SitcomsOnline Digest: Disney to Acquire Much of Fox; Roseanne Debut Date Set for ABC

Saturday, December 16, 2017

SitcomsOnline Digest: Disney to Acquire Much of Fox; Roseanne Debut Date Set for ABC

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! We've been talking about it for almost a month, and it even looked like it was officially off for a few weeks even, but this week, Disney officially announced their plan to acquire the entertainment assets of Fox, officially making Homer Simpson a Disney character. That is far from all in this busy news week, as we're also hearing about when Roseanne will be returning to ABC, a new home for reruns of The Office, and more. Also, we are retiring our Follow Me this week for a new feature, Weekly TV Planner, where we'll give you ideas for things that you should be watching this weekend and next week, including upcoming marathons, season debuts of favorite sitcoms, debuts of old favorites on cable or digital broadcast networks, ideas for series to watch on streaming media, and sometimes just a gentle nudge to watch something that has always been there that you may have not been watching lately. Let's get going!

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)

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

Thursday, April 2

Young Sheldon - "A House Sale and Serious Woman Stuff" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Sheldon learns the house next door is for sale, he takes it upon himself to find the perfect neighbors. Also, Missy is torn when she’s forced to pitch against her boyfriend at the baseball game.

Man with a Plan - "The V-Word" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Andi’s doctor advises her to stop taking birth control pills, Adam and Andi disagree on an alternate option.

Mom - "Texas Pete and a Parking Lot Carnival" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Bonnie worries about her therapist, Trevor (Rainn Wilson), when his life hits a serious rough patch. Also, Christy comes to Marjorie’s aid when she has trouble adjusting to a new job.

Broke - "Pilot" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jaime Camil and Pauley Perrette star in a new comedy about a single suburban mother, struggling to make ends meet, who finds her estranged sister and her sister’s outrageously wealthy husband in need of a place to live after the couple’s money dries up.

Last Man Standing - "Keep the Change" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Mike and Vanessa invite Jen's father to her graduation, Jen struggles with accepting his "plus one" -- his girlfriend Fiona; the Outdoor Man crew debates over which word was said in a viral audio recording that's been tearing the internet apart.

Last Man Standing - "Mysterious Ways" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Vanessa is secretly obsessed with Jen's new video game.

Superstore - "Customer Safari" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Amy joins Jonah for lunch with his parents and brother, but she's caught off guard by their family dynamic. Dina worries about being fun and spontaneous when her new boyfriend surprises her at work. Meanwhile, Garrett and the other employees create a game around the store's weird customers, with a suspicious Glenn hot on their tails.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - "Admiral Peralta" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Jake and his father deal with unsettled family business. Amy and Rosa work a high-profile case. Terry wants to join the NYPD band.

Will & Grace - "Bi-Plane" (NBC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Will and Grace decide to intervene when they discover Grace’s niece (guest start Billie Lourd) is dating a bisexual man (guest star Peter Graham). Jack gets permission from his husband, Estefan (guest star Brian Jordan Alvarez), to sleep with his celebrity hall pass, guest star Ryan Phillippe. Karen struggles to adapt when her assistant, Friday (guest star Vanessa Bayer), books them on an economy flight.

Indebted - "Everybody's Talking About Neighbors" (NBC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After realizing Debbie and Stew are forcing the neighbors to socialize, Dave and Rebecca try to convince them to keep to themselves, insisting neighbors should just be neighbors.

Better Things - "New Orleans" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Sam goes to a wedding.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 30)

Thursday, April 2

Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Catch Jennifer Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:05am on ABC.
Amy Poehler (Bless the Harts/Parks and Recreation) - Amy is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood/The Last O.G./The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Rob Huebel (Medical Police/Transparent/Burning Love) - Rob is a guest on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Sean stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Kyle is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Jaime Camil (Broke) and Pauley Perrette (Broke) - Jaime and Pauley talk about Broke on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT. Jaime will also be on People Now at 1pm.
Mario Cantone (Sex and the City) - Mario appears on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa is a guest on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Tisha Campbell (Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha talks about Outmatched on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai appears on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.