Monday, January 24, 2022
Remembering Comedian Louie Anderson; Central Park Returns March 4 on Apple TV+

Emmy-winning actor, game show host and stand-up comedian Louie Anderson, who starred as Christine Baskets on Baskets, has died. He died on January 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada, of complications from large B-cell lymphoma. Mr. Anderson was 68.
Anderson created and produced the 1994-1998 Fox animated series Life with Louie. The first two episodes aired in primetime on December 18, 1994, before moving to Saturday mornings on Fox Kids in 1995. The series was based on Anderson's childhood with 10 siblings, a sweet-hearted mother and a loud, war-crazed father. He provided the voices of Little Louie and Andy Anderson, Louie's difficult, but caring father. He won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program in 1997 and 1998.
He starred as Dr. Louie Lundgren on the short-lived 1996 CBS sitcom The Louie Show. Dr. Louie Lundgren is a psychotherapist dealing with his friends and family in Duluth, Minnesota. The series also starred Bryan Cranston, Kate Hodge, Paul Feig, Laura Innes, Nancy Becker Kennedy and Kimmy Robertson.
Anderson was the host of Family Feud from 1999 to 2002. He was a regular panelist on Funny You Should Ask from September 2018 until the show went on hiatus in 2020. He appeared on The New Hollywood Squares and Hollywood Squares. In 2013, he appeared on the ABC reality competition series Splash.
He starred as Christine Baskets on the 2016-2019 FX comedy-drama Baskets. Christine Baskets is the mother of identical twin brothers Chip Baskets and Dale Everett Baskets (Zach Galifianakis). Anderson received three consecutive nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and won once in 2016 for the role.
Anderson played Lou Appleton on the Perfect Strangers unaired pilot episode. When the show was picked up, he was replaced by Mark Linn-Baker in the role of Appleton (whose first name was then changed from Lou to Larry) as the producers didn't think the chemistry between Anderson and Bronson Pinchot was quite right.
Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Trying Times, Grace Under Fire, Love & War, Scrubs, Half & Half, Joey, Young Sheldon, Search Party (5 episodes as Bob) and Twenties (2 episodes). His drama guest appearnces included Remington Steele, Chicago Hope, Touched by an Angel, Ally McBeal, Nash Bridges and V.I.P. (2001).
He starred as Maurice in the 1988 film Coming to America and the 2021 sequel Coming 2 America. Some of his other film credits included Quicksilver (1986), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), The Wrong Guys (1988), Mr. Wrong (1996), Cook Off! (2007) and Sandy Wexler (2017).
His survivors include his sisters Lisa and Shanna Anderson.
Mr. Anderson was a gifted comedian and performer. His late night talk show appearances were always very funny. We thank him for the many laughs and entertainment he brought us during his career. He will be sorely missed.
Share your memories on our Baskets message board. View photos in our galleries.
We also remember television and film director Jim Drake. He worked on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976-1977), Gimme a Break!, The Golden Girls and Night Court. He died on January 10 in Freeland, Washington. Mr. Drake was 77.
Some of his sitcom directing credits included Alice (2 episodes), Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (157), Fernwood Tonight (8), The Facts of Life (3), Sanford (26), Gimme a Break! (14), Buffalo Bill (9), We Got It Made (6), Domestic Life (5), Double Trouble (5), Newhart (5), It's Your Move (4), The Golden Girls (8), Who's the Boss? (5), Roomies (5), Boys Will Be Boys (9), Night Court (63), Dave's World (24), The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (7) and The Suite Life on Deck (2).
He directed the films Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987) and Speed Zone (1989).
In addition to his wife Brigit, he is survived by his daughter Christina, son Kevin and his daughter River, stepdaughter Christel Layton and husband Bob and their daughter Katrina, his brother Tom, and also by his first wife Kirsten.
Mr. Drake received Emmy nominations for his work on Buffalo Bill in 1983 and The Golden Girls in 1986. We thank him for bringing us many sitcom episodes from 1976 to 2008. He will be greatly missed.
Apple TV+ announced that Central Park, the critically acclaimed, hit animated musical comedy series, will return with eight all-new episodes on Friday, March 4 on Apple TV+. From creator, writer and executive producer Loren Bouchard, Josh Gad and Nora Smith, the second season of the series will debut three new episodes on March 4, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday thereafter through April 8, 2022. Central Park stars a renowned voice cast that includes Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Kathryn Hahn, Tituss Burgess and Stanley Tucci. New guest stars featured this season include Aparna Nancherla, Billy Porter, Catherine O'Hara, Ellie Kemper and Naomi Ekperigin. In a first look at the second half of the new season, Josh Gad and Rory O'Malley reunite for a catchy musical number called "You are the Music." The song is written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez and also features Tituss Burgess and Emmy Raver-Lampman.
As season two of Central Park unfolds with eight new episodes, the Tillerman family continues to navigate living in and caring for the world's most famous park. Molly experiences the trials and tribulations of adolescence, Cole is challenged by a truly embarrassing moment at school, Paige continues to chase down the Mayor's corruption story, and Owen juggles managing the park, his staff, and his family all with a smile on his face. Meanwhile, Bitsy inches ever closer to her sinister goal of claiming Central Park as her own; with Helen by her side, eternally wondering whether she's made it into Bitsy's will. Every step of the way, we are guided along by our friendly, fumbling, fiddler narrator, Birdie. The complete first season and the first half of the second season of Central Park are now streaming on Apple TV+. Since its global debut, the series has been recognized with Emmy Award nominations for stars Leslie Odom Jr., Tituss Burgess and Stanley Tucci, and an NAACP Image Awards nomination in the Outstanding Animated Series category.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, April 1
St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.
Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)
Tuesday, April 1
- Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
- Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
- Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
- Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
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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