SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been another busy news week, but we've got just a little bit of what is going on, including FXX seeing ratings success from their (still ongoing) marathon of The Simpsons, a Betty White guest appearance on a Freeform series, news of Fuller House DVDs, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Who to Follow: Andrew Rannells (Twitter), "Actor in New York. Sometimes LA. But mostly New York. And I was born in Nebraska."

Claim to Fame: As his bio on Twitter says, Andrew Rannells was born in Nebraska and considers himself an actor in New York (and sometimes Los Angeles). It's no surprise, then, that as an actor in New York, he can most frequently be seen on stage on Broadway. In fact, to date, his biggest role anywhere was probably his role of playing Elder Price in the original run of the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon (which, of course, has a TV comedy connection of its own in a way, as Matt Stone and Trey Parker of South Park fame are two of the three creators of that show). Most recently, he spent a few weeks playing a role in Hamilton. But Broadway musicals are not the only talent Rannells has, as he also does television as well. He starred in the NBC sitcom The New Normal immediately after his Book of Mormon run, but that only lasted one season. More recently, he has found success in the HBO series Girls. It was recently announced that series will be ending after the sixth season (which hasn't debuted yet), so

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! If you're completely snowed in this weekend, it might be a good time to catch up on some of your favorite series or binge watch some old classics that you may have missed before. Nonetheless, this week, we have news about pilot season, the return of a series that was a bit of a surprising summer success for NBC, several daytime program renewals, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

TUESDAY (JANUARY 26) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

• The Facts of Life - Season Eight (DVD, $29.99): Another release for those who skipped on the previous complete series release, this set brings all of the eighth season episodes together in one set.

Who to Follow: Beth Broderick (Twitter)

Claim to Fame: We had one aunt from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch last week (Caroline Rhea) and this week we've got the other one. Beth Broderick started out her career in some lesser known films, but by the late 80s and early 90s, she became busy with TV guest roles, on series including Matlock, Hooperman, Married... with Children, and more. She had a regular role on the short-lived Glory Days and appeared in series Hearts Afire. In 1994, she starred in The 5 Mrs. Buchanans, which only lasted for a season. She was cast in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch in 1996, and appeared on that series until 2003. Today, she still makes appearances in TV series on occasion, but does much more community theater and devotes herself to several great causes.

Celebrities will be put to the test in Celebrity Name Game, the hilarious new game show that combines the best of pop culture with the best of comedy. The syndicated, half-hour weekday strip is hosted by Emmy-nominated funnyman Craig Ferguson and executive produced by Courteney Cox and David Arquette. Celebrity Name Game premieres Monday, September 22 across more than 93% of the country including the Top 50 U.S. markets, including WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles and WGN Chicago. Fast-paced and funny, Celebrity Name Game pairs celebrities with contestants in order to identify famous names - actors, singers, athletes, pop culture figures, politicians, even cartoon characters - based on improvised clues. In a competitive, yet party atmosphere, contestants take part in four rounds of fast-paced gameplay for a chance to win up to $20,000.

Confirmed guest stars for the 2014/15 season include executive producers Courteney Cox (Cougar Town) and David Arquette (Scream), along with Tom Arnold (Roseanne), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal), Cheryl Burke (Dancing with the Stars), Peter Facinelli (Twilight), Vivica A. Fox (Sharknado 2), Billy Gardell (Mike and Molly), Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory), Tony Hale (Veep), Chris Kattan (SNL), Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback), Jane Leeves (Hot in Cleveland), Kevin McHale (Glee), Joely Fisher ('Til Death), Jim O'Heir (Parks and Recreation), Cheri Oteri (SNL), Will Sasso (The Three Stooges), Nev Schulman (Catfish), Karina Smirnoff (Dancing With The Stars), Nicole Sullivan (The King of Queens), Mena Suvari (Hysteria), Scott Wolf (Perception), and Constance Zimmer (House of Cards).


It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of August 11-15, 2014, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVRs (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!


