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Grab your popcorn and your (CDC approved) Halloween masks because Freeform is brewing up another year of spine-chilling October programming. The highly anticipated "31 Nights of Halloween" is back all month long with a lineup of memorable Halloween films. From Oct. 1-31, viewers can celebrate All Hallow's Eve at home with haunting movies, including The Addams Family (1991), Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Hotel Transylvania. Films new to the lineup this year include Hotel Transylvania 2, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Ghostbusters (2016), among others. The network also released a trailer for the programming event, check it out HERE.

The network is kicking things off with "Freeform's Halloween Road," a drive-thru experience filled with tricks and treats for Halloween lovers in the Los Angeles area. For the third year in a row, Freeform is creating an immersive event that will take fans on a thrilling journey through some of the most nostalgic Halloween movies, including Hocus Pocus, Ghostbusters and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Freeform will fright and delight guests with themed surprises, interactive experiences, live entertainment, and exciting photo moments—all from the safety of their own vehicles. Guests can also look forward to additional themed environments from other "31 Nights of Halloween" films.

Treehouse of Horror episodes of The Simpsons will also be airing. Check out the full "31 Nights of Halloween" schedule.

ABC announced the Dancing with the Stars Season 29 celebrity cast, live on ABC's Good Morning America. The series, hosted by supermodel and businesswoman Tyra Banks, returns to the ballroom with a lineup of celebrities including a GRAMMY® winner, a Bachelorette, a big-cat lover-turned-reality TV star, sitcom stars and a pro-football legend, to name a few. The new celebrity cast will add some glitzy bling to their wardrobe and break in their dancing shoes as the show kicks off live on Monday, Sept. 14 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT on ABC.

As announced on ABC's Good Morning America, the celebrities heading to the ballroom this season (in alphabetical order) are as follows:

head coach Monica Aldama (Netflix's CHEER)
animal activist Carole Baskin (Netflix's Tiger King)
Kaitlyn Bristowe (The Bachelor, The Bachelorette)
Super Bowl Champion Vernon Davis
TV and film actress Anne Heche (Six Days, Seven Nights)
Disney Channel actress Skai Jackson (Jessie, Bunk'd)
actress Justina Machado (One Day at a Time)
Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean
Emmy® Award-winning host of The Real and sideline correspondent on Holey Moley, Jeannie Mai
TV and film actor Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives)
GRAMMY®-winning rapper Nelly
TV host Nev Schulman (Catfish)
NBA superstar Charles Oakley (The Last Dance)
actress Chrishell Stause (Selling Sunset)
Olympic figure skater and on-air commentator Johnny Weir 

CBS All Access announced that its new original series Why Women Kill, a darkly comedic drama created by Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids), will premiere on Thursday, August 15. Episodes of Why Women Kill's 10-episode first season will be available on demand weekly on Thursdays exclusively for CBS All Access subscribers. Why Women Kill details the lives of three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the '60s, a socialite in the '80s and a lawyer in 2019, each dealing with infidelity in their marriages. The series will examine how the roles of women have changed, but how their reaction to betrayal...has not. Why Women Kill stars Lucy Liu, Ginnifer Goodwin and Kirby Howell-Baptiste. The cast includes Jack Davenport, Sam Jaeger, Reid Scott, Alexandra Daddario, Sadie Calvano, Leo Howard, Alicia Coppola and Katie Finneran.

Netflix has picked up a second year of Dead to Me starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini. Liz Feldman's dark comedy about a dynamic female friendship that dives into the painfully unfiltered, weirdly funny waters of grief, loss and forgiveness has been picked up for a second season. Creator Liz Feldman (2 Broke Girls, One Big Happy) will serve as showrunner and executive producer on season two. The series stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini and they will return to the series as Jen (Appelgate) and Judy (Cardellini). Executive Producers are Jessica Elbaum (Booksmart, Hustlers) from Gloria Sanchez Productions, Will Ferrell (Succession, Drunk History) and Adam McKay (Succession, Drunk History) of Gary Sanchez Productions as well as Christie Smith (Nathan for You, Tosh.0) and Christina Appelegate. 10 episodes were ordered for the first season, but no word yet on how many episodes will be ordered for the second season.

TBS has picked up Chad to pilot, a single-camera comedy that follows a 14-year-old Persian boy (played by Nasim Pedrad) during high school as he desperately tries to fit in, cope with his mother's dating life, and reconcile his cultural identity. The teenaged boy in the throes of puberty is played by Pedrad, who made her mark on Saturday Night Live. The Iranian-American actress is also creator, writer, executive producer and co-showrunner. Hayes Davenport is executive producer and co-showrunner. Oly Obst (3 Arts) and Rob Rosell serve as executive producers. Production on the pilot will begin this spring. TBS, which leads the TV industry with more top comedies than any other network, continues to attract fresh, award-winning talent. The #1 comedy network’s series include Miracle Workers, a heaven-set comedy that premieres February 12, and The Last O.G., both of which star diverse, powerhouse casts.

CBS All Access, CBS' digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, announced Lucy Liu will star in the service's upcoming darkly comedic drama Why Women Kill. Created by Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids), Why Women Kill details the lives of three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the '60s, a socialite in the '80s and a lawyer in 2018, each dealing with infidelity in their marriages. The series will examine how the roles of women have changed, but how their reaction to betrayal... has not. Why Women Kill is produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios. Lucy Liu will star as Simone. Elegant, stylish, effervescent, Simone is the picture of urbane confidence, moving through the world as if it were a delightful movie starring herself. Smugly superior, a woman for whom appearances mean everything, she thrives on shopping and throwing parties, seemingly happily married to her indulgent husband, Karl, who thinks she is simply fabulous. However, despite nagging premonitions, Simone is devastated, her world upended, when she learns that Karl has been cheating on her.

