Wednesday, October 04, 2023
Apple TV+ Holiday Programming Lineup; 80s Stars Reunite in Lifetime Movie
In celebration of the holiday season, Apple TV+ announced a festive lineup of all-new kids and family programming featuring the debut of the heartwarming Apple Original special The Velveteen Rabbit, based on the beloved children's classic written by Margery Williams, launching on November 22, plus brand new holiday-themed episodes from beloved series including The Snoopy Show, Frog and Toad, and Shape Island, premiering globally December 1 and a special New Year's Eve themed episode of Sago Mini Friends on December 22.
Apple TV+ will also provide special free windows for nonsubscribers to stream the iconic holiday specials from Mendelson/Melendez Productions and Peanuts Worldwide, including It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown available Saturday, October 21 through Sunday, October 22; A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving available Saturday, November 18 through Sunday, November 19; and A Charlie Brown Christmas available Saturday, December 16 through Sunday, December 17. These specials are available to subscribers now and every day.
The holidays just got the diva treatment! As the tentpole of Lifetime's holiday slate, It's a Wonderful Lifetime, the network announced the movie, Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas starring iconic actresses Loni Anderson (WKRP in Cincinnati), Morgan Fairchild (Falcon Crest), Linda Gray (Dallas), Donna Mills (Knots Landing) and Nicollette Sheridan (Knots Landing). Filmed earlier this year, the movie follows five soap opera divas readying for a reunion show who take on playing cupid during Christmas to bring together their director and producer as they all learn the meaning of true Christmas spirit. The movie also stars newcomers Travis Burns and Taylor Ann Thompson. Christopher Atkins, Patrika Darbo, Alec Mapa and Donna Mills' real-life daughter, Chloe Mills, also star. Lifetime's full It's a Wonderful Lifetime holiday movie slate will be announced in the coming weeks.
In Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas, five glamorous soap opera actresses reunite to share the spotlight to shoot the final Christmas episode of their long-running soap opera. The producer, Alex (Travis Burns) and director Nell (Taylor Ann Thompson), who happen to be old college friends, do their best to keep things on the rails but as the ladies come together, old rivalries resurface that threaten to tear the whole production apart. With the show nearly canceled before it even begins due to the ladies' famous diva behavior, they reluctantly agree to set aside their differences and past secrets to "act" as if they all still love each other. When old sparks reignite between Alex and Nell, the ladies become eager to play cupid and conspire to bring the couple together. Along the way, the divas also discover that the love between them all is still very strong too. The movie's theme song Ladies of the '80s was written by Song Writer Hall of Fame's Steve Dorff and Michael Jay and is performed by '80s pop sensation Tiffany (I Think We're Alone Now).
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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