Wednesday, February 27, 2019

The Monkees Joins MeTV Network Sunday Lineup; NBC Renews All Three "Chicago" Dramas

The Monkees

Starting Sunday, March 3rd, television viewers and Monkees fans can relive the iconic music and psychedelic hijinks of the Emmy Award-winning series from its very first episode, now on MeTV, America's #1 classic television network. Following an overwhelming response to MeTV's Peter Tork tribute this past Sunday (The Monkees were up +74% Persons 2+ at 5:00pm and up +78% Persons 2+ at 5:30pm vs. last February's time period*), The Monkees quartet will join MeTV's groovy counterparts, The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island, on the network's Sunday afternoon lineup, airing at 5pm and 5:30pm ET/PT.

The Monkees originally aired from 1966-1968, employing avant-garde film techniques such as improvisation, jump cuts and breaking the "fourth wall," and earned two Emmy Awards in 1967 for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy. Inspired by The Beatles' classic films A Hard Day's Night and Help!, the made-for-TV pop/rock band soon rose to international stardom. The beloved cast included the late Peter Tork, who passed last Thursday, as the band's "loveable goof", keyboardist, bass guitarist and eventually songwriter. To round out the foursome, Micky Dolenz was cast as the "funny" drummer, Michael Nesmith as the "deadpan" guitarist and former child actor Davy Jones was the resident "teen heartthrob" and lead vocalist.

"The Monkees is a truly memorable series, the first TV comedy of the 1960s to showcase musician characters with original popular music that charted, combined with zany comedy and the teen heartthrob phenomenon," said Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting Co. "Our recent tribute to Peter Tork sparked a significant amount of positive viewer feedback and delivered a very large national audience. Adding The Monkees as part of our Sunday afternoon line up alongside The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island gives our MeTV audience even more to cheer about."

In spite of being dismissed by critics for their "Hollywood" beginnings, The Monkees music struck a chord with the emerging youth culture, catapulting the group into one of the most influential bands of the decade and birthed "Monkeemania," – a flurry of merchandising, record sales, and even world tours opened by a young Jimi Hendrix. In 1967, the band sold 35 million albums, reportedly twice as many as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and songs Daydream Believer, I'm a Believer and Last Train to Clarksville, all reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

In the late 1980s, The Monkees experienced a resurgence in popular culture and embarked on several reunion tours. After the 2012 death of Davy Jones, the surviving members released Good Times! in 2016 and earned their first Top 20 album in 25 years. Overall, The Monkees have sold over 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the bestselling groups of all time.

Viewers can see the complete schedule and find out where to watch by visiting MeTV.com.

Chicago Franchise

Following the huge success of its all-"Chicago" Wednesday night lineup, NBC has renewed all three of its Windy City dramas - Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. - for the 2019-20 season.

The announcement was made by Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Co-Presidents of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment.

"We remain in awe of the job Dick Wolf, our producers, casts and crews do in creating some of the most compelling television today," Katz and Pakosta said. "The 'Chicago' franchise is a lynchpin of our schedule and we're thrilled that audiences have embraced our Wednesdays with such incredible passion for these shows and characters."

So far this season, NBC's Wednesday lineup of "Chicago" dramas is undefeated on the night in total viewers, winning 15 of 15 Wednesday nights when in originals. That's elevated NBC to the Wednesday lead at this point in the season for the first in 16 years, despite competition this season from such potent rivals as Empire, Survivor, The Masked Singer and Modern Family. All three "Chicago" dramas are delivering their most-watched seasons ever, with Chicago Med averaging a 2.0 rating in adults 18-49 and 11.4 million viewers overall in "live plus seven day" averages from Nielsen Media Research, Chicago Fire at a 2.1 in 18-49 and 11.7 million viewers and Chicago P.D. earning a 2.1 in 18-49 and 11.1 million viewers.

Chicago Med, currently in its fourth season, is executive produced by Dick Wolf, Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider, Michael Waxman, Matt Olmstead, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski.

Chicago Fire, currently in its seventh season, is executive produced by Dick Wolf, Derek Haas, Todd Arnow, Andrea Newman, Michael Gilvary, Michael Brandt, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski.

