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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, April 9

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Stuffed Monkey and an Ex-Girlfriend" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When CeeCee loses her favorite toy, Mandy and Meemaw (Annie Potts) take it as an opportunity to make some money. Meanwhile, Connor contemplates revisiting an old relationship.

Ghosts - "Michael Jackson Goes to HR" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Trevor lands himself in trouble when an inappropriate gift to a co‑worker forces him into an HR meeting only Jay can handle. Meanwhile, Pete unintentionally sparks drama with Alberta after casually mentioning a surprise visit to his ex.

Animal Control - "Scaredy Cats and Card Sharks" (Fox, 9:02PM ET/PT)
When Frank and Daisy lose $5,000 in union funds, they try to win the money back by gambling; Shred and Patel cover the late-night shift at the precinct.

Going Dutch - "The Heart Locker" (Fox, 9:32PM ET/PT)
After throwing out his back, the Colonel is ordered to bed rest; the base is sent to sweep for landmines at a local farm, where Major Shah suddenly finds himself in serious danger when he steps on one.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 6)

Thursday, April 9

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Catch Kerry on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Riz Ahmed (Bait) - Riz is a guest on a repeat of 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 appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Judy Reyes (Scrubs) - Judy talks about Scrubs and High Potential on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Dany Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) - Dan talks about Big Mistakes on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Felicity Huffman (Sports Night) - Felicity dishes on Doc on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/The Louie Show), Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair/Malcolm in the Middle/Help Me Help You) - Bryan, Frankie and Jane talk about Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8) - NBC's Today has "Head or Tails" with John in the 9am hour.
Billy Magnussen (The Franchise/Made for Love) - NBC's Today catches up with Billy in the 9am hour.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Terry and Rebecca King-Crews revealing for the first time Rebecca's health battle, so check your local listings.
Kenya Barris (blackAF) - Kenya talks about Prime's Jerry West: The Logo on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Juliette Lewis (Camping/I Married Dora) - Juliette tells Drew about her current run in Broadway show The Rocky Horror Show on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.