Monday, August 11, 2014

• Dana Carvey (One of the Boys) - Watch Dana on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Office) - Ellie appears on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Bobcat Goldthwait (Unhappily Ever After) - Bobcat is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Jim Gaffigan (My Boys/Welcome to New York) - Jim appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Kate Micucci (The Big Bang Theory/Raising Hope) - Kate visits Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Megan Fox (Hope & Faith) - Megan is part of the guest panel on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
• Will Arnett (The Millers/Up All Night/Arrested Development) - Will stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Anna Camp (The Mindy Project) - Anna is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Tracy Morgan (30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Tracy appears on a repeat from April on The Arsenio Hall Show, so check your local listings.
• Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Kathy Griffin (Suddenly Susan) - Kathy chats on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Brooklyn Decker (Friends with Better Lives) - Brooklyn guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) - Kunal is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Kelsey Grammer (Partners/Frasier/Cheers and Martin Lawrence (Partners/Martin) - Kelsey and Martin talk about their new FX comedy Partners on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry and the rest of the cast of The Expendables 3 are guests on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

• Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - Catch Eric on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS. He also chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Jeff Foxworthy (The Jeff Foxworthy Show) - Jeff is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Damon Wayans, Jr. (New Girl/Happy Endings) - Damon drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show) - Steve appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Bob Saget (How I Met Your Mother/Full House) - Bob talks about his TV career, doing stand-up and his memoir on a repeat of Katie, so check your local listings.
• Niecy Nash (The Soul Man/Reno 911!) - Niecy stops by the house on a repeat of Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Clark Gregg (The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Clark is a guest on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 3am on BET.
• Christopher Knight (The Brady Bunch) - Christopher talks about the Brady Bunch Convention and Investigation Discovery's Heartbreakers on NBC's Today at 7:50am. He will also be on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 12:30pm ET and HuffPost Live at 2pm. He can be heard on Sirius XM on Opie & Jim Norton on Opie Radio Channel 103 at 8:35am, Shade 45 with SWAY on Shade 45 Radio Channel 45 at 9:05am, and Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on OutQ Channel 106 at 9:30am.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

• Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Watch Andrew on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Martin Lawrence (Partners/Martin) - Martin stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) - Kumail visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey is part of the guest panel on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm. She also appears on a repeat of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
• Betsy Brandt (The Michael J. Fox Show) - Betsy chats on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Kevin is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Jeremy Piven (Entourage/Ellen) - Jeremy appears on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 3am on BET.
• Breckin Meyer (Married to the Kellys/Inside Schwartz and Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell) - Breckin and Mark-Paul are guests on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob is a guest on Larry King Now at 2/5pm PT/ET on Ora.tv and Hulu.
• China Anne McClain (A.N.T. Farm/Tyler Perry's House of Payne) - China Anne will be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 8:35am.
• Adam Pally (Happy Endings) - Adam appears on SI Now at 1pm.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

• Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Catch Chris on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Judy Greer (Married/Mad Love/Miss Guided) - Judy is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Bob Newhart (The Bob Newhart Show/Newhart/Bob) - Bob appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Constance Zimmer (Entourage/Good Morning, Miami) - Tune in to see Constance on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Derek Waters (Married to the Kellys) - Derek stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney is part of the guest panel on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
• Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo. She will also be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
• Leah Remini (The King of Queens/Family Tools) - Leah chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Kevin Nealon (Weeds/Hiller and Diller/Champs) - Kevin is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Mary Lynn Rajskub (How to Be a Gentleman) - Mary joins the Chew Crew on a repeat of ABC's The Chew at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
• Brittany Daniel (The Game/That '80s Show) - Brittany appears on a repeat of The Better Show, so check your local listings.
• Kim Wayans (A Different World) - Kim is a guest on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.

