SitcomsOnline Digest: Hulu Acquires Even More Series; The Simpsons to Finally Continue on DVD

Saturday, July 29, 2017

SitcomsOnline Digest: Hulu Acquires Even More Series; The Simpsons to Finally Continue on DVD

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're getting some highlights from the TCA press tour, we're hearing about even more (for the third week in a row) acquisitions for Hulu, The Simpsons is finally continuing on DVD after all. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

If you've been following us this week, then you've heard that Hulu has been trying to become truly competitive with (and is on the verge of actually being even better than) Netflix on vintage TV, and has acquired five classic TGIF series (including three that cannot be seen in full on DVD) and will be adding those series to the service in September, but that isn't all, as Variety reports that the streaming service is also in talks with Warner to acquire another series from the same era that aired on a different network, but would have fit right in on TGIF had ABC aired it: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (Variety)
The broadcast group Tegna is adding a daily news and entertainment show called Daily Blast Live to their lineup this fall, and among the contributors, Tracey Gold of Growing Pains fame will be included. (TVSpy)
Katie Couric seems to not stay in any job too long since she left NBC a decade ago, and now, she's leaving her current position as an online news anchor at Yahoo. (Hollywood Reporter)
June Foray, who did the voice of Rocky in Rocky and Bullwinkle (among numerous other cartoon voices), died Wednesday at age 99. (ABC News)
Voice artist Patti Deutsch, who was also known for her role on Laugh-In and frequent appearances as a panelist on Match Game, died Wednesday at age 73. (Deadline)
Curb Your Enthusiasm is set to return to HBO for a ninth season in September, following a hiatus of over five years. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Two years ago, it was announced that DVDs for The Simpsons would no longer be released, but a surprising announcement came late last week with The Simpsons - The Eighteenth Season coming to DVD in December. Additionally, it seems that extras such as commentaries have already been completed for both seasons 19 and 20 (it is worth noting that season 20 was previously released, but it did not include any special features). Unfortunately, it seems Blu-ray releases are done for the series.

TUESDAY (AUGUST 1) HOME MEDIA RELEASE

The Secret World of Alex Mack - The Complete Series (DVD, $19.97): It wasn't quite something that we were ever really expecting to see on DVD, especially from Mill Creek, but the entire series arrives on DVD in this release.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: John Roberts (Twitter), "I'm a comedian. I voice Gene on @BobsBurgersFox. Get my 9-volume album now!"

Claim to Fame: We're continuing an unofficial Bob's Burgers again, and this time, we have John Roberts, who distinguishes himself from the Fox News correspondent @johnrobertsFox with his own similar sounding @JohnRobertsFun. Like many of the cast members of the series, he too has worked with H. Jon Benjamin elsewhere, including on Archer. On Bob's Burgers, he does the voice of Linda Belcher, the wife of Bob.

Pick of the Tweets: "Off to the @FOXTV party at @Comic_Con with @kristenschaaled (pic)" (July 22, 2017)

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, August 19

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Climb" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Gemma decides to fire a teacher at her school, she’s unprepared for the aftermath. Also, Calvin gets a surprise when he faces off with his newspaper carrier.

The Big Bang Theory - "The D&D Vortex" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the gang finds out Wil Wheaton hosts a celebrity Dungeons and Dragons game involving William Shatner, Joe Manganiello, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Smith, deception and betrayal are the path to make it to the one open seat.

The Big Bang Theory - "The Conference Valuation" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Penny and Bernadette go to San Diego for a pharmaceutical sales convention, Wolowitz is in charge of the kids. Also, Sheldon finds a book on experimenting on kids, and the guys plus Amy make a day of it.

Mom - "Jell-O Shots and the Truth About Santa" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bonnie pushes Christy to mend her relationship with Violet (Sadie Calvano), and Adam prepares for the grand opening of his bar.

I Ship It - "Somewhere Magical" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Ella seizes the opportunity to work as a personal assistant to a writer for "Superstition," her favorite TV show; Ella's fantasies begin to collide with reality in unexpected ways, in both her creative life and love life.

In The Cut - "Lucky Charmed" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Jay buys Cheryl a necklace for her birthday, not knowing it was stolen; when the police want it back, Jay must devise a plan to return it before she finds out.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 19)

Monday, August 19

Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People) - Watch Billy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Issa Rae (Insecure) - Issa appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place/Barry), Henry Winkler (Barry/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) and Bill Hader (Barry) - D'Arcy, Henry and Bill are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Bryton James (Family Matters) - Bryton appears on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll) - Charlie is a guest on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
Bella Thorne (Shake It Up) - Bella appears on a repeat of ABC's Strahan & Sara at 1pm.
Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Donald talks about Emergence on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Melissa Peterman (Reba/Working Class/Baby Daddy) - Melissa guest co-hosts Access Live, so check your local listings.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti opens up about her 22-year battle with diabetes on a repeat of The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.