Tuesday, November 05, 2019

ABC 2019 Holiday Specials and Episodes; E! Sets Date for Reality Sitcom

The Great Christmas Light Fight

ABC is the home for unforgettable holiday programming as the network celebrates the joy of the season. In November, the network serves up a bounty of Thanksgiving-themed episodes and the classic animated special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. In December, ABC decks the halls with special Christmas and Hanukkah-themed episodes - the return of fan-favorite series The Great Christmas Light Fight on Monday, Dec. 2 and The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition on Thursday, Dec. 12; and an all-new holiday movie, Same Time, Next Christmas, starring Lea Michele on Thursday, Dec. 5. Timeless cartoons and beloved holiday films will also return. The fun continues after Christmas with New Year's-themed programming ringing in 2020.

The Conners, Bless this Mess, mixed-ish, black-ish, The Goldbergs, Schooled, Modern Family, Single Parents, Fresh off the Boat, American Housewife and Stumptown are among the series to feature holiday episodes. 'Tis the Season for The Great Christmas Light Fight, The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition and CMA Country Christmas all return with new installments, along with the all-new film Same Time, Next Christmas joins beloved holiday specials and movies, including A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Sound of Music, Prep & Landing, Shrek the Halls, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, Toy Story Time That Forgot and more! View the ABC lineup of specials.


Meet the Frasers

E! is rolling out fresh pop culture programming in January with new episodes of the Very Cavallari, starring lifestyle tastemaker and entrepreneur Kristin Cavallari, and the series premiere of new reality sitcom Meet the Frasers, following Rhode Island celebrity medium Matt Fraser and his family. The third season of Very Cavallari premieres Thursday, January 9 at 9:00pm ET/PT, and Meet the Frasers premieres Monday, January 13 at 10:00pm ET/PT on E!

Matt Fraser, a 28-year-old psychic medium, and his 21-year-old pageant queen girlfriend Alexa Papigiotis are highly visible local celebrities in their hometown of Cranston, Rhode Island. Matt and Alexa are envisioning big things for their future; Matt's captivating live reading events are growing more popular and his book "When Heaven Calls" will soon be published. And while Alexa supports Matt on his coast to coast tour, she's got big dreams of her own. She's setting her sights on winning her next pageant title and procuring a fabulous engagement ring. This couple is definitely on the rise - as long as their overly-involved families don't get in the way. The eccentric family does everything together, from driving to Matt's readings in an SUV emblazoned with his likeness, to debating if there's such a thing as too much bling when Matt decides they need to wear matching jackets while working his events. Matt and Alexa can always count on their families to give them unwavering support and advice – even when they haven’t asked for it.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, November 8

Animal Control - "Baked Chickens and Rat Dogs" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Emily and Shred host their first party as a couple.

The Simpsons - "The Kosmic Kruiser" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Bart and Lisa break into Krustyland's most notorious failed attraction, only to discover that it hasn't been completely abandoned.

Universal Basic Guys - "Princess Tammy" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The Hoagies take a trip to Story World; Mark engineers a way to pay for the trip.

Grimsburg - "Flutey Friday" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Flute and Stan switch bodies for a day.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 2)

Friday, November 6

  • Sarah Paulson (Leap of Faith) - Watch Sarah on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere/Nightcap) - Jeff appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Maz Jobrani (Superior Donuts/The Knights of Prosperity/Better Off Ted) - Maz is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Natasha Leggero (Broke/Dice/Another Period/Free Agents) and Tommy Davidson (The Varnell Hill Show/The Proud Family/Malcolm & Eddie/Between Brothers) - Natasha and Tommy will be on Funny You Should Ask at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Mindy Kaling (Running Point/The Mindy Project/The Office) - ABC's Good Morning America has Deals & Steals with actress Mindy and ABC e-commerce editor Tory Johnson sometime between 7-9am.
  • Bill Hader (Barry) - Bill talks about The Cat in the Hat with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry discusses how therapy has changed his life, the two words he lives by and his new children's book, Detective Duck: The Mystery of the Flash Flood, on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. He also drops by to surprise Drew and talk about the fourth installment of his children's book series, Detective Duck: The Mystery of the Flash Flood, on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Hailee Steinfeld (Dickinson) - Hailee talks about Disney's Hexed on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Rob Riggle (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/Golan the Insatiable/Gary Unmarried) - NBC's Today catches up with Rob in the 9am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Nora Singley is joining Pilar Valdes and Valerie for some cooking with Drew and Ross at the tasting table on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Andy can be heard on the Morning Mashup on SiriusXM.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season Two (Blu-ray) Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete Second Season (DVD) Superstore - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/29/26 - Happy's Place - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/20/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD)
10/20/26 - The Brady Bunch - The Complete Original Series (2026 Release) (DVD)
10/20/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/20/26 - Shrinking - The Complete First and Second Seasons (DVD)
10/20/26 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Seventh and Twenty-Eighth Seasons (DVD)
11/03/26 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete Second Season (DVD)
11/03/26 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Ninth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/03/26 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Sixteenth Season (DVD)
11/03/26 - Superstore - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/24/26 - The Yogi Bear Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

