Friday, August 02, 2024
Johnson Returns to Bounce; According to Jim Star Starring in Lifetime Film; Remembering Erica Ash of Survivor's Remorse
Johnson, Bounce TV's popular dramedy focusing on four life-long best friends with the same last name, returns for an all-new season Saturday nights at 8pm ET / 7pm CT starting August 3 with two new back-to-back episodes. Johnson is a journey of love, self-discovery, and brotherhood, touching on hot-button topics including race, mental health, classism and the ever-evolving relationship dynamics between men and women -- themes that continue to be prominent in the new season ahead.
Johnson is produced in partnership with Eric C. Rhone and Cedric The Entertainer's A Bird & A Bear Entertainment, as well as Deji LaRay (the show's creator) and Thomas Q. Jones' Midnight Train Productions. The ensemble cast is led by Jones (P. Valley, Luke Cage), LaRay (Bosch, Greenleaf), Philip Smithey (Murderville, The Rookie), Derrex Brady (NCIS, First) with D.L. Hughley (The Original Kings of Comedy, The Hughleys). LaRay and Jones serve as show-runners and executive producers; Rhone, Cedric The Entertainer and Reesha L. Archibald serve as executive producers.
Lifetime announces the new original movie, He Slid Into Her DMs. Inspired by a true story, Courtney Thorne-Smith (Melrose Place, Ally McBeal, According to Jim) and Stella Gregg (daughter of Clark Gregg, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Trust Me) star in the movie about a teenage social media influencer whose stalker shows up on her doorstep after blocking him online. The movie explores the tragic consequences of how online and social media fame can fuel real-world violence. Alicia Coppola (Writer and director of the award-winning short film And You Are...?, Jericho, Why Women Kill) directs her first feature film with He Slid Into Her DMs, which premieres Saturday, September 28 at 8/7c as part of Lifetime's fall Ripped from the Headlines movie slate.
Actress and comedian Erica Ash, who starred in the final season of Mad TV and played M-Chuck Calloway in Survivor's Remorse, has died. She died from breast cancer in Los Angeles on July 28. Ms. Ash was only 46.
Ash was a cast member in the first two seasons (2006-2008) of the Logo sketch comedy program The Big Gay Sketch Show. One of her characters included LaTanya, an uncouth, loudmouthed fitness instructor who teaches classes with a "Chicago-style" twist (i.e. Chicago-style yoga, Chicago-style pilates).
She joined the cast of the Fox sketch comedy series Mad TV (stylized as MADtv) in 2008 as a feature performer for the 14th and final season, along with Matt Braunger, Eric Price, and Lauren Pritchard. Her impressions included Naomi Campbell, Whoopi Goldberg, Mo'Nique, Lisa Leslie, Raven-Symoné, and Michelle Obama.
Ash had a recurring role as Bridgette Hart, Kevin Hart's ex-wife, in the 2013-2016 BET reality television parody series Real Husbands of Hollywood. The series was co-created by comedian Kevin Hart, and follows the daily lives of him and other married celebrities, each playing a fictionalized version of themselves, as they venture through their surreal life in Hollywood.
She starred as Mary Charles "M-Chuck" Calloway in the 2014-2017 Starz comedy-drama Survivor's Remorse, which was created by Mike O'Malley and produced by LeBron James. The plot centers around the lives of Cam Calloway (Jessie T. Usher) and his family after he signs a pro-basketball contract and moves his family to Atlanta. M-Chuck is Cam's half-sister. The series also starred RonReaco Lee, Teyonah Parris, Tichina Arnold, and Mike Epps (Seasons 1-2).
Ash appeared as Grace, Moz and Daniel's younger sister, in three episodes of the Netflix sitcom Family Reunion from 2019 to 2021. She guest starred as Lydia in a 2024 episode of the NBC sitcom Extended Family. She provided the voice of Julie Vous Coucher for a 2020 episode of the Fox animated sitcom Bless the Harts.
In 2018, she starred as Gwendolyn "Gwen" Sullivan, a public defender, in the BET legal drama In Contempt. Some of her other television guest appearances included Cold Case, Shades of Blue (3 episodes), Legacies (4 episodes), and Sacrifice.
Ash starred as Kendra Brooks in Scary Movie 5 (2013). Some of her other film credits included Jean of the Joneses (2016), Uncle Drew (2018), We Have a Ghost (2023), and Outlaw Johnny Black (2023).
Ms. Ash was a talented and funny actress. We thank her for the laughs and entertainment she brought us on television and in films. She will be deeply missed.
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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