SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're hearing what ABC wants to do with those Jeopardy! all stars, we're hearing of a new online "linear" streaming service (another free one!), and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

The upcoming launch of Esquire Network was delayed and now we have a rescheduled launch date! It was first set to launch in April, but just days before the launch they delayed it. So the network didn't rebrand and change the name from G4 just yet. Esquire Network will debut on Monday, September 23, 2013. The network will kick off primetime with a two-hour special that commemorates Esquire magazine's landmark 80th anniversary, timed to coincide with the October debut of the magazine's anniversary issue. The original Esquire 80th Anniversary Special (WT) will look back at the social, political and cultural forces that shaped our lives over the last eight decades - told through the lens of the magazine, its stories, images and covers.

As we mentioned, Esquire Network's offering will include contemporary series making their network premiere, including: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Parks and Recreation, Party Down, Burn Notice, and Psych. No word yet if the schedule they announced in April will be the schedule for the new launch date. We hope it is so we see some classic series as well like The A-Team, Airwolf and Magnum P.I.




WBNS-10TV (Dispatch Broadcast Group's CBS affiliate WBNS Columbus, Ohio) is pleased to announce the launch of Antenna TV on its over the air channel 10.2 beginning June 12. WBNS is airing a 30-minute special on Saturday, June 8, at 7:30 pm that will give viewers a sneak peak at Antenna TV. The Antenna TV Preview Show explains what Antenna TV is and reviews clips from shows such as Barney Miller, WKRP in Cincinnati, All in the Family and other classics. In addition to broadcasting over the air on ch. 10.2 in Columbus, Antenna TV will also be available on Time Warner Cable ch. 372, WOW! Ch. 101 and Insight ch. 432. Antenna TV (http://www.antennatv.tv/) launched on January 1, 2011 and is available as a digital multicast channel on 74 affiliates across the U.S. reaching 63% of TV households, including WPIX-TV (11.2) New York, KTLA-TV (5.2) Los Angeles, and WGN-TV (9.2) Chicago. Check out the full list of updated affiliates.

We have the Esquire Network launch schedule for you today. The network currently known as G4 (owned by NBC Universal), will re-brand and re-launch as Esquire Network next week (April 22), as we mentioned. The network will start the new schedule at 12 noon ET on Monday, April 22 with The A-Team starring Mr. T! The '80s action drama will air as a block to launch the network from 12-6pm (and will air every Monday after that from 1-5pm). A special airing of the Will Ferrell movie Semi-Pro will follow at 6pm leading into the Parks & Recreation block from 8-10pm. Parks & Recreation will air every Monday from 8-10pm leading into the short-lived comedy Party Down from 10-11pm. Both comedies will encore the next afternoon, on Tuesdays from 3-6pm with Party Down starting it off this time. In primetime on Tuesdays, original series Knife Life and The Getaway will air from 9-11pm.

On Wednesday, April 24, more acquisitions will launch. First up, '80s Tom Selleck drama Magnum P.I. will air every Wednesday from 1pm-5pm (but on this day it will be longer from 12-5pm). Magnum also will still air on the NBC-owned mutlticast digital station Cozi TV. The Tom Selleck drama will lead into reruns of USA Network series Burn Notice at 5pm & 6pm. The series will air weekdays at 5pm & 6pm (and an encore at 11pm & 12am in late night). Also launching April 24, are a week later airings of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 7pm, as we mentioned. It will also air weekdays and air at 7pm with a next day encore at 12 noon. Movies will air in primetime on Wednesdays, with Shutter Island airing on April 24. As mentioned Burn Notice will air in late night at 11pm & 12am, leading into another off-network buy with the '90s drama New York Undercover. That series will air weeknights at 1am. It will also continue to air on Centric, so this is a shared deal between Esquire and Centric. On Thursdays, Parks & Recreation will encore two of its Monday airings and air 1-2pm and again from 8-9pm, as it will be good promotion for its first-run NBC airings at 9:30pm. The Wednesday primetime movie will encore on Thursday afternoons leading into Burn Notice and Fallon. In primetime on Thursdays, as mentioned Parks will air 8-9pm leading into encores The Getaway and Knife Life from 9-11pm. On to Fridays, we have another classic '80s drama airing from 1-5pm, this time it is Airwolf! In primetime, reruns of USA Network series Psych will air Fridays from 8-11pm. Mornings (9:30am-12am) and late nights (2am-4:30am) will continue to be Cops every weekday, as it was on G4.

