Saturday, October 01, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Dynasty Reboot in the Works?; NBC Picks Up (and Promptly Shelves) Sitcom from Superstore Trio

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been a very busy news week this week with so much news that we couldn't even feature it all, and we're not even talking about the presidential election (though we do have some news of upcoming Saturday Night Live parodies and ratings news that is relevant to us). We aren't going to tell you to watch any decades old VHS tapes that aren't so family friendly here, but we do have some suggestions for new DVDs of some family friendly classic series from the 50s and 60s that will be coming out on Tuesday. Additionally, we're hearing about another reboot of an 80s classic, news of a new sitcom that NBC both bought and quickly decided nix (both within a period of days), and news of the death of an iconic soap opera creator. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
  • Reboots are everywhere, and now the latest rumor floating around is that the 80s primetime soap Dynasty could be getting that treatment on The CW. (Hollywood Reporter)
  • NBC bought a new sitcom this week Mail Order Family, but before we could even report that, we now know that the entire project has been scrapped due to backlash over concerns that the series promotes racial stereotypes and human trafficking. (Vulture
  • Saturday Night Live returns for a new season tonight (and not a moment too soon), and after struggling with getting the "perfect" Donald Trump past season, they are bringing in a new (but very recognizable) face to fill the role this season thanks to a suggestion from Tina Fey: Alec Baldwin. (USA Today)
  • The first presidential debate this week broke all viewership records for presidential debates, with 85 million tuning in (and that doesn't even count people watching it online). (CNNMoney)
  • Agnes Nixon, creator of the soap operas All My Children, One Life to Live, and Loving, died this week at age 93. (New York Times)
  • In what seems to be a change from many recent new fall seasons in the past, networks (and fans) appear to be satisfied with many of the new series this fall, which has led ABC to give two of their new ones, Speechless and Designated Survivor, full season orders. (SitcomsOnline)
  • Meanwhile, NBC is giving a full season to their critically acclaimed series, This is Us. (SitcomsOnline)

TUESDAY (OCTOBER 4) HOME MEDIA RELEASES
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01H3KUHOI/ref/nosim/happydaysonline5-20
  • The Andy Griffith Show - Christmas Special (DVD, $14.99): The classic (and oddly enough for a series that lasted as long as it did, only) Christmas episode of the iconic sitcom arrives in color in this DVD, which also includes a colorized version of "The Pickle Story." Both episodes are also presented in their original black and white as well.
  • I Love Lucy - Superstar Special #1 (DVD, $14.99): Two classic episodes of this series, "L.A. at Last" and "Lucy and Superman," arrive on DVD in this release in colorized form. Both episodes are also presented in their original black and white as well.
  • Perry Mason - The Complete Series (DVD, $179.98): It's almost unbelievable that this series is coming out as a complete series, but it is, with all 271 episodes on 72 discs.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Ben Feldman (Twitter), "scared of social media"
Claim to Fame: We've been on a theme of featuring some of the stars of the new sitcoms from this season lately, but we're cheating (a little) this week by featuring the star of a returning sitcom, although to be fair, it was a sitcom that debuted mid-season last year and probably gained more attention over the summer through online streaming, to the point where it is almost new to people this fall. We're talking about NBC's Superstore, and Ben Feldman. His first sitcom role came in 2006 on the sitcom Living With Fran, which even if you don't remember it, it starred Fran Drescher and actually lasted two half seasons on The CW. From there, he went on to the series Drop Dead Diva, and also did a few other things on the side. Now, of course, he is one of the stars on the NBC series Superstore,
Pick of the Tweets: "Woke ⬆️ on✈️ & #superstore was on-woman next 2 me watching, looks VERY excited Me:Good show😉 Her:Ur awake! Can I get by I really have to pee" (September 25, 2016)


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 15

St. Denis Medical - "A Waste of Time and Marble" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
With the threat of a nurse walkout, Alex is caught between her colleagues and Joyce; Ron and Bruce go above and beyond to help an unexpected patient.

The Paper - "Churnalism" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned takes over Esmeralda's advertorials and assigns the staff to test products themselves, but Esmeralda retaliates and covers one of Ned's stories and finds a scandal; Ken turns Adam into a lab rat; Oscar and Adelola compare pain tolerances.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 15)

Monday, December 15

  • Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Watch Simu on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Copenhagen Test on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
  • Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Andy Cohen interviews Kerry on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
  • Odessa A'zion (I Love LA/Fam) - Odessa talks about Marty Supreme on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti treats us to an EXCLUSIVE festive performance of It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Kate Hudson (Running Point) - Kate talks about Song Sung Blue on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank and The EZ Street Band stop by for a chat and performance on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - NBC's Today catches up with Ana in the 10am hour.
  • Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie tells Sherri about starring in The Family McMullen, the sequel to The Brothers McMullen, on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap) - Ashley talks about the highly-anticipated fifth season of Emily in Paris on Netflix on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Glen talks about The Running Man on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • William H. Macy (Sports Night) - William talks about Netflix's Train Dreams on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Andy talks about ABC's Dancing with the Stars on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series (DVD)
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two (DVD)
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season (DVD)
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2 (DVD)
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (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)
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)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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