CBS has given full season orders to Monday night second year comedies Man with a Plan and Superior Donuts. Both series will go from 13 episodes to 22 episodes. Man with a Plan stars Matt LeBlanc, Liza Snyder, Kevin Nealon, Stacy Keach, Grace Kaufman, Matthew McCann, Hala Finley and Matt Cook. Jeff and Jackie Filgo, Matt LeBlanc, Michael Rotenberg, Troy Zien and Gregg Mettler are executive producers for CBS Television Studios. Superior Donuts stars Judd Hirsch, Jermaine Fowler, Katey Sagal, David Koechner, Maz Jobrani, Rell Battle and Diane Guerrero. Bob Daily, Neil Goldman, Garrett Donovan, Mark Teitelbaum, John R. Montgomery, Michael Rotenberg, Josh Lieberman, Jermaine Fowler and Betsy Thomas are executive producers for CBS Television Studios.

Nicollette Sheridan (Desperate Housewives, Knots Landing) has been cast as Alexis Carrington in Dynasty on The CW. Alexis Carrington is the first wife of Blake Carrington and mother to Fallon and Steven. She will return unexpectedly to their world, challenging Blake's marriage to Cristal, seeking to reunite with her children, and fighting to claim what is hers.

Dynasty airs Wednesdays, 9:00-10:00pm ET/PT on The CW. Wealth, power, deception, and double-dealing... what does it take to build a dynasty? A modern re-imagining of the iconic primetime soap, centering on the powerful Carrington family as they defend their throne against the Colbys, new rivals and threats, and even each other. Dynasty stars Elizabeth Gillies (Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll), Nathalie Kelley (UnReal, The Vampire Diaries), James Mackay (The Leftovers), Sam Adegoke (Murder in the First), Robert Christopher Riley (Hit the Floor) and Rafael de la Fuente (Empire), with Alan Dale (Lost, Ugly Betty, The O.C.), and Grant Show (Devious Maids, Melrose Place).

The Clampetts Strike Oil! That's right The Beverly Hillbillies is returning to TV Land this Fall! The classic '60s sitcom will join the line-up on Monday, Sept. 1 with a Labor Day marathon from 9am-3pm (leading into a Candid Camera marathon from 3-9pm). The Beverly Hillbillies will air weekdays from 10-11am and 7-8pm beginning on Sept. 2. Both hours will follow airings of the compatible The Andy Griffith Show. In addition, The Beverly Hillbillies will air on Fridays at 8 & 8:30pm. As of now, no other schedule changes are being made. We mentioned TV Land is doing an SNL marathon on Aug. 30, but it doesn't seem the series will join the regular schedule this fall. The Beverly Hillbillies was last seen on TV Land in 2010 and has aired on the network from 2007-10 after coming over from sister network Nick at Nite. In the series, a proud hillbilly family reluctantly exchanges a one-room mountain cabin for 25 million dollars and a 35 room mansion in Beverly Hills. Stay with us for more info as it comes!

Golden Globe Award nominee Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) will guest-star on Brooklyn Nine-Nine for a three-episode arc this season on Fox. She will play Sophia, a defense attorney who catches Jake's (Andy Samberg) attention when she faces off against him in court. Golden Globe Award-winning comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine returns for Season Two on a new night, beginning Sunday, Sept. 28 at 8:30PM ET/PT on Fox. Season One ended with a surprising twist as Jake was asked to go undercover for a major FBI investigation. He said his goodbyes to the precinct, and finally confessed his "romantic-styles" affection for Detective Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), the unit's honorary straight arrow. In Season Two, Captain Ray Holt (Andre Braugher) finds himself face-to-face with his longtime nemesis (guest star Kyra Sedgwick) as the NYPD goes through administration changes.

Longoria joins previously announced guest stars Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), who will appear in two episodes, former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, appearing as himself, and Jenny Slate (Parks and Recreation), who will appear in the Season Two premiere.

It's day two of the cable portion of the TCA Summer 2012 press tour. We will have updates from the networks presenting today, so come on back!

GMC TV, America's favorite television channel for uplifting family entertainment, announced today a lineup of new original GMC World Premiere Movies, GMC World Premiere Series and GMC World Premiere Music Specials for the second half of 2012. From heart-warming movies about family challenges and surprises to hilariously entertaining stage plays to powerful reality series to epic music specials, GMC's World Premiere franchises will continue to entertain and inspire for the remainder of the year.

Their movies feature stars like Michael Jai White (Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse), Lynn Whitfield (The Josephine Baker Story), Della Reese (Chico and the Man), Teri Polo (I'm with Her/Man Up!), Tamera Mowry-Housley (Sister, Sister/Strong Medicine), and Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys). View the full press release. Here are a few of the highlights:

Somebody's Child (GMC World Premiere Movie)
Premiere: Saturday, August 25 at 7, 9 and 11 p.m. EDT and August 26 at 7, 9 and 11 p.m. EDT
A divine twist of fate causes Constance Rivers and her son Douglas to open their hearts to ex-convict, Benjamin Sparks. While on the brink of losing her battle with kidney failure, Constance's near death confession instantly collides her past with her present. Douglas and Benjamin learn they are fraternal twin brothers who were separated at birth 37 years ago. Somebody's Child is a story about a son losing hope, a mother gaining faith, and God's divine and perfect plan.
Stars: Michael Jai White, Nadine Ellis, Byron Minns, with Clifton Powell and Lynn Whitfield

The Song That Changed My Life with Marvin Sapp (GMC World Premiere Series)
Premiere: Saturday, September 8 at 9 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EDT
Find out in this new reality series how a song connected with a family and changed the course of their lives in a profound way, featuring Sapp's chart-topping hit, "Never Would Have Made It" which holds the record for the longest running number one single on the radio (across all genres) and in the history of the Billboard charts -- lasting 47 weeks at number one.

For Richer or Poorer (GMC World Premiere Series)
Premiere: November 2012
The story continues as Kya and Aubrey Wilson find insecurities surfacing and their marriage beginning to crumble. It will take their friends, family and an act of God to make these two work through the pressures of what it takes to make a marriage last.
Stars Rockmond Dunbar, LeToya Luckett, Clifton Powell, Chris Spencer and Karen Clark Sheard.