On to weekends, we have a lot of encores and movies. Of note, Parks & Recreation will encore its Monday airings once again, this time Sundays 7-9pm leading into encore of Party Down from 9-10pm. Anyway, it's good to see The A-Team, Magnum P.I. and Airwolf join this network. Hopefully we see more classic '80s series join the line-up. As of now Knight Rider and Quantum Leap will not be on Esquire, as they have been airing on G4. Stay with us for continued updates on Esquire Network and for any scheduling updates.

Up next, TVGN announced that it will become the exclusive basic cable home for the #1 daytime soap, The Young & The Restless (Y&R). The acquisition of the top-rated daytime franchise from Sony Pictures Television marks the first TVGN programming announcement as part of the new CBS Corporation/Lionsgate partnership. Beginning this summer, Y&R will move from SOAPnet, where it has already been a basic cable ratings success, to TVGN, keeping the 7:00 PM, ET/PT time slot where it has built a loyal fan base, and will appear day-and-date with its broadcast on the CBS Television Network. One of the most popular franchises in daytime television history, Y&R recently celebrated 40 years on the air on CBS, where it has dominated the ratings in daytime. TVGN recently announced that is has changed its name from TV Guide Network to just TVGN. Currently, the TVGN line-up consists of reruns from 9am-8pm will series like Ugly Betty, Cybill, Designing Women, Early Edition and Who's the Boss? It is unclear what will happen now that CBS has partnered with Lionsgate to buy the network. There is speculation that same-day reruns of Entertainment Tonight, OMG! Insider and Inside Edition could pop-up on the network. Or perhaps CBS will also delve into the CBS Paramount library and air reruns of classic sitcoms from their library. It's too early to tell, but we will keep you up to date...for now you can still continue to enjoy the current slate of sitcoms/dramas. Stay with us.

Late last week Fox scheduled mid-season comedy The Goodwin Games to premiere on Monday, May 20. However, the comedy will be surrounded by repeats of Fox's sitcoms, so this is more of a burn-off since it is airing in summer (more because it is placed with repeats). The Goodwin Games will air Mondays at 8:30pm beginning Monday, May 20 for seven weeks. Starring Scott Foley (Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, Felicity), Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) and T.J. Miller (Carpoolers, Our Idiot Brother), the inventive family comedy tells the story of three estranged siblings who return home after the loss of their beloved father (guest star Beau Bridges, My Name Is Earl), and unexpectedly find themselves poised to inherit more than $20 million - if, and only if, they can adhere to their late father's wishes. Summer encores of Tuesday comedies Raising Hope (8:00PM ET/PT), New Girl (9:00PM ET/PT) and The Mindy Project (9:30PM ET/PT) will air with this comedy on Mondays in the summer. Stay with us closer to premiere date for a pilot review of The Goodwin Games.

The Fox summer schedule kicks off on May 14. Returning for its landmark 10th season, So You Think You Can Dance waltzes into a new season Tuesday, May 14 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT every Tuesday. New unscripted workplace experiment Does Someone Have To Go clocks in with a special preview Wednesday, May 15 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following the first night of the two-night season finale of American Idol. In the series, which makes its time period premiere Thursday, May 23 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, the boardroom doors get blown wide open when employees are given the power to make some tough decisions. Hell's Kitchen will move to Thursdays at 9 beginning May 23. Masterchef debuts its fourth season with a two-hour season premiere on Wednesday, May 22 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT and will be two-hours every Wednesday. Drama encores (Bones & The Following) will air Fridays, with MLB Baseball on Saturdays and Animation Domination comedy encores on Sundays. And finally, Animation Domination High-Def, Fox's new alternative animated programming block, will premiere late night on air Saturday, July 27 from 11:00 PM-12:30 AM ET/PT, with a number of new quarter-hour animated series. That's Fox Summer 2013! Stay with us for continued updates and summer schedules for the rest of the networks.

