Monday, March 06, 2017

Antenna TV Goes Green for Green Acres on St. Patty's Day; Remembering Sitcom Writer and Producer Howard Leeds

Antenna TV is showing its St. Paddy's Day pride by airing 17-hours (fitting for March 17) of "green" with a 34-episode Green Acres marathon. Antenna TV's "St. Patrick's Day Green Acres Marathon" begins on the farm with Oliver & Lisa Douglas at 5am ET on Friday, March 17 and concludes at 10pm ET. Green Acres regularly airs on Antenna TV weekdays 8am ET/5am PT and Sundays 2pm ET/11am PT. Antenna TV's "St. Patrick's Day Green Acres Marathon" will air the following episodes:

5:00 AM Oliver Buys a Farm
5:30 AM Lisa's First Day on the Farm
6:00 AM My Husband the Rooster Renter
6:30 AM The Deputy
7:00 AM Ballad of Molly Turgiss
7:30 AM Never Look a Tractor in the Mouth
8:00 AM Wings Over Hooterville
8:30 AM Ugly Duckling
9:00 AM I Didn’t Raise a Pig to Be a Soldier
9:30 AM The Hooterville Image
10:00 AM Never Take Your wife to a Convention
10:30 AM The Computer Age
11:00 AM The Beverly Hillbillies
11:30 AM Music to Milk By
12:00 PM Getting Even With Haney
12:30 PM Love Comes to Arnold Ziffel
1:00 PM Haney's New Image
1:30 PM Flight to Nowhere
2:00 PM Guess Who's Not Going to the Luau
2:30 PM Agricultural Student
3:00 PM Old Mail Lady
3:30 PM How to Get From Hooterville to Pixly
4:00 PM Everywhere a Chick Chick
4:30 PM Prize in Each and Every Package
5:00 PM Oh' Promise Me
5:30 PM The Road
6:00 PM The Confrontation
6:30 PM The Cow Killer
7:00 PM Ralph's Nuptials
7:30 PM The Case of the Hooterville Refund Fraud
8:00 PM Oliver Goes Broke
8:30 PM Great Mayorality Campaign
9:00 PM Oliver's Double
9:30 PM The Spot Remover


Howard Leeds

Sitcom writer and producer Howard Leeds, who was one of the creators of The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons and Small Wonder, has died. He died on February 11 at his home in Los Angeles, California after a long-term illness. Mr. Leeds was 97.

Leeds worked as a writer for many sitcoms from the 1950s to 1980s, including Meet Millie, How to Marry a Millionaire, Bachelor Father, The Bob Cummings Show, Ensign O'Toole, Make Room for Daddy, McHale's Navy, My Three Sons, The Bill Dana Show, Bewitched, That Girl, The Doris Day Show, Julia, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, The Brady Bunch, Barney Miller and Grady. He received an Emmy nomination in 1956 for his work on the comedy/variety series The George Gobel Show.

He created his first sitcom The Queen and I in 1969. The short-lived CBS series starred Larry Storch, Billy DeWolfe, Carl Ballantine, Pat Morita, Barbara Stuart, Dave Morick, Liam Dunn and Dave Willock.

Leeds was a producer and story consultant for the 1964-1965 CBS sitcom My Living Doll. The series was about a lifelike adult android being cared for by a psychiatrist. It starred Bob Cummings, Julie Newmar, Jack Mullaney and Doris Dowling.

In 1979, he wrote "The Girls School" episode of Diff'rent Strokes with Ben Starr, Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon. The episode was for pilot for the spinoff The Facts of Life. Leeds worked as a writer on 33 episodes of Diff'rent Strokes from 1978-1984. He also served as a producer from 1979-1984.

He helped Martin Cohan and Ben Starr create the sitcom Silver Spoons in 1982. The series aired for four seasons on NBC before moving to first-run syndication for the fifth and final season. It starred Ricky Schroder, Joel Higgins, Erin Gray, Franklyn Seales, Jason Bateman (1982-1984), Corky Pigeon (1983-1985), Alfonso Ribeiro (1984-1987) and John Houseman. Leed provided the story for one episode.

Leeds was the creator and producer for the syndicated sitcom Small Wonder. The series aired for four seasons from 1985-1989. It starred Dick Christie, Marla Pennington, Jerry Supiran, Tiffany Brisette, Paul C. Scott and Emily Schulman. Leeds wrote one episode. He was also one of the writers of the theme song lyrics.

