Wednesday, January 11, 2017
TCA 2017 Winter Press Tour: ABC and Freeform, Includes ABC Mid-Season 2017 Schedule and Freeform Spring Premieres
ABC and Freeform were up yesterday at the TCA 2017 Winter Press Tour and lots of info was given. The ABC Television Network has announced midseason premiere dates for the mini-series When We Rise and series premiere dates for the one-hour drama Time After Time, half-hour comedy Imaginary Mary and the event movie Dirty Dancing, as well as returning series The Catch and American Crime, and the spring returns of Once Upon a Time and Designated Survivor. New comedy Downward Dog will premiere in Summer 2017. In addition, previously announced The Toy Box premieres Friday, April 7, 8:00-9:00 p.m. and TGIT returns Thursday, January 26. The full new dates are below:
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27 - THURSDAY, MARCH 2
9:00-11:00 p.m. When We Rise
SUNDAY, MARCH 5
8:00-9:00 p.m. Once Upon a Time
9:00-11:00 p.m. Time After Time (Two-Hour Premiere)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8
10:00-11:00 p.m. Designated Survivor
THURSDAY, MARCH 9
10:00-11:00 p.m. The Catch (Season Two Premiere)
SUNDAY, MARCH 12
9:00-10:00 p.m. Time After Time (Time-Period Premiere)
SUNDAY, MARCH 12
10:00-11:00 p.m. American Crime (Season Three Premiere)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29
8:30-9:00 p.m. Imaginary Mary (Sneak Peek)
TUESDAY, APRIL 4
9:30-10:00 p.m. Imaginary Mary (Time-Period Premiere)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24
8:00-11:00 p.m. Dirty Dancing
Freeform made some key announcements at TCA for its 2017 schedule with the series pickup of drama The Bold Type (formerly Issues); The Bachelor spin-off Happily Ever After? franchise returns and will feature fan favorite twins Emily and Haley Ferguson, premiering March 20; and a fifth season order for The Fosters, which will bring the show to a landmark 100 episodes. It was also announced that Freeform's original hit comedies Young & Hungry and Baby Daddy will return with all-new episodes on a new night - Monday, March 13. Inspired by the life of Joanna Coles, chief content officer of Hearst Magazines, the pilot The Bold Type (formerly Issues) has been picked up to series and is set to premiere in summer 2017. The Bachelor spin-off Happily Ever After? franchise franchise will continue with a new unscripted series, titled The Twins: Happily Ever After?, and will follow the fan favorite twins Emily and Haley Ferguson from Season 20 of The Bachelor and Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise. The series will premiere on Monday, March 20, at 9:00 p.m. EDT, on Freeform.
Freeform's critically acclaimed family drama The Fosters has been greenlit for a fifth season, which will bring the series to the momentous 100-episode mark. The network will premiere all-new episodes from the fourth season on Tuesday, January 31, at 8:00 p.m. EST. Young & Hungry will premiere season five on Monday, March 13, at 8:00 p.m. EDT. In the fourth season finale, Gabi and Josh decided to be "friends with benefits," much to the group's chagrin, after their previous attempts at a relationship went awry. During the new season, Gabi and Josh try to prove to everyone that they won't let feelings get in the way of their new arrangement, Sofia continues on the path to a career in journalism, and Josh faces an unexpected reunion with his estranged father. Comedy legend Betty White guest stars this season as neighbor Ms. Wilson. The season six premiere of Baby Daddy will air on Monday, March 13, at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The premiere picks up three months after the finale, and Ben is still enthusiastically searching for the mysterious Elle. Danny and Riley are hunting for a good doctor to help with the pregnancy, and Bonnie desperately wants to be involved. Tucker is back from Los Angeles, but refuses to tell anyone what happened while he was there. The hit comedy series will reach the coveted milestone of 100 episodes during this season.
And finally, in celebration of viewership that has gone above and "beyond," Freeform has given a second season order to its newest hit series Beyond. Tom Ascheim, president, Freeform, surprised the cast and executive producers with the announcement during their TCA panel in Pasadena, California. Beyond launched on January 2, and in a network first, Freeform rewarded its digital-savvy audience by making available its highly anticipated new drama for binge-viewing across key digital platforms, featuring reduced ad loads to enhance the viewing experience and drive higher ad engagement. In its first week alone, Beyond has already amassed over 14 million views, including 7.0 million across digital platforms and reaching an additional 7.2 million Total Viewers on linear TV.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 22
Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.
Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Wednesday, January 22
- Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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