Wednesday, January 10, 2018

TCA 2018 Winter Press Tour: NBC; grown-ish Premieres Strong on Freeform

Champions

Moving on to NBC at the TCA 2018 Winter Press Tour, we have news on a new comedy. From Executive Producers Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy, Champions will premiere Thursday, March 8 and will air at 8:30pm through May 17. From executive producers Charlie Grandy (The Mindy Project, Guys with Kids) and Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Vince is living every bachelor’s dream. He owns the fifth largest gym in Brooklyn, dates an endless string of beautiful women and lives with his dumb, lovable brother Matthew. But Vince's simple life gets complicated fast when his high school fling Priya (Mindy Kaling) unexpectedly drops off their 15-year-old son Michael so he can attend a city school for super-talented kids. How will Vince handle this wildly ambitious and hilariously witty teenager? Well, somehow he’ll have to work it out. Next, fresh off its stellar debut, NBC has ordered a 13-episode second season of its new hit alternative series Ellen's Game of Games.

NBC's newest comedy A.P. Bio, starring Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt with Seth Meyers and Lorne Michaels as executive producers, will premiere two original episodes on digital platforms. As we mentioned, A.P. Bio will launch as a special preview on NBC Thursday, Feb. 1 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT with Will & Grace as its lead-in. The following two episodes (along with the pilot) will be available across digital platforms, including the NBC App, Hulu and those run by NBC owned and affiliated stations, beginning Feb 2, one day after the show debuts on the network. The digital episodes will then air when the series returns on NBC, first on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 10:30 p.m., immediately following the Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics from PyeongChang, South Korea; and then on Thursday, March 1 at 8:30 p.m. A.P. Bio will move to its normal 9:30 p.m. Thursday timeslot beginning March 1. And finally, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will host a star-studded guest lineup in Minneapolis for its special post-Super Bowl episode on Sunday, Feb. 4, including Justin Timberlake, Dwayne Johnson and the cast of NBC's hit series This Is Us: Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz and Justin Hartley. The show will air live from the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis following NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl LII, an original episode of This Is Us and late local news.


grown-ish

The debut of grown-ish (Jan. 3, 2018, 8:00-8:31 p.m. EST) ranked as Freeform's biggest series launch in 2 years among Total Viewers (1.562 million), Adults 18-49 (917,000/0.71 rating), Women 18-49 (658,000/1.01 rating), Women 18-34 (340,000/0.98 rating) and Females 12-34 (448,000/0.96 rating) - since Shadowhunters on 1/12/16. Freeform's grown-ish out-delivered the channel's most-recent comedy debut by strong triple digits (Kevin From Work on 8/12/15) across all key demographics: Total Viewers (+111%), Adults 18-49 (+132%), Women 18-34 (+170%), Females 12-34 (+152%) and Female Teens 12-17 (+108%). In fact, grown-ish opened as Freeform's best comedy debut in nearly 6 years in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Women 18-49 - since long-running hit Baby Daddy on 6/20/12.

Competitively, the grown-ish debut opened as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted series on cable TV among Women 18-49, Women 18-34 and Females 12-34. The 8:00 p.m. debut of grown-ish was the strongest scripted comedy series launch on basic cable among Women 18-49 since April 2014 (MTV's Faking It), among Women 18-34 since July 2014 (FX's Married) and among Adults 18-49 since September 2016 (FX's Atlanta).


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 9

Abbott Elementary - "Back to School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The neighboring construction site of a new golf course is causing issues at Abbott, forcing the teachers to find creative solutions. An HR representative visits the school. Following their kiss, Janine and Gregory’s relationship status is revealed.

Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Cheat Codes" (Comedy Central, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chris debates using a cheat code to win a free Nintendo.

Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Halloween" (Comedy Central, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Chris spends Halloween at a church event, hoping to hook up with Tasha.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 7)

Wednesday, October 9

  • Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Watch Quinta on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She also talks about the new season of Abbott Elementary on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Rachel Sennott (Call Your Mother) - Rachel is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Eric Idle (Suddenly Susan/Nearly Departed) - Eric stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - E! News has an interview with Michael at 11pm on E!.
  • Ali Wong (Big Mouth/American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - NBC's Today catches up with Ali in the 10am hour.
  • Rita Wilson (Girls) - Rita stops by to talk about her new album on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Goldie Hawn (Good Morning World) - Goldie appears on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
  • Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl Lee talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh talks about his new children's book PictureFace Lizzy and fatherhood on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Jessica St. Clair (Avenue 5/Playing House/Best Friends Forever/In the Motherhood) - Jessica is sharing her breast cancer experience with Drew and Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz is talking about breast cancer diagnoses on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Abigail Spencer (Extended Family/Burning Love) - Abigail discusses her television series Shatter Belt on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Kim Matula (LA to Vegas) - Kim is a guest on PIX 11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
  • Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City) - Lea appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Ropers - The Complete Series Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (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

10/09 - HBO's Seth Meyers Special Debuts October 26; New Late Night Comedy Series Focuses on Crazy Florida
10/08 - Somebody Somewhere Returns for Final Season; Virgin River Season 6 Drops for Holiday Season
10/07 - Vice TV Announces Black Comedy in America Series; Netflix Stars Team Up for Netflix Movie
10/06 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 7, 2024)
10/05 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Cancels That '90s Show; Who's the Boss? Reboot Not Moving Forward at Freevee
10/04 - Family Guy Halloween Special: Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater; What We Do in the Shadows Returns for Final Season
10/03 - Jack Whitehall Holiday Comedy Special; Leighton Meester Joins Apple TV+ Series
10/02 - The Franchise Launches Sunday on HBO; Remembering John Amos of Good Times
10/01 - No Good Deed Premieres in December on Netflix; SNL Season 50 Opens Strong
09/30 - TV One Acquires black-ish; Whitney Cummings to Host Friends Game Show Event
09/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 30, 2024)
09/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Kathy Bates Matlock Premiere Brings Solid Ratings; Whitney Cummings to Host Friends-themed Game Show
09/27 - Apple TV+ Shrinking Season 2; FETV Highway Patrol 10-4 Day Marathon
09/26 - Max's Velma Halloween Special; Apple TV+ Peanuts Holiday Specials This Holiday Season
09/25 - AXS TV Acquires Nashville; MGM+ Rebooting Robin Hood
09/24 - Trailer and Guest Voices for Everybody Still Hates Chris; The Lincoln Lawyer Returns October 17 on Netflix
09/23 - Laff Fall 2024 Schedule with The Conners and Bob ♥ Abishola; CBS' Comfy Blue Sofa Tour
09/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 23, 2024)
09/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Abbott Elementary Cast Gets Major Pay Raise; Saturday Night Live Season 50 Hosts Announced
09/20 - Sabrina Carpenter Gets Netflix Holiday Special; Starz Announces Dark Comedy Series
09/19 - The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh Drops October 17 on Prime Video; Ellen's Final Comedy Special
09/18 - Australian The Office Coming to Prime Video; You're Laughing at CBS
09/17 - 76th Primetime Emmy Award Winners; Emmys Draw Largest Audience in 3 Years
09/16 - George Lopez Gets Prime Video Special; Netflix Orders His & Hers
09/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 16, 2024)
09/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Tim Meadows to Star in New Sitcom DMV; Casting for The Office Followup Series
09/13 - ALF Anniversary Marathon on Shout! TV; HBO Orders Tim Robinson Comedy
09/12 - MeTV Halloween 2024 Events; CBS' Nate Bargatze Holiday Special
09/11 - HBO Orders Rachel Sennott Comedy to Series; Jaleel White Hosts New Game Show Flip Side
09/10 - CBS Fall 2024 Preview Special; The Franchise Premieres October 6 on HBO
09/09 - Lifetime Orders Christmas in the Spotlight; Hulu Sets Murdaugh Murders Series