The new Esquire Network (currently known as G4) has secured exclusive cable television rights to NBC's award-winning late-night talk show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Starting Wednesday, April 24, episodes will air on Esquire Network Monday through Friday at 7PM ET/PT, one week after they first premiere on NBC. Late Night marks the first talk show addition to the network's programming slate. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon joins previously announced series including originals Knife Fight and The Getaway, along with off-network comedy series Parks and Recreation and Party Down, as part of Esquire Network's new programming lineup beginning April 22. So it looks like Parks and Recreation will premiere in syndication before the Fall. We're not sure yet how many times a week Esquire can air the comedy yet, but we'll let you know as soon as we can release their launch schedule.

The network just ordered two original series to premiere this summer. In How I Rock It (working title), from Ryan Seacrest Productions and Citizen Jones, host and NBA superstar Baron Davis profiles the athletes, musicians, celebrities, designers, influencers and street-style icons whose careers, lives and lifestyles are setting a stylish new standard for today's modern man. Every half-hour episode in this six-part series features the leading tastemakers at the forefront of a men's style revolution, from the sartorial to the culinary, from home decor to personal technology and more, who all share one thing in common: a passion for expressing themselves through personal style. Risky Listing (working title) is a six-part, one-hour docuseries from Zodiak New York that goes behind the velvet rope to meet the high-end listings agents who wheel and deal in the exclusive, intensely competitive world of New York nightlife real estate. The series will follow along with the agents as they cut deals for the hottest bar, restaurant and nightclub spaces -- and try to stay on top in the city that never sleeps. The playground of New York's coolest crowds may be their office, but in a cutthroat business, with millions on the line, will they toast their success or get cut off before last call?

If you didn't read our previous story, The Esquire Network is a new network for the modern man. Tagline: The modern man will be televised. Championing intelligence, wit and style, Esquire Network brings the iconic men's brand to television as the definitive network for the modern, multi-faceted man. A strategic partnership between NBCUniversal and Hearst Magazines, the network's programming explores and celebrates the interests, passions and aspirations of today's man: gaming, gear, entertainment, food, fashion, women, humor, travel, competition, danger and more. Formerly known as G4, Esquire Network will launch Monday, April 22, 2013 in 62 million households nationwide, as well as online, mobile, On Demand and other platforms. Esquire Network is a unit of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal.

National cable network WGN America has acquired the off-network rights to the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation and will begin airing it this September, 2013. The sitcom has not been cleared for local broadcast syndication and was being pitched for Fall 2014 at NATPE. So the series will likely premiere on cable first in syndication rather than the normal local broadcast five-days-a-week syndication. The comedy has more than enough episodes for syndication but NBCUniversal is likely going more after a SVOD (subscription video-on-demand) play. The series is currently airing in its fifth season and by this fall it will have 90 episodes in the can, which is just enough for syndication and weekday play. The series has not yet been renewed for a sixth season on NBC, but with NBC losing The Office and 30 Rock after this season, it is more than likely Parks will be back. It is unclear how WGN America will schedule the series, but currently WGN America airs comedies 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rules of Engagement, How I Met Your Mother, Old Christine, Futurama and Scrubs. WGN America will not have exclusive cable rights like usual, as all of those series above can also be found elsewhere. WGN America will share the cable rights for Parks and Recreation with G4, but more on that below (including a name change for G4).

