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, January 29

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Dirty Hands and a Barbed-Wire Fence" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Ruben are forced to get their hands dirty when Fred Fagenbacher (Matthew Letscher) tries to run them out of business. Meanwhile, Mandy grows suspicious of Georgie’s lies.

Ghosts - "Soul Custody" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam, Jay and the ghosts attempt to extricate Jay from his deal with Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh), the devil. Also, Isaac helps Patience (Mary Holland) through a crisis of confidence and Pete and Alberta navigate the fallout from their kiss.

Animal Control - "Lost Dogs and Bar Flies" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Roman Park takes Frank's beloved dog away from him; in an effort to get his dog back, Frank and Shred find themselves on a late-night rescue mission; Patel's house sale spirals.

Going Dutch - "There's No PX Like Home" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
With the celebration of the U.S.'s 250th birthday coming up, the base's festivities are on the line when their supplies are held up by a petty and vengeful Davidson; Team Shiny must pull off a daring undercover mission.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 26)

Thursday, January 29

Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simple Rules/Ladies Man) - Catch Kaley on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kermit the Frog (The Muppets) - Kermit the Frog appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Patrick Dempsey (Fast Times) - Patrick is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Memory of a Killer on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Animal Control on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
J.C. Currais (Just Roll with It) - J.C. is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Andy Cohen interviews Kyle, Kathy Hilton and Paris Hilton on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
Katherine LaNasa (Three Sisters) - Katherine appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. She also talks about The Pitt on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Shrinking on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin talks about Solo Mio on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Annie Potts (Young Sheldon/Over the Top/Love & War/Designing Women/Goodtime Girls) - Annie tells Sherri about her role in Fox's Best Medicine on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will tells Drew all about his awareness campaign for Huntington's disease on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.