SitcomsOnline Digest: Will & Grace Limited Series Gets Additional Episodes; Shout! Announces New Diff'rent Strokes and T.J. Hooker DVDs

Saturday, April 08, 2017

SitcomsOnline Digest: Will & Grace Limited Series Gets Additional Episodes; Shout! Announces New Diff'rent Strokes and T.J. Hooker DVDs

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been a busy news week this week, but we've got highlights, including an order for additional episodes of the upcoming Will & Grace revival, more Diff'rent Strokes DVDs, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

NBC's upcoming Will & Grace limited series is a little less limited now, as it has received an order for more episodes. (Variety)
The HBO series Girls is coming to an end very soon, and given the title, it's sort of hard to believe that it took this long for somebody to do a parody where the cast does a parody (though it isn't quite character for character) of The Golden Girls, but Jimmy Kimmel helped deliver that this week. (Deadline)
In the old days (as in five years ago), a TV series would air on a broadcast or cable network, and if it did well there, it would eventually air on an online streaming service. Now, the Amazon Prime series Transparent is about to do the opposite, as Sundance will be airing the first season beginning this summer. (Deadline)
The People's Choice Awards has aired on CBS every year since it began in 1975, but that will change in 2018, as it moves to E!. (New York Times)
Joe Harris is definitely not a household name, but if you've seen the commercials with the Trix rabbit or The Underdog Show, both characters that he created and animated, then you are familiar with his work. He died this week at age 89. (Deadline)
Four decades ago, Alice and One Day at a Time were a regular part of the CBS lineup. Two decades ago, they were paired again on the cable network E.! It's been 20 years since they were last together, so it only makes sense that they would be paired again, this time as both recently started airing on the cable network Logo. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

For a while, we doubted that Diff'rent Strokes would ever be completed on DVD, but our doubts are quickly being erased now, as Shout! Factory released Diff'rent Strokes - The Complete Fifth Season just this past week and already has plans for the Diff'rent Strokes - The Complete Sixth Season, to be released on July 25.
Shout! Factory also announced another surprise this week, with their announcement of T.J. Hooker - The Complete Series, set for a July 18 release.

TUESDAY (APRIL 11) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Father Knows Best - Season Five (DVD, $34.99): It's not exactly a new release, but this former Shout! Select release comes to regular retailers with this release.
Silicon Valley - The Complete Third Season (DVD, $24.98; Blu-ray, $34.98): The hit HBO series continues on DVD with this release.
Veep - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD, $24.98; Blu-ray, $34.98): The Julia Louis-Dreyfuss HBO series arrives on DVD in this release.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Jenna Elfman (Twitter), "People watcher. Human lover. Big fan of the absurd. Golden Rule enthusiast."

Claim to Fame: Jenna Elfman is best known as an actress, particularly in her role as Dharma in the ABC series Dharma & Greg. All around that, though, she has been in a string of sitcoms that haven't quite succeeded, such as Townies (before Dharma & Greg), and series such as Courting Alex, 1600 Penn and Growing Up Fischer. Currently, she can be seen on the ABC series Imaginary Mary.

Pick of the Tweets: "WEST COAST! We're watching #imaginarymary @ImaginaryMaryTV with you right now on ABC! (pic)" (April 4, 2017)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.