Friday, August 15, 2014

• Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Watch Demi on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) and Tori Spelling (Mystery Girls) - The stars of ABC Family's Mystery Girls chat with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show) - Jennifer appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Bella Thorne (Shake It Up) - Bella is a guest on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Denis Leary (The Job) - Denis answers audience questions on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
• Brooklyn Decker (Friends with Better Lives) - Brooklyn dishes on which of her friends she'd want to trade places with on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
• Clark Gregg (The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Clark talks about Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and family life with wife Jennifer Grey on a repeat of Katie, so check your local listings.
• Marilu Henner (Taxi/Evening Shade) - Marilu discusses her role in the Hallmark Channel original series Signed, Sealed, Delivered on a repeat of Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/For Your Love) - Holly appears on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 3am on BET.
• Loni Anderson (WKRP in Cincinnati) - Loni talks about her family's health crisis on a repeat of The Doctors, so check your local listings.
• Candace Cameron Bure (Full House) - Candace guest co-hosts Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

ENCORE networks are about to launch classic TV hits, including many sitcoms, to their networks starting Monday, Dec. 2, 2013! We already have classic westerns airing on ENCORE Western, but now two ENCORE networks will rebrand and add sitcoms as a part of their schedule. Already a favorite for consumers as the most widely subscribed premium pay TV service in the United States with 35 million subscribers, Starz has strengthened ENCORE and its family of thematic multiplex channels and service offerings. The new ENCORE pack of channels bring programming enhancements to further super-serve the nation's evolving demographics and focus on groups who over-index in viewing within the premium pay TV category. First up, ENCORE BLACK will be the new name of the current ENCORE DRAMA network. Showcasing popular programming for the African-American community, ENCORE BLACK will bring a terrific combination of commercial-free premium movie content, comedy such as Martin Lawrence's 1st Amendment Stand Up, and the introduction of TV favorites including: What's Happening!!, Diff'rent Strokes, 227, and Amen. The sitcoms will be commercial-free and unedited! ENCORE BLACK will be originated in HD and service the strong viewership from the African-American community, which has historically over-indexed on premium channel viewership. The December 2 launch will spotlight Academy Award® nominee, actor Samuel L. Jackson with films such as Unbreakable, Losing Isaiah, Freedomland, One Eight Seven, and more. Back to the sitcoms, they will launch in primetime on Monday, Dec. 2 with the premiere episode of Sony's Diff'rent Strokes at 8pm, followed by back-to-back episodes of Universal's Amen at 8:30pm and 9pm. '70s classic What's Happening!! from Sony Pictures will round out the night at 9:30pm. These sitcoms will air in primetime in these time periods every weekday, but starting Tuesday, Dec. 3 additional airings will air from 6-8pm in the same order. They will be encores of the previous night in primetime. Starting on New Year's Day (Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014), 227 will join the ENCORE BLACK line-up and will air at 8:30pm and encore the next day at 6:30pm, taking one of Amen's airings. All times are Eastern.

But wait, there's more! Another ENCORE network will add sitcoms starting Dec. 2. ENCORE CLASSIC will be the new name for the current ENCORE LOVE. It is a new addition to the ENCORE HD channel portfolio, ENCORE CLASSIC will be a favorite for the Baby Boomer set, with a mix of generational evergreen movie favorites and classic TV series. Leveraging the deep and broad ENCORE movie library of new release and favorite hits, ENCORE CLASSIC will add TV hits, Murphy Brown, Magnum, P.I., and Night Court to its programming slate. The TV hits will be commercial-free and unedited! Classic movie titles will air every night with a new favorite every day of the month at 9PM ET/PT. Films include Kramer vs. Kramer, American Graffiti, Independence Day, Breaking Away, Stand By Me, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Good Will Hunting, Tootsie, Basic Instinct, The Notebook, and more. Back to the sitcoms, they will launch with in primetime on Monday, Dec. 2 with the premiere episode of Murphy Brown at 7pm, followed by Night Court at 7:30pm. Then Universal-owned drama Magnum, P.I. will round out the night at 8pm leading into the movies at 9pm. These classic TV hits will air in primetime in these time periods every weekday, but starting Tuesday, Dec. 3 additional airings will air from 5-7pm in the same order. They will be encores of the previous night in primetime. And finally on New Year's Day (Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014), Magnum P.I. will have a New Year's marathon on ENCORE CLASSIC starting at 2am on the night of New Year's Eve and will last until 12:20am on New Year's Day. Also on the night of New Year's Eve, the pilot episodes of Murphy Brown and Night Court will air in the 1am hour leading into the Magnum P.I. marathon. All times are Eastern.

