Monday, October 18, 2021

GAC Family Acquires Classic Sony Sitcoms; Remembering Betty Lynn from The Andy Griffith Show

Bewitched

As of Sept. 27, cable network Great American Country has rebranded into two networks: GAC Family and GAC Living. Classic Sony Pictures Television sitcoms have joined the lineup on GAC Family! The weekday schedule has blocks of Hazel from 6am-8am, Father Knows Best from 8am-11am, Silver Spoons from 11am-2pm, Bewitched from 2pm-5pm, I Dream of Jeannie from 5-8pm, then a movie double feature from 8pm-12am, with sitcoms returning in late night with more Bewitched from 12am-3am and more I Dream of Jeannie from 3am-6am. Weekends has less sitcoms, but still some airings! Silver Spoons airs 6-10am, Bewitched from 10am-1pm, I Dream of Jeannie from 1-2pm, then movies from 2pm-2am, before closing the night off with Bewitched from 2am-3am and I Dream of Jeannie from 3am-6am.

GAC Family announced the network's first original movies debuting this fall. The star-studded films kick off with An Autumn Romance, starring Chad Michael Murray, Jessica Lowndes, Dennis Andres, Moni Ogunsuyi and Michael Brown, premiering October 23; followed by all-new Christmas movies Much Ado About Christmas, starring Susie Abromeit and Torrance Coombs on October 30; and Christmas Time is Here, starring Dewshane Williams, Rukiya Bernard and Tom Pickett on November 13. A Kindhearted Christmas, starring Cameron Mathison and Jennie Garth premieres Saturday, November 20 at 8pm ET/PT.


Betty Lynn

Actress Betty Lynn, who was best known for her role as Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show, has died. She died on October 16 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, after a brief illness. Ms. Lynn was 95.

Lynn's first sitcom starring role was as June on the first season of the ABC sitcom Where's Raymond? from 1953 to 1954. June was the wife of Jonathan (Allyn Joslyn) and mother of Ginny (Frances Karath). The series was renamed The Ray Bolger Show for the second season. The Where's Raymond? cast included Ray Bolger, Richard Erdman and Sylvia Lewis.

She played Pearl on the short-lived 1958 ABC sitcom Love That Jill. Pearl was the secretary of Jack Gibson (Robert Sterling). The cast included Anne Jeffreys, James Lydon, Polly Rose, Barbara Nichols, Nancy Hadley and Kay Elhardt.

Don Knotts and Betty Lynn

Lynn appeared in the recurring role as Thelma Lou, Deputy Barney Fife's (Don Knotts) girlfriend, on the CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. She appeared as Barney's sweetheart in 26 episodes from 1961 to 1966. She reprised the role in the 1986 NBC TV reunion movie Return to Mayberry. The Andy Griffith Show cast included Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Francis Bavier, Elinor Donahue (1960-1961), Jim Nabors (1963-1964), George Lindsey (1965-1968), Aneta Corsaut (1964-1968), Howard McNear, Jack Dodson (1966-1968), Hal Smith (1960-1967) and Jack Burns (1965-1966).

Some of her sitcom guest appearances included The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Gale Storm Show (aka Oh, Susanna), The Farmer's Daughter, The Smothers Brothers Show (aka My Brother the Angel), Family Affair (4 episodes as Miss Lee) and My Three Sons (1 episode as Lois Bradley, 6 episodes as Janet/Janice Dawson).

She appeared as Viola Slaughter on eight episodes of the ABC western Texas John Slaughter from 1959 to 1960. Some of her drama guest appearances included M Squad, Lawman, Wagon Train, Bronco, Sugarfoot, Tales of Wells Fargo, National Velvet, Mod Squad, Little House on the Prairie, Police Story, Barnaby Jones and Matlock (4 episodes as Sarah).

Lynn appeared in many films during the 1940s and 1950s. Some of her credits included Sitting Pretty (1948), June Bride (1948), Mother is a Freshman (1949), Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), Payment on Demand (1951) and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956).

Betty Lynn

Ms. Lynn was wonderful as Thelma Lou. Thelma Lou was a sweet and kind character. It's surprising that she didn't appear in more than 26 episodes of the series. Lynn had lived in Mount Airy, the home town of Andy Griffith, since 2006. She continued to make monthly personal appearances in town at The Andy Griffith Museum, signing autographs and meeting with her fans. She will be deeply missed.

Share your memories on our The Andy Griffith Show message board. View photos in our galleries.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, October 7

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 6)

Tuesday, October 7

  • Jennifer Lopez (South Central) - Catch Jennifer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show) - Bill is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Andy Cohen interviews Adam on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri talks about The Sunshine Queens on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Son of Zorn/Suburgatory) - Cheryl talks about Unscripted on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Keanu Reaves (Swedish Dicks) - Keanu and Alex Winter talk about Broadway's Waiting for Godot and the Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Reunion on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel talks about Flip Side on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • John Corbett (And Just Like That.../Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/United States of Tara/Lucky/Sex and the City) - John talks about his film Soul on Fire on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (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)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original 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


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