Christmas Angel (GMC World Premiere Movie)
Premiere: December 1 at 7, 9 and 11 p.m. EST
Christmas Angel is the story of a young girl's dream for her wish to have a complete family come true. While working on a class assignment to write a paper on "My Impossible Christmas Wish," Olivia Mead quickly takes note of unusual happenings. As her wishes come true she is convinced the miracles are linked to a mysterious woman she believes is an angel.
Stars Della Reese, Teri Polo, Kevin Sorbo and Tamera Mowry-Housley

Television and film actress Lupe Ontiveros, known for her roles as Carlos Solis' mother on Desperate Housewives and as the grandmother on the sitcoms Greetings from Tucson and Rob, has died. She died in Whittier, California on July 26 after a brief battle with liver cancer. Ms. Ontiveros was 69.

Ontiveros is known for appearing as a maid over 150 times in films and television series over her 35-year career. She played an all-knowing grandmother in some of her later roles. Her career began with an appearance in a 1976 episode of Charlie's Angels. She continued to make guest appearances on television dramas, including Police Story, The White Shadow and Hill Street Blues. In 2002, she played the grandmother in an upwardly mobile family of mixed Irish and Mexican heritage on The WB's Greetings from Tucson. She had a recurring role in the 2004-05 season of Desperate Housewives as Gabrielle's suspicious mother-in-law. Her role on the series earned her an Emmy nomination for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2012, she played the grandmother in the CBS sitcom Rob, which starred Rob Schneider and Cheech Marin. Some of her many sitcom guest appearances include Alice, Soap, a.k.a. Pablo, I Married Dora, Who's the Boss?, Punky Brewster, Dudley, Caroline in the City, Dave's World, Veronica's Closet, The Brothers Garcia, Reba and Cory in the House. Her film credits include The Goonies, My Family, Selena, As Good as It Gets, Chuck & Buck, Real Women Have Curves, Tortilla Heaven and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2.

Ontiveros is survived by her husband, Elias Ontiveros Jr.; her sons Nicholas, Alejandro and Elias, and two granddaughters. She may not have been a household name, but you've likely seen her in one of her many roles. She was a pioneer for Latino actors. Her Emmy-nominated work on Desperate Housewives was fantastic. She will be deeply missed.

Actor Chad Everett, best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the television drama Medical Center, has died. He died July 24 at his home in Los Angeles after a year-and-a-half-long battle with lung cancer. Mr. Everett was 76.

Everett's career began with guest appearances on television series such as Maverick, Lawman, Bronco, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, Surfside 6 and Hawaiian Eye. In 1963, he played Deputy Del Clark on the short-lived ABC western series The Dakotas. He continued to make guest appearances on series like Route 66, The Lieutenant, Branded, Combat!, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The F.B.I. and Ironside.

His big break came in 1969 when he landed the role of Dr. Joe Gannon on the innovative medical drama Medical Center. The CBS series, which co-starred James Daly, ran for 7 seasons and 171 episodes from 1969-76. In 1978-79, he appeared in the television mini-series Centennial as Major Maxwell Mercy. More starring roles would follow for him in the 1980 CBS detective drama Hagen, the 1983-84 NBC drama The Rousters, the 1994-95 ABC drama McKenna, and the 2000 USA Network mystery show Manhattan, AZ. His many other guest appearances include The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, Cybill, Touched by an Angel, Diagnosis Murder, Caroline in the City, Just Shoot Me!, Melrose Place, The Nanny, Jack & Bobby, E-Ring, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Supernatural, Undercovers and Castle. Everett's film credits include Airplane II: The Sequel, Star Command, Psycho (1998) and Mulholland Drive.

His wife of 45 years, actress Shelby Grant, died on June 25, 2011. Survivors include two daughters, Katherine Thorp and Shannon Everett, and six granchildren. He was a talented and versatile actor. More seasons of Medical Center should be available on DVD. He will be greatly missed.

In its season 2 launch last Wednesday (May 30), ABC Family's original comedy Melissa & Joey ranked as cable's #1 program at 8 o’clock across its target females demos, Women 18-34 (409,000 viewers/1.2 rating), Women 18-49 (626,000 viewers/1.0 rating) and Females 12-34 (522,000 viewers/1.2 rating), and was the #2 cable program in the half-hour in Adults 18-34 (507,000 viewers/0.8 rating) and Viewers 12-34 (632,000 viewers/0.7 rating), behind only ESPN's highly rated NBA Playoff coverage, posting hefty gains over year-ago time period levels.
Compared to its season 1B average, which aired last summer from June 29 to Sept. 14, Melissa & Joey's season 2 premiere surged by double-digit percentages in target demos, including by 14% in Total Viewers (1.21 million vs. 1.06 million), by 22% in Adults 18-34 (507,000 vs. 414,000), by 41% in Women 18-34 (409,000 vs. 290,000), by 36% in Adults 18-49 (832,000 vs. 610,000), by 43% in Women 18-49 (626,000 vs. 437,000) and by 22% in Females 12-34 (522,000 vs. 429,000). Compared to its summer premiere last year (June 29), the sitcom was up a tenth in adults 18-49 (0.6 to a 0.7 adults 18-49 rating). Melissa & Joey also soared over year-ago comparable time period levels (6/1/11 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), including by more than double in Adults 18-34 (+116% - 507,000 vs. 235,000), Women 18-34 (+166% - 409,000 vs. 154,000), Women 18-49 (+123% - 626,000 vs. 281,000) and Females 12-34 (+125% - 522,000 vs. 232,000).
In the sitcom, Mel (Melissa Joan Hart), local politician and a former wild child, and Joe (Joey Lawrence), her down-on-his-luck "manny," continue to work together to raise Mel's teenaged niece Lennox (Taylor Spreitler) and nephew Ryder (Nick J. Robinson). The sitcom is compared to past sitcoms such as Who's the Boss? and Charles in Charge. Back-to-back episodes will air once again this Wednesday (June 6) at 8:00 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. Come June 20, the sitcom will air regularly Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. as new sitcom Baby Daddy starring Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Derek Theler, Tahj Mowry, Chelsea Kane and Melissa Peterman will air at 8:30 p.m. We've seen two episodes for review of that comedy and is well done and funny, so make sure you tune in!

