Thursday, September 17, 2020
ABC Officially Orders Katey Sagal Series, Cancels Stumptown; SNL Goes Live All October

ABC has ordered drama series Rebel straight to series to debut in 2021 starring TV veteran Katey Sagal (The Conners, Married...with Children, Sons of Anarchy, 8 Simple Rules) in the title role. The premiere episode is written by Krista Vernoff and directed by Tara Nicole Weyr. Inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich today, Annie "Rebel" Bello is a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree. She's a funny, messy, brilliant and fearless woman who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves. When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost. The series stars Katey Sagal as Annie "Rebel" Bello, John Corbett as Grady Bello, James Lesure as Benji, Lex Scott Davis as Cassidy, Tamala Jones as Lona, Ariela Barer as Ziggie, Kevin Zegers as Nate, Sam Palladio as Luke and Andy Garcia as Cruz. More info to come, but look for it on ABC in 2021. In other ABC series news, they have reversed the decision for a second season of Stumptown and have canceled it due to reasons involving COVID-19. It could be shopped elsewhere, so it's possibly not totally canceled yet. It was slated to air Wednesdays at 10pm sometime this Fall on ABC but they hadn't even come close to starting production due to COVID-19. Stay tuned if it gets picked-up by another network.
New York Times bestselling author and two-time Golden Globe Award winner Jim Carrey to take on the role of Vice President Joe Biden for the upcoming 46th season of Saturday Night Live. And we have scheduling news! SNL will start the new season with five consecutive shows - Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT on Saturdays nights. SNL is planning to have a limited in-studio audience at Rockefeller Center for the upcoming season. The show will work closely with Gov. Cuomo's team. November and December dates have not been announced yet, however November 7 will be a repeat.
Saturday Night Live has added three featured players to its cast for the upcoming season:
· Lauren Holt is an actor, comedian, singer and improviser. She was a house performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Los Angeles and starred in the independent web series The Filth as well as the short film Parent Teacher Conference, for which she received a Best Actress nomination at the Atlanta Comedy Film Festival.
· Punkie Johnson is a comedian and writer whose recent credits include Space Force, Corporate, Adam Ruins Everything and Bill Burr Presents: The Ringers. She was a New Face at the Just for Laughs Festival in 2019 and is a proud paid regular at the world famous Comedy Store in Hollywood.
· Andrew Dismukes has served as an SNL staff writer since season 43. He is a stand-up comedian who was selected for the 2017 New Faces Showcase at the Just for Laughs Festival and has performed at other festivals, including Comedy Central's Colossal ClusterFest and the New York Comedy Festival.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, May 18
The Simpsons - "Estranger Things" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Bart and Lisa stop watching Itchy and Scratchy together, Marge fears that they'll start to drift apart.
Family Guy - "The Fat Lotus" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Peter suspects Lois of betraying his trust with Quagmire at a swanky vacation resort.
Krapopolis - "Ty Died" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Ty is tired of his family thinking he's not important enough to be assassinated.
Bob's Burgers - "Mr. Fischoeder's Opus" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Tina becomes the new advice columnist for the school newspaper; Teddy takes on more than he can handle when he volunteers to build a float for the Bounty of the Bay Parade.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 12)
Friday, May 16
- Lunell (Lopez) - Watch Luenell on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
- Benito Skinner (Overcompensating) - Benito appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) and Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Do Not Disturb/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Mayan and Jerry are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Luke Kirby (Étoile) and Gideon Glick (Étoile/The Other Two) - Luke and Gideon talk about Étoile on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley talks about his new series Tucci in Italy with GMA co-anchor Michael Strahan on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. He will also be on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Howie talks about America's Got Talent on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings) and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your lcoal listings.
- Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa talks about her latest project Mama I'm a Big Girl Now on Sherri, so check your local listings.
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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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