Thursday, May 20, 2021

TNets Upfront: Chad and Wipeout Renewed for Second Seasons in 2022; The Dick Van Dyke Show in Color on CBS Friday (May 21)

Chad and Wipeout

The TNets (TBS, TNT and truTV) underscore their commitment to original unscripted and scripted programming in 2022, announcing second season renewals for freshman series Wipeout, Fast Foodies and Chad. These recent pickups join critically acclaimed scripted series, Snowpiercer, which was previously greenlit for a third season, the fifth and sixth seasons of Animal Kingdom, and unscripted series The Cube, The Big D, Rat in the Kitchen and Rhodes to the Top.

The TNets continue to grow from strength to strength dominating comedy in 2021 with four of the top five slots (Wipeout, Impractical Jokers, Go-Big Show and Chad). Wipeout premiered as the #1 New Cable Unscripted Series; Chad premiered as the #1 Scripted Cable Comedy; Go-Big Show ranks as the #3 Cable Comedy reaching more than 34 million viewers; and Impractical Jokers currently ranks as the #1 Cable Comedy for 2021.

Cable's #1 Scripted Comedy Series, Chad is a single-camera comedy that follows a 14-year-old pubescent Persian boy, played by Nasim Pedrad (SNL, New Girl, Aladdin) as he navigates his first year of high school on a mission to become popular. Chad's friendships and sanity are pushed to the limits as he uses every tactic at his disposal to befriend the cool kids, while enduring his mother's new dating life and reconciling with his cultural identity. Chad is currently airing on TBS on Tuesdays at 10:30pm ET/PT.

The TNets announced the July premiere dates for new and returning unscripted and scripted series. Kicking off July 1st, truTV fans can join The Tenderloins for their first-ever Awards Special, Impractical Jokers Awards Show celebrating the most iconic moments from the franchise's 200+ episodes at 10:00pm ET/PT, followed by the network premiere of Impractical Jokers: The Movie at 10:30pm ET/PT. On July 8th, new episodes from the ninth season of Impractical Jokers return at 10:00pm ET/PT on truTV, followed by, the series premiere of Backyard Bar Wars at 10:30pm ET/PT.

These shows join the previously announced launches of TBS' new high-stakes game show The Cube with host Dwyane Wade on Thursday, June 10th at 9:00pm ET/PT; the fifth season of TNT's critically acclaimed crime drama Animal Kingdom on July 11th at 9:00pm ET/PT; and a new installment of TBS' top-rated anthology, Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail on July 13th at 10:30pm ET/PT.

Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail

The third season of the top-rated anthology comedy series Miracle Workers, this time transporting cast members Daniel Radcliffe, Steve Buscemi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Karan Soni and Jon Bass to the American Old West will premiere on July 13th. Set in the year 1844, Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail follows an idealistic small-town preacher (Radcliffe) who teams up with a wanted outlaw (Buscemi) and an adventurous prairie wife (Viswanathan) to lead a wagon train west on the Oregon Trail across an American landscape which, much like today, is fraught with both promise and peril.




The Dick Van Dyke Show - Baby Fat & The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart

The Dick Van Dyke Show: Now In Living Color! is a new, one-hour special featuring two freshly colorized classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series airing back-to-back on Friday, May 21 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. The special features the season four episode "Baby Fat," written by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson, and the season five episode “The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart," written by John Whedon. The main titles and end credits of the two episodes are seamlessly combined into one set —at the beginning and end of the hour—with no interruption between each. The Emmy Award-winning series starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore as television comedy writer Rob and his wife, Laura Petrie; Larry Matthews as their son Ritchie; Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie as Buddy Sorrell and Sally Rogers, co-writers on the fictional The Alan Brady Show; Carl Reiner as Alan Brady; Richard Deacon as Mel Cooley; Jerry Paris as Dr. Jerry Helper; and Ann Morgan Guilbert as Millie Krumbermacher Helper.