Some of his other producing credits included The Bill Dana Show, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, The Brady Bunch and Grady. He worked as a production executive for Reg Grundy Productions from 1976 to 1978.

Survivors include his wife Joan Hajny-Leeds, son John Hajny, daughter-in-law Kim Hajny and grandchildren Jenna and Erin Hajny.

Mr. Leeds worked on many memorable sitcoms during his career. We thank him for bringing us The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons and Small Wonder. He will be greatly missed.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, March 31

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Signature Service Loyalty Rewards Program" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Malcom receives an unexpected call from USC’s athletic director about a baseball head coach vacancy. Meanwhile, Calvin and Marty start a new signature loyalty rewards program at The Fuse Box.

Poppa's House - "Say Wha?!" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Junior’s fundraising effort for his film takes a dramatic turn when he discovers Poppa’s flea market purchase is worth a fortune. Vivica A. Fox guest stars as “Judge SayWha.”

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Monday, March 31

  • Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - Watch Jennifer on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Jay Ellis (Running Point/Insecure/The Game) - Jay talks about Running Point and Freaky Tales on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Sara Gilbert (The Conners/Bad Teacher/The Big Bang Theory/The Class/Roseanne) - Sara chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about The Conners on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle talks about Survival of the Thickest on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) - Michael talks about Sacramento on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross to hit the headlines in an all-new Drew's News on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

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
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

03/31 - Prime Video's Dance-World Comedy Étoile; Netflix's Tom Segura Dark Comedy Bad Thoughts
03/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 31, 2025)
03/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Gives Pilot Order to A Different World Sequel; Malcolm in the Middle Reboot Recasts Role of Dewey
03/28 - Pat Sajak's Final Spin on Wheel and Return of Jeopardy! Masters; Remembering George Foreman and Wings Hauser
03/27 - IFC Renews SisterS for Season 2; Netflix Orders Live-Action Scooby-Doo Series
03/26 - Hulu Spring 2025 Slate; The Making of The Americas Special Narrated by Tom Hanks on NBC
03/25 - Deli Boys Now Streaming All Episodes on Hulu; Heartland Season 18 on UP Faith & Family
03/24 - Peacock April Highlights Include Three's Company; Antenna TV's 50 Years on the Beat Barney Miller Anniversary Marathon
03/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 24, 2025)
03/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* Coming to DVD; American Dad! Moving Back to Fox
03/21 - Big Mouth Final Season; The Four Seasons Premieres in May on Netflix
03/20 - HBO's Brett Goldstein Comedy Special; Disney+ Adds The Simpsons 24/7 Stream
03/19 - Solar Opposites Final Season This Fall; NBC to Move Grosse Pointe Garden Society to Fridays
03/18 - Game Show Network New Shows Launch April 14; NBC Picks Up 3rd Comedy Pilot, While Bobby Moynihan Joins Tracy Morgan Pilot
03/17 - It's True! Ted Lasso Renewed for Season 4; Jane Goodall Returns for Jane Season 3
03/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 17, 2025)
03/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Neighborhood Renewed for Eighth and Final Season; NBC Picks Up New Cheerleading Comedy
03/14 - NBC Comedy Pilots Wheeling & Dealing; Hulu's Got to Get Out
03/13 - Prime Video Comedy Series Overcompensating Premiere Date; Eric Stonestreet Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/12 - Hacks Season 4 Premieres April 10; Nickelodeon Orders Wylde Pak
03/11 - The Neighborhood Renewed for Final Season; Max's The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast
03/10 - Netflix Renews Running Point for Season 2; Apple TV+ Trailer for The Studio
03/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 10, 2025)
03/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Tracy Morgan to Star in NBC Pilot from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock; Nobody Wants This Returning for Second Season
03/07 - Trailer for Apple TV+ Comedy Government Cheese; Remembering Saved by the Bell and TV Producer Peter Engel
03/06 - The CW Spring Premiere Dates; Henry Winkler Heads to HISTORY Channel
03/05 - Hacks Brings Out the Stars in Season 4; NBC Orders Pilot with Tracy Morgan
03/04 - Apple TV+ Side Quest Launches March 26; Krysten Ritter Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/03 - HBO's The Rehearsal Returns April 20; Sharon Horgan Signs Deal for HBO Comedy Series
03/02 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 3, 2025)
03/01 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Premiere Date for Mid-Century Modern Set; Roseanne Remastered in High Definition