Moving on, we have two very sad news that happened this weekend. TV legend Richard Dawson and multiple Emmy-winner Kathryn Joosten both passed away. Next, Todd has the story and details the careers of these two memorable TV icons.

English-born American actor, comedian, game show panelist and host Richard Dawson has died. He was best known for his role as Corporal Peter Newkirk on the sitcom Hogan's Heroes, being a panelist on Match Game on CBS from 1973-1978, and being the original host of Family Feud from 1976-1985 and 1994-1995. Dawson died from complications of esophageal cancer on June 2, at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Mr. Dawson was 79.

One of Dawson's early television appearances (as Dick Dawson) was as dapper entertainer "Racy Tracy" Rattigan in a 1963 episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Some of his other guest appearances included The Outer Limits, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Mr. Terrific, McCloud, Love, American Style, The Odd Couple, McMillan & Wife, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Angie and Mama's Family. In 1965, he landed the role as Cpl. Peter Newkirk. The popular war-related sitcom ran on CBS for six seasons from 1965-1971. His character with a cockney accent was known for phrases like "righto" and addressing Col. Hogan as "gov'nor." After Hogan's Heroes was cancelled, he was a regular performer on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1971-1973. He was also a regular as Richard Richardson on the final season of the CBS sitcom The New Dick Van Dyke Show in 1973-1974. Dawson appeared in several films, including The Longest Day, King Rat, The Devil's Brigade and The Running Man as the memorable game show host and villain Damon Killian.

Dawson became best known to television audiences as a game show panelist and host. In 1972-73, he appeared as a panelist on the syndicated I've Got a Secret. After a year of that show, he was signed to be a regular on Match Game '73, which he stayed with until 1978. In 1974, he hosted the syndicated Masquerade Party. It featured regular panelists Bill Bixby, Lee Meriwether and Nipsey Russell. He was next hired to host Family Feud. It debuted on ABC's daytime schedule on July 12, 1976. Dawson would win a Daytime in 1978 for Best Game Show Host. The show became a huge hit during the daytime and also found success in syndication at night. He became known as The Kissing Bandit for kissing the show's female contestants. His "Survey says..." line became a national catchphrase. Dawson hosted both versions of Family Feud, until they were cancelled in 1985. In 1994-95, he returned to host the syndicated version of the show. He retired from show business in 1995, but he did return to narrate TV's Funniest Game Show Moments on Fox in 2000.

The Archive of American Television has a lengthy interview with him from December 1, 2010. Dawson is survived by his wife Gretchen Johnson and their daughter Shannon, as well as sons Mark and Gary from his first marriage to British actress Diana Dors. He also had five grandchildren: Lindsay Dors Dawson, Tyler Emm Dawson, Emma Rose Dawson, Walter "Melons" Dawson, and Lauren Dawson. We loved him as the host of Family Feud. It was appointment TV for many families during the height of its popularity. Those primetime specials with the casts of Three's Company, Barney Miller, The Jeffersons, WKRP in Cincinnati and Welcome Back, Kotter were classics. There have been many hosts of Family Feud over the years, but there was only one Richard Dawson. He was an amazing talent and true original. He will be deeply missed.

We'll keep you posted on any GSN or other tributes. What are your favorite Richard Dawson memories? Discuss them on our Hogan's Heroes or Game Shows message board.

Character actress Kathryn Joosten, best known as the crotchety, nosy neighbor Karen McCluskey on Desperate Housewives and the president's secretary on The West Wing, has died. Joosten died of lung cancer on the morning of June 2 in Los Angeles. Ms. Joosten was 72.

Joosten's first career was as a psychiatric nurse in Chicago. At the age of 42, she started acting in community theater. Next, she worked as a street performer at Disney in Orlando. In 1995, she decided to move to Hollywood. Many television guest appearances and recurring roles would follow. Her sitcom guest appearances included Family Matters, Grace Under Fire, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Roseanne, Murphy Brown, Seinfeld, Frasier, Just Shoot Me!, Home Improvement, Dharma & Greg, The Drew Carey Show, Scrubs and My Name Is Earl. In 1999, she landed the role of Mrs. Landingham, personal secretary to President Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen), in NBC's The West Wing. She appeared in thirty episodes during the first two seasons of the series before her character was killed off in a car crash. Her success on The West Wing led to many more roles in dramas, such as Ally McBeal, Providence, The X-Files, The Division, Judging Amy, Gilmore Girls, The Closer and Grey's Anatomy. She made five appearances as Ida Warren on General Hospital from 2002-03. Another recurring role was as Old Lady God in eight episodes of Joan of Arcadia.

In 2005, she began her longest-running role as Karen McCluskey on ABC's Desperate Housewives. She appeared in 89 episodes from the pilot until the series finale. Joosten appeared as a guest star during the first five seasons. She started to receive "also starring" and "starring" credits at the start of the sixth season. Joosten received three "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" Emmy nominations for the role in 2005, 2008 and 2010. She won in 2005 and 2008. Joosten was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001. She was a strong advocate of lung cancer awareness and research. Joosten asked creator Marc Cherry that her character Karen suffer long cancer to call attention to the disease. She died twenty days after her character died of lung cancer in the series finale.

The Archive of American Television conducted an interview with her on May 9, 2012. She is survived by her two sons, Jonathan and Timothy, their wives Jeremy and Karissa, and two grandchildren, Jon Henry and Evan. Ms. Joosten got a bit of a late start in acting at the age of 42, but she made the most of it with many notable television roles. We loved her on Desperate Housewives. She played such a fun and memorable character who added so much to the show and stole many scenes with her humor. It was very courageous of her to bring her battle with lung cancer to the public and to the show to bring more awareness to the disease. She will be deeply missed.

