Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Sabrina Returns April 5 on Netflix; Remembering Character Actor Richard Erdman of Community

Double double boys and trouble. The trailer has arrived for (season one) Part 2 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, launching globally April 5, Only on Netflix. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina re-imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Part 2 finds Sabrina exploring her darker side, curious to learn more about her heritage, while struggling to maintain her friendships in the mortal world. Romantically, Sabrina is caught in an unholy love triangle with between sexy warlock Nicholas Scratch and salt-of-the-Earth mortal Harvey Kinkle. Meanwhile, The Dark Lord, Madame Satan, and Father Blackwood continue to conjure chaos in the Spellman household and the town of Greendale. And they aren't the only ones trying to raise hell. Everything is in question... relationships, identity, true intentions... when the devil's work is at hand.
The series stars Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Lucy Davis, Ross Lynch, Michelle Gomez, Chance Perdomo, Jaz Sinclair, Richard Coyle, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Abigail Cowen, Lachlan Watson and Gavin Leatherwood. The series has been renewed for a second season already (parts 3 and 4). Newcomers for parts 3 & 4 include Jedidiah Goodacre as Dorian Gray and Alexis Denisof as Mary Wardwell's boyfriend, Adam Masters.
Character actor Richard Erdman, who had a recurring role as the old student Leonard Rodriguez in Community, has died. He died on March 16 in an assisted-living facility in Los Angeles, California. He had been suffering from age-related dementia and recently had a fall. Mr. Erdman was 93.
Erdman's first sitcom starring role was as Pete Morrisey in the 1953-1954 ABC sitcom Where's Raymond?. The series was renamed The Ray Bolger Show for the second season in 1954-1955. Pete was Raymond Wallace's (Ray Bolger) landlord and press agent. It also starred Allyn Joslyn (1953-1954), Betty Lynn (1953-1954), Marjie Millar (1954-1955), Christine Nelson (1954-1955), Charlie Cantor (1954-1955) and Sylvia Lewis.
His next starring role was as Peter Fairfield III in the 1960-1961 NBC sitcom The Tab Hunter Show. Peter was the rich playboy and best friend of cartoonist Paul Morgan (Tab Hunter). The series also starred Jerome Cowan as John Larsen, Paul's Boss and the owner of Comics, Inc. and Reta Shaw as Thelma, Paul's housekeeper.
Erdman had a recurring role as the old student Leonard Rodriguez in 53 episodes of Community from 2009 to 2015. The series aired for five seasons on NBC before moving to Yahoo! Screen for the sixth and final season. Leonard was an elderly man who studied business at Greendale Community College. The series starred Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Chevy Chase and Jim Rash.
Some of his 1950s and 1960s sitcom guest appearances included The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (3 episodes), December Bride (2 episodes), Make Room for Daddy, Mister Ed, The Bill Dana Show, Petticoat Junction, The Dick Van Dyke Show (he also directed 2 episodes), Green Acres, Mr. Terrific, Hogan's Heroes, Mayberry R.F.D., I Dream of Jeannie and The Beverly Hillbillies.
His 1970s and later sitcom guest appearances included Here's Lucy, That Girl, Love American Style, Alice, One Day at a Time, Too Close for Comfort, Small Wonder, Cheers, She's the Sheriff, It's a Living, Wings, Out of This World, Hudson Street, The Bernie Mac Show and Weird Loners. He made his final guest appearance in a 2017 episode of Dr. Ken.
Erdman starred as Klugie, the staff photographer and office philosopher, in the 1962-1963 newspaper drama Saints and Sinners. Some of his drama guest appearances included Perry Mason (6 episodes), The Twilight Zone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Police Story, The Six Million Dollar Man (2 episodes), The Bionic Woman, Lou Grant, Quincy M.E., Murder, She Wrote, Beverly Hills 902010, Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia.
He also did work as a voice over artist. Some of his voice credits included Space Stars, The Dukes, Galtar and the Golden Lance, The Smurfs, DuckTales, Popeye and Son, The Flintstone Kids, The New Yogi Bear Show, Snorks, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Fantastic Max and The Pirates of Dark Water.
Erdman appeared in more than 60 films. Some of his best-known supporting roles were in The Men, Cry Danger, Stalag 17 and Tora! Tora! Tora!.
Mr. Erdman appeared in more than 160 films, television and theater productions during his career which spanned seven decades. We thank him for the many laughs and entertainment he brought us. He will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our Community message board. View photos in our galleries.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Monday, October 2
Son of a Critch - "Circus" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mark and Fox find themselves on a maybe-date to the fair; Ritchie's family hosts some new Filipino-Canadians who make him feel insecure about his heritage.
Run the Burbs - "Phamily Games Night" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Andrew and Camille use game nights to help Hudson; Ramesh worries Barb doesn't think he's expressive enough; Khia plans a movie night for Mannix.
Children Ruin Everything - "Screen Time" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Astrid and James enact a weekend screen ban; with new work assignments, they soon learn leading by example is more complicated than they originally thought; without the hypnotic power of electronics, they're in for an uphill battle.
American Dad! - "Multiverse of American Dadness" (TBS, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Hayley searches for a runaway Steve so they can go to a Shaggy concert.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 2)
Monday, October 2
- Garcelle Beauvais (The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has an interview with Garcelle at 11pm on E!.
- Gina Yashere (Bob Hearts Abishola) - Gina is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Patrick talks about Making It So: A Memoir on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Nicole Ari Parker (And Just Like That.../Second Time Around) - Nicole tells Sherri about her starring role in the off-Broadway show The Refuge Plays on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Zosia Mamet (Girls) - Zosia is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - NBC's Today catches up with Mindy sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
- Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica talks about directing First Lady of BMF on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso stops by and chats about hosting the new season of America's Funniest Videos and gives a behind-the-scenes look at his family life on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- The Cast of The Neighborhood - Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Tichina Arnold, Marcel Spears, Sheaun McKinney and Hank Greenspan celebrate the series' 100th episode on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
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