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

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.