SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

CW Seed, The CW's free, ad-supported digital network, has acquired off-season streaming rights to Pop TV's Primetime Emmy Award nominated comedy series Schitt's Creek. Seasons one through four of Schitt's Creek is now available to stream on the CW Seed App and CWSeed.com as of yesterday, Sunday, August 4. In Schitt's Creek, a character-driven, half-hour, single-camera scripted comedy series, is co-created by two-time Emmy Award winner Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy. The series' ensemble cast includes Eugene Levy, Emmy Award winner Catherine O'Hara, Daniel Levy, Annie Murphy, four-time Emmy Award winner Chris Elliott, Emily Hampshire, Jennifer Robertson, Noah Reid, Dustin Milligan, Sarah and Karen Robinson. The series follows a wealthy family who suddenly find themselves broke and forced to live in Schitt's Creek, a small town they once bought as a joke. Schitt's Creek will premiere its sixth and final season only on Pop TV in the US in early 2020.

ABC Entertainment and Banijay Studios North America announced that comedy actor Adam Scott is set to host Don't on ABC. Executive produced by Ryan Reynolds, Don't is a comedic physical game show that offers contestants the opportunity to team up with their family and friends for the chance to win a cash prize of up to $100,000 by tackling hilarious tasks each with the simple rule of "DON'T." In each episode, members of the four-person team will strive to accomplish various challenges, such as "Don't Laugh," "Don't Blink" or "Don't Look Back," as they work together to build their bank.

Adam Scott is an award-winning actor, director and producer. Known for his role as Ben Wyatt in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation," he also starred as Derek in the film Step Brothers and Henry Pollard in the acclaimed Starz sitcom Party Down. Adam can currently be seen in the award-winning HBO series Big Little Lies, which was nominated for a 2017 TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials. He's also recurring in NBC's The Good Place, for which he received a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Villain. This past season, he starred opposite Craig Robinson in the 20th Century Fox TV paranormal-comedy series, Ghosted, that his Getting' Rad Productions also produced.

We have good news and bad news for summer sitcom burn-offs of canceled fresh sitcoms. Well technically not canceled (but 99.9% likely it is), Ghosted returns to Fox on Sunday (June 10) and will air at 8:30pm and 9:30pm before moving to Sundays at 9:30pm for a month beginning June 17. Nine episodes have aired so far this season, with the last airing in January, but we now will have seven episodes airing this summer. The single-camera comedy is an action-comedy about the unlikely partnership between two down-on-their-luck polar opposites tasked with an even more unlikely mission: saving the human race from aliens. The series stars Adam Scott as Max Jennifer, Craig Robinson as Leroy Wright, Ally Walker as Captain Ava LaFrey, Adeel Akhtar as Dr. Barry Shaw, and Amber Stevens West as Annie.

One other sitcom is not even going to get the burn-off treatment anymore. Former freshman CBS sitcom Living Biblically will not be returning to the Monday line-up this summer after all. Five episodes remain to still be aired, but CBS has pulled them again. The sitcom hasn't aired since April when it got pulled from the line-up. Instead, CBS will air reruns of NCIS: New Orleans in the 9pm hour on Mondays. The sitcom stars Jay R. Ferguson as Chip Curry, a modern-day man at a crossroads in his life who decides to live strictly in accordance with the Bible. As he begins his sincere spiritual journey toward a more moral life with the help of his wife and friends, Chip wonders if he'll be able to take a page - or every page - out of the Good Book, and if the effect will be of Biblical proportions. Lindsey Kraft, Ian Gomez, David Krumholtz, Tony Rock and Camryn Manheim also star.

Actor Robert Mandan, who starred as Chester Tate in Soap and as James Bradford in Three's a Crowd, has died. He died in Los Angeles on April 29 following a long illness. Mr. Mandan was 86.

Mandan's early roles included the NBC soap operas From These Roots as David Allen from 1958 to 1961 and as Sam Reynolds in Search from Tomorrow from 1966 to 1970. He starred as Deputy Commissioner Ed Rawlings in the short-lived 1975 ABC police drama Caribe, which was set in Miami.

Some of his early sitcom guest appearances included a 1972 episode of Sanford and Son as an auctioneer, as attorney Mr. Morrison in a 1973 episode of All in the Family and as Maude's gay friend, Barry, in a 1974 episode of Maude. He appeared in two other episodes of Maude as different characters. Other early guest appearances included Barney Miller, One Day at a Time and Phyllis.

