SitcomsOnline Digest: Can CMT Afford to Revive Last Man Standing?; NBC Yanks Episode of The Carmichael Show

Saturday, June 17, 2017

SitcomsOnline Digest: Can CMT Afford to Revive Last Man Standing?; NBC Yanks Episode of The Carmichael Show

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This is a very busy week of news, where we have about twice as many headlines as usual, and it is also like our "very special episode" week. It has, bizarrely, been a week full of controversy (oddly much of it having some connection to NBC in some way), with a mistrial in the Bill Cosby (former major NBC star, of course) criminal trial, the pulling of an episode of The Carmichael Show about a mass shooting, and an interview that NBC insists will air tomorrow night no matter what that has been nothing short of a public relations nightmare for the network. But it isn't just NBC involved in controversy this week, as a popular ABC reality series is facing a huge disaster as well. And we promise, there are a few things that aren't so controversial this week as well, though not much. Let's have a little controversy and let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

ABC's Last Man Standing was cancelled last month, and it was said that the studio that produces the series was looking for a new network. Now, it looks like CMT, which already airs reruns of the series, may be interested in new episodes, though some are already calling that a longshot since the series was already deemed to be too expensive for a major broadcast network and would likely be much more out of reach for a smaller cable network. (Hollywood Reporter)
Controversy seems to be the key theme going in entertainment news this week, and there was some of that at NBC as they pulled an episode of The Carmichael Show (which, to be fair, is one of the first sitcoms to decades to make every episode a controversial "very special episode") on Wednesday night involving a mass shooting... and the star of the show is not happy at all. (Deadline)
Netflix has renewed Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for a fourth season. (Variety)
Compared to ABC's The View, CBS's The Talk has had considerably more stability in their hosts (though there have still been some shifts), but this week Aisha Tyler announced she would be leaving the show at the end of the current season. (Hollywood Reporter)
While we typically don't report the ongoing details of courts cases involving TV actors, we do point out key moments when it is a prominent sitcom star, and today, a mistrial was declared in the Bill Cosby case; however, the prosecution has made it clear that they plan to start over again, so the case is far from over. (Variety)
In even more "controversial" news this week involving NBC (which by now would probably make some think that NBC is an abbreviation for Nothing But Controversy), the network still insists that they'll be airing a Megyn Kelly interview with the highly controversial conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Sunday night despite an advertiser revolt and at least one affiliate refusing to air it, but the entire saga has gotten even more bizarre as Alex Jones is preemptively trying to discredit the interview and Megyn Kelly ahead of the airing by releasing secretly recorded conversations online. (ABC News)
Just a little bit more controversy for you this week, this time at ABC, as production of the series Bachelor in Paradise (which has been slated to air later this summer) was shut down early over allegations of "serious misconduct" that haven't quite been clearly specified, but is believed to involve sexual assault. (CNNMoney)
If you believe the Nielsen ratings, NBC ditched their 6:30 PM program called NBC Nightly News this week and replaced it with NBC Nitely News, and much of it has to do with rigging numbers to stay on top of ratings against ABC World News Tonight (which has also played this game before itself, as ABC WRLD NEWS TNT). (Deadline)
In what is NOT a controversial story (unless, of course, somebody rigged the online voting), viewers of Antenna TV have chosen their "Top Pop" for their Father's Day marathon, and you can tune in tomorrow to see who it is, or if you want a spoiler, we've got that for you too. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

It was over a decade ago that Sony released the first season of Ned and Stacey, but the second (and final) one never followed. Now, Shout! Factory is bringing the entire series together with Ned and Stacey - The Complete Series, which will be released on September 26.

TUESDAY (JUNE 20) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

Workaholics - The Final (Seventh) Season (DVD, $19.99): The popular Comedy Central series comes to an end with this release, though if you haven't picked up other seasons, you can just get the complete series (also arriving on Tuesday) for the same price as just two seasons of the series.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: David Walton (Twitter), "Hurtling through space on a massive rock"

Claim to Fame: We're getting a little bit of a kick start on some of the stars of the fall sitcoms this week, even though the season doesn't start for another three months and some of these series may not even last three months (though networks have been a little more generous in recent years before hitting the cancel button). David Walton will be appearing in the CBS series 9JKL this fall, but it isn't his first starring role. He starred in the NBC drama Heist (cancelled after 5 episodes). Then, he moved on to starring in NBC comedies such as Perfect Couples (cancelled after 11 episodes), 100 Questions (cancelled after 6 episodes), Bent (cancelled after 6 episodes), and most recently About a Boy (cancelled after 27 episodes). Now, to be fair we're not suggesting that he is the next Ted McGinley (who is actually a decent actor who just had a tendency to get cast on series when they were coming to an end anyway), and perhaps now that he has moved away from NBC (which has been known for not doing particularly well on scripted series for the past decade or so anyway) and over to CBS, he'll have something that works this time. It is worth pointing out that he did have a recurring role on the Fox series New Girl, and that role actually worked out just fine for him, so we're inclined to believe that he will succeed if cast in a quality series.

Pick of the Tweets: "Don't be fooled. @iamgreenfield rubs my leg as soon as the camera pans up. Every time.… (pic)" (May 3, 2016)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, October 23

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Fan Mail and Old-Timey Organ Music" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie’s upset when Mandy’s new role as weekend weather girl gets her more attention from the men in town, and Connor turns to Jim for help when he’s asked to play the organ at the high school baseball game.

Ghosts - "Viking Wedding" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam and Jay try to impress their trendy city friends while a misplaced bookcase threatens Thor’s ability to deliver an important speech. Also, Isaac rallies the ghosts to help the couple navigate a tough customer service ordeal.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 20)

Thursday, October 23

Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) - Catch Jeremy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. He also talks about Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This/Central Park/The Good Place) - Kristen appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb) - Dave is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Regretting You on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. He also talks about Stiller and Meara: Nothing Is Lost on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Tig Notaro (One Mississippi) - Tig appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Garcelle Beauvais (The Other Black Girl/Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show/Merry Happy Whatever) - Andy Cohen interviews Garcelle on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo. She also talks about “Taken at a Truck Stop: A Black Girl Missing Movie on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Timothy Simons (Nobody Wants This/HouseBroken/Veep) and Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This/GLOW) - Timothy and Jackie talk about Nobody Wants This on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Laura Benanti (Life & Beth/Younger/The Detour/Go On/Starved) - NBC's Today catches up with Laura in the 9am hour.
Erika Alexander (Run the World/Living Single/The Cosby Show) - Erika discusses Season 3 of Invasion and her ReLiving Single podcast with Kim Coles on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam talks about his new HBO special An Intimate Evening with Adam Pally on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Allison Williams (Girls) - Allison joins Drew to talk about her new movie Regretting You on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Tamera Mowry-Housley (Sister, Sister/Roommates) - Tamera is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:10am.