SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

TV Land Developing Hot in Cleveland Spin-Off; Network Notes for ABC, CBS and Fox

TBS Summer 2010 Brings New Comedy Episodes and Series; TV One Early Evening Schedule Changes

This summer TBS will bring viewers lots of laughs with new original programming! From the network that brought you House of Payne and Meet the Browns, now brings you another African-American sitcom! We have reported a few times already about this new sitcom. The new sitcom, Are We There Yet?, is based on the Revolution Studios movie of the same name. The show will launch Wednesday, June 2 in the 9 p.m. hour as part of TBS's Wednesday primetime lineup, which includes the highly popular Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns. Are We There Yet? has a 10 episode order and if it does well, it will get a big bulk order as the other TBS Wednesday series.
TBS's newest original sitcom stars Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) and Essence Atkins (Half and Half) as Nick and Suzanne, a newly married couple whose blended family faces the challenges of everyday life. From dealing with the complexities of being newlyweds to weathering the storm of teenage children this series is packed with relatable moments for all families. Telma Hopkins (Family Matters, Bosom Buddies) plays Nick's mother, who isn't happy about his marriage nor her new role as grandmother. Keesha Sharp is Suzanne's best friend, who has a taste for men and the finer things in life. Comedian Christian Fennegan plays Nick's best friend and owner of a sports memorabilia store. And Ice Cube, who also serves as producer, plays a recurring role as Suzanne's SWAT officer brother.
Are We There Yet? airs after all-new episodes of Meet the Browns (Wednesdays 8-9pm). Repeats of House of Payne will follow Are We There Yet? in the 10pm hour for a full night of primetime comedy!
Next TBS presents a demonically funny new comedy -- Neighbors From Hell! The animated comedy will premiere on Monday, June 7 at 10 p.m. and it will air in between Family Guy repeats (9:30 and 10:30). The network's first original animated series follows the Hellmans, a family trying to blend in with the neighborhood while fulfilling a mission from Hell. The Hellman family are just your average demons trying to fit in while preventing humans from ruining their home -- hell! The series also has a 10 episode order.
And finally the fourth season of single camera sitcom My Boys will launch Sunday, July 25. The series will move to Sundays at 10:00PM. Last season it aired Tuesdays at 10:30PM. My Boys is a smart, relatable, contemporary comedy series about a group of friends who, with a healthy dose of sarcasm and wit, navigate the ups and downs of life and everything in between. They always make time to get together, drink beer, catch up, and support each other -- even while they’re cracking jokes. The fourth season has a 9 episode order.

Just last week we gave you details on TV One May 2010, now we have a bit of a schedule change. Beginning on Monday (May 3, 2010), the TV One weekday early evening programming block from 4pm-7pm will be changing until further notice. Basically Lincoln Heights' afternoon airing will be leaving the line-up. Lincoln Heights will continue to still air weekdays at 11pm and 2am. Since it is leaving afternoons, this makes way for Cedric the Entertainer Presents to return to the weekday regular schedule! Cedric will air weekdays in the 6pm hour, replacing an hour of Sanford & Son, which will slide to the 5pm hour. And that 5pm hour of Sanford & Son will be replacing an hour of Divorce Court, which will now move to 4pm replacing the Lincoln Heights afternoon airing.

