Monday, January 16, 2017

TCA 2017 Winter Press Tour: Cable Round-Up, From TBS, TV Land, IFC and More

TBS

Friday and Saturday at the TCA 2017 Winter Press Tour it was all cable networks. We have a round-up of all the noteworthy news. Let's start with TBS. TBS's upcoming new comedy The Guest Book is filling up quickly with notable entries. The new comedy series from Emmy® winner Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl) has locked its first-season cast and guest cast. The Guest Book is slated to premiere on TBS in August. Among the regular and recurring cast members joining The Guest Book are Kellie Martin (Life Goes On, Army Wives) as Officer Kimberly Leahy, who serves on the police force in the small mountain town of Mount Trace. Charlie Robinson (Night Court, Hart of Dixie) is Wilfrid, an easygoing, friendly gentleman who manages a group of mountain rental cottages with his wife, Emma, played by recurring guest star Aloma Wright (Suits), Carly Jibson (Broadway's Hairspray) is Vivian, a tough, strong-willed woman who runs a bikini bar called Chubbys with her stepson Frank, played by Lou Wilson (Tween Fest). Rounding out the first season cast in recurring roles will be Garret Dillahunt (The Mindy Project), Laura Bell Bundy (Scream Queens) and Eddie Steeples (My Name Is Earl). The Guest Book emerged from Greg Garcia's habit of writing fictitious stories in the guest books of various rental cabins in an effort to freak out the next renters. Now he is bringing some of those stories to life on screen centering on the vacation home Froggy Cottage and its visitors. While the house and cast of characters living in this small mountain town remain the same, each episode will feature a different set of vacationing guests.

TBS has greenlit ten episodes of the animated series The Cops (working title), starring and co-created by Louis C.K. and Albert Brooks. The two also serve as executive producers on the series with Greg Daniels, Dino Stamatopoulos, Dave Becky and Howard Klein. The series is slated to premiere in 2018. The Cops follows Al (Brooks) and Lou (C.K.), two Los Angeles patrolmen trying their best to protect and serve, sometimes failing at both. Ride with them as they patrol one of the biggest cities in the world, then go home with them and be glad you're not married to either. Moving on to sister network TNT, have ordered a second season of its hit drama series Good Behavior, starring award-winning actress Michelle Dockery. Juan Diego Botto, Terry Kinney and Lusia Strus also star in the seductive thriller, which is executive-produced by Chad Hodge and Blake Crouch and based on a series of books by Crouch. The entire first season of Good Behavior is currently available on TNT On Demand and TNT's digital and mobile platforms. The second season is slated to launch in the fall. Dakota Fanning (American Pastoral) is set to star in TNT's The Alienist, the eagerly anticipated series based on the Anthony Award-winning New York Times bestseller by Caleb Carr. Playing Sara Howard, a headstrong secretary at Police Headquarters, Fanning joins recently cast Daniel Brühl (Rush, Inglorious Bastards, Captain America: Civil War), who stars as forensic psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, and Luke Evans (The Girl on The Train, The Hobbit trilogy), who will play reporter John Moore. The series will follow the three of them as they investigate a series of brutal murders in New York during the Gilded Age. Slated to premiere in late 2017.

IFC

IFC announced that its flagship Emmy(R)-nominated and Peabody Award-winning sketch series Portlandia will return in 2018 for its eighth and final season. The series, currently airing Thursdays at 10PM, has captivated viewers and critics alike since its premiere in 2011 by lovingly satirizing our society's idiosyncrasies by exploring the eccentric misfits who embody the foibles of modern culture. Portlandia was created by Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel. In other IFC news, IFC's Brockmire is ready to take the field! The network's newest original comedy, starring Hank Azaria and Amanda Peet, premieres Wednesday April 5 at 10PM. The first season will be comprised of eight episodes airing weekly. The series follows Jim Brockmire (Azaria), a famed major league baseball announcer who suffered an embarrassing public meltdown live on the air a decade ago after discovering his wife's infidelity. Now, looking to reclaim his career, reputation, and love life, Brockmire takes a job in a small American rust belt town, calling minor league baseball games for the Morristown Frackers. Peet co-stars as Jules, the strong-willed and hard-drinking proud owner of the Frackers.

TV Land

On to TV Land, two months before its March 29, 2017 series premiere, TV Land has picked up a 12-episode second season of Nobodies, starring and executive produced by Hugh Davidson, Larry Dorf and Rachel Ramras. The news was announced at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour by Keith Cox, President of Development and Production for TV Land. The comedy is executive produced by Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone with Michael McDonald serving as executive producer, director and showrunner. Season two will premiere in 2018. The comedy revolves around the three as they try desperately to land one of their famous friends for a feature script that they have developed, so that they, too, can rise to fame in Hollywood. TV Land has picked up its first ever hour-long series with Heathers. The first season is a 10-episode order and is set to premiere in Fall 2017. Based on the 1988 cult classic film of the same name, Heathers is a pitch-black comedy anthology set in the present day, as our heroine Veronica Sawyer (Grace Victoria Cox, Under the Dome) deals with a very different but equally vicious group of Heathers. Also starring are James Scully as JD, Melanie Field (Wicked National Tour) as Heather Chandler, Brendan Scannell (Funny or Die) as Heather Duke, and Jasmine Mathews as Heather McNamara. It was also revealed in November that original Heathers cast member Shannen Doherty will guest star as a pivotal, unnamed character in the TV Land series.

HBO

And finally at HBO, the comedy series Barry, starring Bill Hader, will begin production on its eight-episode season in Los Angeles this spring. Hader (Saturday Night Live) and Alec Berg (HBO's Silicon Valley) serve as co-creators, executive producers and writers on the show, which is slated for 2018 debut on the network. Hader stars in the title role as a hitman who, after following his intended target to an acting class, finds himself intrigued and decides to become an actor and change his life. As well as starring in the series, Hader will direct episodes of the show, marking his directorial debut. Other cast regulars include Stephen Root (HBO's All the Way), Sarah Goldberg (Hindsight), Glenn Fleshler (HBO's True Detective), Anthony Carrigan (Gotham) and Henry Winkler (Arrested Development).


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 23

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - " Thought Leadership: A Corporate Conversation" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Desperate to stave off a public relations nightmare, the Gang embraces their newfound corporate professionalism to strategically scapegoat one Paddy's employee to fall on the proverbial sword.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 21)

Wednesday, July 23

  • Fortune Feimster (FUBAR/Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune guest hosts on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger (FUBAR) - Watch Arnold on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Freddie Prinze Jr. (Freddie) - Freddie appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Anthony Mackie (Twisted Metal) - Anthony is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Twisted Metal on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
  • Steve Buscemi (Miracle Workers) - Steve stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Molly Gordon (The Bear/Ramy) - Molly appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Keyla Monterroso Mejia (Abbott Elementary/Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Brandon Kyle Goodman (Human Resources) - Keyla and Brandon are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Christopher McDonald (Hacks/Mr. Iglesias/Good Advice/Walter & Emily) - Christopher talks about Happy Gilmore 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling talks about Washington Black on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Stephanie Beatriz (Twisted Metal/Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Stephanie talks about Twisted Metal on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
  • Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is playing a round of Behind-the-Scenes and dishing on some of his biggest projects on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood/Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) - Tichina is telling Drew about being single and using dating apps, her daughter turning 21, and filming the last season of The Neighborhood on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood/New Girl) - Max and Tess Sanchez are telling Drew all about how they make their marriage work in an all new Drew Love on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

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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