Thursday, July 11, 2019
Valerie Bertinelli to Host Food Network Series; Netflix Gets Katherine Heigl for Firefly Lane

Food brings families together, especially families who work together running restaurants, serving up some of the best dishes across the country. But, beginning on Monday, August 19, 2019 at 10pm ET/PT, some of these families will compete on Family Restaurant Rivals to prove their recipes are better than all the rest. Emmy(R) award-winning Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time, Hot in Cleveland) hosts the action of this culinary competition where family pride and $10,000 are on the line. They must endure real-life restaurant curveballs and please a panel of rotating judges including Kardea Brown, Jason Fullilove, Ray Garcia, Alex Guarnaschelli, Robert Irvine, Clinton Kelly, Antonia Lofaso, Bricia Lopez, Simon Majumdar, Christian Petroni, Courtney Rada, Aarti Sequeira and Jet Tila with delicious dishes, but only one family will be crowned the winner.
In each episode, three families face-off in two rounds of challenges requiring them to overcome obstacles and unpredictable twists, without letting family dynamics get in the way of success. Throughout 6 hourlong episodes, the competing teams tackle challenges from elevating childhood classics, to putting their own spin on meat and potatoes, and whipping up guilty pleasure desserts in their bid for the grand prize. On the premiere, Valerie tasks the families to make their restaurant's best lunch combo, but to make it more challenging they must adapt their time-tested recipe for picky eaters. Only two families make it to round 2, where they have to create an impressive noodle dish as they race against the clock. A surprise twist in the competition will leave the families reeling, and only one family will earn the $10,000 grand prize and keep their family pride.
Katherine Heigl (Suits, Grey's Anatomy) will star in Netflix's Firefly Lane, a new series based on the beloved book, as Tully Hart: a force of nature still bearing the scars of a traumatic childhood whose saving grace is her best friend, Kate, with whom she shares an unshakable bond over the course of four decades. Netflix has ordered 10 episodes for this one-hour drama. Katherine can also be seen in Suits, which is heading into its ninth and final season beginning next week (July 17). In Firefly Lane, Kate and Tully meet as young girls and become inseparable best friends throughout thirty years of ups and downs, successes and failures, depression and disappointments. When an unthinkable betrayal breaks them apart, the two women go their separate ways and it's unclear whether they will ever be able to reconcile.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Saturday, May 17
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 12)
Friday, May 16
- Lunell (Lopez) - Watch Luenell on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
- Benito Skinner (Overcompensating) - Benito appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) and Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Do Not Disturb/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Mayan and Jerry are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Luke Kirby (Étoile) and Gideon Glick (Étoile/The Other Two) - Luke and Gideon talk about Étoile on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley talks about his new series Tucci in Italy with GMA co-anchor Michael Strahan on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. He will also be on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Howie talks about America's Got Talent on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings) and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your lcoal listings.
- Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa talks about her latest project Mama I'm a Big Girl Now on Sherri, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and 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)
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