TV One December 2009 Highlights; Accidentally on Purpose Gets More Episodes

This December on TV One, they have holiday stunts, special marathons, and more! We'll only cover the sitcom/TV series events, like usual. First up, on Saturday, December 12 beginning at 12 Noon through 8pm, TV One keeps with the Holiday Season Spirit as they air a Holiday Sitcom Marathon consisting of Christmas-themed episodes of favorite TV One comedies Good Times, The Jeffersons, The Hughleys, Amen, and Sanford & Son.
Beginning on Monday, December 14, TV One presents a Lincoln Heights - "Best Of Season 2" week-long event. The series is an original ABC Family series, but TV One is once again airing some repeats. The Sutton family is back for another stunt week on TV One...which starts out with a race riot at the high school that spills out into streets where violence catches up to Eddie, who shoots a boy who he thought shot at him. Join the Sutton Family as they must deal with life on the hard edge confronting such issues as racial violence, gangs, family issues, and an unexpected tragic event. Episodes in this special stunt week air Monday-Friday the week of Dec. 13 only at 9pm and 10pm with encore airings at 1am & 2am.
On Saturday, December 19 beginning at 2pm through 12am (encores until 6am), TV One keeps with the Holiday Season Spirit as they air another Holiday Sitcom Marathon consisting of Christmas-themed episodes of favorite TV One comedies Martin, All of Us, Eve, The PJs, For Your Love, Where I Live, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Half & Half, and Living Single.
Then beginning on Monday, December 21 and continuing through Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24), TV One presents a Christmas Comedy Countdown from 7pm to 11pm each night showcasing Yuletide episodes of your favorite TV One sitcoms leading up to Christmas. The Holiday countdown begins each night with Christmas episodes of Martin at 7pm followed by Good Times at 7:30pm. The 8pm to 11pm Christmas Comedies are in blocks. On Monday we get Martin & Living Single, on Tuesday we get Good Times & Amen, on Wednesday it is The Jeffersons & Cedric The Entertainer Presents and on Thursday we get All of Us & Eve on Christmas Eve.
And finally on Friday, January 1 (New Years Day) beginning at 9am through 8pm (encores until 6am), ring in your New Year in 2010 with Martin Payne as TV One presents the "Martin: It's All Love - New Years Day Marathon." Join Martin along with Gina, Tommy, Pam, and Cole as love is the theme of the day with the thin line between love and hate growing ever so closer in the world of Martin.

CBS has ordered an additional five episodes of its freshman comedy Accidentally on Purpose, bringing its season order to 18. Accidentally on Purpose is averaging 8.04 million viewers, 3.1/7 rating/share in adults 18-49 and 3.7/8 rating/share in adults 25-54 in its Monday (8:30PM) time period, according to Nielsen most current ratings (not counting the repeat on Oct. 26).
This Monday's episode did a decent 8.09 million, 3.1/8 rating/share in adults 18-49, and a 3.7/8 rating/share in adults 25-54, right on par with its season average. However, it was slightly off from its previous all-new episode on Oct. 19 of 8.26 million, 3.3/8 rating/share in adults 18-49, and a 3.7/9 rating/share in adults 25-54.

Day 88: WGA's Strike; Even More NATPE Notes; Day Break Joins TV One March; Family Matters Coming to Nick at Nite in...

It is day 88 of the strike. Nothing new at all to report. Tomorrow is my birthday...the best present I could get is certainly announcement that the strike is ending. It could happen. If not tomorrow then certainly in the next week or two.
ABC will launch the new season of Lost tonight! I have seen tonight's premiere and the second episode slated to air next week already...and I must say it is VERY good. I loved it and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I am not allowed to reveal any major story lines, but I will tell you someone we thought died in the season finale is alive and someone else who died will appear in the episode in some form. We will also get a nice flash forward in tonight's episode and an interesting flashback in next week's show. Are these people who are going to rescue them good or bad? You'll get bit more of a sense after these two episodes! Tune in!

Today is the last day of NATPE, but we will have a full wrap-up tomorrow if we missed anything. And we will try to give you a list of everything coming in Fall 2008 in syndication. Anyway, here are some latest NATPE updates:

- FremantleMedia North America is looking to revive the classic game show Match Game. They are in discussions with cable networks and is expected to lock up a deal soon. The company also is looking for an executive producer, with casting to follow. It was hinted at a "Coffee With" Q&A session at NATPE.
- GSN has bought a game show set to launch soon. The series is called Bingo America, an original, 40-episode series, beginning Monday, March 31 at 7PM/6C. Developed by executive producer Andrew Glassman, the fast-paced, "free-to-play-along-and-win" new series blends all the classic elements of trivia-based game shows with traditional bingo game-play. Bingo America and host Patrick Duffy (Dallas, Step by Step) will be awarding cash and prizes to both on-air contestants and at-home viewers in every episode.
More notes coming, if any. Check back with us.

