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
Wednesday, April 2
The Conners - "Fame, Flying Fists and Cold Feet" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners get a taste of fame when their family restaurant is featured in a reality TV show, which inspires Becky to become an influencer. Meanwhile, Jackie and Dan meet with a lawyer, and Darlene connects with someone at The Lobo Lounge.
Abbott Elementary - "Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Abbott teachers turn their open house into a carwash to help raise money for the school.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)
Wednesday, April 2
- Adam DeVine (The Righteous Gemstones/Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin/Workaholics/Modern Family) - Watch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about Sinners on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Sasheer and Greta are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
- Jennifer Lopez (South Central) and Jamie Foxx (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has interviews with Jennifer and Jamie at 11pm on E!.
- Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary) - Chris talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Judy Greer (Kidding/Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided/Arrested Development) - NBC's Today catches up with Judy in the 9am hour.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Kristin Davis (And Just Like That.../Bad Teacher/Sex and the City) - NBC's Today catches up with Glen and Kristin in the 10am hour.
- Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) - Tasha, who stars in Netflix's Surival of the Thickest, joins Tamron Hall to discuss how she found her freedom by sharing her story on her own terms and learning to embrace self-love, so check your local listings.
- Gabourey Sidibe (Difficult People/The Big C) - Gabourey talks about starring in the new Lifetime movie Give Me Back My Daughter on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared) - Seth is joining Drew to tell her all about his new show The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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