Saturday, December 16, 2017
SitcomsOnline Digest: Disney to Acquire Much of Fox; Roseanne Debut Date Set for ABC
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- It's official: Disney has announced a plan to buy most of then entertainment assets of Fox, which leaves a lot of people wondering what will happen to the broadcast network that uses that name and currently depends upon that studio for most of their big hits. (Deadline)
- There is some speculation that the acquisition of Fox by Disney could hit the network FX the hardest, as it doesn't fit in very well with the expectations of Disney. (Washington Post)
- Let's face it: The Simpsons has been very good at predicting the future, and this merger between Disney and Fox is no exception. (Deadline)
- Mark your calendar for March 27, as that is when Roseanne will be returning to the ABC lineup, complete with John Goodman's character Dan coming back to life. (Entertainment Weekly)
- For over a decade now, NBC has been attempting to develop an American version of the series The IT Crowd (it was envisioned as the perfect companion for their hit series The Office at the time), and it seems that they're still trying to make it happen, so let's hope that ten seasons worth of work that has so far resulting in nothing leads to some success. (Variety)
- Speaking of The Office, despite it being a cult favorite on the NBC lineup, it has been absent in syndication in recent years, but that will change in January as Comedy Central picks up reruns of the series. (Hollywood Reporter)
- Weekend Update hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost now have additional duties as head writers for Saturday Night Live. (New York Daily News)
- Not surprisingly, this week brings even more TV related fallout over sexual harassment scandals: Mario Batali of ABC's The Chew has been fired and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley has been suspended (though not yet fired). (Variety, NPR)
- A trio of sitcoms that have been a long time staple of Antenna TV will be unstapled, but don't worry, you'll still be able to see them if you have getTV. (SitcomsOnline)
HOME MEDIA RELEASES (DECEMBER 19)

- South Park - The Complete Sixth Season (Blu-ray, $39.98): Comedy Central is bringing even more seasons of this series to Blu-ray, which will actually bring all of the old seasons to the format, with these releases. Also available: Season 7, Season 8, Season 9, Season 10, Season 11.
WEEKLY PLANNER (DECEMBER 16 - DECEMBER 22)
- Antenna TV is celebrating Christmas for four hours tonight beginning at 7:00pm EST, and within that block, you'll see some special sneak previews of Growing Pains, Murphy Brown, and The Hogan Family.
- On Decades, you can enjoy the Weekend Binge of Lost in Space, which ends at 7:00am EST on Monday.
- Saturday Night Live is known for their annual Christmas episodes, and this year, it features Kevin Hart and the Foo Fighters, so make sure to catch it tonight at 11:29pm EST/8:29pm PST on NBC.
- The broadcast networks are mostly on Christmas vacation this week with reruns, but CBS is airing mostly new episodes of their sitcoms (aside from The Big Bang Theory, which will be a rerun of the season premiere) on Monday and Thursday night this week.
- NBC will also have a little bit of new programming this week with two new episodes of Great News on Thursday.
- CBS is airing newly colorized episodes of I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as the colorized Christmas episode of I Love Lucy that has previously aired, on Friday night.
- The Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN, recently added reruns of 227 to their lineup, with binge watching opportunities both today and tomorrow.
- On Hulu, you can catch up with every episode of Blossom, which was recently added to the streaming service.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, March 31
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Signature Service Loyalty Rewards Program" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Malcom receives an unexpected call from USC’s athletic director about a baseball head coach vacancy. Meanwhile, Calvin and Marty start a new signature loyalty rewards program at The Fuse Box.
Poppa's House - "Say Wha?!" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Junior’s fundraising effort for his film takes a dramatic turn when he discovers Poppa’s flea market purchase is worth a fortune. Vivica A. Fox guest stars as “Judge SayWha.”
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)
Monday, March 31
- Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - Watch Jennifer on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jay Ellis (Running Point/Insecure/The Game) - Jay talks about Running Point and Freaky Tales on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
- Sara Gilbert (The Conners/Bad Teacher/The Big Bang Theory/The Class/Roseanne) - Sara chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about The Conners on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle talks about Survival of the Thickest on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) - Michael talks about Sacramento on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross to hit the headlines in an all-new Drew's News on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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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