Monday, December 20, 2021
COZI TV Columbo Toast on New Year's Day, Brings Back McMillan and Wife, Banacek and McCloud; Better Things Final Season Premieres Feb. 28
COZI TV is offering a special toast to Columbo fans from coast-to-coast this New Year's Day – and keeping the spirits flowing on Saturdays throughout the year. The national multicast network will kick off 2022 with a Columbo marathon beginning at 8:00am ET on Saturday, January 1, 2022 and continuing throughout the day. One week later on Saturday, Jan. 8, Peter Falk returns in a new, weekly "Columbo and Company" Saturday block complete with six hours of the beloved television drama along with new episodes of McMillan and Wife, Banacek and McCloud; all part of NBC's iconic Mystery Movie "wheel" series from the early 1970s. Check local listings for details, but "Columbo and Company" will air on Saturdays from 8am-3pm and with more Columbo in Saturday primetime starting at 8pm. These dramas join previously announced sitcoms Amen (weekdays 3-4pm) and Gimme a Break! (weekdays 4-5pm) starting January 3.
Columbo made its television series debut September 15, 1971 on NBC. The series ran for a total of 10 seasons, shifting to ABC for its final three seasons, along with various specials through its time on television. Peter Falk won four Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the rumpled, cigar-smoking homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo homicide detective throughout its run. Directors of the series through its 10 seasons included Steven Spielberg, Ben Gazzara, and Jonathan Demme along with many celebrity guest appearances.
The acclaimed and award-winning comedy series Better Things, directed by, produced by and starring Pamela Adlon, will premiere its fifth and final season on Monday, February 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX and streaming on Hulu. The premiere event will feature the first two episodes of the fifth season, followed by a new episode each subsequent week. In its fifth and final chapter, Better Things focuses on 'the road ahead' for its unconventional, unfiltered heroine, Sam Fox (Pamela Adlon), so devoted to her life as a working actor and single mother of three that she's left little time for that one elusive thing: herself. As she navigates three daughters, each coming of age; the challenges of her chosen career; and her mother's increasing signs of aging (as well as her own) - Sam embraces each moment, and each member of her family, with a fierce love, raw honesty and biting humor. As each of the Fox women come of age into the next phase of their life, they are inspired to reevaluate themselves, learn from the past and find their own direction.
Pamela Adlon stars in Better Things for which she is also an executive producer, writer and the sole director for season five. In addition to Adlon, the series stars Mikey Madison, Hannah Riley, Olivia Edward and Celia Imrie. Better Things is produced by FX Productions. The final season will also feature guest stars Lena Waithe, Ron Cephas Jones, Danny Trejo, Marty Krofft, Clive Russell, Casey Wilson, Rainbow Sun Francks, Angela Kinsey, Kevin Michael Richardson, Nelson Lee, Lennon Parham and Usman Ally, as well as the return of Diedrich Bader, Kevin Pollak, Rosalind Chao, Judy Gold, Cree Summer, Alysia Reiner, Greg Cromer, Dominic Burgess, Matthew Glave and Mario Cantone.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 22
Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.
Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Wednesday, January 22
- Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy 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.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (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
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