Monday, April 18, 2022

black-ish Finale Celebration This Tuesday; Remembering Liz Sheridan of ALF and Seinfeld

black-ish: A Celebration

Since its debut in 2014, the award-winning ABC hit comedy show black-ish has entertained and educated millions of viewers. The series brought audiences inside the difficult conversations and lived experiences many Black families have in America through the comedic lens of the Johnson family. A new ABC News special profiles the making of the groundbreaking show and explores the profound impact it had on society as it concludes its eighth and final season. The special features interviews with the show's all-star cast, including Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marsai Martin, Yara Shahidi, Miles Brown, Marcus Scribner, Laurence Fishburne, Jenifer Lewis and Deon Cole - as well as an exclusive look at the final table read and the cast's original audition tapes. black-ish: A Celebration reflects on some of the show's most important episodes, covering topics ranging from Juneteenth to postpartum depression. black-ish stars and guest stars such as Aloe Blacc also discuss their experience working on set, the comedic genius of the show and how they feel about the series ending. Creator and executive producer Kenya Barris and episodic director Eva Longoria talk about the unique chemistry between the cast and crew over years of filming and what they hope will be the legacy of the show. black-ish: A Celebration airs Tuesday, April 19 (9:31-10:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC, next day on Hulu.

The finale airs at 9pm, right before the special. In the finale, as Pops and Ruby prepare to move away, Dre and Bow consider if they should make a big life change as well. Grappling with this idea at work, Dre receives some unexpected advice from Simone Biles, who tells him to follow his heart. The Johnsons prepare for their goodbyes in the series finale.


Liz Sheridan

Actress Liz Sheridan, who was best known for her roles as Raquel Ochmonek on ALF and as Helen Seinfeld on Seinfeld, has died. She died on April 15 at her home in Manhattan, five days after her 93rd birthday.

Liz Sheridan, Josh Blake and John LaMotta on ALF

Sheridan had a recurring role as nosy neighbor Raquel Ochmonek on the 1986-1990 NBC sitcom ALF. Raquel and Trevor Ochmonek (John LaMotta) are the dense neighbors of the Tanner family who never figured out what was going on. Jake Ochmonek (Josh Blake, Seasons 2-3) is their nephew. Sheridan was credited on 34 episodes of the series. The cast of ALF included Paul Fusco (voice only), Max Wright, Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson, Benji Gregory and Jim J. Bullock (Season 4).

Liz Sheridan, Barney Martin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jerry Seinfeld on Seinfeld

She had a recurring role as Helen Seinfeld on the 1989-1998 NBC sitcom Seinfeld. Helen Seinfeld is Jerry's (Jerry Seinfeld) overprotective mother. She is married to Morty Seinfeld (Barney Martin - Morty was first played by Phil Bruns in the second episode). Sheridan guest starred on 34 episodes of the series from 1990 to 1998. She was the only secondary character to appear in all nine seasons.

Some of her other sitcom guest appearances included Archie Bunker's Place, Gimme a Break!, Oh Madeline, One Day at a Time, Three's a Crowd, It's Your Move, Newhart, Brothers, Who's the Boss?, Easy Street, Throb, Family Ties, It's a Living, Good Grief, Herman's Head, Empty Nest (2 episodes), Tom, Blossom, Double Rush, Cleghorne! (2 episodes) and Complete Savages. She provided the voice of Mrs. Stillman for seven episodes of the Fox animated series Life with Louie from 1994 to 1997. She was the voice of Mrs. Rothberg for a 2007 episode of American Dad!.

She appeared as Nurse Greta Bayley on three episodes of Santa Barbara in 1985. Some of her other television drama guest appearances included Kojak, The White Shadow, Tucker's Witch, St. Elsewhere, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Riptide, Moonlighting, The A-Team (2 episodes), Hill Street Blues, Remington Steele, Cagney & Lacey, Equal Justice, Murder, She Wrote (1991), Melrose Place, Sliders, Noah Knows Best and Numb3rs.

Andy Griffith and Liz Sheridan in Play the Game

Sheridan starred as Edna Gordon in the 2009 feature film Play the Game, a romantic comedy about a widowed grandfather (Andy Griffith) who learns dating tricks from his serial romancer of a grandson (Paul Campbell). Doris Roberts played Rose Sherman. It was Andy Griffith's final film credit.

She started out in show business as a dancer. She was reportedly engaged to James Dean in 1952. In 2000, she wrote wrote a book, Dizzy & Jimmy: My Life with James Dean: A Love Story, chronicling their time together in the early 1950s. She appeared on stage in plays and musicals on Broadway, co-starring with Meryl Streep and Christopher Lloyd in the 1977 musical, Happy End, before moving to Los Angeles.

