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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, July 13
Ghosts - "Patience" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
While Sam and the ghosts race to find him, Isaac comes face to face with Puritan ghost Patience (Mary Holland) for the first time since she was lost in the dirt.
The Simpsons - "Homer and Her Sisters" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a fight in an escape room, Krusty's aunt fixes Homer's relationship with Patty and Selma.
Krapopolis - "Ice Week!" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ty struggles to keep his cool when he gets the hots for a visiting reporter; Shlub is paid a visit by an old friend; Hippocampus and Stupendous risk missing the festivities altogether.
Animal Control - "Giraffes, Gorillas and Penguins" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The crew must contain a freak zoo break; Frank realizes that he needs to break up with Yasmin; Emily finds an unexpected benefactor in a celebrity businesswoman.
Going Dutch - "Pilot" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The colonel is reassigned to take emergency command of USAG Stroopsdorf in the Netherlands; Sgt. Conway provides the colonel and Shah with a tour of the things Stroopsdorf is known for... cheese, laundry and bowling.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)
Friday, July 11
- Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Fairview/Corporate) and Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Aparna and Whitney are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Malachi Barton (Stuck in the Middle) and Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Malachi and Meg discuss Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires and perform on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. They will also be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton talks about Black Coffee and Ice Water on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - CBS News contributor Lisa Ling talks with Margaret and Joel on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE sitdown with actress/director/author Krysten Ritter who recently released her new thriller/mystery novel Retreat, so check your local listings.
- Maggie Q (Pivoting) - Maggie Q talks about Prime's Ballard on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Tisha Campbell (Act Your Age/Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) and Wendy Raquel Robinson (Poppa's House/The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Tisha and Wendy chat about their film Operation: Aunties on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings. They will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
- David Zayas (The Bear/Saint George) - David appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
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)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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