Monday, April 19, 2021
Starz Announces Courteney Cox Comedy; Fox Pulls The Moodys

STARZ announced it has given an eight-episode series order for the horror comedy Shining Vale, starring Golden Globe(R) nominee Courteney Cox (Friends, Cougar Town), Academy Award(R) nominee and Emmy Award(R) winner Greg Kinnear, Oscar(R) winner Mira Sorvino (Hollywood, The Expecting), Merrin Dungey (Big Little Lies, The Resident), Gus Birney (Dickinson) and Dylan Gage (PEN15). Dearbhla Walsh (The Handmaid's Tale, "Traitors) directed and executive produced the pilot episode. The chilling half-hour comedy from Jeff Astrof (Trial & Error, Ground Floor) and Sharon Horgan (Divorce, Catastrophe) is the newest title from STARZ, which recently launched the #TakeTheLead initiative deepening the network's existing commitment to narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.
Shining Vale is a horror comedy about a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a small town into a house in which terrible atrocities have taken place. But no one seems to notice except for Pat, who's convinced she's either depressed or possessed - turns out, the symptoms are exactly the same. Patricia "Pat" Phelps (Cox) is a former "wild child" who rose to fame by writing a raunchy, drug-and-alcohol-soaked women's empowerment novel (a.k.a. lady porn). Fast forward 17 years later, Pat is clean and sober but totally unfulfilled. She still hasn't written her second novel, she can't remember the last time she had sex with her husband (Kinnear), and her teenage kids are at that stage where they want you dead. She was a faithful wife until her one slip-up: she had a torrid affair with the hot, young handyman who came over to fix the sink while Terry was at work. In a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, she and Terry cash in all their savings and move the family move from the "crazy" of the city to a large, old house in the suburbs that has a storied past of its own. Everyone has their demons, but for Pat Phelps, they may be real. Cox plays the lead role of Patricia "Pat" Phelps, with Kinnear playing her ever-optimistic husband, Terry Phelps, whose patience and self-control will be tested like never before. Sorvino plays Rosemary, who is either Pat's alter ego, a split personality, her id, her muse, or a demon trying to possess her. Dungey plays Kam, Pat's oldest friend and book editor. Gus Birney and Dylan Gage also star as Pat and Terry's teenage kids, Gaynor and Jake. Shining Vale will air on STARZ in the U.S. and Canada and on its international streaming platform Starzplay across Europe, Latin America and Japan.
Fox will pull The Moodys from the lineup beginning Thursday, April 29. Name That Tune encores will now air at 8:00pm ET when Hell's Kitchen finishes, with Last Man Standing remaining at 9:00pm ET and comedic puppet series Let's Be Real now airing at 9:30pm ET (instead of the planned 8:30pm ET, following Family Guy encores at 8), replacing The Moodys on the schedule. The latest episode of The Moodys only delivered 1.1 million viewers on Thursday (April 15). Episode 5 airs this coming Thursday (April 22), but the remaining three episodes have been pulled, as of now. Starring and executive-produced by Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominees Denis Leary (Rescue Me) and Elizabeth Perkins (Sharp Objects), The Moodys follows a tight-knit, but slightly dysfunctional, family through their misadventures.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Monday, October 2
Son of a Critch - "Circus" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mark and Fox find themselves on a maybe-date to the fair; Ritchie's family hosts some new Filipino-Canadians who make him feel insecure about his heritage.
Run the Burbs - "Phamily Games Night" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Andrew and Camille use game nights to help Hudson; Ramesh worries Barb doesn't think he's expressive enough; Khia plans a movie night for Mannix.
Children Ruin Everything - "Screen Time" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Astrid and James enact a weekend screen ban; with new work assignments, they soon learn leading by example is more complicated than they originally thought; without the hypnotic power of electronics, they're in for an uphill battle.
American Dad! - "Multiverse of American Dadness" (TBS, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Hayley searches for a runaway Steve so they can go to a Shaggy concert.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 2)
Monday, October 2
- Garcelle Beauvais (The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has an interview with Garcelle at 11pm on E!.
- Gina Yashere (Bob Hearts Abishola) - Gina is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Patrick talks about Making It So: A Memoir on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Nicole Ari Parker (And Just Like That.../Second Time Around) - Nicole tells Sherri about her starring role in the off-Broadway show The Refuge Plays on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Zosia Mamet (Girls) - Zosia is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - NBC's Today catches up with Mindy sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
- Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica talks about directing First Lady of BMF on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso stops by and chats about hosting the new season of America's Funniest Videos and gives a behind-the-scenes look at his family life on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- The Cast of The Neighborhood - Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Tichina Arnold, Marcel Spears, Sheaun McKinney and Hank Greenspan celebrate the series' 100th episode on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
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