Saturday, July 08, 2017

SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Developing New Singing Competition; New DVDs on the Way for Green Acres and Perfect Strangers

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been a holiday week, so news has been somewhat light this week, but we do have two big stories about some new seasons of classic sitcoms on DVD that came as a surprise to us. Additionally, we have news of a new Fox reality singing competition and more. Let's get going!

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
  Green Acres - The Complete Series
  • 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.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Twitter), "I memorize other peoples words and say them in funny ways or dramatical ways. Catch me in @ModernFam. snapchat: therealjtf instagram: jessetyler"
Claim to Fame: We covered Eric Stonestreet (who plays Cam on Modern Family) last week, so this week, we're covering Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Mitch, the role of Cam's husband on the series. Jesse Tyler Ferguson got his start on the stage, both in Broadway productions as well as some off-Broadway productions. He transitioned over to TV in the fall 2006 CBS series The Class, but that only lasted one season. His breakout role, of course, came from playing Mitch on Modern Family. The busy schedule of starring in a sitcom doesn't allow him to do as much on-stage work as he used to do, but he does still appear in on-stage productions during the times when production of Modern Family is down for summer breaks.
Pick of the Tweets: "OMG. I've been in too many hotels recently. I legitimately just tried to use my laundry money card to open my front door." (June 26, 2017)


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, January 9

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 5)

Friday, January 9

  • Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Watch Regina on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Sabrina Carpenter (Girl Meets World) - Sabrina does day drinking on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Gael García Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle) - Gael chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) - Matt co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - NBC's Today catches up with Rebel in the 10am hour.
  • Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea can be heard on the Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
  • Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:10am.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Valerie appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

01/09 - HBO's Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! Documentary with Interviews Including Rob Reiner; 83rd Annual Golden Globes Presenters
01/08 - Netflix Orders Nick Kroll Comedy Series; Saturday Night Live January 2026 Hosts and Music Guests
01/07 - Saturday Night Live Bobbleheads from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum; Fox Entertainment Signs Tracee Ellis Ross to Deal
01/06 - Emily in Paris Renewed for Season 6; Audible's New Comedy Series Starring Jenifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Niecy Nash-Betts
01/05 - Trailer for The Muppet Show Special Event; Season 3 of Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal on Adult Swim
01/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of January 5, 2026)
01/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Premiere Date Set for Malcolm in the Middle Reboot; NBC Pulls The Paper
01/02 - Bridgerton Season 4 Details and Live Premiere Event; NBC Pulls The Paper from Mondays
01/01 - Happy New Year; Shrinking Season 3 Trailer
12/31 - In Memoriam: Remembering the Sitcom Stars We Lost in 2025
12/30 - Antenna TV and Rewind TV's New Year's Eve and Day Marathons; Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair Premieres April 10
12/29 - COZI TV Postpones The Jeff Foxworthy Show Launch; Netflix Releases Free Bert Trailer
12/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 29, 2025)
12/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Chevy Chase "Hurt" By Not Being Invited to SNL 50th Anniversary; New Lineups for Antenna TV and Rewind TV
12/26 - GET Acquires Psych for January 2026; Details on Netflix's A Different World Sequel
12/25 - Merry Christmas from Sitcoms Online; Interviews from 2025 Christmas Con in Edison, NJ
12/24 - 2025 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day TV Marathons
12/23 - Antenna TV January 2026 Schedule; Rewind TV January 2026 Schedule
12/22 - The Ms. Pat Show Returns January 7; According to Jim Christmas Day Marathon on Laff
12/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 22, 2025)
12/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Historical 19th Century Comedy in the Works at CBS; Bowen Yang Leaving Saturday Night Live After Tonight
12/19 - The Muppet Show 50th Anniversary Event in February on ABC & Disney+; Adult Swim Renews Haha, You Clowns for 2 More Seasons
12/18 - The Oscars Moving to YouTube in 2029; Celebs for Hollywood Squares Season 2
12/17 - MeTV Remembers Rob Reiner with Tribute Marathon; MGM+ to Make New The Magnificent Seven Series
12/16 - The Rob Reiner Story: A Hollywood Tragedy – ABC News Special; Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Part 2 on CBS
12/15 - Remembering the Legendary Rob Reiner of All in the Family; Trailer for Netflix's His & Hers
12/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 15, 2025)
12/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner/Netflix Merger Gets Complicated; Steve Carell Comedy Rooster Coming to HBO Max in March
12/12 - Survival of the Thickest Final Season Guest Stars; Ted Season 2 Returns in March
12/11 - The Upshaws Final Season Premieres January 15; Mike Epps Gets 5th Netflix Special
12/10 - HBO's Rooster Premieres in March; Fox's Updated Winter 2026 Schedule
12/09 - 83rd Golden Globe Nominations; Paradise Returns on Hulu in February