first release of this series on DVD (which was previously released by Universal) with this two season combo pack. Season 1 and season 2 also available individually.
South Park - The Nineteenth Season (DVD, $29.99; Blu-ray, $42.99): Just in time for the upcoming debut of the 20th season of the Comedy Central series, this release comes to DVD and Blu-ray.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Kristen Bell (Twitter), "5'1 is the new 6'2"

Claim to Fame: We're continuing our theme of "the stars of the new sitcoms" this week with Kristen Bell, who will star on NBC's newest entry (and the network's attempt to make Thursday night comedy night once, which we hope succeeds) alongside Ted Danson, called The Good Place. Bell is already rather well known to TV audiences from her title role on the series Veronica Mars and most recently she starred in the Showtime comedy House of Lies, but this marks her first regular role in a primetime broadcast network sitcom. With a sitcom veteran as her co-star and the show being created by Michael Schur (who has a solid track record of success with sitcoms, including The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine), this might be a role that she could be getting used to for a few years, but we'll never know until it debuts (in a special timeslot, before moving to the regular Thursday slot) on September 19 on NBC.

Pick of the Tweets: "#TheGoodPlace hopefuls, let's spend for good! Donate to a local charity, sponsor an orphan sloth, get those points!" (August 31, 2016)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, November 12

The Conners - "Tempest in a Stew Pot" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Jackie and Becky pitch their business plan to Darlene in hopes of getting the Lunch Box back, but Darlene’s decision leads to hostility among the three. Meanwhile, Dan bans Odessa from the house, causing a rift with Harris; and Mark makes extensive Thanksgiving plans that may inevitably fall apart.

Bless This Mess - "The Visit" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Donna springs a last-minute trip to Nebraska on Mike and Rio, which she claims is to relax, but Mike and Rio soon find out she has other plans in mind when she steps into competitive mode to get them to participate in the harvest. Meanwhile, Constance’s son Brandon is driving her crazy working at the store, so she pawns him off on Rudy.

mixed-ish - "Puttin' on the Ritz" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The kids are excited to learn more about their grandad after Harrison invites the crew to family day at his country club. Although Paul thinks it’s a bad idea, he is eventually overruled. Meanwhile, Alicia attempts to fit in at the country club but ends up fighting with Denise about keeping it real.

black-ish - "Daughters for Dummies" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Dre realizes that his relationship with Diane has been distant, he plans some daddy-daughter bonding sessions, but the plans backfire when he realizes the interest is one-sided. Meanwhile, Bow covers for Junior at his ChoreBoar gig.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 11)

Tuesday, November 12

Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Catch Patrick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (People of Earth) - Da'Vine appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen visits The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Frozen 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/Getting On/The Norm Show) - Laurie stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Jenny Slate (Married/Parks and Recreation/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Rob Schneider (Real Rob/Rob) and Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) - Rob and Esther are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class) - Lizzy drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Robin Givens (Head of the Class) - Robin visits The Real, so check your local listings.
Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Donald appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
Nicole Byer (Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim talks about Dark Waters on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Kristin Davis (Sex and the City/Bad Teacher) - Kristin talks about Holiday in the Wild on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.