SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Celebrate the holiday season with a stocking full of TV treats as MeTV wishes everyone "A Very Merry MeTV." The family television event will feature a collection of holiday-themed TV classics that bring home the gift of timeless and festive comedies, westerns and dramas. "A Very Merry MeTV" also includes a special holiday episode of the original MacGyver, which will join MeTV's weekday schedule in December. "A Very Merry MeTV will air on MeTV Sunday afternoons from 2:00 to 5:00 pm ET/PT, beginning Sunday, November 27, and continuing through Christmas, Sunday, December 25. Everyone is invited to celebrate the holidays with these merry and memorable MeTV programs and episodes.

This special event will present series that are familiar to the MeTV audience, as well as shows not currently on their schedule. Families and fans can enjoy offerings from such current MeTV series as The Brady Bunch, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Happy Days, Gilligan's Island, Mister Ed, The Love Boat and Laverne & Shirley. Newer series specially presented in "A Very Merry MeTV" include MacGyver, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Touched By An Angel, and Family. It's going to be four very Merry MeTV Sundays beginning Nov. 27! Tune in!

The CW has set its midseason schedule, including the series premiere of the highly-anticipated new drama Riverdale, and the returns of The 100, Reign, The Originals and iZombie. In addition, DC's Legends of Tomorrow moves to its new night on Tuesday, January 24 at 9:00pm ET/PT, paired with The CW's #1 series The Flash. On Thursday, January 26, Supernatural returns from its winter hiatus at its new time at 8:00pm ET/PT, followed by the series debut of The CW's new drama Riverdale at 9:00pm ET/PT, a surprising and subversive take based on the iconic characters from Archie Comics. The 100 is back Wednesday, February 1 at 9:00pm ET/PT, paired with Arrow at 8. Reign returns for its fourth season Friday, February 10 at 9:00pm ET/PT. With The Vampire Diaries concluding after eight seasons on Friday, March 10, The Originals will return on Friday, March 17 at 8:00pm ET/PT.

The season finale of DC's Legends of Tomorrow is set for Tuesday, March 28, and iZombie will make its season three debut with back-to-back new episodes on Tuesday, April 4 at 8:00pm and 9:00pm ET/PT, before moving to its regularly scheduled time period after The Flash on April 11. The season finale of No Tomorrow will air Tuesday, January 17 at 9:00pm ET, with the season finale of Frequency set for the following week Wednesday, January 25 at 9:00pm ET/PT. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend wraps up its second season run on Friday, February 3 at 9:00pm ET/PT.

UP TV (Uplifting Entertainment) is going to show you that smile again to start off 2015! The cable network formerly known as GMC, has acquired the rights to the '80s sitcom Growing Pains starring Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns and Kirk Cameron. Growing Pains kicks-off on UP TV with a New Year's Day marathon on Thursday, January 1 from 8am-2pm. There will also be a second marathon on Friday, January 2 from 5pm-9pm. The sitcom will then join the line-up starting Saturday, Jan. 3 airing Saturdays from 1-3pm, weekdays from 5-7pm and Tuesdays in primetime from 9-11pm. The good news doesn't stop there! Beloved sitcom Family Ties will get an timeslot and will now also air weekdays from 4-5pm leading into the weekday run of Growing Pains. The Michael J. Fox sitcom will also still air weeknights from 2-3am. Dramas will air weekdays from 9am-3pm with Heartland, back-to-back Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Touched by An Angel and three hours of Judging Amy. The sitcoms will air from 4-7pm, with Supernanny moving to 7pm and 8pm. Primetime will have different programs from 9-11pm, including Growing Pains on Tuesdays. In late night, urban programming will still be airing with an hour each of The Parkers and Moesha beginning at 11pm. Talk show Steve Harvey airs at 1am leading into Family Ties at 2.

Saturdays will still kick-off with Sister, Sister from 8am-10am, followed by Supernanny from 10am-12pm. Encores of the upcoming UP TV original series Bringing Up Bates will air noon leading into Growing Pains from 1-3pm. The Parkers will air starting at 3pm, lasting usually 'til 7 or even 9pm. Sundays will be filled with movies and originals. Back to Growing Pains, this beloved sitcom revolves around the Seaver family of Long Island, New York. Dr. Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) is a stay-at-home Dad and psychiatrist who is married to reporter Maggie (Joanna Kerns). They are both kept very busy by their three children; troublemaker Mike (Kirk Cameron), brainy Carol (Tracey Gold), and rambunctious Ben (Jeremy Miller).