From Emmy Award-winning executive producers Greg Daniels (NBC's The Office, King of the Hill) and Michael Schur (NBC's The Office, Saturday Night Live), Parks and Recreation is a hilarious ensemble comedy that follows Leslie Knope (Emmy nominee Poehler, NBC's Saturday Night Live) a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, and her tireless efforts to make her quintessentially American town just a little bit more fun. The series also stars Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, Chris Prat, Jim O'Heir, Nick Offerman, Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe.

We haven't talked about this yet, but the G4 network will be rebranding again and this time the new name will be the Esquire Network (yep, like the magazine). And they will also air off-network cable runs of Parks and Recreation this fall. Beginning April 22, 2013, the G4 network will be rebranded the Esquire Network. The network is a strategic partnership between NBCUniversal and Hearst Magazines to create the only television network aimed at the full, multi-faceted lives of today's modern men. Esquire Network will expand on G4's foundation of games, gear and gadgets to reflect the broad range of interests, passions and aspirations that define men today. Appealing to men's intelligence as well as their sense of adventure, Esquire Network's programming will capture the classic voice, impeccable style and unmistakable wit that have come to define Esquire, the original men's magazine and premier authority on contemporary man. Diverse program categories and genres will feature not only gaming and technology, but also entertainment, food, fashion, women, humor, travel, competition, danger and more.

The network will feature a blend of unscripted and scripted series, and movies and specials that appeal to today's man. Partnering with the industry's top producers and talent, the Esquire Network team is developing a slate of engaging all-new original series such as Knife Fight, a passionate celebration of food, executive produced by Drew Barrymore, Flower Films and Authentic Entertainment. Hosted by "Top Chef" winner Ilan Hall, Knife Fight is an underground, after-hours cooking competition where talented chefs go head to head in front of a rowdy crowd of celebrities, critics and die-hard foodies. Another original series, The Getaway (working title), is executive produced by Anthony Bourdain and Zero Point Zero and features travel-loving, well known personalities - people deservedly famous for excellence in their fields - who take viewers to their favorite city on the planet, giving the insiders' track on their top spots to eat, drink, shop and hang out.

Fan favorite competition series American Ninja Warrior will return for its fifth season, to air this summer on Esquire Network and NBC. Additionally, Esquire Network will complement its slate of original programming with ambitious and witty scripted series that include reruns of NBC's Emmy-nominated comedy, Parks and Recreation, and the critically acclaimed series from STARZ, Party Down, which aired in 2009-10. Additional programming announcements will be made in the coming weeks. We hope we have some more comedies to go along with Parks and Recreation and Party Down. Stay with us!

The Hallmark Channel will be making some schedule changes beginning next week - Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. The changes will be for the daytime line-up, and yes they will be moving some timeslots for its original series. First, the weekday 9am hour will now an encore of daytime talk show Marie, instead of back-to-back Golden Girls. The talk show did not have an encore airing, so now it will, and The Golden Girls will remain in the 8am hour. From 10am-12pm, original series Home & Family will continue to air leading into original episodes of Marie at 12 noon. However from 1-3pm, the encore of Home & Family will be replaced by four episodes of Frasier! Since the 9am hour of The Golden Girls was replaced, Hallmark will move that hour to 3-4pm, replacing The Waltons. And the final change is that The Waltons will also no longer air at 4pm & 5pm, as the Home & Family encore will be moving to this block now. So yes, this means The Waltons will be off the schedule for now.

The rest of the Hallmark Channel line-up will remain intact with Little House from 6-10pm (except NUMB3RS on Mondays from 8-10pm), then Frasier from 10pm-12am, Golden Girls from 12-2am, Cheers from 2-3am, Frasier from 3am-5am, and I Love Lucy still from 5am-8am. But don't forget in November and December, holiday movies will take over for most of the day, so you won't see the regular schedule until January...and that will include the addition of The Brady Bunch! Stay with us for further details!

Just a programming note that the classic '80s series Knight Rider is back on cable and is airing on G4, as of Oct. 1. The series starring David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight and William Daniels as the voice KITT, is airing weekdays at 11am & 12pm and again in late night at 3am & 4am. The series was last seen on the digital over the air network Retro TV. The series also briefly aired on TV Land in 2007 and had a better run on Sci-Fi before that.