Ms. Sheridan was a talented and funny actress. Helen Seinfeld was one of TV's sweetest and nicest moms. Sheridan appeared in over a dozen feature films and 60 television movies, mini-series and series. We thank her for the laughs and entertainment that she brought us during her career. She will be deeply missed.

It's been a sad past two weeks for Seinfeld fans. Estelle Harris, who played Estelle Costanza (George's mother), died on April 2.

Share your memories on our ALF and Seinfeld message boards. View photos in our galleries.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, September 11

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Some New York Nonsense" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie struggles to balance life, work and family; Mandy worries for Georgie’s wellbeing; and Missy (Raegan Revord) gets into trouble at school.

Ghosts - "I Know What You Did Thirty-Seven Summers Ago" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Sam and Jay host a fundraiser for the mayor to earn a favor for Jay’s restaurant, they learn of his bizarre connection to one of Woodstone’s ghosts. Odessa Adlon returns as Stephanie, the ghost who died on her prom night.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 8)

Thursday, September 11

  • America Ferrera (Superstore) - Catch America on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about The Bus on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Melissa Rauch (Night Court/The Big Bang Theory), Jessica St. Clair (Avenue 5/Playing House/Best Friends Forever/In the Motherhood) and Nico Santos (Superstore) - Melissa, Jessica and Nico are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Meagan Good (Cousin Skeeter/Raising Dad) - Meagan and Jonathan Majors talk about their much-talked-about romance, wedding, and the story behind their new fitness brand on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Zosia Mamet (Laid/Girls) - Zosia talks about Does This Make Me Funny? on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Karen Pittman (And Just Like That...) - Karen talks about The Morning Show on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti talks about The Queens Tour on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
  • Dylan Sprouse (The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody/Grace Under Fire) - Dylan discusses his film Under Fire on 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


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

09/11 - Remembering Polly Holliday of Alice and Flo; Prime Video's Overcompensating Renewed for Season 2
09/10 - Netflix Renews Leanne for Season 2; Hazbin Hotel Returns October 29
09/09 - HBO Comedy The Chair Company; Trailer for Disney's Vampirina: Teenage Vampire
09/08 - The Paper Renewed for Season 2, NYC Event on Tuesday; Final Season of Bel-Air
09/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 8, 2025)
09/06 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Shifting Gears Picked Up for Three Additional Episodes; The Paper Renewed for Season Two
09/05 - Crutch Premieres November 3 on Paramount+; Trailer for Season 2 of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
09/04 - Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween 2025 Schedule; Dancing with the Stars Season 34 Cast
09/03 - Live Staged Reading of Three's Company Episode; Freeform Acquires According to Jim for October
09/02 - Hulu's Chad Powers Trailer; BET's The Hospital Premieres September 10
09/01 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2025 Include Archie Bunker's Place and George Lopez
08/31 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 1, 2025)
08/30 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Saturday Night Live Cast Changes Loom; NBC Renews Password for Third Season
08/29 - HBO's Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television; Adult Swim Slates Two Series for October
08/28 - NBC's Password Renewed for Season 3 for 2026; Pluto TV Streaming CBS Shows Ahead of Fall Season
08/27 - Hulu's Deli Boys Renewed for Season 2 with Fred Armisen; HBO's I Love LA Premieres November 2
08/26 - English Teacher Returns on FX for Season 2; Jesse Williams Prime Video Series Trailer
08/25 - Doc Season 2 Trailer for Fox; Remembering David Ketchum and Jerry Adler
08/24 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 25, 2025)
08/23 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Home Improvement Cast Members to Reunite on Shifting Gears; The Paper to Have Binge Drop
08/22 - Hulu's Futurama Season 13 Trailer; A Man on the Inside Returns November 20 on Netflix
08/21 - George Lopez Coming to COZI TV; The Morning Show Season 4 Trailer
08/20 - Welcome Back, Kotter 50th Anniversary Marathon on Rewind TV; Apple TV+ Palm Royale Season 2 Premieres November 12
08/19 - Antenna TV's Archie Bunker's Place Labor Day Marathon; Larry the Cable Guy Prime Video Special
08/18 - Nobody Wants This Season 2 Premieres October 23; HGTV and Retta Continue Partnership
08/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 18, 2025)
08/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Paramount Plans Retool of Cable Networks; King of the Hill Revival Scores Big Ratings
08/15 - Catchy Comedy Acquires Hot in Cleveland; Netflix's Animated Comedy Strip Law Premieres in 2026
08/14 - Dan Levy's Netflix Comedy Series Cast; Betty la Fea: La Historia ContinĂșa Season 2 Premieres Friday
08/13 - Remembering Danielle Spencer of What's Happening!!; Trailer for Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building
08/12 - Netflix's Comedy Kiss or Die Premieres September 9; Lori Harvey Joins Reasonable Doubt
08/11 - Roku Originals Books a Return Trip with Season 2 Renewal of Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross; Netflix's Fixed Trailer