Tuesday, November 21, 2017
CBS Gives 9JKL More Episodes; Remembering Della Reese of Touched by an Angel, Chico and the Man
CBS has given a full season order to new drama series S.W.A.T. (20 episodes) and has picked up three additional episodes of new comedy 9JKL for the 2017-2018 broadcast season. S.W.A.T. is averaging 10.36 million viewers, 1.9 in adults 18-49 and 2.8 in adults 25-54 (all Live+7). The Monday freshman comedy 9JKL is averaging 7.40 million viewers in Live+7. S.W.A.T. stars Shemar Moore, Stephanie Sigman, Alex Russell, Jay Harrington, Lina Esco, Kenny Johnson, Peter Onorati and David Lim. Aaron Thomas, Shawn Ryan, Justin Lin, Neal Moritz, Marney Hochman, Danielle Woodrow and Pavun Shetty are executive producers for Sony Pictures Television in association with CBS Television Studios. S.W.A.T. airs Thursdays (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
9JKL stars Mark Feuerstein, David Walton, Elliott Gould, Linda Lavin, Liza Lapira, Matt Murray and Albert Tsai. Dana Klein, Mark Feuerstein, Aaron Kaplan, Wendi Trilling, Dana Honor and Pamela Fryman are executive producers for CBS Television Studios. 9JKL airs Mondays (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Actress and singer Della Reese, who starred as Tess in Touched by an Angel and as Della Rogers in Chico and the Man, has died. She died peacefully at her Los Angeles home on November 19. Ms. Reese was 86.
Reese hosted her own talk show early in her career called Della. It aired for 197 episodes from June 9, 1969 to March 13, 1970. She became the first black woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1970.
Some of her early television appearances included The Mod Squad, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Police Woman, McCloud, Petrocelli, The Rookies and Sanford and Son.
She joined the cast of Chico and the Man in the fall of 1976. She played Della Rogers, the owner of the diner across from Ed's Garage and Ed's landlady. The ABC sitcom ran for four seasons and 88 episodes from 1974-1978. It starred Jack Albertson, Freddie Prinze (1974-1977), Scatman Crothers, Bonnie Boland (1974-1975), Isaac Ruiz (1974-1977), Ronny Graham (1975-1976), Gabriel Melgar (1977-1978) and Charo (1977-1978). Reese first guest starred as The Judge in the 1975 episode "The Juror."
Reese appeared as Judge Caroline Phillips in six episodes of the 1982-1983 ABC sitcom It Takes Two. The series starred Richard Crenna, Patty Duke Astin, Helen Hunt, Anthony Edwards, Billie Bird, Richard McKenzie and Randy Dreyfuss.
She joined the cast of Charlie & Co. for four episodes in early 1986 as Charlie's (Flip Wilson) sister-in-law, Aunt Rachel. The 1985-1986 CBS sitcom also starred Gladys Knight, Fran Robinson, Kristoff St. John, Jaleel White, Ray Girardin, Richard Karron, Kip King, Terry McGovern and Eddie Velez.
Reese starred with Redd Foxx in the 1991-1992 CBS sitcom The Royal Family. Al Royal and his wife Victoria were an Atlanta couple looking forward to retirement until his daughter and her family move back home. The series also starred Mariann Aaida, Sylver Gregory, Larenz Tate, Naya Rivera, Jackée Harry and Barry Shabaka Henley.
Her best known role was as the supervisor Tess in the religious supernatural drama Touched by an Angel, which aired on CBS from 1994-2003. It ran for nine seasons and 212 episodes. It also starred Roma Downey, John Dye and Valerie Bertinelli (2001-2003). Reese performed the show's theme song titled "Walk with You." She received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1997 and 1998 and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television in 1998. She also appeared in six episodes of the spin-off series Promised Land in 1996-1998.
Some of her other sitcom guest appearances included Welcome Back, Kotter, The Love Boat, 227, Night Court, Married People, Dream On, Designing Women and That's So Raven.
She played the mother of B. A. Baracus (Mr. T) in a 1985 episode of The A-Team. Some of other drama guest appearances included Medical Center, Insight, Crazy Like a Fox, The Young Riders, MacGyver, L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Detroit 1-8-7 and Signed, Sealed, Delivered.
Her film credits included Psychic Killer, Harlem Nights (with Redd Foxx), A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Beauty Shop, If I Had Known I Was a Genius and Expecting Mary.
The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive itnerview with her on June 13, 2008.
Survivors include her husband, Franklin Lett, and her three children, James, Franklin and Dominique Reese.
Ms. Reese was a gifted actress and singer. She was wonderful as the wise angel Tess in Touched by An Angel. We thank her for the many hours of entertainment she brought us over her long career. She will be deeply missed.
Share your memories on our Touched by an Angel or Chico and the Man message boards. View photos in our galleries.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, April 26
Family Guy - "Lower G.I. Joe" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
A colonoscopy reveals Peter has a rare collectible toy action figure lodged in his intestine, but the reward for selling it causes a rift between him and the guys.
Bob's Burgers - "The Keyboard Kid" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Tina hopes her fast-but-weird typing style gets her an "A" in typing class so she can attend an upcoming field trip.
American Dad! - "The Treasure of Old Chinatown" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Steve and Bah Bah, along with a reluctant Francine, set out to discover an ancient Chinese treasure; Roger becomes an online food influencer.
Family Guy - "Pumpkin Spice Girls" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Meg discovers the seasonal delight that is the pumpkin spice latte, but when the limited time offering lapses, her and Lois concoct an elaborate heist to steal the formula.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 20)
Friday, April 24
- Zach Galifianakis (Baskets) - Watch Zach on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Sterling K. Brown (Starved) - Sterling appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Paradise on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock) - Rachel is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ellen Burstyn (The Ellen Burstyn Show) - Ellen talks about Poetry Says It Better: Poems to Help You Wake Up on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Nia Long (Uncle Buck/The Cleveland Show/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Nia talks about Michael on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Kathy Griffin (Suddenly Susan) - Kathy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Laura Marano (Austin & Ally/Back to You) - Laura talks about Original Sound on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth/The Bear) and Don Cheadle (The Wonder Years/Black Monday/House of Lies/The Golden Palace) - Ayo and Don talk about Broadway's Proof on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. Don will also be on in the 9am hour.
- Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Kit and Melissa check out How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie and Sunny Anderson are joining Drew for the news and Val is telling Drew about her Lifetime movie on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jill Kargman (Odd Mom Out) - Jill tells Drew about her new movie Influenced on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and 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)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (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










Contact Us