USA Network announced its first series pick-up from its existing pilot slate for the 2015-2016 season with a 10-episode order for Mr. Robot (wt). The intense hacker drama from Universal Cable Productions is from writer and executive producer Sam Esmail and executive producers Anonymous Content's Steve Golin (True Detective) and Chad Hamilton (Breakup at a Wedding). The series stars Rami Malek (24), Christian Slater (Breaking In), Portia Doubleday (Her), Carly Chaikin (Suburgatory) and Martin Wallstrom (Simple Simon). The pilot was directed by Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). The series will shoot in New York. The series is a contemporary and culturally resonant drama about a young programmer, Elliot (Malek), who suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot will find himself in the intersection between a cyber-security firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America. Slater stars in the title role of Mr. Robot, a mysterious anarchist who recruits Elliot into an underground hacker group.

Mr. Robot (wt) was the first of five pilots announced by USA Network, followed by Carlton Cuse's Colony, starring Josh Holloway (Lost) and Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead); Universal Cable Production's Stanistan, starring Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter); Queen of the South, based on the international best seller La Reina del Sur starring Alice Braga, and the most recent pilot pick-up Evil Men, starring Dallas Roberts (Dallas Buyers Club) and Clifton Collins Jr. (Pacific Rim). We'll let you know if these other pilots get picked-up to series like Mr. Robot (wt). And of course when this series premieres in 15-16.

This Fall, INSP will be adding some more dramas to its schedule. Coming to the network this fall will be JAG, Christy, Robin Hood and Lark Rise to Candleford. The fun begins on Sunday, Sept. 29 with a JAG marathon from 12pm-2am ET. The series was airing on the Universal-owned networks, but the contract expired and now INSP has the series. The new line-up will then begin the following day on Monday, Sept. 30 at 11am. Kicking it off will be The Big Valley from 11am-1pm every Mon-Thurs, as the series moves down an hour (it was airing 12-2pm). Sitcoms Happy Days and The Brady Bunch will therefore be removed from the schedule beginning on Sept. 30 and won't be found anywhere on the line-up. The High Chaparral will remain Mon-Thurs at 1pm. The Virginian will air in this block from 11am-2pm on Fridays. Then each weekday will have a different drama from 2-8pm now, as six-hour blocks of the same show will air. On Mondays it will be Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, while on Tuesdays it is Matlock. Wednesdays will feature Little House on the Prairie, while Thursdays it is family time with The Waltons. And on Fridays, new acquisition JAG will get the marathon treatment. In INSP primetime from 8pm-12am, the line-up starts off with The Waltons at 8 every weeknight, followed by newbie JAG at 9pm. At 10pm and 11pm, Matlock makes his case with back-to-back episodes every weeknight. In late night from 12-2am, we have a rotating block of shows. Monday and Tuesday nights will feature JAG, while Wednesday and Thursday nights will showcase Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. And on Fridays, new addition Robin Hood will close the work week out.

Onto weekends, Saddle-Up Saturdays will continue. Airing from 1pm-12am, westerns rule the day with The Virginian from 1pm-4pm, The High Chaparral from 4-6pm, and The Big Valley from 6-8pm. Then in primetime, it's more westerns with The Virginian again from 8-11pm leading into Bonanza at 11pm. In late night, JAG will air from 12-2am once again. On Sundays, different marathons will air from 12pm-5pm (such as The Waltons, Matlock, Little House and Dr. Quinn). Then the new Sunday line-up begins with the Kellie Martin drama Christy airing at 5pm, followed by Lark Rise to Candleford at 6pm and Robin Hood at 7pm. JAG airs in primetime at 8pm & 9pm, into movies from 10pm-2am. Before the new series launch, they will get marathons. We mentioned JAG's launch marathon already, but the others will also get marathons. Lark Rise to Candleford gets the first taste on Sunday, Sept. 15 from 6pm-2am. The following week (Sunday, Sept. 22), Robin Hood gets the marathon from 6pm-2am. We mentioned JAG on Sept. 29, but on Sunday, Oct. 6 from 5pm-2am, Christy gets its launch marathon.

That's all for INSP this fall. We hope Happy Days and The Brady Bunch return to the schedule at some point, but at least they are available to watch on other networks if you receive those. Stay with us for continued updates on all things INSP!

TV Land has fast-tracked a project to be written by writer, producer and creator Darren Star of Sex and the City. This single camera comedy, which is based on the novel "Younger" by Pamela Redmond Satran, will follow the story of a suddenly-single New Jersey housewife and mother in her early 40s who, unable to restart her career, decides to lie about her age and successfully passes herself off as a twenty-something. Armed with a makeover and new resume, she wins a coveted position at the city's hottest publishing company. Pretending to be "younger" doesn't hurt in the bar scene, either, as guys line up like never before. Between Sex and the City, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place, he has created some of the most iconic and beloved shows in the history of television. The series has been fast-tracked, but has not been picked-up to pilot just yet. If and when it does that, it would then have to be picked-up to series for us to see it on television. So it's a long way to go, but fast-tracking a project is a good thing.

