Saturday, July 08, 2017
SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Developing New Singing Competition; New DVDs on the Way for Green Acres and Perfect Strangers
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- When ABC announced they would be reviving former Fox reality singing competition series American Idol, Fox responded by more or less saying "fine, nobody cares about a singing competition series anyway." Now, we're hearing that Fox is working on developing a new reality singing competition series that just skips straight to the finalists instead of airing weeks of audition rounds. (Variety)
- It probably didn't happen by calling an 800 number that flashed on the screen and giving their credit card information to an operator, but TV shopping network QVC purchased rival HSN this week. (CBS News)
- The current CBS reboot of Hawaii Five-0 has found itself down by two cast members for the upcoming season, and although the executive producer of the series claims they were offered "unprecedented" salary increases, they left because they were being offered less money than their co-stars, and they believe that disparity based upon their race. (Deadline)
- The HBO series Game of Thrones could be getting much longer episodes (as in 80 minute feature length episodes) in the eighth season, though the seventh season hasn't even aired yet. (Deadline)
- Antenna TV still has several series slated to air on the network at some point later this year, and one that wasn't previously announced was Welcome Back, Kotter. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

- This is something that we definitely didn't see coming, but Shout! Factory announced this week that they would finally be finishing up Green Acres on DVD, with Green Acres - The Complete Series. Few details about it are known at this time, but the 24 disc set will be released on October 17.
- Another big surprise that we discovered this week courtesy of TVShowsOnDVD.com is that Warner Archive will be continuing Perfect Strangers on DVD, though exact details aren't known just yet.
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, May 8
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Ladies Love Brunch" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie tries to juggle his mom, his mother-in-law and Mandy on Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, Audrey wants to meet Connor’s girlfriend.
Ghosts - "The Devil Went Down to Woodstone" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam and Jay host a big party for the launch of Sam and Isaac’s vampire book. Mary Holland (Patience), Punam Patel (Bela) and Matt Walsh (Elias Woodstone) return as guest stars.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)
Thursday, May 8
- Paula Poundstone (Home Movies) - Paula performs stand-up comedy on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) - Natasha appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle talks about Netflix's Survival of the Thickest on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) and Doug Benson (You're the Worst) - Maria and Doug are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- John Benjamin Hickey (HouseBroken/The Big C/It's All Relative) - John stops by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11:15pm on Bravo.
- Patricia Clarkson (Davis Rules) - Patricia is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11:15pm on Bravo.
- Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - E! News has an interview with Kerry at 11pm on E!. Kerry and Omar Sy discuss their highly anticipated new film Shadow Force on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel chats about Juliet & Romeo on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - In A Little Bit Extra Valerie and Ross Mathews are sharing more of their conversation with Al Roker in Charleston at the Food & Wine Classic on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) and Randall Park (Young Rock/Blockbuster/Fresh Off the Boat/Veep/Supah Ninjas) - Morris and Randall talk about Watson on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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