He starred as Chester Tate, the womanizing businessman husband of Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond), in Soap from 1977-1981. Tate was a wealthy stock broker with an affinity for extramarital affairs. Chester and Jessica separated in Season 3 and divorced in Season 4. The ABC sitcom also starred Diana Canova (1977-1980), Jennifer Salt, Jimmy Baio, Robert Guillaume (1977-1979), Arthur Peterson, Cathryn Damon, Richard Mulligan, Billy Crystal, Ted Wass, Robert Urich, Jay Johnson, Sal Viscuso (1978-1979), Dinah Manoff (1978-1979), Donnelly Rhodes (1978-1981) and Roscoe Lee Browne (1980-1981).

Mandan starred as Col. Lawrence Fielding in the second and third seasons of the 1981-1983 CBS sitcom Private Benjamin, which was based on the movie of the same name. Col. Lawrence Fielding was the pompous, well-meaning, but ineffectual, head of the camp. The series starred Lorna Patterson, Eileen Brennan, Hal Williams, Ann Ryerson (1981-1982), Joan Roberts (1981), Joyce Little (1981), Lisa Raggio, Lucy Webb (1981-1982), Francesca Roberts (1981), Damita Jo Freeman (1981-1983), Joel Brooks (1982) and Wendie Jo Sperber (1982-1983).

He appeared as James Bradford, the father of Vicky Bradford (Mary Cadorette), in the final episodes of Three's Company. He continued the role in the spin-off series Three's a Crowd, which aired for one season on ABC in 1984-1985. James Bradford owned the building that included Jack's Bistro and Jack's and Vicky's apartment. It also starred John Ritter as Jack Tripper and Alan Campbell as E.Z. Taylor. Jessica Walter had a recurring role as Claudia Bradford, Vicky's mother and James' ex-wife.

Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Too Close for Comfort, The Facts of Life (as Bruce Gaines who marries Mrs. Garrett), The Love Boat, Mama's Family, The Golden Girls, My Two Dads, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, Delta, Married with Children and Weird Science. He reunited with Katherine Helmond as Reed Hamilton in two episodes of Who's the Boss? in 1991 and 1992.

Survivors include his wife Sherry Dixon, a licensed primal psychotherapist.

Mr. Mandan was very funny in all of his sitcom roles. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment he brought us during his long career. He will be greatly missed.

We also remember actor Hugh Dane. He was best known for his recurring role as Hank the security guard in The Office. He died on May 16. Mr. Dane was 75.

Dane appeared in 22 episodes as Hank Tate, the no-nonsense security guard, in The Office from 2005 to 2013. The NBC sitcom starred Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, Melora Hardin, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Creed Bratton, Craig Robinson, Ellie Kemper, Zach Woods, Amy Ryan, Catherine Tate, Clark Duke and Jake Lacy.

He had a recurring role as Fred in nine episodes of the Fox sitcom Roc from 1991 to 1994. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Where I Live, Boy Meets World, Friends, Buddies, Sister, Sister, Malcolm & Eddie, Becker, The Steve Harvey Show, Everybody Hates Chris, New Girl, Girl Meets World, The Carmichael Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Mayor.

His film credits included Restraining Order, Joy Ride, Reflections: A Story of Redemption, Ralph & Stanley, Beautiful Dreamer, For Heaven's Sake, StarStruck, Little Fockers and Bridesmaids.

Mr. Dane was a talented and funny actor. We thank him for the laughs he brought us on The Office and his other appearances. He will be deeply missed.

Fox has set a return date for the back half of the fifth season for comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The series will move to Sundays at 8:30pm beginning Sunday, March 18, replacing Ghosted. No word yet where Ghosted will air, but that series was set to return on March 11 to air its remaining 7 episodes of the season. Brooklyn Nine-Nine was airing Tuesday nights at 9:30pm in the fall. In the return episode on March 18, after Seamus (guest star Paul Adelstein) threatens Kevin (guest star Marc Evan Jackson), Holt devises an elaborate plan to hide him in a safe house, with Jake as his guard. Kevin is miserable as the 99 works overtime to find Seamus and take him down. Brooklyn Nine-Nine stars Andy Samberg as Det. Jake Peralta; Andre Braugher as Capt. Ray Holt; Terry Crews as Sgt. Terry Jeffords; Melissa Fumero as Det. Amy Santiago; Joe Lo Truglio as Det. Charles Boyle; Chelsea Peretti as Gina Linetti; Stephanie Beatriz as Det. Rosa Diaz; Dirk Blocker as Det. Hitchcock; Joel McKinnon Miller as Det. Scully.