This is certainly great news for classic TV fans. Fans can watch their favorite series without commercial interruption and even more importantly, unedited! ENCORE told SitcomsOnline that they "anticipate acquiring more sitcom titles in the future." We are not sure if these are exclusive deals, but 227 is starting a month later. ENCORE says that they "cannot shed any additional light on the contractual specifics for each series including terms of exclusivity." Currently, 227 is airing on GMC on basic cable. As for the other series, only What's Happening!! is on basic cable on TV One. Diff'rent Strokes is airing on digital broadcast on Antenna TV, as is Magnum P.I. on COZI TV. Warner Bros.-owned Night Court and Murphy Brown are not airing anywhere else. In addition, the December 2 roll-out will also feature brand new channel logos, graphics and audio package as part of a fresh, new on-air style representative of the newly improved and fortified ENCORE channels and services. Stay with us for continued updates on ENCORE's new networks and series. For now, find out where these networks on your service by visiting their website.

Moving on, Debmar-Mercury has sold Celebrity Name Game, a nationally syndicated pop culture game show hosted by The Late, Late Show's Craig Ferguson from co-producers FremantleMedia North America and Debmar-Mercury, to Tribune Broadcasting stations covering 40% of the U.S., including seven of the top-10 markets. U.S. distributor Debmar-Mercury has provided a firm fall 2014 launch for the half-hour strip, which will air on Tribune stations including WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles and WGN Chicago. We first announced this new series a few weeks ago, but now clearances have been already been made. Courteney Cox and David Arquette's Coquette Productions (Cougar Town) teamed with veteran showrunner Scott St. John (Deal or No Deal), as well as Laura Robinson and Richard Gerrits of North 44 Productions, to develop the fast-paced game show in which celebrities team with contestants to identify famous names, including actors, singers, athletes, pop culture figures, politicians and even cartoon characters. Stay with us for continued updates, especially in January at NATPE and as we get closer to next Fall.

TV Land has added 30 Rock to its schedule as of last night. The Tiny Fey comedy is being borrowed from sister network Comedy Central. TV Land is airing the series Mon-Thurs at 11pm and 2am. In between, The King of Queens will air from 11:30pm-2am. 30 Rock will also air Friday nights from 11pm-1:30am and Sunday mornings from 5am-7:30am. A special marathon block will air this Sunday (Nov. 3) from 9pm-12am as well. As for Comedy Central, it will continue to air the series, but mornings at various times for an episode or two from Fri-Sun. On TV Land it will be surrounded by The King of Queens as we mentioned, but also Everybody Loves Raymond (9-10pm) and Friends (10-11pm) leading in.

On this series, Head Writer Liz Lemon finds herself defending her choices and her live TV show when new network executive Jack Donaghy starts meddling with the cast. The series stars Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Katrina Bowden, Keith Powell, Lonny Ross, John Lutz, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, and Maulik Pancholy over the years. The series lasted seven seasons and 138 episodes from 2006-2013. TV Land began with the very episode and it's airing in order.

FremantleMedia North America and Debmar-Mercury, Lionsgate's television distribution and syndication company, have joined forces to offer Celebrity Name Game. The fast-paced game show, in which celebrities team with contestants to identify famous names, including actors, singers, athletes, pop culture figures, politicians and even cartoon characters, is scheduled for a fall 2014 nationally syndicated launch with The Late, Late Show's Craig Ferguson hosting. Courteney Cox and David Arquette's Coquette Productions (Cougar Town) developed the half-hour strip based on the board game Identity Crisis with Scott St. John (Deal or No Deal), who will also serve as showrunner. Stay with us for continued updates, especially during NATPE in January.