Chicago P.D., currently in its sixth season, is executive produced by Dick Wolf, Rick Eid, Peter Jankowski, Derek Haas, Arthur W. Forney and Eriq La Salle are executive producers.

Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. are produced by Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, September 28

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)

Thursday, September 28

  • George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Catch George on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. He joins Drew for the entire show opening up about meeting the love of his life Amal, revealing the sweet thing they still do for each other to this day, their engagement story and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Eva Longoria (Telenovela) - Eva appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Diane Morgan (After Life) - Diane appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Sebastian Maniscalco (How to Be a Bookie) and Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie/Corporate) - Sebastian and Baron are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Garcelle Beauvais (Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has an interview with Garcelle at 11pm on E!.
  • Kerry Washington (Unprisoned) - Kerry is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
  • Ed Begley Jr. (Young Sheldon/Your Family or Mine/Gary Unmarried/Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)) - Ed talks about his new book To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It! A Memoir on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani discusses her latest cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Sam Jay (Bust Down) - Sam talks about her just-released HBO comedy special, Salute Me or Shoot Me, on Sherri, so check your local listings.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)

Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition)

06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

09/27 - Moonlighting Coming to Hulu; Showtime Announces Date for The Curse
09/26 - Rick and Morty Season 7 Trailer; Fox's Krapopolis Debuts Well
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09/24 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 25, 2023)
09/23 - SitcomsOnline Digest: An End on the Horizon for WGA Strike?; Hallmark Ready for Christmas
09/22 - The Santa Clauses Season 2 Launches November 8; CBS Alters Fall Schedule
09/21 - Penn & Teller: Fool Us Gets New Return Date; Netflix's Unicorn Academy Premieres November 2
09/20 - Paramount+ Announces Colin from Accounts; The Really Loud House Gets Halloween Movie
09/19 - The Simpsons Season 34 Streams October 11 on Disney+; Good Burger 2 Set for Holiday Season
09/18 - Hulu's Huluween and Disney+'s Hallowstream Line-Up; Shining Vale Returns October 13 on STARZ
09/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 18, 2023)
09/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Cancels Wonder Years Reboot; Byron Allen Makes $10 Billion Offer to Buy ABC
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09/14 - Dancing with the Stars Season 32 Cast; BUZZR Celebrates 40 Years of Press Your Luck
09/13 - TBS Acquires Modern Family; The Frasier Awards on COZI TV
09/12 - Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen Gets CBS Late Night Run; Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy Special
09/11 - Matt Rife Gets Netflix Special; Star Trek Day and Kid Cudi Join Forces
09/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 11, 2023)
09/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner Bros. Television Suspends Deals with Top Creators; Fran Drescher Re-Elected President of SAG-AFTRA
09/08 - CBS Announces Hosts of Game Show; New Goosebumps Premieres Friday the 13th This October on Disney+ and Hulu
09/07 - MeTV Presents Svengoolie's Halloween BOOnanza!; The CW Moving Fall Comedies to Thursdays
09/06 - CBS to Air NCIS: Sydney This Fall; Fox Makes Fall Change
09/05 - TBS and TNT September Stunts Include Big Bang Theory Batman Day Marathon; Netflix UK Produced Series Updates
09/04 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2023 Include Three's Company
09/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 4, 2023)
09/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: No Third Season for How I Met Your Father; Spectrum Dispute with Disney Could Spell End of Cable
09/01 - September Is Anniversary Month on Hulu; Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween Returns for Its 25th Anniversary
08/31 - Max's Original Comedy Series Starstruck Season 3 and Our Flag Means Death Season 2 Premiere Dates; AXS TV Announces Fall Programming Lineup
08/30 - The Partridge Family Coming to AXS TV Starting Oct. 2; CBS to Air A Tribute to Bob Barker Special Aug. 31, Marathon of Match Game Episodes to Air Sept. 2 on Game Show Network
08/29 - Once Upon a Time Coming to Hulu; Young Love Launches on Max in September
08/28 - Remembering TV Legend Bob Barker; Wolf Like Me Returns in October on Peacock
08/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 28, 2023)