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 Season
  • 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

Saturday, April 1

Act Your Age - "Weekend At Bernie's" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bernadette's childhood friends come to town, stirring up feelings of jealousy with Angela and Keisha; Olivia launches her new online platform.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 27)

Friday, March 31

  • Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Chris on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Super Mario Bros. Movie on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour.
  • Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Jamie Lee Curtis (Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke appears on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Animal Practice/Better with You/Reba) and Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - JoAnna and Morris guest co-host The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Heather Graham (Californication/Emily's Reasons Why Not/Scrubs) - Heather appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
  • Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
  • Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra talks about Space Oddity on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. She will also be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • John Owen Lowe (Unstable) - John is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about her new OnlyFans comedy roast series Whitney Cummings Presents on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Kym Whitley (Act Your Age/Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) - Kym joins Sherri on the couch to talk about their NAACP Image Award-winning podcast Two Funny Mamas and her sitcom Act Your Age on Bounce TV on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Leslie Odom Jr. (Love in the Time of Corona/Big Dady) and Nicolette Robinson (Love in the Time of Corona/Perfect Couples) - Leslie and Nicolette talk about I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Christina Milian (Grandfathered) and Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know spotlights Celia Cruz as first Afro-Latina on a U.S. quarter with family and celebrity guests Christina Milian, Amara La Negra and Judy Reyes at 1pm.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (November-March)

Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Ghosts - Season One Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Ten Growing Pains - The Complete Series

11/08 - Frasier - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/08 - Young Rock - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/15 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Seven / The Complete Season Eight
11/22 - That '70s Show - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/29 - Ghosts - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/06 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 70th Anniversary Ultimate Christmas Collection
12/13 - And Just Like That... - The Complete First Season
12/13 - Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

04/01 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Beavis and Butt-Head Season Two; Grown-ish Renewed for Sixth (and Final) Season
03/31 - NBC Summer 2023 Schedule; Carpool Karaoke: The Series Returns Today on Apple TV+
03/30 - Single Drunk Female Returns April 12; ABC's Not Dead Yet Premiere Scores Big in 35-Day Data
03/29 - Adult Swim Orders Season 2 of Royal Crackers; Game Show Network 2023 Upfront
03/28 - Platonic Gets Premiere Date on Apple TV+; SNL April Guest Hosts and Music Guests
03/27 - ABC Summer 2023 Schedule, Includes Return of The Wonder Years; HBO Max's Clone High Details
03/26 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 27, 2023)
03/25 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Arrested Development Staying on Netflix (and Leaving Hulu); Grey's Anatomy Gets Season 20 Renewal
03/24 - Rewind TV Celebrates Mork & Mindy's 45th Anniversary on Earth Day; Disney's 6th Season of Raven's Home on April 9
03/23 - Antenna TV's Earth Day My Favorite Martian Marathon; Neil Patrick Harris Returns on How I Met Your Father
03/22 - Game Show Network Orders Tom Cavanagh Hosted Game Show; A Black Lady Sketch Show Returns for Season 4
03/21 - All That Stars to Reunite for Good Burger 2; Jim Belushi Returns For Another Season of Growing Belushi
03/20 - 2023 90s Con Recap in Hartford; Bel-Air Gets Season 3 on Peacock
03/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 20, 2023)
03/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New Sitcoms for Terry Crews and Wendi McLendon-Covey; Zachary Levi Holding Out Hope for Chuck Movie
03/17 - AXS TV Acquires The Monkees for Retro Night Block; HBO Max's The Other Two Returns in May
03/16 - Monk Returns with One Final Case on Peacock; John Mulaney Gets 3rd Netflix Comedy Special
03/15 - Apple TV+ Orders Comedy with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey; CBS 2023 Season Finale Dates
03/14 - Disney+ Comedy American Born Chinese Premieres May 24; Tim Robinson Comedy to Return May 30 on Netflix
03/13 - New Girl Coming to Hulu and Peacock; Apple TV+ Renews Shrinking for Season 2
03/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 13, 2023)
03/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Beavis and Butt-Head Gets Second Season Renewal; Roles Cast in Bedrock Series
03/10 - Act Your Age Opens as Biggest Launch in Bounce History; Starz Comedy Blindspotting Returns April 14
03/09 - Mary Tyler Moore Film Premieres This May on HBO; Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head Returns for Season 2
03/08 - HBO's Barry Returns April 16; Schmigadoon! Trailer for Season 2
03/07 - American Dad! Season 18 Premieres March 27; Hulu's Tiny Beautiful Things Launches April 7
03/06 - Antenna TV Spring 2023 Schedule; Rewind TV Spring 2023 Schedule
03/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 6, 2023)
03/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Rachael Ray to End After 17 Seasons; Fox Renews Krapopolis for Third Season
03/03 - The Thundermans Return; TMZ's New Game Show
03/02 - Fox Renews Krapopolis for Season 3; Disney Channel's New Comedy Saturdays
03/01 - HBO Max Chuck Lorre Comedy Sets Production; New Shonda Rhimes White House Series