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)