Thursday, June 27, 2019

Remembering Max Wright of ALF; The Office Reruns Move to NBCU Streaming in 2021

Max Wright

Actor Max Wright, who was best known for his role as Willie Tanner in ALF, has died. He died on June 26 from lymphoma at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey. Mr. Wright was 75.

Buffalo Bill

Wright's first sitcom starring role was as Karl Shub in the 1983-1984 NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill. Karl Shub was the nervous station manager at WBFL, a small TV station in Buffalo, New York. It also starred Dabney Coleman, Joanna Cassidy, John Fielder, Geena Davis, Charles Robinson, Meschach Taylor and Claude Earl Jones. The series received 11 Emmy Award nominations, including two for Outstanding Comedy Series.

ALF

He starred as Willie Tanner in the 1986-1990 NBC sitcom ALF. Willie Tanner was a social worker. He was the husband of Kate and father of Lynn and Brian. The series also starred Paul Fusco (as the voice of ALF), Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson and Benji Gregory. Recurring cast members included Liz Sheridan, John LaMotta, Josh Blake (seasons 2-3), and JM J. Bullock (season 4). It ran for four seasons and 99 episodes (102 syndicated episodes).

Wright appeared as Paul in the short-lived 1993 CBS sitcom Dudley. Paul was Dudley's (Dudley Moore) business manager and best friend. The series also starred Joanna Cassidy, Harley Cross, Joel Brooks and Lupe Ontiveros.

Norm

He starred as Max Denby in the 1999-2001 ABC sitcom Norm (originally called The Norm Show). Max Denby was Norm Henderson's (Norm Macdonald) second boss at the office. The series also starred Laurie Metcalf, Ian Gomez, Amy Wilson (season 1), Bruce Jarchow (season 1), Faith Ford, Artie Lange (seasons 2-3) and Nikki Cox.

Wright appeared in two episodes of Friends in 1994 and 1995 as Terry, the manager of Central Perk. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included WKRP in Cincinnati, Open All Night, Taxi, AfterMASH, E/R (1984), Benson, Cheers, Who's the Boss?, The Powers That Be, Murphy Brown, Roc, Monty, The John Larroquette Show, Mad About You, The Drew Carey Show and A Minute with Stan Hooper.

He starred as Dick Stetmeyer in the short-lived 1985-1986 NBC superhero fantasy series Misfits of Science. Dick Stetmeyer was the uptight director of the Humanidyne Institute. The series also starred Dean Paul Martin, Kevin Peter Hall, Mark Thomas Miller, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Holmes, Diane Civita and Mickey Jones.

Some of his drama guest appearances included Hart to Hart, Code Red, Tales from the Darkside, Code Name: Foxfire, You Are the Jury, Faerie Tale Theatre, Murder, She Wrote, Ghostwriter, Quantum Leap, Early Edition and High Incident. He appeared as Dr. Herbert Denninger in the 1994 ABC mini-series The Stand.

His film credits included All That Jazz, Reds, The Sting II, Fraternity Vacation, The Shadow, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Easter.

He was also known for his stage career in theater and acted at regional theaters around the United States. He received a Tony nomination in 1998 for his role on Broadway's Ivanov. Some of his other theater credits included The Great White Hope, The Twelfth Night, No Man's Land, Winters Tale and Merchants of Venice.

Mr. Wright was a talented character actor. He was one of the better TV dads as Willie Tanner on ALF. He was also very good in the underrated Buffalo Bill and Norm. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment he brought us. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our ALF message board. View photos in our galleries.



The Office

NBCUniversal announced that it has secured the exclusive domestic streaming rights to The Office (away from Netflix). All nine seasons of this beloved NBC sitcom will be available on the company's soon-to-be-launched streaming service for five years, beginning 2021. The Office is the number one series on SVOD. In 2018, it was streamed for over 52 billion minutes, and in April 2019, it was viewed nearly twice as much as the next most-viewed program on SVOD.

Produced by Universal Television in association with Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille Productions, The Office takes a hilarious documentary-style look at the humorous, and sometimes poignant, foolishness that plagues the 9-to-5 world. Based on the award-winning BBC hit, The Office is a fly-on-the-wall "docu-reality" parody of modern American office life that delves into the lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin, a paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The show, which premiered on NBC in 2005, created indelible characters like Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute and Pam & Jim, and launched the careers of some of comedy's most celebrated actors, writers and producers, including Steve Carell, Ed Helms, John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, B.J. Novak, Craig Robinson, and Mike Schur.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, April 2

The Conners - "Fame, Flying Fists and Cold Feet" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners get a taste of fame when their family restaurant is featured in a reality TV show, which inspires Becky to become an influencer. Meanwhile, Jackie and Dan meet with a lawyer, and Darlene connects with someone at The Lobo Lounge.

