SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Orders Pair of Comedy Pilots; NBC Cancels Hair Musical

Saturday, February 09, 2019

SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Orders Pair of Comedy Pilots; NBC Cancels Hair Musical

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been a really busy week of news this week, and we've got some of the highlights for you here (but check out some of our posts from earlier this week for more!). We're hearing about some new comedy pilots at ABC, the end of a sitcom era as another ABC sitcom is renewed for a final season, and even a marathon of Redd Foxx's last sitcom that is airing on Decades today. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

ABC has ordered a pair of comedy pilots, including one starring Katey Sagal. (Variety)
Modern Family is coming to an end after next season, which may not seem like a big deal since it isn't the show that people talk about anymore, but the end of this series (along with that of The Big Bang Theory of this season) signals the end of an era where broadcast network sitcoms were a dominant force. (Fortune)
Fox recently aired a musical version of Rent, and it seems that in light of the disappointing ratings of that musical, NBC has cancelled their planned May 19 musical version of Hair. (Business Insider)
The proposed reboot of Bewitched at ABC won't be coming in the fall, but the idea isn't completely dead just yet. (Variety)
A pair of musical episodes is in the works for American Housewife. (Deadline)
Neither The Simpsons (which was legitimately in danger with the Disney acquisition of the production company) nor Mom are going anywhere anytime soon.. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA RELEASES (FEBRUARY 12)

Step by Step - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD, $29.99): We've been in a major drought for TV series on DVD (and sadly, it likely won't improve as many series have been completely released and streaming media has cannibalized DVD), but Warner Archive is still throwing us some bones, including the continuation of this TGIF classic on DVD.

WEEKLY PLANNER (FEBRUARY 9 - FEBRUARY 15)

Decades has a very rare treat for viewers on their weekly Binge this weekend, as they will be airing a marathon of Redd Foxx's last sitcom, The Royal Family from 1 PM today through 7 AM tomorrow morning, followed by a Binge of The Facts of Life all day Sunday.
The sixteenth season of American Dad! debuts Monday on TBS.
The TBS comedy Miracle Workers debuts on Tuesday.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, August 19

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Climb" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Gemma decides to fire a teacher at her school, she’s unprepared for the aftermath. Also, Calvin gets a surprise when he faces off with his newspaper carrier.

The Big Bang Theory - "The D&D Vortex" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the gang finds out Wil Wheaton hosts a celebrity Dungeons and Dragons game involving William Shatner, Joe Manganiello, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Smith, deception and betrayal are the path to make it to the one open seat.

The Big Bang Theory - "The Conference Valuation" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Penny and Bernadette go to San Diego for a pharmaceutical sales convention, Wolowitz is in charge of the kids. Also, Sheldon finds a book on experimenting on kids, and the guys plus Amy make a day of it.

Mom - "Jell-O Shots and the Truth About Santa" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bonnie pushes Christy to mend her relationship with Violet (Sadie Calvano), and Adam prepares for the grand opening of his bar.

I Ship It - "Somewhere Magical" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Ella seizes the opportunity to work as a personal assistant to a writer for "Superstition," her favorite TV show; Ella's fantasies begin to collide with reality in unexpected ways, in both her creative life and love life.

In The Cut - "Lucky Charmed" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Jay buys Cheryl a necklace for her birthday, not knowing it was stolen; when the police want it back, Jay must devise a plan to return it before she finds out.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 19)

Monday, August 19

Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People) - Watch Billy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Issa Rae (Insecure) - Issa appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place/Barry), Henry Winkler (Barry/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) and Bill Hader (Barry) - D'Arcy, Henry and Bill are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Bryton James (Family Matters) - Bryton appears on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll) - Charlie is a guest on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
Bella Thorne (Shake It Up) - Bella appears on a repeat of ABC's Strahan & Sara at 1pm.
Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Donald talks about Emergence on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Melissa Peterman (Reba/Working Class/Baby Daddy) - Melissa guest co-hosts Access Live, so check your local listings.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti opens up about her 22-year battle with diabetes on a repeat of The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.