Wednesday, November 06, 2019
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: All in the Family & Good Times on Dec. 18; NBC Orders More Superstore Episodes

Live in Front of a Studio Audience, the live broadcast television event that captivated audiences with its all-star cast recreating episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons last spring, is set to return to ABC on Wednesday, Dec. 18, with newly recreated, live installments of Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin's Emmy(R) Award-winning series All in the Family and groundbreaking sitcom Good Times, created by Mike Evans, Eric Monte and developed by Lear. The holiday-inspired live event produced by Sony Pictures Television, will reunite executive producers Norman Lear, Jimmy Kimmel, Brent Miller, Will Ferrell and Justin Theroux. Kerry Washington, who portrayed Helen Willis of The Jeffersons in the original special in the spring, will join as an executive producer.
ABC's Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons was nominated for three Emmy Awards, and took home the prize for Outstanding Variety Special (Live). The premiere of ABC's Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons on Wednesday, May 22, averaged 14.29 million Total Viewers and a 2.86 rating in Adults 18-49 across all platforms after 35 days of TV playback and reached 23.5 million Total Viewers for its original Wednesday broadcast and two encore airings on Saturday, May 25, and Saturday, Aug. 17. Much more information on the upcoming All in the Family and Good Times special is still to come, including full casting details. What we do know is that the special will air for 90-minutes, live, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, just like the special last spring. And as previously announced, a third Live in Front of a Studio Audience special will air in spring 2020. Perhaps more Norman Lear greats like Maude, One Day at a Time or Sanford & Son?
NBC has ordered four more episodes of its hit comedy Superstore, bringing the the season total to 22 episodes, just like its order the last few seasons. So far in its fifth season, Superstore is averaging a 1.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 3.9 million viewers overall in "live plus seven day" Nielsens. The season premiere has surged to a 2.8 rating in 18-49 and 6.7 million viewers to date when viewing on all platforms is counted, easily tripling the episode's next-day "live plus same day" 0.8 rating in 18-49.
Superstore stars America Ferrera, Ben Feldman, Mark McKinney, Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nico Santos, Nichole Bloom and Kaliko Kauahi. The comedy centers around Amy, who recently was promoted to be the store manager and is the glue holding the place together, and Jonah, a dreamer determined to prove work doesn't have to be boring. Their fellow associates include the sardonic Garrett, the sweet and clueless Cheyenne (Nichole Bloom) and the perpetually dismissed Sandra. Also on the team are Glenn, who stepped down as manager in an attempt to have more family time, and Dina, the aggressive assistant manager who enforces Cloud 9 policy with an iron fist. Mateo was also part of the team, recently as the self-promoted floor supervisor, until being detained due to his undocumented status.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, October 8
Shifting Gears - "Date" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Matt and Eve go on their first date but have different ideas of what it should entail. Riley befriends the mom of Georgia’s new friend while Carter mediates a tiff between Gabe and Stitch. LA Dodger Mookie Betts and Lilly Singh guest star.
Abbott Elementary - "Cheating" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Melissa tries to outsmart her students; Tariq causes chaos in Janine’s class, and a new guidance counselor joins the school.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 6)
Wednesday, October 8
- Tim Allen (Shifting Gears/Last Man Standing/Home Improvement) - Watch Tim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- David Henrie (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place/Wizards of Waverly Place/How I Met Your Mother/The Pitts) and Janice Leann Brown (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place) - David and Janice talk about Wizards Beyond Waverly Place on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey talks about Luna and the Witch Throw a Halloween Party on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Ryan stops by for a talk with the hosts about John Candy: I Like Me on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Tom Papa (Come to Papa) - NBC's Today catches up with Tom in the 9am hour.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - The Drew Crew team is sharing their best pro tips including newest Drew Crewer Amirah Kassem sharing how to make the perfect party dish and easy ways to level up hosting on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Tom Arnold (Roseanne/The Jackie Thomas Show/Tom/The Tom Show) - Tom is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
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)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season
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