Abbott Elementary - "Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Abbott teachers turn their open house into a carwash to help raise money for the school.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Wednesday, April 2

  • Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Watch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Sinners on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Sasheer and Greta are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
  • Jennifer Lopez (South Central) and Jamie Foxx (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has interviews with Jennifer and Jamie at 11pm on E!.
  • Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - NBC's Today catches up with Judy in the 9am hour.
  • Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - NBC's Today catches up with Glen and Kristin in the 10am hour.
  • Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) - Tasha, who stars in Netflix's Surival of the Thickest, joins Tamron Hall to discuss how she found her freedom by sharing her story on her own terms and learning to embrace self-love, so check your local listings.
  • Gabourey Sidibe (Difficult People/The Big C) - Gabourey talks about starring in the new Lifetime movie Give Me Back My Daughter on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Seth is joining Drew to tell her all about his new show The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

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)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

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

04/02 - Rick and Morty Season 8 Premieres May 25; Netflix's Tires Returns June 5
04/01 - Disney Renews Wizards Beyond Waverly Place for Season 2; Prime Video Details Final Season of The Summer I Turned Pretty
03/31 - Prime Video's Dance-World Comedy Étoile; Netflix's Tom Segura Dark Comedy Bad Thoughts
03/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 31, 2025)
03/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Gives Pilot Order to A Different World Sequel; Malcolm in the Middle Reboot Recasts Role of Dewey
03/28 - Pat Sajak's Final Spin on Wheel and Return of Jeopardy! Masters; Remembering George Foreman and Wings Hauser
03/27 - IFC Renews SisterS for Season 2; Netflix Orders Live-Action Scooby-Doo Series
03/26 - Hulu Spring 2025 Slate; The Making of The Americas Special Narrated by Tom Hanks on NBC
03/25 - Deli Boys Now Streaming All Episodes on Hulu; Heartland Season 18 on UP Faith & Family
03/24 - Peacock April Highlights Include Three's Company; Antenna TV's 50 Years on the Beat Barney Miller Anniversary Marathon
03/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 24, 2025)
03/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* Coming to DVD; American Dad! Moving Back to Fox
03/21 - Big Mouth Final Season; The Four Seasons Premieres in May on Netflix
03/20 - HBO's Brett Goldstein Comedy Special; Disney+ Adds The Simpsons 24/7 Stream
03/19 - Solar Opposites Final Season This Fall; NBC to Move Grosse Pointe Garden Society to Fridays
03/18 - Game Show Network New Shows Launch April 14; NBC Picks Up 3rd Comedy Pilot, While Bobby Moynihan Joins Tracy Morgan Pilot
03/17 - It's True! Ted Lasso Renewed for Season 4; Jane Goodall Returns for Jane Season 3
03/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 17, 2025)
03/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Neighborhood Renewed for Eighth and Final Season; NBC Picks Up New Cheerleading Comedy
03/14 - NBC Comedy Pilots Wheeling & Dealing; Hulu's Got to Get Out
03/13 - Prime Video Comedy Series Overcompensating Premiere Date; Eric Stonestreet Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/12 - Hacks Season 4 Premieres April 10; Nickelodeon Orders Wylde Pak
03/11 - The Neighborhood Renewed for Final Season; Max's The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast
03/10 - Netflix Renews Running Point for Season 2; Apple TV+ Trailer for The Studio
03/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 10, 2025)
03/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Tracy Morgan to Star in NBC Pilot from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock; Nobody Wants This Returning for Second Season
03/07 - Trailer for Apple TV+ Comedy Government Cheese; Remembering Saved by the Bell and TV Producer Peter Engel
03/06 - The CW Spring Premiere Dates; Henry Winkler Heads to HISTORY Channel
03/05 - Hacks Brings Out the Stars in Season 4; NBC Orders Pilot with Tracy Morgan
03/04 - Apple TV+ Side Quest Launches March 26; Krysten Ritter Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/03 - HBO's The Rehearsal Returns April 20; Sharon Horgan Signs Deal for HBO Comedy Series
03/02 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 3, 2025)