What are your favorite Kathryn Joosten roles? Discuss them on our message board.

TBS has announced a premiere date for its new multi-camera original sitcom Men at Work, which is produced by Breckin Meyer and stars Danny Masterson, Adam Busch, James Lesure and Michael Cassidy. We have mentioned this series a few times already, but it now has a premiere date. The new sitcom will premiere on TBS on Thursday, May 24, 2012 with back-to-back episodes at 10 & 10:30pm following two airings of The Big Bang Theory from 9-10pm. Men at Work will then air in the 10pm half-hour for the next eight weeks. The sitcom has a ten episode order and as of now the finale is scheduled for July 19. Following Men at Work at 10:30pm will be another Big Bang Theory airing.
On this new sitcom, when Milo (Masterson) is thrust into single life after discovering his girlfriend has been cheating, he finds comfort in three best friends who help reinvent his manhood with the promise of sex, alcohol and some serious bromance. Men at Work was created by Breckin Meyer (TNT's Franklin & Bash), who is executive-producing with Fanfare's Jamie Tarses (Happy Endings, Franklin & Bash, My Boys) and Julia Franz. Meyer wrote the pilot, which was directed by Mark Cendrowski (The Big Bang Theory, 8 Simple Rules).


As we mentioned already, they also have two other new series coming this summer, but we don't know the premiere dates yet. A multi-camera comedy series titled Sullivan and Son, starring popular comedian Steve Byrne & Dan Lauria (pictured above) and executive-produced by Vince Vaughn (The Break-Up), Peter Billingsley and showrunner Rob Long (Cheers) is one of the series. TBS has also ordered 10 episodes of that series, which is slated to premiere later this summer. The other series is a one-hour dramedy titled The Wedding Band. This new one-hour scripted comedy series stars Brian Austin Green, Harold Perrineau, Peter Cambor, Derek Miller, Melora Hardin, Jenny Wade and Kathryn Fiore. We mentioned of the pick-up back in May 2011. And 10 episodes of this one-hour comedy have been ordered as well. Stay tuned for premiere dates for Sullivan & Son and The Wedding Band!


ABC has announced their 2011-2012 season finale dates for May sweeps. The first season finale in the May sweep will be freshman sitcom Last Man Standing on Tuesday, May 1 at 8:00pm as it finishes up its first season order of 24 episodes. ABC will then air Cougar Town for a full-hour on both May 8 and May 15, with the season finale set on May 15. New series GCB wraps-up its ten-episode freshman run on Sunday, May 6 following the penultimate episode of Desperate Housewives. Speaking of that long-running iconic hit, it will wrap up its run with a two-hour finale event on Sunday, May 13 from 9-11pm. The season finale of the number one drama Once Upon a Time will air leading into the Housewives finale at 8pm. Castle will wrap up its 23-episode fourth season on Monday, May 7 at 10pm, as The Bachelorette premieres the following week on Monday, May 14 at 9:30pm following the semi-finals of Dancing with the Stars. It is expected that The Bachelorette will also get an airing out of The Finals of Dancing with the Stars on Monday, May 21 from 9-11pm. It is unclear what its normal time period will be in the summer, but it has been 8-10pm in the past. The ABC summer line-up will be revealed soon. Back to Dancing with the Stars, it has a one-hour performance show finale on Monday, May 21 from 8-9pm as mentioned, but its two-hour grand finale will be on Tuesday, May 22 from 9-11pm. That means Private Practice, which moves to Tuesdays for its final four episodes of the season starting April 24, will have its season finale on May 15. The Thursday dramas will all have their finales on May 17 as Missing (which premieres Thursday), Grey's Anatomy and Scandal (which premieres April 5) will conclude for the season.
On to the Laugh On Wednesday comedies, new sitcom Suburgatory will end its season on Wednesday, May 16 at 8:30pm. The other three comedies The Middle, Modern Family and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (which premieres April 11) will end a week later on Wednesday, May 23. It is not known yet what will air at 8:30pm on this date, perhaps a repeat of The Middle or Modern Family? The season finale of the addicting new primetime soap Revenge will conclude its freshman season at 10pm on May 23, too. Other finales in May are the third season finale of Shark Tank on Friday, May 18 at 8pm and America's Funniest Home Videos on Sunday, May 20 at 7pm. No word on What Would You Do? or 20/20, which both air on Fridays from 9-11pm, but the latter will continue all summer anyway. And out of the sweep finales coming up are Body of Proof on Tuesday, April 17 at 10pm and Happy Endings on Wednesday, April 4--but these two are not set in stone yet, as Happy Endings has one more episode unscheduled and Body could end its run on April 10 we hear. Stay with us for further updates!

