A&E and Lifetime Upfront 2017; Kevin James Gets Netflix Comedy Special for 2018

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

A&E and Lifetime Upfront 2017; Kevin James Gets Netflix Comedy Special for 2018

A&E Networks had their upfront last night. Lifetime's mission to lead entertainment through female-centric storytelling continues with the greenlight of three new high-profile movies: Flint, starring Cher; Watcher in the Woods, starring Anjelica Huston; and I Am Elizabeth Smart featuring Elizabeth Smart as executive producer and on-screen narrator. Supporting Lifetime's new brand mantra, "Possibility is Power," forthcoming movie and series tent poles reimagine what is possible for women today while championing diverse role models and celebrating our evolving and complex ideas of womanhood. No one does this better than Cat Deeley and her new unscripted series at Lifetime, This Time Next Year, along with fierce television and fashion personality Yolanda Hadid in her new unscripted series to premiere later this year, Model Moms (wt).

A&E

Meanwhile at A&E, the iconic, genre-defining series which won countless industry awards, Biography, is returning to A+E Networks after five years as a re-imagined global, linear and digital non-fiction franchise. The Emmy Award-winning Biography, which will focus on meaningful events or personalities and their impact on our culture, will begin to roll out on A&E, HISTORY and Lifetime domestically and internationally across all platforms beginning this spring. Initial projects under the Biography banner include Biggie Smalls, Vladimir Putin, Tupac Shakur, John Gotti Jr., Elizabeth Smart, Mike Tyson and David Koresh.

Kevin James

Kevin James is returning to his stand-up roots with an all-new comedy special for Netflix, the world's leading Internet TV network. The veteran comic's latest special, slated to shoot later this year, will launch globally on Netflix in 2018. A comedian, producer, writer and Emmy-nominated actor, James is an established and well-respected staple in entertainment today. Discovered at the 1996 Montreal Comedy Festival -- and unwittingly taking the first step in what would become an illustrious career -- he signed a network development deal which lead to the creation of his 1998 CBS smash-hit The King of Queens. The sitcom, starring and executive-produced by James, ran for nine seasons and garnered the actor a 2006 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. While Queens wrapped its run in 2007, it still continues to air daily and find a new audience in syndication around the world. James currently stars in and executive-produces the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait, which debuted in 2016. He'll next appear in the Netflix original film Sandy Wexler, launching globally April 14.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 15

St. Denis Medical - "A Waste of Time and Marble" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
With the threat of a nurse walkout, Alex is caught between her colleagues and Joyce; Ron and Bruce go above and beyond to help an unexpected patient.

The Paper - "Churnalism" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned takes over Esmeralda's advertorials and assigns the staff to test products themselves, but Esmeralda retaliates and covers one of Ned's stories and finds a scandal; Ken turns Adam into a lab rat; Oscar and Adelola compare pain tolerances.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 15)

Monday, December 15

Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Watch Simu on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Copenhagen Test on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Andy Cohen interviews Kerry on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
Odessa A'zion (I Love LA/Fam) - Odessa talks about Marty Supreme on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti treats us to an EXCLUSIVE festive performance of It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Kate Hudson (Running Point) - Kate talks about Song Sung Blue on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank and The EZ Street Band stop by for a chat and performance on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - NBC's Today catches up with Ana in the 10am hour.
Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie tells Sherri about starring in The Family McMullen, the sequel to The Brothers McMullen, on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap) - Ashley talks about the highly-anticipated fifth season of Emily in Paris on Netflix on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Glen talks about The Running Man on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
William H. Macy (Sports Night) - William talks about Netflix's Train Dreams on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Andy talks about ABC's Dancing with the Stars on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.