Friday, August 13, 2021
New Smurfs Series Premieres Sept. 10 on Nick; HBO Max Orders New Comedy Sort Of

Blue and small, and standing only three apples tall, The Smurfs are set to make their Nickelodeon debut in an all-new series premiering Friday, Sept. 10, at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The news was announced by Nickelodeon, the number-one network for kids, and LAFIG Belgium and IMPS, the worldwide licensors for The Smurfs, alongside the official trailer reveal for the CG-animated series, which follows the beloved characters embarking upon rousing adventures. All-new episodes will continue to rollout Friday nights on Nickelodeon and debut internationally in the fall.
The original series marks the return of the globally renowned characters to television for the first time in nearly 40 years and follows Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy, Hefty, Clumsy and the other inhabitants of Smurf Village on all-new adventures, packed with humor, heart and high-stakes action. In the premiere episode, "Smurf-Fu," when Smurfette rescues Brainy from a giant snake, the other Smurfs ask her to teach them "Smurf-Fu." Next in, "Diaper Daddy," when everyone is tired of changing Baby's diapers, Handy decides to invent a robot that will do the job.
The voice cast pushing the charm and absurdity of the original comics to even greater heights includes: David Freeman (7 Promises) as Papa Smurf, the father figure keeping the other Smurfs in line; Berangere McNeese (Matriochkas) as Smurfette, a curious Smurf who is always ready to take part in new adventures; Lenny Mark Irons (No Man's Land) as Gargamel, a conniving human wizard with a bottomless thirst to capture Smurfs; Youssef El Kaoukibi (NRJ Belgium) as Brainy, who considers himself the smartest of the bunch; and Catherine Hershey (Boundary Games) as Willow, the brave and wise matriarch of a new tribe of girl Smurfs.
HBO Max announced a new eight-episode half-hour comedy series Sort Of, created by Bilal Baig (Acha Bacha) and Fab Filippo (Save Me). Commissioned by HBO Max and the CBC, the series is produced by Sienna Films, a Sphere Media company with the participation of the Canada Media Fund. Sort Of follows the journey of Sabi Mehboob (Baig), a gender fluid millennial who straddles various identities from sexy bartender at an LGBTQ bookstore/bar, to the youngest child in a large Pakistani family, to the de facto parent of a downtown hipster family. Sabi feels like they’re in transition in every aspect of their life, from gender to love to sexuality to family to career. A coming-of-age story, Sort Of exposes the labels we once poured ourselves into as no longer applicable...to anyone.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, March 11
St. Denis Medical - "Listen to Your Ladybugs" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Joyce launches a women's health initiative to unexpected results; Ron treats a patient who has all the answers; Bruce has an existential crisis.
Night Court - "A Little Night Court Music" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
At the behest of producer Sy Hoffman, Dan and Abby work together to turn Dan's memoir into a musical; Wyatt tries to help Julianne stay cool when her ex-lover turns up at the courthouse.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 10)
Tuesday, March 11
- Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Catch Joel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Mick) - Kaitlin stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Gillian Jacobs (Love/Community) - Gillian is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Don Johnson (Kenan) - Don talks Doctor Odyssey on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings) and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa is joining Drew and Ross to hit the headlines and talk about her new sitcom Happy's Place on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Nico Santos (The Z Suite/Superstore) - Nico talks about his hilarious new sitcom, The Z Suite, streaming now on Tubi, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show/Cosby) - Phylicia tells Sherri about her new Broadway play Purpose on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) - Eric talks about MGM+'s Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Nik Dodani (Murphy Brown/Atypical) - Nik is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
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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