Before we get into our regular Sunday ratings blog, we want to give you a recap of Fox at the TCA press tour on Friday and ABC's first day today. First up for Fox was the executive session with Kevin Reilly. New comedy Breaking In, which was kind of canceled, is still being considered for the previously announced two-hour Tuesday comedy block planned for Tuesdays in March and early April. "It still has a shot. They've agreed to extend an option so we've kept it alive. And you know what, stranger things have happened," Reilly said. So maybe Fox has their back, as the theme song goes, "we've got your back!" Stay tuned! He also noted that Bones will only have 13 episodes this season because it will share its timeslot will spin-off The Finder, which will also have 13 episodes.
Among the major announcements, Fox announced the schedule for The X Factor. Hosted by Steve Jones, the two-night series premiere of The X Factor will showcase the live auditions which took place in front of audiences of thousands, around the country Wednesday, Sept. 21 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT and Thursday, Sept. 22 also from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT. Auditions from Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark and Seattle, as well as from YouTube and the nationwide MyStudio audition booths, will continue the following week on Wednesday, Sept. 28 and Thursday, Sept. 29 for two full-hours each. Hopefuls who pass the initial auditions will travel to Los Angeles for "Boot Camp" beginning Wednesday, Oct. 5 from 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) and continuing Thursday, Oct. 6 from 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT). Wednesday, Oct. 12 and Thursday, Oct. 13 will also feature 90-minute episodes. Then a special Tuesday airing will be held on Oct. 18 from 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT. Glee and Raising Hope will be preempted on that date, but new comedy New Girl will air at a special time of 9:30pm. During a special extended Tuesday airing on Oct. 25 (8:00-10:30 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), the judges will reveal who has earned one of the coveted spots among the season's finalists (all three regular Tuesday series will be preempted). It will then be up to America, as well as the judges, to decide who moves forward in the competition starting with the first performance show featuring the finalists from each category on Wednesday, Nov. 2 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed). The season will conclude on December 21 and December 22. Reilly says the 90-minute editions of X Factor in October will be used as lead-ins for additional airings of its comedies as well as perhaps Mobbed specials.
Fox also announced that Dec. 5 will be the date for the second annual Great American Country Awards. Then it was off to panels with the casts and crew of Allen Gregory, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, MasterChef, Hell's Kitchen/Kitchen Nightmares, New Girl, Primetime Emmy Awards, Raising Hope, Terra Nova, and The X Factor.

ABC started their first day of the press tour today. There were two announcements and some other tidbits. During the executive session, Paul Lee (President of ABC Entertainment) revealed a lot. Before we get to the major announcements, we learned an episode of Castle will feature a Marvel character this season. He also revealed ABC will air three Hallmark Hall-of-Fame movies this season, with the first being in late November/early December. And Lee had nothing but good feedback so far from nearly all of its new shows, except mid-season sitcom Work It, which he joked, knew nobody would like at TCA but will have a loyal following (maybe like According to Jim?). Lee also said no replacement voice has been found yet for the voice of Charlie for the new Charlie's Angels, but an announcement will come soon and that some of the original Charlie's Angels (Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Chery Ladd) could guest star at some point.
On to the major announcement, ABC announced today that this season will be the final one for the landmark series Desperate Housewives. The decision was made jointly by series creator Marc Cherry and ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee. All good things eventually come to an end, and in the eighth and final season, the stakes for everyone on Wisteria Lane are at an all-time high. Season Eight of Desperate Housewives will roll out on Sunday, Sept. 25, in a way that is accessible even to viewers who may have lapsed in their viewing, and be all the richer and more rewarding to the series' loyal fans. For Season Eight, Carlos' murder of Gaby's evil stepfather and the cover up by Susan, Gaby, Bree and Lynette has far reaching effects. Feelings of guilt begin to overcome everyone in different ways. Susan starts to withdraw from her friends and family, and Gaby works to reach out to Carlos while his guilt weighs heavily upon him. As Lynette and Tom are grappling with their disintegrating marriage and impending separation, Lynette is having trouble making the right choices ever since she participated in the cover-up. And Bree must be especially careful around her new love, Detective Chuck Vance (Jonathan Cake). Meanwhile a new sexy neighbor moves to town, Ben Faulkner (Charles Mesure, V), and he's Renee's first order of business. Marc Cherry's pilot Hallelujah will be redeveloped and we could potentially see it in 2012-13 and Cherry said it is "a different animal" and would prefer something new than a spin-off of Desperate Housewives.
ABC also announced that the spectacular celebrity cast for the new season of Dancing with the Stars will be announced live on ABC, Monday, August 29 from 8-10 pm, during that evening's episode of Bachelor Pad. Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke once again host the live unveiling of the all-star cast. The stars, the drama, the glamour and the glitter are back on ABC, as Dancing with the Stars returns for Season 13 on Monday, Sept. 19 from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET with a sensational two-hour season premiere. Then on Tuesday, Sept. 20, there will be two hours of original programming, beginning with the special Dancing with the Stars: Meet the Cast at 8:00 p.m., ET, followed by the premiere of Dancing with the Stars the Results Show at 9:00 p.m., ET.
Then it was panels with the cast and producers of Pan Am, Charlie's Angels, ABC Daytime Session and The Chew, followed by The Chew Lunch, an ABC Family Executive Session, then more show panels with Once Upon a Time, Man Up! and Revenge. Then it is off to the Disney-ABC Television Group All-Star Cocktail Reception!
Tomorrow during day two of the ABC portion, panels for Last Man Standing and Suburgatory will be held along with a set visit to sophomore drama Body of Proof. We'll recap that tomorrow along with the list of the winners from the TCA Awards from Saturday night.

It's now the dog days of summer, but not to fret we will be back with our normal weekly ratings report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still continue to have our regular how the sitcoms did all for the rest of this summer! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for Summer Week 9, week of July 25-31)

• American Dad! (Fox) 2 airings - A repeat at 7pm did 2.02 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, which was up from the previous week. A repeat at 9:30pm did 3.77 million and a 1.8 18-49 rating, which was also up from previous week. Good numbers for the latter.
  
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat at 8pm did 3.64 million and a 1.7 18-49 rating, down a lick from previous week but a decent summer showing in 18-49.
  
• Bob's Burgers (Fox) - A repeat at 7:30pm did 2.11 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, on par week-to-week but still could be better since 7:30 builds heavily usually from 7pm.
• Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat at 9pm did 4.17 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, up from previous week and the best summer showing for a comedy since early summer.
  
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - A repeat at 8:30pm did 3.38 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was up some week-to-week.

Summer Week 10 (August 1-7)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 3.72 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating for a repeat at 8pm was on par with the previous week.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 5.24 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating for a repeat at 9pm is also on par week-to-week, but it was below normal.
  
• Mike & Molly (CBS) 2 airings - 4.78 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating for a repeat in its normal 9:30pm slot was down some from previous week again. But an 8:30pm repeat earlier did 3.98 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating, which was the same as the previous week in 18-49.
  