In "Baby Fat," Alan Brady calls on Rob to ghostwrite some new material for a troubled Broadway play he's starring in. The episode is based on an incident that actually happened to co-writer Garry Marshall: he was tapped to fix a play for comedian Jack Carter, who insisted that the ghostwriter make himself scarce whenever the official playwright showed up. The episode first aired on April 21, 1965, during season four. "The Bottom of Mel Cooley's Heart," which aired late in the show's final season, served as a kind of "curtain call" for longtime supporting actor Richard Deacon, who finally got to take center stage when Mel Cooley stands up to brother-in-law/employer Alan Brady (played by Dick Van Dyke Show creator Carl Reiner). The episode first aired on Feb. 9, 1966. The Dick Van Dyke Show originally aired on CBS from Oct. 3, 1961, through June 1, 1966, finishing in the Nielsen Top 10 in three of its five seasons, and peaking at #3 during the 1963-1964 season. The show received 15 Primetime Emmy Awards, including three Emmys for Dick Van Dyke, five for Carl Reiner and two for Mary Tyler Moore.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, September 8

Universal Basic Guys - "Pet Projects (Pilot)" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Threatened by a doctor's kindness toward Tammy, Mark tries to get her an exotic animal; Hank bonds with the chimpanzee via its bluetooth; David's dog saves David and Mernft Man from a pet snake.

Bob's Burgers - "The Big Stieblitzki" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The family gets invited to Rudy's father's birthday party; Tina attempts to convince a woman to commit to a relationship with Rudy's father.

The Great North - "Welcome To Miami Adventure" / "Worst Drives Club Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Coming off the heels of her break-up, Judy is taken on a wild adventure with Honeybee and Aunt Dirt; Judy tries to learn to drive.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 2)

Friday, September 6

  • Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Watch Kumail on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - Michael appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Conner O'Malley (Shrill) - Conner is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Edie Falco (Bupkis/Nurse Jackie) - Edie talks about her film I'll Be Right There on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh is joining Drew and telling her about getting denied from his college's musical theater program and making his return to Broadway after eleven years with bestie Andrew Rannells on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Diane Farr (Splitting Together/Like Family/The Job) - Diane discusses the CBS drama series Fire Country on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series Check It Out! - The Complete Series Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series

04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

09/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Only Murders in the Building Renewed for Fifth Season; Plex Adds Knots Landing and More
09/06 - Hulu's Child Stars Documentary; Keke Palmer Heads to The 'Burbs for Peacock
09/05 - Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Cast; Tia Mowry We TV Docuseries
09/04 - Nick at Nite Acquires Modern Family; SNL Stars Go Live on Peacock Next Thursday
09/03 - The CW Swaps Two Nights for Fall 2024 Schedule; Retta Returns to HGTV
09/02 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2024 Include Barney Miller
09/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 2, 2024)
08/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at New Netflix Comedy; One Tree Hill Sequel in the Works
08/30 - Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween 2024; Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Premieres October 29
08/29 - Based on a True Story Returns in November on Peacock; Nikki Glaser to Host Golden Globes
08/28 - Acapulco Renewed for Season 4; Kiernan Shipka Max Movie
08/27 - Everybody Still Hates Chris Premieres September 25 on Comedy Central; Final Season of Somebody Somewhere Returns in October
08/26 - Frasier Returns September 19 on Paramount+ for Season 2; Ted Danson's Netflix Comedy Premieres in November
08/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 26, 2024)
08/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at New Netflix Comedy; TNT Picks Up The Librarians: The Next Chapter
08/23 - FETV's Sunday Mystery Matinee Block; Glen Powell Is Chad Powers for Hulu Comedy
08/22 - Pee-wee Forever on August 27 on Shout! TV; The Lincoln Lawyer Is Back This October
08/21 - NBC Moves Premiere Due to VP Debate; Seth Meyers Gets Live Primetime Special
08/20 - The Rockford Files 50th Anniversary Marathons on Great Entertainment Television (get.); Bad Sisters Returning for Season 2
08/19 - Schitt's Creek Stars to Host Emmys on ABC; Madison Iseman Joins USA Network Series
08/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 19, 2024)
08/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show Now Streaming for Free; Hulu Picks Up Mid-Century Modern Comedy
08/16 - NBC to Air Mr. Throwback Premiere; Ariel Winter Returns for New Sofia the First Series
08/15 - Comedy Central Acquires Family Guy; Hallmark to Launch Hallmark+ Streaming Service
08/14 - Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Trailer; Grotesquerie Gets Premiere Date on FX
08/13 - Audible Announces Two Scripted Comedy Podcasts; Modern Family's Julie Bowen's Peacock Series
08/12 - Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Assisted Living Return; First Look at Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
08/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 12, 2024)
08/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: A Sequel to A Different World and Reboot for Scrubs?; Cartoon Network Shuts Down Website
08/09 - Rewind TV's Welcome Back, (to School) Kotter Marathon; Gary Coleman Peacock Documentary
08/08 - Antenna TV Closing Out Summer with Back to School and Labor Day Marathons; Colin from Accounts Returns Sept. 26
08/07 - Hulu Fall 2024 Programming Slate; Onyx Collective's How to Die Alone Trailer Released