TV Land also recently announced a pilot for a multi-camera sitcom, Jennifer Falls, starring Jaime Pressly. The network's current line-up of original sitcoms airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET/PT and includes the hit series Hot in Cleveland, The Exes and The Soul Man. The series have received several awards and accolades including two 2013 Creative Arts Emmy(R) nominations: one for Hot in Cleveland and the other for The Exes. All of these series star pop culture icons and fan favorites including Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Kristen Johnston, Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche, Kelly Stables, Cedric "The Entertainer," Niecy Nash and Wesley Jonathan. This December, TV Land will debut its newest original series, Kirstie, which stars Kirstie Alley, Michael Richards, Rhea Perlman and Eric Petersen.

Today we will reveal the INSP Fall 2012 schedule! INSP has acquired the exclusive cable rights to The High Chaparral from CBS Television Distribution and also a multi-year agreement with NBCUniversal Cable and New Media Distribution for the exclusive basic cable rights for The Virginian. As the exclusive cable home of The High Chaparral and other western series, INSP is proud to offer a new generation of Americans the opportunity to fall in love with the characters and stories that made The High Chaparral a western classic. Launching on Saturday, September 15, viewers can enjoy an all-day marathon beginning at 1:00pm ET through 2:00am ET. The series joins the Saddle Up Saturday line-up beginning September 29 at 6pm, 7pm, and 12am ET and also is scheduled to air in the Monday-Friday lineup at 4pm & 1am ET. As for The Virginian, the launch will be celebrated with a 50th anniversary all-day marathon of the 90-minute series on Saturday, September 22 beginning at 1pm ET through 2:00am ET. The series joins the regular Saturday lineup on September 29, the same day as The High Chaparral. It will air Saturdays at 1pm, 2:30pm, 9pm & 10:30pm ET.

As for the rest of the schedule, we still will have classics The Big Valley, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie and sitcoms The Brady Bunch and Happy Days all on weekdays. The Brady Bunch will be moving to the 12pm hour every weekday, as its current 5pm hour will be another hour of Happy Days. That sitcom will remain at 6pm as well. The rest of the weekday line-up is the same except for the addition of The High Chaparral. On Saturdays, besides The High Chaparral and The Virginian, we have The Big Valley at 4pm, 5pm, & 1am and Bonanza at 8pm. Those two series will join the new additions to make up the new Saddle Up Saturday schedule. Sundays will still have movies starting at 7pm through 1am, with Dr. Quinn at 1am.

View the full INSP Fall 2012 schedule. There is word they could add a third new series, if they do, we will let you know as soon as can announce it! What do you think it will be? Remember INSP is available in more than 70 million households across the U.S. on more than 2,800 cable systems and on Dish Network channel 259, DirecTV channel 364, AT&T U-verse channel 564 and Verizon FiOs channel 242. Viewers can check their local program guides for channel information or visit www.insp.com.

Just like how Men at Work was renewed for a second season, now TBS has ordered a second year for its second original comedy! TBS has ordered a second season of the popular new sitcom Sullivan & Son. Currently airing Thursdays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), the comedy is averaging more than 2.5 million viewers in its first season and ranks as one of the Top 25 new summer series on television. TBS has ordered 10 episodes for the second season, which is slated to launch in 2013, just like Men at Work. TBS's Sullivan & Son stars Steve Byrne as a corporate attorney who finds new life behind the bar when he leaves his Manhattan lifestyle and moves to Pittsburgh to take over his parents' pub. Byrne is joined by a stellar ensemble cast that includes Christine Ebersole, Brian Doyle-Murray, Jodi Long, Valerie Azlynn, Vivian Bang, Owen Benjamin and Dan Lauria. Sullivan & Son is executive-produced by Vince Vaughn, Peter Billingsley and showrunner Rob Long.
Two more episodes remain on the first season order and will air tomorrow (Sept. 6) and next Thursday (Sept. 13). In addition to the Sullivan & Son and Men at Work second seasons, TBS's slate of original series includes Cougar Town, the popular comedy that's moving to TBS, with the premiere set for early 2013.

