SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

BET+ Renews Churchy for Season 2 and The Ms. Pat Show for Season 5; Remembering Teri Garr

BET+ has renewed the original comedy series Churchy for a second season. The series, originally released on February 15, 2024, broke ground for BET+ quickly becoming the #1 scripted comedy series on the platform in its debut week. Inspired by/drawing from/from the mind of standup comedian "KevOnStage" Fredericks, Corey Carr Jr.'s life takes an unexpected turn when he's bypassed for leadership of his father's mega-church. Determined to prove his worth, Corey packs up his dreams and heads to middle-of-nowhere Lubbock, Texas, with lofty ambitions to build his own ministry from the ground up. However, after quickly stumbling upon the realization that small-town church life is an entirely different ball game, Corey slowly accepts that the path to spiritual leadership might just be funnier and more profound than any sermon could ever teach.

Fredericks is set to reprise his role as "Corey Carr, Jr." an ambitious yet naive new pastor. Season one also starred Anthony Elfoniza, Lexi Allen, London Solomon, Mark J. P. Hood, and Shani Shockley. Casting for season two includes series regulars Quin Walters and Tahir Moore with Nic Few, Tony Baker, and Tabitha Brown also set to appear. Kevin "KevOnStage" Fredericks and Melissa Fredericks will return to executive produce for KevOnStage Studios. LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, and Lezlie Wills are executive producers for SpringHill. The second season will be penned by comedy writers Richard A. Washington & David Murphy. Production for the new season and a premiere will be announced at a later date.

In DJ Khaled’s voice - 'And Another One!' 🎉 BET+ has renewed the Emmy-nominated multi-cam sitcom The Ms. Pat Show for a fifth season, keeping the laughs and realness coming! 🙌🏾 BET Media Group also locked in an extended deal with the one and only Ms. Pat, so you know BET is about to get more unapologetically Black, bold, and hilarious content coming to our screens. Since 2021, The Ms. Pat Show been serving up that raw comedy, and we're here for it all! 🔥 Prepare yourself for an epic new season ahead by catching up on all 4 season streaming on #BETPlus.

Actress Teri Garr, who starred in Good & Evil, Good Advice and Women of the House, has died. She died from complications of multiple sclerosis at her home in Los Angeles, California, on October 29. Ms. Garr was 79.

Garr had a recurring role as Amber in four episodes of the 1973-1974 NBC sitcom The Girl with Something Extra. Some of her early sitcom guest appearances included That Girl (2 episodes), The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry R.F.D., The Mothers-in-Law, Room 222, M*A*S*H, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, The Odd Couple, The Bob Newhart Show (2 episodes as Miss Brennan), Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers and Maude.

She starred as Denise Sandler in the short-lived 1991 ABC sitcom Good & Evil, which was created by Susan Harris. Good & Evil was the saga of two sisters – one "good", the other "evil" – and the backstabbing, jealously and power struggles that occurred between them. Denise Sandler, the evil sister, was heir to her mother Charlotte (Marian Seldes)'s cosmetics empire Sandler Cosmetics. The series also starred Margaret Whitton, Mark Blankfield, Lane Davies, Mary Gillis, Seth Green, Sherman Howard, Lane Smith, Brooke Theiss, Marius Weyers and William Shockley.

Garr starred as Paige Turner in the second season of the 1993-1994 CBS sitcom Good Advice. Dr. Susan DeRuzza (Shelley Long) is a successful marriage therapist and the author of a best-selling book on the subject, Giving and Forgiving. Paige Turner is Susan's flighty, self-centered older sister, who had just moved to Los Angeles and became the new inept receptionist. The cast included Treat Williams, George Wyner, Christopher McDonald (season 1), Peter Onorati (season 2), Ross Malinger, Estelle Harris (season 1), Lightfield Lewis and Henriette Mantel (season 2).

She starred as Sissy Emerson in the short-lived 1995 CBS sitcom Women of the House. The spin-off of Designing Women starred Delta Burke, reprising her role of Suzanne Sugarbaker. Sissy Emerson is Suzanne's press secretary, a washed up reporter who had turned to the bottle a few years earlier, but was starting to clean up her act. The cast included Patricia Heaton, Valerie Mahaffey (episodes 1-4, 7), Julie Hagery (episodes 5-6), Lisa Rieffel (episodes 8-12), Jonathan Banks, Brittany Parkyn and William Newman.

Garr had a recurring role as Phoebe Abbott, the estranged birth mother of Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), in three episodes of the NBC sitcom Friends from 1997 to 1998. Some of her other sitcom credits included Dream On (2 episodes), Murphy Brown, The Larry Sanders Show, Frasier (voice), Men Behaving Badly, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Life with Bonnie, Greetings from Tucson and Crumbs. She stared as Talon Kensington in the 1986 CBS comedy miniseries Fresno.

