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

Thursday, May 21

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Funky Chili and Friends Who Take Their Clothes Off" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy and Jim butt heads when they take over the store for a sick Georgie and Ruben. Meanwhile, Audrey panics when Connor rekindles an old flame.

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A New Beau and Someone Else's Mom’s House" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Georgie and Mandy take matters into their own hands when Mary starts warming up to Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher). Also, Audrey struggles to cope with Connor’s absence.

Ghosts - "Up the Creek" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When Woodstone’s future is put in jeopardy, Sam and Jay join forces with the ghosts to protect the mansion by securing its place in history.

Ghosts - "Across the Pond" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A trip abroad could determine Woodstone’s fate. Meanwhile, a major career opportunity takes Sam out of town, leaving others to step in and help with the ghosts.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 18)

Thursday, May 21

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - Watch the series finale of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andrew is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Maya appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) and Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Andy Cohen interviews Keke and Brooke on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta) - LaKeith 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) - Laure discusses Death of a Salesman on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Niecy Nash (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy is Sherri's special guest on the final Sherri show, so check your local listings.
Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle stops by for a very special Sherri's Laugh Lounge on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - The Drew Barrymore Show has a little bit extra from Drew-crewers Ross Mathews, Sunny Anderson and Valerie sharing their tips in the kitchen with knife skills 101, so check your local listings.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) and Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Paul and Nick can be heard on the Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Judith Light (Who's the Boss?/Phenom/Transparent) - Judith talks about AMC+'s The Terror: Devil in Silver on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts) - Utkarsh talks about Ghosts on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.