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
Saturday, December 7
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)
Friday, December 6
- Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Watch Ralph on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Ben is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Hilary Swank (Camp Wilder) - NBC's Today catches up with Hilary in the 10am hour.
- The Cast of Sex Lives of College Girls - The Sex Lives of College Girls creator Mindy Kaling is joining Drew on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Then, the case of the show, Pauline Chalamet, Alyah Chanelle Scott, Amrit Kaur, Mia Rodgers and Gracie Lawrence are all chatting about the latest season of the hit show.
- Ryan Destiny (grown-ish) and Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Ryan and Brian talk about their new film The Fire Inside on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Steve Howey (Reba) - Steve talks about NBC's Happy Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Krysten discusses her film Sonic 3 on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Melissa Joan Hart (Baby Daddy/Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Clarissa Explains It All) - Melissa is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (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)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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