SitcomsOnline Digest: Casting in Place for Punky Brewster Reboot; Happy Days Cartoon Spinoffs to Arrive on DVD

Saturday, November 02, 2019

SitcomsOnline Digest: Casting in Place for Punky Brewster Reboot; Happy Days Cartoon Spinoffs to Arrive on DVD

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we have casting news for the reboot of Punky Brewster, we're hearing news of a major acquisition by HBO Max, and we are also hearing news of some animated spinoffs of a pair of classic sitcoms coming to DVD. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Casting has been rounded out for the Peacock reboot of Punky Brewster. (Deadline)
South Park hasn't given up on mocking China at all. (Deadline)
Speaking of South Park, HBO Max has gotten the prized streaming rights to the series, for $500 million. (Engadget)
If you remember the 90s, then you remember the game Minesweeper. Now it's being considered for a game show format. (Deadline)
Bernard Slade, who created The Partridge Family and was a key figure in many classic sitcoms from Screen Gems in the 60s and 70s, has died at age 89. (New York Times)
ABC has picked up full seasons of some of their series. (SitcomsOnline)

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

TVShowsOnDVD has reported that a pair of animated spinoffs of Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley are coming to DVD in MOD form, with The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang and Laverne & Shirley in the Army set for release on Tuesday. Neither seem to be available to order just yet.

WEEKLY PLANNER (NOVEMBER 2 - NOVEMBER 8)

Decades is celebrating Carl Reiner (who will be accepting an award from The Paley Center for Media in a few weeks) this weekend as they present some of his work on The Dick Van Dyke Show as well as other shows.
This sort of slipped past us last week, but TV One is bringing back part of TGIF as they are now airing Family Matters every Friday night at 8, before it settles into a regular daily timeslot on November 11.
ABC has The Little Mermaid Live! on Tuesday night.
It isn't exactly as Christmas-y as what Hallmark and Lifetime have going on, but Freeform has started their Kickoff to Christmas, which will lead in to the more Christmas-y 25 Days of Christmas programming.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, November 20

The Goldbergs - "Angst-Giving" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Even though Beverly’s patience with Pop Pop is put to the test due to his endless Thanksgiving demands, she is able to put aside her own feelings to help heal the longstanding rift between Murray and Pop Pop. Meanwhile, Barry and Erica are ready to return home for the holiday, but Uncle Marvin accidentally drives them to Pittsburgh. Marvin attempts to make it right not knowing if they will make it to Jenkintown in time to celebrate the holiday. Judd Hirsch and Dan Fogler return to guest star as Pop Pop and Uncle Marvin.

Schooled - "Friendsgiving" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
CB celebrates Thanksgiving by having all of William Penn rally around him after a cooking incident at his house, while the alumni faculty football game brings out the competitive sides of Wilma and Coach Mellor.

Modern Family - "The Last Thanksgiving" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Cameron and Mitchell’s friends mistakenly assume they have split up and have definitely chosen a side; and Haley attempts to cook Thanksgiving dinner as a thank you for Claire and Phil’s support with the twins. Meanwhile, Jay invites Phil and Dylan out to fly his model plane, and Phil thinks this is his chance to reclaim his dignity after their first outing 10 years ago went so wrong.

Single Parents - "Every Thursday Should Be Like This" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Will gets busy cooking Thanksgiving dinner at Douglas’ home, he asks Angie to hang out with Tracy Freeze (guest star Jama Williamson). Angie reluctantly does so, only to realize that Tracy is actually wonderful, except for a secret she’s keeping from Will. Meanwhile, Miggy shows up to Thanksgiving dinner with the kids’ teacher, Ms. Pronstroller (Sarah Yarkin), as his date, and he enlists Douglas’ assistance in helping them form an in-person connection, given all of their previous communication has been via texts, DMs and memes.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "A Woman's Right to Chop" / "Waiting for Big Mo" (FXX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Trapped inside Paddy's with a suicidal jumper on the roof, the gang wonders if it should bother intervening; Dennis ponders the reasons of playing laser tag and if the pursuit of a victory is worth the effort.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Wednesday, November 20

Adam Driver (Girls) - Watch Adam on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Julie Andrews (Julie) - Julie stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. She will also be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Michael Rapaport (Awkward/The War at Home) and Tony Rock (Living Biblically/All of Us) - Michael and Tony are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Craig Ferguson (The Drew Carey Show) - Craig appears on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory/Roseanne) - Johnny is a guest on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Brie Larson (United States of Tara/Raising Dad) - Brie appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Lena Waithe (Master of None) - Lena is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Ed Quinn (One Day at a Time/2 Broke Girls) - Ed visits The Real, do check your local listings.
Tisha Campbell (Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha guest co-hosts The Real, so check your local listings.
Maura Tierney (NewsRadio) - Maura talks about The Report on People Now at 12pm.
Robin Givens (Head of the Class) - Robin talks about OWN's Ambition on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens/Anything But Love) - Jamie Lee talks about Knives Out on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Ashley Williams (The Jim Gaffigan Show/Good Morning, Miami) - Ashley talks about Holiday Hearts on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.