SitcomsOnline Digest: Will and Grace to Air in Fall; Rhoda Season 5 to Arrive on DVD in August

Saturday, May 06, 2017

SitcomsOnline Digest: Will and Grace to Air in Fall; Rhoda Season 5 to Arrive on DVD in August

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's sweeps month and networks are getting prepared for the new fall season, so we've got a very busy week of news this week, including news about the Will and Grace reboot, a new job (or two?) for Ryan Seacrest, and some great announcements from Shout! Factory. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

As much as we've been talking about it, it still feels weird to say that the new season of Will and Grace will air this fall on NBC, something that was indirectly confirmed this week. (New York Daily News)
It literally went down to the very last second (and even a little bit beyond), but the great looming threat of a strike of the WGA was averted, meaning that your favorite TV shows will go on without interruption. (LA Times)
The cast of Happy Days (minus Henry Winkler) reunited this week for the memorial of Erin Moran. (Us Weekly)
After an extensive search, Kelly Ripa finally got a new co-host, Ryan Seacrest, for the newly titled Live with Kelly and Ryan on Monday, just coincidentally in time for sweeps. (Variety)
Speaking of Ryan Seacrest, we knew that American Idol wasn't gone for good when Fox aired the "final season" just over a year ago, and while we last heard that NBC may be the one reviving it, it now looks very likely that ABC will be the network that brings it back. (Variety)
Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy have been renewed (along with the contracts of their respective hosts) through 2020. (Hollywood Reporter)
As we've mentioned before, specifically in regards to the NBC series This is Us (which performed very well in the first season), it's very important for TV series writers and producers to find ways to maintain those viewers and not just assume they'll stick around, and Fox is learning that as the audience for series Empire continues to erode and reach new ratings lows seemingly every week. (Deadline)
MeTV brings back their annual "Summer of Me" lineup beginning May 29, and a highlight of that lineup is ALF. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

It seemed unlikely that it would ever happen, but this week, Shout! Factory announced that the fifth season of Rhoda would arrive on DVD on August 15 with the release of Rhoda - The Final Season. This leaves only one season of Lou Grant (which had been announced but temporarily pulled from the Shout! Factory schedule) and both seasons of Phyllis as the only unreleased items from The Mary Tyler Moore Show chronology.
Another surprise announcement from Shout! Factory this week was the announcement of Just Shoot Me - The Complete Series, which will arrive on August 22.

TUESDAY (MAY 9) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

ALF - The Complete DVD Collection (DVD, $54.98): While it is essentially just a repackaging of the previously released DVDs from Lionsgate, fans who didn't pick up these DVDs before can pick them up now in this release.
Mannix - The Complete Series (DVD, $129.98): The classic Mike Connors series comes together in one set on this release.
Orange is the New Black - Season 4 (DVD, $34.98; Blu-ray, $34.97): The fourth season of the Netflix series arrives in this release, just weeks before the debut of the fifth season.
The Streets of San Francisco - The Complete Series (DVD, $89.98): The classic Karl Malden and Michael Douglas series arrives in one complete set with this release.
The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Second Season (DVD, $29.99): With the first season released over a decade ago by Warner Home Video, Warner Archive (finally) brings this series back to DVD with the second season.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Nicole Richie (Twitter), " I invented post-it's"

Claim to Fame: Some people may be surprised to see us featuring Nicole Richie, because the daughter of musician Lionel Richie is probably best known as being famous for being famous (sort of like Paris Hilton, with whom she even co-starred on the reality show The Simple Life), but she recently evolved from being a reality star to being a sitcom star, as she is in the main cast of NBC's Great News. It isn't her first time appearing in scripted television, as she has had guest roles in series such as 8 Simple Rules, American Dreams, and Chuck, but it is her first time having a regular role as a cast member in a sitcom, and who knows? Maybe she has found her non-reality show calling.

Pick of the Tweets: "2 supermodels talking all things @nbcgreatnews #FallonTonight (pic)" (April 5, 2017)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, October 28

The Goldbergs - "It's All About Comptrol" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Geoff and Erica come to a point in the relationship where they realize they are in different places in college; and Geoff makes an important decision while Beverly tries to find a new purpose in her life as she seeks political office as the city comptroller.

American Housewife - "Graudation" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Katie goes to great lengths to appease Principal Ablin (Jerry Lambert) in order to ensure Taylor graduates high school. Meanwhile, Greg finishes ghost writing the final chapter of Lonnie’s (Matt Shively) book. And while Oliver is devastated to learn Cooper’s (Logan Pepper) family will be moving out of Westport, Anna-Kat tells Franklin (Evan O’Toole) she is ready to venture outside her comfort zone and plans to attend sleep-away camp during summer break.

The Conners - "Halloween and The Election vs. The Pandemic" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Mary is devasted that Halloween has been canceled by the city, so Darlene and Becky enlist Jackie and the rest of the family to create an unforgettable experience. Meanwhile, Mark goes toe-to-toe with another kid at school who doesn’t believe in wearing a mask on “The Conners.” Michael Fishman, who stars as D.J. Conner, makes his directorial debut.

black-ish - "Dre at Home Order" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Dre underestimates how hard of an adjustment operating during a pandemic will be for the Johnsons. Meanwhile, Junior’s attempts to bring his girlfriend closer to the family are stymied by the new realities of social distancing.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Been a Long Time" (BET, 8:00PM ET/PT)
House of Payne is the hilarious comedy about Retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella. Together the loving couple navigate the problems of life with their quirky modern day family.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "A Huge Debt" (BET, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Leah tries tracking Sandra's cell phone when she comes up missing.

Family Time - "Notorious D-O-G" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Lisa brings home a stray, despite Tony's aversion to dogs; Lisa's and Vivian's Soul Sisters Catering secure their biggest gig yet.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 26)

Wednesday, October 28

Gillian Jacobs (Community/Love) - Watch Gillian on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ken Jeong (Community/Dr. Ken) - Ken appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Bette Midler (Bette) - Bette is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about New York Restoration Project’s Hocus Pocus Hulaween on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Anna Faris (Mom) - Anna appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) - Natasha is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
D. L. Hughley (The Hughleys) - D. L. appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Rickey Smiley (The Rickey Smiley Show) - Rickey will be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Thomas Middleditch (B Positive/Silicon Valley) - Thomas is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Mario Cantone (Sex and the City) - Mario appears on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Emma Roberts (Scream Queens/Unfabulous) - Emma will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your loca listings.
Michael Fishman (The Conners/Roseanne) - Michael talks about the season premiere of The Conners, directing his first episode and why he has become a mental health advocate on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
China Anne McClain (Tyler Perry's House of Payne/A.N.T. Farm) - China will be on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana is a guest on ABC's GMA3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) - Jameela talks about TBS's The Misery Index on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy will be on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.