Today we bring you the GMC Fall 2012 schedule! They will be adding one new series this fall, the popular '90s drama Touched by an Angel. The series will fit right in with fellow dramas like The Waltons, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and 7th Heaven. The new addition will have a launch marathon on Saturday, September 15 from 7pm-3am and an even longer one the day on Sunday, September 16 from 9am-2am. The series will then settle into its regular weekday timeslots starting Monday, September 17 at 7pm and 8pm. The series will also air on Monday nights at 9 and 10pm in primetime. All of its airings will be replacing a few 7th Heaven airings, but not to worry, that show is still scheduled in its other timeslots (see below). In fact other than these changes for Touched, there are no other schedule changes at all. We still have Family Ties kicking off weekdays 10am-12pm, 7th Heaven at noon, back-to-back hours of Judging Amy from 1-3pm, two episodes of Dr. Quinn from 3-5pm, then a double shot of 7th Heaven from 5-7pm leading into twice as nice Touched from 7-9pm. Primetime will still have a different program each night from 9-11pm: Mondays it is now Touched by an Angel, Tuesdays it is still 7th Heaven, Wednesdays still is Heartland, Thursdays it is The Waltons (which are its only regular airings now), and a movie on Fridays. Late nights will still feature two episodes of sitcom 227 at 11pm, followed by two episodes of the Sherman Hemsley comedy Amen and then two more episodes of 227 at 1am. And finally on Saturdays, it is still Sister, Sister mornings from 9am-1pm then Moesha in the afternoon and evening from 1-7pm.

On the beloved Touched by an Angel, an angel named Monica (Roma Downey) and her supervisor, Tess (Della Reese), are tasked with bringing messages of love from God to troubled people. From the third season on, Monica and Tess are frequently joined by Andrew (John Dye), the angel of death (who first appeared as a recurring character in season two). In the later seasons, they are joined by Valerie Bertinelli, another rookie angel. Many guest stars appeared in the series, including Jasmine Guy, Delta Burke, Bill Cosby, John Ritter and many others. Touched By An Angel ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion in 2003.

As for other stunts, this coming Monday they will have a "Labor" Day marathon! It's a full day of your favorite TV moms in their finest hour, or two, or 13... whatever it takes! If you love babies, or even puppies, you'll want to tune in for GMC's 13 Hours of Labor Day Marathon beginning at 10am ET with Family Ties, then The Waltons, Judging Amy, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and many episodes of 7th Heaven.

View the full GMC Fall 2012 schedule. We will let you know if anything comes later this fall, but so far the only new addition is Touched by an Angel.

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 September 3-7, 2012, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, September 3, 2012

• Thomas Haden Church (Wings) - Watch Thomas on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) - Kelly is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Kristen Johnston (The Exes/3rd Rock from the Sun) - Tune in to see Kristen on a repeat of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Breckin Meyer (Married to the Kellys/Inside Schwartz) - Breckin appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory) - Ana visits LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Chris is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Jami Gertz (The Neighbors/Still Standing/Square Pegs) - Jami is interviewed in an encore airing of The Chew Presents ABC's Fall Primetime Preview Special at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
• Reba McEntire (Malibu Country/Reba) - Reba is interviewed in an encore airing of The Chew Presents ABC's Fall Primetime Preview Special at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.

• Jamie Foxx (The Jamie Foxx Show) - Catch Jamie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Kathy Griffin (Suddenly Susan) - Kathy visits The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Jim Gaffigan (My Boys/Welcome to New York) - Jim appears on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
• Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) - Kunal stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Marilu Henner (Taxi) - Marilu is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) and Jane Leeves (Hot in Cleveland/Frasier) - Two of the stars of Hot in Cleveland appear on a repeat of The Nate Berkus Show, so check your local listings.

• Bob Newhart (The Bob Newhart Show/Newhart/Bob) - Watch the legendary Mr. Newhart, who celebrates 40 years on television, on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Ellen Barkin (The New Normal) - Ellen drops by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi talks about The X Factor on NBC's Today between 7-9am. She also visits LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings. Finally, she will also be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Big Time Rush - The cast of Big Time Rush are guests on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/The Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - Sofia is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) - Yvette guest co-hosts a repeat of The Nate Berkus Show, so check your local listings.

• Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen) - Catch Ellen on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) - Adam stops by Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Angela Kinsey (The Office) - Angela visits The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny appears on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
• Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/The Mary Tyler Moore Show) - Betty is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda stops by NBC's Today between 7-9am.

• Matthew Perry (Go On/Mr. Sunshine/Friends) - Watch Matthew on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class/The Pitts) - Lizzy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Ellen Barkin (The New Normal) - Ellen talks about The New Normal on NBC's Today between 7-9am.