Showtime Gets Vanessa Bayer Comedy Pilot; Jeopardy! Sees Who's the GOAT on ABC Primetime

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Showtime Gets Vanessa Bayer Comedy Pilot; Jeopardy! Sees Who's the GOAT on ABC Primetime

Showtime has announced a pilot order for the half-hour comedy series Big Deal, starring and executive produced by Emmy nominee Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live). Bayer co-created the project with Emmy nominee Jeremy Beiler (Saturday Night Live), who will also executive produce. Emmy winner Jessi Klein (Inside Amy Schumer, Black Monday, Big Mouth) will serve as showrunner and executive produce along with Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, Wet Hot American Summer), who will direct. Annapurna's Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle will also executive produce. Produced by Showtime, Big Deal is a grounded comedy in which Bayer plays a character, inspired by her own past, who overcame childhood leukemia to achieve her lifelong dream of landing a job as a QVC host.

Jeopardy - The Greatest of All Time

On the heels of the iconic Tournament of Champions, Jeopardy! is coming to ABC in a multiple consecutive night event with Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, premiering Tuesday, Jan. 7 from 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST on ABC. Hosted by Alex Trebek, Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time is produced by Sony Pictures Television. Harry Friedman will executive produce. This epic television event brings together the three highest money winners in the long-running game show's history: Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer. The Jeopardy! fan favorites will compete in a series of matches; the first to win three receives $1 million and the title of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time. The two runners up will each receive $250,000.

Ken Jennings became a household name during his record 74-game winning streak, the longest in Jeopardy! history. His winnings total $3,370,700. Brad Rutter is the highest money winner of all time across any television game show, with total Jeopardy! winnings of $4,688,436. He has never lost Jeopardy! to a human opponent. James Holzhauer holds the record for all 15 of the top single-day winnings records on Jeopardy!, and just won the 2019 Tournament of Champions. His winnings total $2,712,216.

Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time will air as follows in primetime on ABC:

· TUESDAY, JAN. 7 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST)
· WEDNESDAY, JAN. 8 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST)
· THURSDAY, JAN. 9 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST)
· *FRIDAY, JAN. 10 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST)
· *TUESDAY, JAN. 14 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST)
· *WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST)
· *THURSDAY, JAN. 16 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST)
*If necessary

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, July 3

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color! - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
CBS will honor the memory of legendary actor, producer, director, writer, comedian and Emmy Award winner Carl Reiner with THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO CARL REINER, featuring two colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series, Friday, July 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. As series creator and co-star, Carl Reiner personally supervised the original colorization of the episodes.

The special features “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” which ranked #8 on TV Guide’s list of the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All-Time,” and “October Eve,” which Mr. Reiner considered to be one of the series’ funniest episodes. Both were written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff.

In “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” Laura Petrie blurts out a top secret on a national television quiz show, revealing that comedian Alan Brady wears a toupee. The episode, which was the show’s fifth and final season premiere, was originally broadcast on Sept. 15, 1965. “Coast to Coast Big Mouth” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1966.

In “October Eve,” a painting of Laura returns to haunt her when, despite her having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) takes the liberty of “undraping” her. The episode was first presented on April 8, 1964, during season three.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 29)

Friday, July 3

Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Watch Kevin on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:35am on ABC.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mark Duplass (Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa guest hosts a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Love/Married/Go On) - Brett appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Tika talks about the season finale of mixed-ish and her latest project helping new moms on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie/The Secret Lives of Men) - Peter talks about Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Grace and Frankie on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.