She had her breakthrough appearing as secretary Roberta Lincoln in the Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth" in 1968. Some of her other televison guest appearances included Mr. Novak, Dr. Kildare, Batman, It Takes a Thief (2 episodes), Banyon, Barnaby Jones, McCloud (6 episodes), Tales from the Crypt, ER, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Felicity, Strong Medicine and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Garr was a regular cast member on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour from 1971 to 1974, dancing and acting in comedy sketches. In 1972, she landed a regular role on The Ken Berry "WOW" Show, a summer replacement variety series. She hosted Saturday Night Live three times in 1980, 1983, and 1985. She was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.

She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her comedic role as Sandy Lester, an acting student, in Sydney Pollack's romantic comedy Tootsie (1982). Some of her other film credits included The Conversation (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), Oh, God! (1977), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Black Stallion (1979), One from the Heart (1982), Mr. Mom (1983), Firstborn (1984), After Hours (1985), Let It Ride (1989), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), Dumb and Dumber (1994), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), Michael (1996) and Ghost World (2001).

Ms. Garr was a talented, funny and lovely actress. She was always a great late night talk show guest. She made everything she appeared in much better. We thank her for the laughs and entertainment she brought us during her career. She will be deeply missed.

We also remember singer and actor Jack Jones. He sang the opening theme song for The Love Boat from 1977 to 1985. He died from leukemia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, on October 23. Mr. Jones was 86.

The Love Boat theme song was composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Paul Williams. It was sung by Jack Jones in the opening sequence of the first eight seasons (1977-1985) and, in a different arrangement, by Dionne Warwick in the last season (1985-1986) and the four specials that followed it. Jones lip-syncs the song in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), appearing in a cameo as a lounge singer as Ted (Robert Hays) escapes from the hospital.

He provided the vocals to the theme song ("The Kind of Girl She Is") of the short-lived 1971 CBS sitcom Funny Face, which starred Sandy Duncan.

Jones played himself in the episode "The Vegas Show" of It's a Living in 1980. Some of his other sitcom credits included Hey, Jeannie! (pilot), The Love Boat, Get a Life and Night Court (1990). Some of his other television credits included Code 3, General Electric Theater, The Rat Patrol, McMillan & Wife, Police Woman, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Sweepstakes and Buddy Faro.

He won two Grammy Awards and received five nominations for Grammys. His recordings included "Lollipops and Roses", "Wives and Lovers", "The Race Is On", "The Impossible Dream" and "Call Me Irresponsible".

Television writer and producer Alan Sacks was the co-creator of Welcome Back, Kotter. He died from lymphoma in New York on October 22. Mr. Sacks was 81.

Sacks helped develop and co-create the ABC sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter with Gabe Kaplan in 1975, based on Kaplan's stand-up routine about his high school buddies in Brooklyn. He was also a producer for first season (1975-1976).

He worked as a production executive and producer on Chico and the Man from 1974 to 1975, a show created by Welcome Back, Kotter executive producer James Komack.

In 1986, he wrote and produced the skateboarding film Thrashin', which starred Josh Brolin, Robert Rusler and Pamela Gidley.

Television writer and producer Sherry Coben was the creator of Kate & Allie. She died from cancer at her home in New Milford, New Jersey, on October 16. Ms. Coben was 71.

Coben created the 1984-1989 CBS sitcom Kate & Allie. The series stars Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin as two divorced mothers who decide to live together and raise their children in the same home. Curtin won two consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, while Saint James was nominated in the same category three times. The cast included Ari Meyers, Allison Smith and Frederick Koehler.

She wrote for the ABC soap opera Ryan's Hope from 1980 to 1981. She was a writer and producer of the 1996 CBS Saturday morning children's sitcom Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.. The series starred Michael Galeota, John Achorn, Meg Wittner, Andi Eystad and Joey Zimmerman.

Actor Ron Ely starred as Tarzan in the 1966-1968 NBC series Tarzan. He died at the home of one of his daughters in Los Alamos, California, on September 29. Mr. Ely was 86.

Ely starred as Mike Madison in the CBS adventure/drama series The Aquanauts in 1961. He was best known for portraying Tarzan in the 1966-1968 NBC adventure series Tarzan. He also directed an episode of the series in 1967. He starred as Mike Nelson in the 1987-1988 syndicated revival of Sea Hunt.

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Father Knows Best, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (as Dobie's older brother in the Pilot), The Courtship of Eddie's Father and The Love Boat (3 episodes).

He guest starred in five episodes of Fantasy Island from 1979 to 1984. Some of his other television credits included Steve Canyon, The Millionaire, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Thriller, Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D. (1974), Wonder Woman, Matt Houston, Hotel, Blacke's Magic, Superboy, Tarzán, The Hat Squad, L.A. Law, Hawkeye, Renegade (2 episodes) and Sheena.

Ely starred as Clark "Doc" Savage Jr. in the 1975 action film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.

We thank them for their work on television and in films. They will be greatly missed.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: BET+, Churchy, Friends, Kate and Allie, Obits, The Love Boat, The Ms. Pat Show, Welcome Back Kotter, Women of the House