In this classic '80s NBC series, a former cop gets a new identity and teams with a talking supercar to fight crime after a wealthy benefactor saves his life. The chiseled lead actor had his fans, but the show was truly driven by the sleek, droll automobile KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand), a customized Pontiac Trans-Am that kept the hero on the straight and narrow between fistfights and female conquests. A TV-movie reunited man and car in 1991, and a sequel series, Team Knight Rider, ran on ABC in 1997-98. There was also a short-lived revival in 2008 on NBC with Michael Knight's son now as Knight Rider.
Knight Rider is replacing Quantum Leap on the schedule. Other series G4 airs includes Lost, Heroes, Cops and Cheaters.

As we hinted a few weeks ago, CMT has acquired two new sitcoms and we can now reveal what they are! Two long-running, family-oriented sitcoms Reba and Yes, Dear will make their way to CMT this Fall as part of a multi-year licensing deal with Twentieth Television. Syndicated episodes of Reba and Yes, Dear will air in weekday blocks beginning Wednesday, August 1, 2012. The network will also air seven straight hours of Reba as part of a fan-voted marathon on Saturday, August 18. So, beginning July 13, fans can vote via CMT's Facebook page to pick their all-time favorite episodes of the beloved sitcom.
Reba will kick off primetime weeknights on CMT from 7:00-9:00pm ET and it will also air afternoons 4:00-5:00pm ET. Starring country music powerhouse Reba McEntire, the series ran for six successful seasons, totaling 127 episodes. Yes, Dear will serve as the lead-in to Reba, airing weeknights from 5:00-7:00pm ET. These acquisitions complement CMT's current line-up (off-network series like Dukes of Hazzard and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), and the network also has more originals in production than any time in its history.
Currently Reba airs on Lifetime and Yes, Dear airs on Nick at Nite. As of the end of June, TBS no longer airs Yes, Dear. The question you might have is, will Reba continue on Lifetime as it is coming to CMT? It doesn't look like it, but we will confirm that very soon. We can however tell you that Reba will be coming to ANOTHER cable network in August, in addition to CMT. What network do you think it will be? Start the guessing game! As for Yes, Dear, both Nick at Nite and CMT are a part of the Viacom library so they will be sharing the sitcom.

Moving on, we have another acquisition for you! "We have to go back!" Modern television was changed forever with the series premiere of Lost on September 22, 2004. From the mind of celebrated television producer J.J. Abrams, Lost follows a group of plane crash survivors as they struggle to persevere on a supernatural, mysterious island in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. An instant hit and cult favorite through its original run on ABC, Lost was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 2005. Whether viewers missed any of the action the first time, or just want to re-experience the pop culture phenomenon, G4 will air the entire series in four episode installments every Monday, beginning Monday, July 16 at 8pm ET/PT.
The hit drama was shared with the then Sci-Fi Channel back in Fall 2008 but both Sci-Fi (now known as Syfy) and G4 have not aired the drama in a while. G4 never has aired season six, so for the first time they will be airing the entire series. Get ready to go back and relive the entire series every Monday from 8pm-12am ET starting July 16!
The survivors featured on Lost include a diverse group of people from different walks of life - a doctor (Matthew Fox), an escaped fugitive (Evangeline Lilly), a con man (Josh Holloway), an Iraqi interrogator (Naveen Andrews), a married Korean couple (Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim) and a man formerly confined to a wheelchair who is inexplicably healed (Terry O'Quinn). As the castaways attempt to get home, flashbacks (and forwards) illuminate their troubled lives before and after the crash, as the island they find themselves stranded on begins to slowly reveal its mysterious nature. The island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, hatches with electricity and hot & cold running water, a group of island residents known as "The Others," and a mysterious man named Jacob. Faith, reason, destiny and free will all clash as the island offers opportunities for both corruption and redemption ... but as to its true purpose? That's the greatest mystery of all.