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

11/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Nobody Wants This Renewed at Netflix; Grey's Anatomy Spinoff to Be Filmed in New Mexico
11/06 - NBC's New Rockford Files Premieres January 2; Bobby Lee: Finally Drops November 27 on Hulu
11/05 - Three's Company 50th Anniversary NYC Event Recap; Disney+ Reveals Details for A Proud Family Wizmas
11/04 - Mickey's Home Alone on Disney Jr. and Disney+; Pretty Little Liars Duo Reunite for Hulu Christmas Film
11/03 - Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas 2026 Schedule; HBO Renews Youth for Season 2
11/02 - Details on Only Murders Season 6; Haunted Hotel Renewed for Season 3
11/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 2, 2026)
10/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Criminal Minds Coming to an End; Baywatch Premiere Date Set
10/30 - VH1 to Bring Back America's Funniest People Starring Ms. Pat; Remembering Barbara Barrie and Patrick Stewart
10/29 - Peacock's Dig Trailer and Artwork; The CW 2026 Holiday Programming with A Very Brady Christmas, A Flintstone Christmas and More
10/28 - ABC 2026 Holiday Programming; Remembering Susan Saint James of Kate & Allie
10/27 - Fox's Baywatch Premieres January 6; aspireTV's First Sitcom Premieres January 7
10/26 - COZI TV's Halloween Schedule with Roseanne, George Lopez, The Munsters and More; Chloe Radcliffe: Eyes Down Here Stand-up Special
10/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 26, 2026)
10/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Reboots in the Works for Coach and Glee; Saturday Night Live Sets November Hosts
10/23 - Prime Video Renews Carrie for Season 2; Remembering Richard Riehle of Grounded for Life
10/22 - Abbott Elementary Returns Big After 7 Day Viewing; BET Renews ComicView: Rooftop Series
10/21 - Charmed Joining Hulu This Huluween; Prime Video's Comedy Variety Series Hosted by Nick Kroll
10/20 - Hulu's Phony Premieres Today; Janelle James Netflix Comedy Special Drops November 10
10/19 - Lil Kev Season 2 Premieres December 9; It's a Wonderful Lifetime 2026 Schedule
10/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 19, 2026)
10/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Hulu Picks Up Reboot for The X-Files; Roseanne Self-Produces New Sitcom
10/16 - Christa B. Allen in Night of January 16th Play Through Sunday; Remembering Sitcom Writer and Producer Bernie Orenstein
10/15 - Guest Stars for Peacock's Comedy Dig; Apple TV Renews Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed for Season 2
10/14 - HBO Brings Back Girls for 5 Episodes; Hulu's The X-Files Picked Up to Series
10/13 - Full Cast for Three's Company Live Reading in New York City; High Potential to Air After Super Bowl on ABC
10/12 - Bob's Burgers Holiday Special on Hulu; The Rookie and The Rookie: North Wednesdays on ABC in January
10/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 12, 2026)
10/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Colin Jost and Danny Chun to Launch Free Streaming Comedy; Paramount/Warner Merger Completed
10/09 - Apple TV Comedy Stick Returns November 4; News from New York Comic Con 2026 Day One
10/08 - FETV Acquires I Dream of Jeannie and The Bionic Woman; Netflix Renews The Hunting Wives for Season 3, Before Season 2 Launch
10/07 - More Live Three's Company Readings; Lucy Hale is Scarlett Holmes for Roku in 2027