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Raising Hope (Fox) - preempted.
  

Wednesday Sitcoms

• The Middle (ABC) - A repeat at 8pm did 4.34 million and a 1.2 18-49 rating, up from previous week's below normal performance for a repeat.
• Modern Family (ABC) 2 airings - A repeat at 9pm did 4.34 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, up a tad from the previous week. A repeat at 8:30pm also probably helped doing 4.36 million and a 1.4 18-49 rating, also up some from the previous week.
  
• Happy Endings (ABC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 2.78 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, up a tad from the previous week. If you have missed any episodes, keep watching! A new episode will air Aug. 24 to promote the new season and the upcoming season one DVD. ABC Family will air a marathon as well on Friday, Sept. 16 from 5-11pm. Get hooked!
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - A repeat did 6.3 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, which was down from the previous week.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - A repeat of this comedy followed at 8:30pm with 5.29 million and 1.5 18-49 rating, which was down some from previous week.
  
• Community (NBC) - A repeat only did 1.95 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating, on par with the previous week but way too low even if it is a repeat.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - A repeat in its 8:30pm slot did only 1.86 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, again on par really with the previous week but who cares since it is so low.
  
• The Office (NBC) - A repeat at 9pm did 2.33 million and a 1.0 18-49 rating, best of the low rated block and up slightly from the previous week.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - A repeat at 9:30pm did 1.97 million and a 0.8 18-49 rating, on par with the previous week. It's sad that 3 of the 4 comedies for NBC were under 2 million.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• Friends with Benefits (NBC) 2 episodes - Finally this series has made it on air, but in burn-off mode on Friday nights in the summer. Preliminary ratings show the comedy did very low ratings coming in 4th place, losing to repeats. The first airing did a prelim 2.37 million and a 0.7 18-49 rating, while a second episode followed with only 1.99 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating. Final ratings might even have it go more down...stay tuned.
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• Family Guy (Fox) - ratings not available at publishing time.
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - ratings not available at publishing time.

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's animated comedies from 7-8pm only tonight due to the Teen Choice Awards.

Summing it up. Repeats of The Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, and both Modern Family repeats were impressive for the week, along with week 9's The Simpsons, Family Guy & American Dad 9:30p. Everything else was OK (such as repeats of Two and a Half Men, The Middle) or just plain old terrible (such as Friends with Benefits, and the very low rated NBC Thursday repeats especially, Community).

Feeling the repeat blues? Look for original sitcoms on cable all this summer, with the great Hot in Cleveland on Wednesday at 10pm, followed by the penultimate week of the first season of Happily Divorced starring Fran Drescher this Wednesday at 10:30pm only on TV Land. Also catch the new Comedy Wednesday on ABC Family this Wednesday with an all-new Melissa & Joey at 8pm guest starring Christine Lakin, who we just interviewed, followed by week seven of new comedy State of Georgia starring Raven Symone at 8:30pm (last week we get FOUR ALL-NEW episodes from 9-11pm). Loretta Devine is very sassy in this series and makes Mrs. Roper look tame! Also of course House of Payne and Meet the Browns are on TBS Wednesdays. New sitcom airings is the perfect way to beat the summer repeat blues! Watch them! And on premium cable, it is of course Curb Your Enthusiasm, Weeds, and Entourage among the entrees.

[Source: Nielsen NTI Ratings. View Travis Yanan's Ratings Website].

Retro Television (RTV) has changed their line-up effective yesterday. We knew about the changes late last week, but we wanted to give you the FULL details, so we are bringing you that today! Their deal with Universal Pictures ended on Sunday. This means series like Leave it to Beaver, Kate & Allie, The A-Team, Knight Rider and others are no longer airing on the digital station. Now they have acquired mostly have stuff from The Peter Rodgers Organization and a few series from Sony Pictures Television. Among the new series from The Peter Rodgers Organization are a short-lived '70s drama titled Movin' On and British drama The Saint. They join other Peter Rodgers series such I Spy, The Bill Cosby Show, Daniel Boone, The Rifleman, Peter Gunn, Robin Hood and others that have been on RTV.
Completely new to RTV are series from Sony Pictures Television. The series that have joined the line-up are Naked City, Route 66, Starsky & Hutch and Police Story. Also joining the schedule are Canadian dramas that currently air in broadcast syndication: DaVinci's Inquest, Cold Squad and Cold Case Files.
RTV is using a national schedule now for ALL of the affiliates, unless an affiliate preempts something on its own. For example, all RTV affiliates will have Starsky & Hutch weeknights at 8pm followed by Police Story at 9pm nationwide. Joining the line-up next week (Monday, July 4) will be Highway to Heaven and it will air weeknights at 6pm. RTV couldn't get the rights to that in time for this week, so they are airing an extra hour of Daniel Boone this week, in addition to its regular 7pm airing.
We will keep you up to date of any other changes and information, but for now view the FULL RTV schedule.

