Saturday, September 16, 2023
SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Cancels Wonder Years Reboot; Byron Allen Makes $10 Billion Offer to Buy ABC
Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This would typically be a busy and exciting week where we tell you about all of the brand new fall series that debut this week, and we're so excited about that... but no. There are still two entertainment industry strikes, and we have almost nothing to offer in this respect. But, it's still a busy new week anyway, with a lot of questions about the future of ABC as well as their cable networks. Let's get going!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
- The Wonder Years reboot on ABC got a lot of attention when it started, but after a very disappointing second season in the ratings (ABC's worst show of the year), it has been canceled. (Variety)
- We've got our first look at the Frasier reboot. (Deadline)
- Bill Maher has decided he is returning to the air next week despite the strike, but will other late night talk show hosts look for a loophole to return too? (Deadline)
- If you have Spectrum, the second largest pay TV provider in the nation, you now no longer have cable channels such as Freeform (and never will), as the provider worked out a deal with Disney that brought back ESPN, Disney Channel, and FX, but includes the permanent removal of many other channels, leaving many to wonder if Disney is going to shut them down in the near future. (Hollywood Reporter)
- Meanwhile, Nexstar has been having exploratory talks with Disney about buying ABC, and entertainment mogul Byron Allen has went a step further to make a $10 billion offer to purchase ABC and several of their cable networks (including FX and National Geographic). (Reuters)
- While Byron Allen is trying to buy ABC, his syndicated late night series Comics Unleashed is coming to CBS on Tuesday, as they need strike material to replace the already ended Late Late Show with James Corden. (Hollywood Reporter)
- TBS has acquired Modern Family. (SitcomsOnline)
WEEKLY PLANNER (SEPTEMBER 16 - SEPTEMBER 22)
- Catchy Comedy is going very old this week with a binge of Our Miss Brooks.
- American Horror Story returns to FX on Wednesday.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, April 17
Happy's Place - "AI-AI-No" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After Bobbie and Isabella request that Steve find how the tavern can save money, he discovers a way by replacing himself with an AI accountant; Gabby gives Emmett a crash course on proper texting etiquette.
Happy's Place - "Dart to the Heart" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bobbie tries to help Emmett and Isabella reconnect by forcing them into a darts tournament; Steve celebrates killing a spider until Takoda informs him about Iktomi, the Lakota trickster spirit.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 13)
Friday, April 17
- Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Watch Minnie on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Dustin Ybarra (Ghosts/Us & Them) - Dustin is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jim Parsons (Young Sheldon/The Big Bang Theory) - Jim talks about Broadway's TitanÃque with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- John Lithgow (Trial & Error/Twenty Good Years/3rd Rock from the Sun) - NBC's Today catches up with John in the 9am hour.
- Lena Dunahm (Girls) - Lena joins Drew to talk about her new memoir Famesick on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and 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)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (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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