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
Thursday, April 10
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Baby Fight" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie and Mandy worry they’re not on the same page when they disagree about having another kid, and Mary, Jim and Audrey struggle to stay out of it. Young Sheldon star Zoe Perry returns as Mary, and Matt Hobby returns as Pastor Jeff.
Ghosts - "Smooching and Smushing" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Jay, Sam and the ghosts attempt to fix the ghost trap in hopes of getting Sasappis across the ghost boundary to visit his longtime crush, Shiki.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)
Thursday, April 10
- Mark Duplass (Big Mouth/Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Catch Mark on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jon Hamm (Grimsburg/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Jon stops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Your Friends and Neigbors on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) and Arden Myrin (Working/Still the King) - Esther and Arden are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Bowen Yang (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Bowen talks about The Wedding Banquet on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony stops by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Nick and Adrienne Warren perform on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andrew guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Jake Paul (Bizaardvark) - Jake and Logan Paul sit down with ABC News correspondent Will Reeve on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) and Delroy Lindo (UNPrisoned - Michael, Delroy and the cast of Sinners are guests onSherri, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Scott Clark is joining Drew and Valerie in the kitchen and showing them how to cook with funghi on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
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
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