ABC has announced premiere dates for Fall 2011. They join The CW and Fox in announcing Fall 2011 premiere dates. ABC will start the new season of 20/20 on Friday, Sept. 16 at 10pm, but the real stuff gets going starting Monday, Sept. 19 with the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars at 8pm followed by the season four premiere of Castle at 10pm. On Tuesday, September 20, ABC will air the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars: The Results at 9pm and the second season premiere of Body of Proof at 10pm. Tuesday at 8pm is missing, but more on that in a bit. On to Wednesday, Sept. 21, ABC will have one-hour season premieres of The Middle and Modern Family from 8-10pm leading into new primetime soap Revenge at 10pm. The following Wednesday will have the series premiere of Suburgatory at 8:30pm and the season premiere of Happy Endings at 9:30pm starting Sept. 28. On Thursday, Sept. 22, ABC will launch the new Charlie's Angels at 8pm leading into the two-hour season premiere of Grey's Anatomy from 9-11pm. This means Private Practice will launch its new season the following week on Sept. 29 at 10pm.
Fridays will have encore programming from 8-10pm for the first four weeks of the season, so we will come back to that in a bit for what will normally air here. Saturdays will have College Football all fall. On Sunday, Sept. 25, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will have a two-hour season premiere from 7-9pm as it gets ready for a Friday move. The eighth season premiere of Desperate Housewives follows at 9pm leading into new series Pan Am at 10pm. America's Funniest Home Videos will premiere the following week on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 7pm. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will air three one-hour episodes on Sundays at 8pm on Oct. 2, 9 and 16 before it moves to Fridays, starting Friday, Oct. 21. The Friday airings will now be two-hours in the fall from 8-10pm. As a result, ABC will now premiere the third season of Shark Tank (slated for Fridays at 9pm in the fall) in January in the timeslot and will still produce 13 episodes. New Sunday drama Once Upon a Time from the producers of Lost will start Sunday, Oct. 23 at 8pm for ample promotion.
Back to Tuesdays, ABC has not yet announced what will air Tuesdays at 8pm for the first three weeks of the season. The Tim Allen comedy Last Man Standing will premiere on Tuesday, Oct. 11 with back-to-back episodes from 8-9pm. New single-camera comedy Man Up! will premiere the following week on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 8:30pm following Last Man Standing at its normal time.
There are some question marks still to be filled (like Tuesdays at 8 for the first three weeks of the season), so please keep an eye out on our new day-by-day schedule for ABC! Stay with us.

ABC has announced the season finale dates for the 2010-11 season during May. The first season finale will be on Sunday, May 8 at 10:01pm for Brothers & Sisters. It is still on the bubble, so no word yet if it will be back next season. On Wednesday, May 11 at 8:30pm the season finale of freshman sitcom Better With You will air. On Sunday, May 15, there will be two finales. At 8:00 p.m. it is the season finale for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which is returning to the schedule on April 17 following the season finale of Secret Millionaire on April 10. Then from 9:00-11:00pm, Desperate Housewives gets a special two-hour season finale. On Monday, May 16 at 10:01pm it is the season finale of Castle. And on Tuesday, May 17 at 8pm, reality series Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution closes its second season. The reality series has its season premiere on April 12.
The final Thursday of the season (May 19) will feature three finales. At 8:00pm it is the season finale of Wipeout (Spring Edition). ABC has ordered three more Spring Wipeout episodes so it can fill the Thursday 8pm slot for the rest of the season. Previously, it was going to be a repeat on March 31 after new episodes (March 17/24) because it only had 4 episodes, but now ABC will air an all-new episode on March 31 with Grey's/Private being new. Repeats will air on April 7, 14 and 21, just like Grey's/Private. Then it will be back for sweeps for the remaining four Spring episodes (April 28, May 5, 12 and 19). The regular summer edition will start over a month later after the NBA Finals are over with and 16 all-new episodes will air, as previously planned. This means Wipeout will produce 31 total episodes this season (8 for winter, 7 for spring and 16 for summer). Airdates for the summer edition will be announced soon. So stay tuned. Anyway, back to Thursday May 19, following the Spring Wipeout finale are the season finales of Greyis Anatomy and Private Practice from 9-11pm. On Friday, May 20 at 8pm, Shark Tank closes its second season. The final Sunday of the season will have the season finale of America's Funniest Home Videos on Sunday, May 22 at 7pm leading into the Billboard Music Awards from 8-11pm. As we knew, Monday, May 23 will have the final Dancing with the Stars performance show at 8pm leading into the summer staple The Bachelorette from 9-11pm. On Tuesday, May 24 from 9:00-11:00pm it is the grand finale for season 12 of Dancing with the Stars. And finally on the last day of the TV season, Wednesday, May 25, the ABC comedies get their finales. At 8:00pm it is The Middle, followed by a repeat then at 9:00pm the megahit Modern Family has its season finale leading into the one-hour Hawaiian season finale of Cougar Town from 9:31-10:30pm.
ABC has not announced season finale dates for Mr. Sunshine, Happy Endings or Body of Proof since all three will have leftover episodes. Depending on their plans for them, they could air in summer or be held for next season. Everything else is pretty much set except ABC News series Primetime What Would You Do? and 20/20, which are likely to continue into summer.

Moving on to NBC, they have pulled Perfect Couples starting April 14. NBC announced that The Paul Reiser Show, a new comedy series starring Paul Reiser (Mad About You), will premiere on Thursday, April 14 at 8:30pm ET.
NBC's The Paul Reiser Show is a new single-camera comedy from Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated actor/writer/producer Reiser and writer/producer Jonathan Shapiro. The show stars Reiser as -- Paul Reiser. It's been a few years since his hit TV series went off the air. Since then, he's been enjoying the quiet life at home with his lovely wife, Claire (Amy Landecker), and kids and generally minding his own business, writing and producing television but enjoying life out of the spotlight. Getting him into trouble -- and into adventures -- are a group of new "friends," most of which he didn't choose since they're the husbands of his wife's friends and the dads of his kids' classmates. Thrown together by circumstance, Reiser and his cohorts, including Jonathan (Ben Shenkman), Habib (Omid Djalili), Fernando (Duane Martin, All of Us) and Brad (Andrew Daly, MADtv), form an unlikely comradeship -- and a pretty lame basketball team.
The new comedy will air Thursdays at 8:30pm through Thursday, May 19. It will also air at a special time of 8pm leading into the finale on May 19. As a result of the premiere of the new sitcom, Community will now be all-new on April 14, thus its season finale on Thursday, May 12 is no longer two episodes. The Community season finale is now a half-hour on Thursday, May 12 at 8pm. As for Perfect Couples, as of this writing it would have 4 episodes still to air after April 14, though it could be as low as only 2 because on March 31 and April 7, currently repeats are listed, so NBC could change those to new episodes--then only two would remain. It is almost 100% certain this series is all but done though.