SitcomsOnline Digest: Spinoffs for The Big Bang Theory and The Goldbergs in the Horizon?; ABC Brings First Cancellation of the Season

Saturday, November 12, 2016

SitcomsOnline Digest: Spinoffs for The Big Bang Theory and The Goldbergs in the Horizon?; ABC Brings First Cancellation of the Season

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're learning that two popular sitcoms may be getting spinoffs, hearing of the death of a TV star from the past, and gearing up for the first cancellation of the 2016-2017 season (it wasn't a sitcom). Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Reboots have been all of the rage lately, but this week, we learned that a new trend that we haven't really seen in sitcoms in recent years (and one that really hasn't been successfully implemented in sitcoms since Frasier nearly 25 years ago) may be on the horizon: spinoffs. This week, it was announced that both The Big Bang Theory and The Goldbergs may both be getting spinoffs. (Hollywood Reporter)
Robert Vaughn, best known for his roles on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and later the final season of The A-Team, died this week at age 83. (NY Times)
Saturday Night Live temporarily added Alec Baldwin to the cast this season to play Donald Trump, a pick that the producers expected to not need after Election Day. But with Trump winning the presidency, the series is now in search of a new person to play the character, and the search is already on as Baldwin says that he won't even be returning tonight to fill that role. (NY Daily News)
Also surprised by the election were the producers of South Park, who had less than 24 hours to redo an entire episode that had been planned based upon a different election result. (Deadline)
Steve Harvey's talk show will be ending, but not quite, as a new "revamped" version of the series with a different production company and taping location (but still the same Steve Harvey) will replace it in the fall. (Deadline)
It was only a matter of time, but this week, we finally saw our first cancellation of the 2016-2017 season, with ABC's Conviction quietly getting the axe on Tuesday, though the remaining episodes will reportedly continue to air. (Variety)
Things are still going smoothly for the new sitcoms of 2016, though, as ABC has given a full season to one of their new sitcoms. (SitcomsOnline)

TUESDAY (NOVEMBER 15) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01M0F9Z8P/happydaysonline5-20

The Lucy Show - The Complete Series (DVD, $63.98): CBS bundles all six seasons into one release with this set.
The Middle - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD, $34.99): The long-running ABC sitcom returns to DVD with this release from Warner Archive.
The Mindy Project - Season Four (DVD, $22.98): The Hulu series returns to DVD in this release from Universal.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Ed Weeks (Twitter), "That British one on #TheMindyProject. New episodes every Tuesday on @hulu. Instagram: @edwardweeks"

Claim to Fame: Ed Weeks was born and raised in England, and had started a career in the United Kingdom as a writer of various TV series on BBC. In 2012, though, he made a move to the United States and took on a starring role in the Fox (and now Hulu) series, The Mindy Project, where he plays the role of Jeremy Reed. That isn't all, though, because it was also announced this week that he is filling the executive producer role (along with Mindy Kaling) for a pilot for ABC about a lesbian couple with a teenage son who moves to a conservative part of Kansas.

Pick of the Tweets: "So excited to be working on this with my old mucker @hannymacoy! And of course the splendid @mindykaling (link)" (November 4, 2016)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, April 20

The Neighorhood - "Welcome to Purse Dog" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin reluctantly agrees to dog-sit a glamorous little companion, only to face an awkward twist when someone else lays claim to it. Meanwhile, a joint celebration prompts Malcolm to question whether he and Mercedes are moving too fast. Amber Stevens West guest stars as Mercedes, Malcolm's Girlfriend.

DMV - "Drive-ory Tower" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Colette tries to bridge a growing divide at the office by bringing the driving examiners and counter clerks together. Meanwhile, Vic stubbornly avoids seeing a doctor after an unusual injury, forcing Barb to get creative to help him.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 20)

Monday, April 20

Kal Penn (The Santa Clauses/Sunnyside/We Are Men) - Watch Kal on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Quinta appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Don Cheadle (The Wonder Years/Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Don is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Hazardous History with Henry Winkler on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Aaron Tveit (Schmigadoon!) - Aaron is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
B.J. Novak (The Office) and Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Andy Cohen interviews B.J. and Jim on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
William Stanford Harris (Abbott Elementary) - William talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Ramy Youssef (#1 Happy Family USA/Ramy/See Dad Run) - Ramy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (Big Mistakes/The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laurie talks about Big Mistakes on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - NBC's Today catches up with Jane in the 9am hour.
Christopher Briney (Hacks) - Christopher talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair tells Sherri about his new memoir A Soldier's Wife: My Mother, the Marvelous Mrs. Marilyn A. Underwood on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Phoebe Dynevor (Younger) - Phoebe is telling Drew about her new movie Thrash on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Dan Bucatinsky (The Comeback/Marry Me/Web Therapy) - Dan appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.