Wednesday, November 27, 2019
CBS Slates I Love Lucy Christmas Special on Dec. 20; Is 2020 the Year of the Rabbit?

I Love Lucy Christmas Special, a new one-hour special featuring two back-to-back colorized episodes of the classic series, will be broadcast Friday, Dec. 20 from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT on the CBS Television Network. I Love Lucy Christmas Special features "The Christmas Episode" and the newly colorized "Paris at Last." The main titles and end credits are seamlessly combined into one set at the beginning and end of the hour, with no interruption between the episodes. "The Christmas Episode" finds the Ricardos and Mertzes decorating Lucy and Ricky's Christmas tree and reminiscing about how their lives have changed since the arrival of the Ricardos' son, Little Ricky (Keith Thibodeaux). Flashbacks recall the night Lucy told Ricky she was pregnant, the time Lucy showed up unexpectedly as part of a barbershop quartet and the day Ricky and the Mertzes rehearsed taking Lucy to the maternity ward. "The Christmas Episode" was first broadcast on CBS on Christmas Eve, 1956. The episode was not included in the series' long history of rebroadcasts, first on CBS Daytime and later in syndication. Long thought to be lost, the program was rediscovered by CBS in 1989.
In "Paris at Last," the Ricardos and Mertzes arrive in the French capital, where Lucy encounters a sidewalk artist who sells multiple copies of the same "original" oil painting, and a con man who offers a better exchange rate for her American dollars than the one offered in the banks. Later, her attempt to have a quiet lunch in an outdoor café finds her not only unwittingly ordering a plate of snails, but paying the check with counterfeit French francs. Next stop: the Bastille? "Paris at Last" was originally broadcast on Feb. 27, 1956, and became an immediate viewer favorite. I Love Lucy Christmas specials have aired on the Network the past six years, each combining the holiday-themed episode with a different comedy classic. Beginning in 2015, "The Christmas Episode" has been shown colorized in its entirety, with fully colorized flashback scenes that had previously been presented in black and white.
IFC's new original comedy series Year of the Rabbit follows Detective Inspector Rabbit (Berry), a hardened booze-hound who's seen it all, and his hapless, new, by-the-books partner Strauss (Freddie Fox; Cucumber, Banana). While they're investigating a local murder, the lewd but insightful adoptive daughter (Susan Wokoma; Chewing Gum, Crazyhead) of the chief of police joins them, becoming the country's first female officer. Together, the trio must fight crime while rubbing shoulders with street gangs, crooked politicians, spiritualists, music hall stars and more.
Year of the Rabbit, co-produced by IFC, is directed by BAFTA-nominated Ben Taylor (Catastrophe) and written by Emmy(R) and WGA Award winners Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil (Veep), with additional material from Matt Berry. Ben Farrell and Toby Stevens will executive produce for Objective Fiction, with Hannah Mackay producing. The six-episode first season of Year of the Rabbit premieres Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 10:30pm ET/PT only on IFC.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, September 8
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Sting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Calvin and Marty send Courtney on a mission to find out information about Fuse Box’s impressive new rival. Meanwhile, Malcolm attends an event for his creative writing program at USC, where he scores a meeting with a book agent, Lisa (Angelique Cabral).
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Your Own Medicine" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Dave’s disastrous attempt to dunk a basketball, Calvin takes care of his injured neighbor. Also, Gemma befriends a cool mom group while babysitting Daphne.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 8)
Monday, September 8
- Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel (Family Tree/Morton & Hayes), Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins (Laverne & Shirley), Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls (The Simpsons) and Rob Reiner as Marty DiBergi (All in the Family/Morton & Hayes) - Watch Spinal Tap on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Langston Kerman (English Teacher/Bust Down/South Side/Bless This Mess) - Langston is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building/Mulaney/I'm a Big Girl Now/The Associates) - Steve and Martin are guests on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Charlie Sheen (Anger Management/Two and a Half Men) - ABC's Good Morning America has part two of Michael Strahan's interview with Charlie sometime between 7-9am.
- Marilu Henner (Evening Shade/Taxi) - Marilu talks about A Husband to Die For: The Lisa Aguilar Story on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie and Jamie Ray Newman talk about the summer's most talked about show The Hunting Wives on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn talks about Code 3 on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew will be on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Oscar Nuñez (The Paper/The Office), Alex Edelman (The Paper) and Gbemisola Ikumelo (The Paper) - Oscar, Alex and Gbemisola talk about Peacock's The Paper on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/For Your Love/Like Family/Love, Inc.) - NBC's Today catches up with Holly in the 9am hour.
- Malin Akerman (Dollface/Sin City Saints/Trophy Wife/Childrens Hospital) - Malin talks about Netflix's The Hunting Wives on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Valerie appears on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Halle Berry (Living Dolls) - Halle is celebrating aging helping a viewer over 50 achieve a glow up look on The Drew Barrymore Show, 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)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
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