Tuesday, March 26, 2019

TBS Celebrates Family Guy's 20th Anniversary; Apple TV+ Launching This Fall

Family Guy 20th Anniversary Marathon

On April 15, 2019 TBS will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Family Guy with a marathon of Seth MacFarlane's top 20 episodes. The anniversary celebration will continue throughout the month of April on tbs.com and the TBS app, where fans can enter to win Family Guy swag. Featured episodes will also be released weekly throughout the month of April. The marathon is set to run from 10:30 AM - 10:00 PM on TBS, leading into a new episode of American Dad! and a re-run of the Family Guy / American Dad! / Cleveland Show crossover episode. With MacFarlane's commentary on each episode, the linear schedule is below.:

Family Guy
10:30 AM - "Road to Rhode Island"
"This was the first Stewie/Brian road show we ever did, and it's the first episode that firmly established their unique relationship. It was our fresh take on that classic old trope of a dog and a baby hitting the road together."
11:00 AM - "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows"
"This episode won us an Emmy for its musical number. Before that, none of us had never seen an Emmy before."
11:30 AM - "North by North Quahog"
"Our first episode back from cancellation. It was a comedic riff on a Hitchcock classic, complete with a Bernard Herrmann score. This is the type of whip-smart, nuanced writing I was capable of 10,000 drinks ago."
12:00 PM - "Petarded"
"This is a brilliant episode and just so Twitter knows, I was out with the flu the day they came up with the title."
12:30 PM - "PTV"
"This episode was the culmination of our completely wholesome, non-sexual relationship with the FCC."
1:00 PM - "Brian Sings and Swings"
"This episode featured our dear friend, the wonderful Frank Sinatra Jr. It's also when I realized that if you have songs in an episode, you have to write way less."
1:30 PM - "Patriot Games"
"One word: Shipoopi."
2:00 PM - "The Griffin Family History"
"A fun premise and a great-looking episode. This was our first real foray into a non-traditional format."
2:30 PM - "Road to Rupert"
"Stewie dances with Gene Kelly. Enough said."
3:00 PM - "Blue Harvest Pt. 1" & "Blue Harvest Pt. 2"
"This episode is what finally put Star Wars on the map."
4:00 PM - "I Dream of Jesus"
"The bird is still the word."
4:30 PM - "Road to Germany"
"This was our homage to Herman Wouk's 'The Winds Of War.' And sadly, if you’re an American male under age 35, studies show this episode is all you know about World War II."
5:00 PM - "Road to Multiverse"
"Back before Walt Disney's Family Guy was a real thing, it was a fake thing."
5:30 PM - "Extra Large Medium"
"Psychics are frauds. You’re welcome."
6:00 PM - "Brian Griffin’s House of Payne"
"An amazing opening sequence with great visual effects scored by a 75-piece orchestra. Fun trivia: Family Guy employs more full-time tuba players than the rest of Hollywood combined."
6:30 PM - "Brian and Stewie"
"We wanted to see if our characters were interesting enough to sustain a full episode in one room, without gags or cutaways. In Hollywood, this is called a "bottle episode,” because it only utilizes one set, and also because the writers were drunk."
7:00 PM - "And Then There Were Fewer Pt. 1" & "And Then There Were Fewer Pt. 2"
"I think this is my favorite episode of the series. A classic format, great-looking direction, and, I hope, a genuinely surprising ending. It was also the first episode to air in HD. It was really cool to finally see Lois’s pores."
8:00 PM - "Road to the North Pole Pt. 1" & "Road to the North Pole Pt. 2"
"My dad’s in this one."
9:00 PM - "The Big Bang Theory"
"This was based on a story I wrote in college. The A.V. Club gave this episode a B, which is their highest rating I think."
9:30 PM - "Back to the Pilot"
"It was fun to re-visit an era before I hired people who could draw better than me."
American Dad! - New Episode
10:00 PM - "Fantasy Baseball"
CROSSOVER EPISODE: Family Guy / American Dad! / Cleveland Show
10:30 PM - "Hurricane"


Apple TV+

Apple announced Apple TV+, the new home for the world's most creative storytellers featuring exclusive original shows, movies and documentaries, coming this fall. Apple TV+, Apple's original video subscription service, will feature a brand new slate of programming from the world's most celebrated creative artists, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Octavia Spencer, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa, M. Night Shyamalan, Jon M. Chu and more. On the Apple TV app, subscribers will enjoy inspiring and authentic stories with emotional depth and compelling characters from all walks of life, ad-free and on demand.

Additionally, Apple debuted the all-new Apple TV app and Apple TV channels coming in May 2019. The all-new Apple TV app brings together the different ways to discover and watch shows, movies, sports, news and more in one app across iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, smart TVs and streaming devices. Users can subscribe to and watch new Apple TV channels - paying for only services they want, like HBO, SHOWTIME and Starz - all on demand, available on and offline, with incredible picture quality and sound; enjoy sports, news and network TV from cable and satellite providers as well as purchase or rent iTunes movies and TV shows all within the new, personalized Apple TV app.

Beginning in May, customers can subscribe to Apple TV channels à la carte and watch them in the Apple TV app, with no additional apps, accounts or passwords required. Apple TV channels include popular services such as HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, Smithsonian Channel, EPIX, Tastemade, Noggin and new services like MTV Hits, with more to be added over time around the world.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, July 3

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Sportsbook and a Breakup" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mandy finds out Meemaw runs an illegal sportsbook and decides she wants in on the action. Meanwhile, Georgie struggles to keep Mandy’s new job a secret.

Ghosts - "His Girl Shiki" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Pete makes good on his promise to find someone for Sasappis by bringing in a wisecracking 1940s screenwriter who also has the ability to roam.

Bob's Burgers - "The Shell Game" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bob competes in a competition to inherit Mr. Fischoeder's 100-year-old tortoise.

Grimsburg - "Molly" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Flute forgets to buy Stan a gift for his birthday, he steals an AI doll from the evidence locker; Wynona is forced to confront her ex-boyfriend.

Family Guy - "Row v. Wade" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Brian wins a boat on "The Price is Right" and decides to sail to Texas to help women seeking legal abortions.

The Great North - "Silence of the Dams Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Honeybee accidentally revives an old Lone Moose curse, sending a terrifying creature after her and the Tobins.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)

Thursday, July 3

  • Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) - Catch Steve on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Zach Cherry (Duncanville/I Feel Bad/Crashing) - Zach is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Sandy Honig (Three Busy Debras), Mitra Jouhari (Clone High/Three Busy Debras) and Alyssa Stonoha (Three Busy Debras) - Sandy, Mitra and Alyssa are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Rob Lowe (Unstable/The Grinder/Parks and Recreation/A New Kind of Family) - Rob discusses cancer research and how it changed his life with GMA lifestyle contributor Lori Bergamotto on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Laurence Fishburne (black-ish) - Laurence chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Justin talks about Nuked on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down), Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) and Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Adam, Britt and Ben talk about Severance on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - 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


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