Wednesday, April 04, 2018
IFC Renews Brockmire for Two Seasons; Remembering TV Legend Steven Bochco
IFC announced at a press conference that the critically acclaimed comedy series Brockmire has been picked up for two additional seasons. Season 2 of the series, starring Hank Azaria as Jim Brockmire and produced by Funny or Die, is set to premiere Wednesday, April 25 at 10PM. Tyrel Jackson Williams and Amanda Peet co-star. Seasons 3 and 4 are slated to air in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Brockmire follows Jim Brockmire, a famed major league baseball announcer who suffered a notorious public breakdown after stumbling upon his wife's infidelity - a breakdown so bad that "Brutal Brockmire" became a viral internet meme. Season 1 began a decade later, as Brockmire looked to reclaim his career, reputation, and love life. He eventually found happiness calling games for the Morristown Frackers, the underdog minor league baseball team, alongside his girlfriend Jules (Peet).
Originally premiering in April 2017, the show received critical praise from the start and was the highest-rated new series in IFC's history. Season 1 was the most time-shifted new original comedy on cable, drawing in 8.6 million total viewers in Nielsen live+7 ratings, and was one of the most social comedies on TV, consistently ranking in the top ten for social media interactions on premiere nights.
Season 2 returns with Brockmire chasing an opportunity to call games in New Orleans, and leaving Jules behind in the process. He's now a top podcaster with his show "Brock Bottom," living with his co-dependent friend Charles (Williams)... and boozing harder than ever. Still trying to still reclaim his career as a top sportscaster, Brockmire cannot resist the sinful temptations of the Big Easy, while pining for the girl he left behind in Morristown, PA and struggling to find his purpose in life.
Television producer and writer Steven Bochco, who developed Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Doogie Howser, M.D. and NYPD Blue, has died. He died peacefully in his sleep at his Pacific Palisades, California, home from cancer on April 1. Mr. Bochco was 74.
Bochco's television career began with Universal Pictures as a writer and story editor. Some of his early credits included The Name of the Game, Griff, The Invisible Man, Delvecchio, McMillan & Wife, Ironside and Columbo. He received two Emmy nominations for his work on Columbo in 1972 and 1973.
In 1978, he created the short-lived NBC detective drama Richie Brockelman, Private Eye with Stephen J. Cannell. He created the short-lived 1979-1980 CBS police drama Paris. The series was notable as the first series on which James Earl Jones played a lead role. It also starred Lee Chamberlain, Hank Garrett, Cecilia Hart, Jake Mitchell, Mike Warren and Frank Ramirez.
Bochco and Michael Kozoll created the NBC police drama Hill Street Blues in 1981. He also worked as a writer and producer on the series. The series aired for 7 seasons until 1987. It starred Daniel J. Travanti, Michael Conrad (1981-1984), Michael Warren, Charles Haid, Veronica Hamel, Bruce Wietz, Kiel Martin, Taurean Blacque, James Sikking, Joe Spano, Betty Thomas, Barbara Bosson (1981-1986) and Ed Marinaro (1981-1986). The show received a total of 98 Emmy nominations during its run. Bochco won 6 Emmy Awards for his work on the series: Outstanding Drama Series in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 and Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series in 1981 and 1982.
He created the NBC legal drama L.A. Law with Terry Louise Fisher in 1986. The series ran for 8 seasons until 1994. It starred Richard Dysart, Alan Rachins, Harry Hamlin (1986-1991), Susan Dey (1986-1992), Jill Eikenberry, Corbin Bernsen, Michael Tucker, Jimmy Smits (1986-1991), Michele Greene (1986-1991), Susan Ruttan (1986-1993), Larry Drake (1987-1994) and Blair Underwood (1987-1994). The series won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run. Bochco won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series in 1987 and 1989 and for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series in 1987.
Bochco and Fisher created the ABC dramedy Hooperman in 1987. The series ran for 2 seasons and 42 episodes. It starred John Ritter, Debrah Farentino, Barbara Bosson, Clarence Felder, Sydney Walsh, Joseph Gian, Felton Perry, Alix Elias, Paul Linke (1988-1989) and Rod Gist (1988-1989).
He created the ABC sitcom/medical drama Doogie Howser, M.D. with David E. Kelley in 1989. The series ran for 4 seasons and 97 episodes. It starred Neil Patrick Harris, Max Casella, Belinda Montgomery, Lawrence Pressman, Mitchell Anderson (1989-1991), Kathryn Layng, Lisa Dean Ryan (1989-1992), Lucy Boryer (1989-1992), Markus Redmond (1990-1993) and James B. Sikking.
Bochco and David Milch created the gritty police drama NYPD Blue for ABC in 1993. The critically acclaimed series ran for 12 seasons until 2005. It starred Dennis Franz, David Caruso (1993-1994), James McDaniel (1993-2001), Nicholas Turturro (1993-2000), Gordon Clapp (1994-2005), Jimmy Smits (1994-1998), Kim Delaney (1995-2001), Bill Brochtrup (1999-2005), Henry Simmons (2000-2005), Charlotte Ross (2001-2004), Esai Morales (2001-2004), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (2001-2005) and Jacqueline Obradors (2001-2005). The series received 84 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning 20 of them. Bochco won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1995.
Some of his other created or produced series included Bay City Blues (1983), Cop Rock (1990), Civil Wars (1991-1993), Capitol Critters (1992), The Byrds of Paradise (1994), Public Morals (1996), Murder One (1995-1997), Brooklyn South (1997-1998), City of Angels (2000), Philly (2001-2002), Blind Justice (2005), Over There (2005), Commander in Chief (2005-2006), Raising the Bar (2008-2009) and Murder in the First (2014-2016).
Survivors include his wife Dayna Kalins; his children Jesse, Sean and Melissa; grandchildren Wes and Stevie Rae; and sister Joanna Frank. He was married to actress Barbara Bosson, who starred in Hill Street Blues, Hooperman and Murder One, from 1970 to 1997.
The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with him on May 21 and September 12, 2002.
Mr. Bochco won 10 Emmy Awards during his legendary career. We thank him for the great series he created and the many hours of entertainment he brought us. He will be greatly missed.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, November 21
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "The 6:10 to Lubbock" (CBS, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Mandy get fed up staying with her parents and reconsider their living situation after a fight with Mandy’s mom, Audrey.
Ghosts - "Man of Your Dreams" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam learns that one of the ghosts’ powers is to enter the dreams of the livings and influence their decisions. Also, two of the ghosts think they’ve learned the secret to moving on.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)
Thursday, November 21
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Catch Jim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This/GLOW) and Timothy Simons (HouseBroken/Veep) - Justine, Jackie and Timothy are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
- Maura Tierney (NewsRadio/The Van Dyke Show) - Maura is in the studio to discuss the neww season of Law and Order on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Paul Reiser (Mad About You/Red Oaks/Married/My Two Dads) - Paul is telling Drew about his huge return to comedy after thirty years with his standup special, Life, Death and Rice Pudding, and his new movie The Gutter on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- John O'Hurley (Seinfeld/Over the Top/The Mullets) - John will be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD and 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 UHD)
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)
11/12 - 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)
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