Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Disney Reviving Zorro as New Series; Adult Swim Orders Smiling Friends

Disney Branded Television and Wilmer Valderrama are in development on a reinvention of the iconic Disney action-adventure-western series Zorro, with Valderrama executive producing and starring as Don Diego de la Vega and his dashing swashbuckling alter ego, the masked horseman named Zorro. The series in development is executive-produced by Gary Marsh, outgoing president and chief creative officer, Disney Branded Television, as part of his new multiyear production banner at Disney General Entertainment. John Gertz (The Mask of Zorro, The Legend of Zorro) of Zorro Productions, Inc., is also an executive producer.
Set in early California, the Zorro television series followed a masked avenger, the alter ego of the mild-mannered Don Diego de la Vega, as he defended the poor and acted as the scourge of military tyrants on his black stallion, Tornado. Zorro's trademark was the ragged "Z" symbol, which he slashed with his sword. A total of 78 original episodes aired from 1957-59. Four hour-long episodes were later filmed for airing on the Sunday night Disney television show, and episodes of the half-hour show were compiled into the theatrical features The Sign of Zorro and Zorro the Avenger. Valderrama's credits include the voice role of Agustin in Disney's Encanto, multiple seasons in the role of Nick Torres on NCIS and Fez on the iconic series That '70s Show, a role that garnered him numerous Alma Awards, Imagen Awards and Teen Choice Awards. Valderrama also provided the voice to the character Manny on Disney Junior's animated series Handy Manny and Gaxton in Disney's Academy Award®-nominated film Onward.
Adult Swim will be turning frowns upside down with Smiling Friends, its newest animated comedy series premiering Sunday, January 9 at Midnight ET/PT with two new episodes. Smiling Friends follows the employees of a small company dedicated to bringing happiness to a bizarre yet colorful world. The company consists of cynical Charlie and star employee Pim, each tasked with out-calls to cheer people up. There's also meticulous Allan who keeps things in order, mysterious Glep, and the unpredictable billionaire Boss who founded the company. The quarter-hour animated series is co-created by Michael Cusack (YOLO: Crystal Fantasy) and Zach Hadel (Hellbenders) and animated by Princess Bento Studio. The show's pilot first debuted on the network in 2020 and surprised viewers during its annual April Fools' Day stunt. Since then, the pilot has garnered 7 million views on YouTube and is one of the most-watched episodes on AdultSwim.com. Clearly, fans can't get enough of Pim and Charlie and their relentless journey to put a smile on their clients' faces.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, February 6
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Tire Convention and the Moral High Ground" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Georgie discovers that Jim’s annual tire convention trip isn’t what he says it is. Meanwhile, Mandy has doubts about the strength of her and Georgie’s marriage.
Ghosts - "Thorapy 2: Abandonment Issues" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Thor returns to therapy to work through his angst over being abandoned by his Viking shipmates. Also, Jay’s sister, Bela (Punam Patel), attempts to help him with the restaurant.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 3)
Thursday, February 6
- Rob Lowe (Unstable/The Grinder/Parks and Recreation/A New Kind of Family) - Catch Rob on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kieran Culkin (Go Fish) - Kieran appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men/Togetherness) - Melanie stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. She will also be on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Pete Davidson (Bupkis) - Pete appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ramona Young (Santa Clarita Diet/Man Seeking Woman/The Real O'Neals) - Ramona is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ke Huy Quan (Head of the Class/Together We Stand) - Ke appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm. He will also be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Patricia Field (Sex and the City costume designer) - Emmy® Award-winning and Academy Award®-nominated costume designer Patricia Field chats about her documentary Happy Clothes, which takes us behind the scenes on iconic shows such as Sex and the City, Emily in Paris and more on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew and Valerie are joined by Carla Hall in the kitchen to whip up some delicious cozy food on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - The cast of the new movie Kinda Pregnant join Drew to dish on their new film on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Bookie) - Sebastian talks about Max's Bookie on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
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
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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