This March on TV One we will get our normal sitcom stunts and also a launch of a new acquisition...the short lived action-packed drama Day Break starring Taye Diggs.
On Saturday, March 8 from 12 Noon to 8pm, spend a day with TV One's legendary male comedians - Martin (Lawrence), Cedric (the entertainer), and Eddie (Murphy) in an all-day marathon of comedies Martin, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, and The PJs that will keep the funny coming from all different angles.
Then, Saturday, March 8, and Sunday, March 9, in primetime, TV One offers a Taye Diggs Weekend with a two-day TV One premiere of the blockbuster film How Stella Got Her Groove Back starring a then-unknown Taye Diggs in his first big role alongside Angela Bassett and Whoopi Goldberg.
Then, on Sunday, March 9, at 10pm, Taye Diggs Weekend continues with the TV One premiere of the recent ABC network action drama series Day Break. In the series, Diggs plays a detective framed for the murder of an assistant district attorney. 'Groundhog Day'-style, Diggs' character relives the same day over again each episode as he tries to investigate the murder, discover who framed him, and clear his name. TV One plans to air all 13 episodes of Day Break, which includes 7 episodes never seen before on American television, as ABC never aired those (they only aired them on abc.com). TV One premieres the season with two back-to-back action-packed episodes and will air subsequent episodes on Sundays at 10pm and 1am, with rebroadcasts Thursdays at 10pm and Fridays at 12pm. I suggest you all watch this series, as it is very good and actually has a conclusion after 13 episodes.
And we will have more on this in the coming weeks, but joining the TV One line-up in April will be the sitcom The Hughleys! It will get an all-day April Fool's Day marathon from 10am-6am, before joining the network line-up weekdays at 6:30pm and 11:30pm...more details on April soon!

As I mentioned a few times this week, Family Matters is coming to Nick at Nite. The official announcement should be coming soon, but Nick at Nite has access to the show beginning in March, but it won't premiere then (see below). ABC Family Channel, which currently airs the show weekdays (7-8am and 1-2pm) will lose rights after the Feb. 29 airing. So it will be leaving ABC Family.
However, the show will not be premiering on Nick at Nite in March after all. Family Matters is currently set to launch in June 2008. I think the reason they are holding it back by three months is to give it much more promotion because it will probably do very big for the network. It's going to be the Summer of Urkel this summer on Nick at Nite for sure! It really didn't make sense to launch it in March as planned because there is not much time to promote it. We will certainly have full details in the coming months on Family Matters' launch on Nick at Nite this June! Get ready for Urkel joining Tim the Toolman, George, and Will on Nick at Nite! "Did I do that?"

Day 26: WGA's Strike; TV One January Highlights

It is day 26 of the strike, and the strike will continue until at least Tuesday for sure because they are not going back to the tables until then. Late yesterday the AMPTP unveiled a New Economic Partnership to the WGA, which includes groundbreaking moves in several areas of new media, including streaming, content made for new media and programming delivered over digital broadcast channels. The entire value of the New Economic Partnership will deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year. In response, the WGA has asked for time to study the proposals. While the AMPTP strongly preferred to continue discussions, they respect and understand the WGA's desire to review the proposals. They will resume talks on Tuesday, December 4. So that was last night, this morning the WGA rejected that proposal, calling it a "bad deal." So it is back to square one in discussions. Talks resume Tuesday. Let's hope they can settle this next week or at least before Christmas. NBC continues to announce schedule details. NBC will wrap up low rated new drama Journeyman after 13 episodes. Episode 11 airs Monday, December 10 at 10pm (this coming week we have a special episode of Life after the finale of Heroes). Episode 12 airs Dec. 17 and the final episode will air on a special night, Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 10pm. The Singing Bee will return to the schedule, this time as one-hour installments, for two Fridays, on Friday, Dec. 21 and Friday, Dec. 28 from 8-9pm. Deal or No Deal is expected to come back to Wednesdays at 8 soon. Due to the strike, NBC will overload on reality shows starting in January. Tuesdays 8-10pm starting Jan. 1 will be yet another season of The Biggest Loser...the current season ends Dec. 18, so the series will return after just a week off. We already said Celebrity Apprentice will air Thursdays at 9 starting Jan. 3 (the lead-in will be mixed sitcom repeats). Game show 1 vs. 100 returns Friday, Jan. 4 in its old 8pm timeslot, which means The Singing Bee is just for two weeks. Deal or No Deal will be Wednesdays at 8 only. The updated version of American Gladiators will launch with a two-hour premiere Sunday, January 6 from 8-10pm before moving into its regular Monday 8pm time slot on Jan. 7, head to head vs. ABC's Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann. So, NBC's new drama Chuck will be benched for awhile, though as we mentioned it has been renewed for the full season. TV One January will finally see the launch of the short lived sitcom Good News. On Sunday, January 13, TV One celebrates "the gospel” with an all day festival of spirited comedy and specials, including the season premiere of a brand new season of TV One's gospel music series, The Gospel of Music with Jeff Majors and the TV One premiere of the church-based sitcom Good News, starring David Ramsay as a young minister who takes over the pulpit at a church full of crazy characters. Good News marathon airs from 2PM to 8PM. Good News settles into a regular time slot Sundays at 7-8PM the following week. As for other schedule changes, weekdays 6-7AM Roc will replace 227, which means 227 will be off the line-up. weekdays at 2PM, comedian Wanda Sykes sitcom Wanda At Large replaces All About The Andersons. It will also air at 4AM replacing a Good Times airing. Overnights have been slightly rearranged. Martin will once again air back-to-back at 3AM and 3:30AM, followed by as we mentioned Wanda At Large at 4AM, and Hangin' With Mr. Cooper at 4:30AM. On Thursdays at 10PM, New York Undercover returns on a regular basis for an additional primetime airing per week. It now airs regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays in primetime at 10PM, with a repeat at 1AM. On Fridays at 11AM and 12PM, in place of the daily mid-day movie, TV One will be airing back-to-back episodes of A Man Called Hawk, the critically acclaimed but short-lived crime series starring Avery Brooks. On Saturday early evenings, Cedric the Entertainer Presents joins the Saturday lineup at 6PM and The PJs at 7PM. Saturdays from 5-8PM now features Martin Lawrence (Martin), Cedric the Entertainer, and Eddie Murphy (The PJs) – TV One's own 'kings' of comedy block. Other stunts: On Saturday, January 19, beginning at 12PM, get ready for an invasion – as TV One presents an "Attack of the Old School Stars" marathon of Parent'hood sitcom. It'll be classic guest stars galore, including LaWanda Page, Nancy Wilson, Coolio, Kym Whitley, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Antonio Fargas, Peabo Bryson, the O'Jays, Gary Coleman, Dawnn Lewis, and Ernest Thomas all the way until 10PM, leading into the series premiere of TV One's brand new stand-up comedy series, Laff Wit It, Rock Wit It. On Martin Luther King, Jr Day (Monday, Jan. 21), beginning at 9AM, TV One features a mix of films and series episodes that address the issues of race in America, including the movies Nothing But A Man, American Blackout, and Murder in Mississippi, and poignant episodes of Boston Public, New York Undercover, Good Times, All Of Us, Roc, and Parent'hood through 8PM. We will return with more news, if anything.

TV One Schedule Change, September Highlights, Fall Preview

TV One has made a schedule change for August. Cedric the Entertainer Presents will rejoin the line-up on August 6, but first on Sunday, August 5 from 8-10pm, TV One kicks off Cedric with a special mini-marathon presentation of FOUR never before seen on television episodes of Cedric the Entertainer Presents, a sketch comedy variety show starring Cedric the Entertainer. This special premiere mini-marathon of 4 back-to-back episodes which were never shown on television during the show's initial network run has an encore play at 11pm. )Programming previously announced for this time period has been pre-empted.
Then the series comes to the TV One schedule full-time starting Monday, August 6 in the weeknights at 9pm time-slot. The sketch comedy series has an encore play in the overnight at 4:30am. Both slots will replace Wanda at Large.
But that's not all Cedric...turning to September now, laughter comes full force to close out the holiday weekend on Monday, September 3 from 12-9PM, as TV One presents a marathon of Cedric the Entertainer Presents. This all-day marathon, which includes two more episodes never before seen on television at 8pm, replays in late night beginning at 11pm.
Other September highlights:
On Friday, September 28; Saturday, September 29; and Sunday, September 30, TV One presents a ROOTS: The Next Generations marathon weekend as all seven parts are aired over the weekend with Parts 1-2 airing on Friday beginning at 8pm, Parts 3-4 airing on Saturday beginning at 6pm and parts 5-7 airing on Sunday beginning at 6pm. The seven part 14-hour mini-series stars Georg Stanford Brown, Lynn Moody, Irene Cara, Stan Shaw, Marlon Brando, Richard Thomas, Debbi Morgan, and James Earl Jones.
The TV One fall schedule beginning on Monday, October 1 and will be announced soon, but we can tell you All of Us will be headed to the weekday schedule, as now the series has been canceled by The CW, so repeats now can air 7 days a week on TV One.
Stay tuned this week for more September schedules, such as TBS, TNT and FX!

We will be back with more news in a bit.