Actor David Ogden Stiers, who was best known for his role as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III in M*A*S*H, has died. He died on March 3 at his home in Newport, Oregon, from complications related to bladder cancer. Mr. Stiers was 75.

Stiers' first television starring role was as Stanley Moss in the second season of the 1975-1976 CBS sitcom Doc. He ran the Westside Clinic, which Dr. Joe "Doc" Bogert (Barnard Hughes) worked at. Season two of the series also starred Mary Wickes, Irwin Corey, Audra Lindley, Herbie Faye and Ray Vitte.

Stiers starred as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III in the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H. He joined the cast in season six, replacing Larry Linville (Major Frank Burns). Stiers appeared in 131 episodes over the final six seasons (1977-1983). Charles Emerson Winchester III was an aristocratic Bostonian who worked as a surgeon. Seasons 6-11 of the series also starred Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Jamier Farr (recurring Seasons 1-3, regular Seasons 4-11), William Christopher (recurring Seasons 1-4, regular Seasons 5-11), Gary Burghoff (Seasons 1-8), Mike Farrell (Seasons 4-11) and Harry Morgan (Seasons 4-11). Stiers received two Emmy nominations for the role for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series in 1981 and 1982. He also directed two episodes of the series in 1981 and 1982.

He starred as Nicholas Conklin in the short-lived 1999-2000 CBS sitcom Love & Money. Nicholas Conklin was the stuffy billionaire father of Allison Conklin (Paget Brewster) and the husband of the boozy Effie Conklin (Swoosie Kurtz). The series also starred Brian Van Holt, Judy Greer, John Livingston and Brian Doyle-Murray.

In 1998, he appeared in the recurring role of Mr. Bauer in the first season of the ABC sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. Mr. Bauer was a delusional old man who frequents the pizza place, pretending that experiences from films are his own. The first season of the series also starred Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo, Traylor Howard, Jennifer Westfeldt (1998) and Julius Carry (1998).

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Phyllis, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, The Tony Randall Show, ALF, Wings, Married People, The Boys Are Back, Cybill, The Trouble with Normal and Frasier.

He appeared in the recurring role of Reverend Eugene 'Gene' Purdy in 40 episodes of the USA Network sci-fi drama The Dead Zone, which aired from 2002 to 2007. Reverend Gene Purdy was the head of the ultraconservative Faith Heritage Alliance. The series starred Anthony Michael Hall, Nicole de Boer, Chris Bruno, John L. Adams and Connor Price (Season 6).

Stiers was also known for his voice work. He provided the voice of Cogsworth in the 1991 Walt Disney film Beauty and the Beast. He was the voice of Dr. Jumba Jookiba in Disney's Lilo & Stitch and its sequels. Some of his other voice credits included Teacher's Pet, Disney's House of Mouse, Justice League and Regular Show. He was also one of the narrators for PBS' American Experience, Frontline and Nova.

Mr. Stiers was a towering presence with a deep, calm voice. He was very memorable as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. He played the character to perfection. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment he brought us over the years. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our M*A*S*H message board. View photos in our galleries.

by Vincent

This week marks the official start of the fall TV season. In the past two weeks, I've highlighted two comedies that I feel have been particularly great, BoJack Horseman and The Good Place. That will continue this week with my final "fall spotlight" - this time for the sardonic romantic comedy You're the Worst. Spoilers through the fourth season of You're the Worst may follow.

Since its debut in 2014, You're the Worst has flipped romantic comedy tropes on its head. Its central couple - Jimmy and Gretchen - are self-described horrible people who don't believe in love or caring for other people. Yet over the course of the first season, we watched and rooted for these two as they fell in love, even as they continued to deny it (and, often times, as they continued to do terrible and self-destructure things that normally we wouldn't cheer for.) In the second season, You're the Worst showed Jimmy and Gretchen's newfound relationship as something unlike what we've seen on TV before - they were wild, kind of terrible, but incredibly entertaining to watch. Halfway through that season, You're the Worst began to address the issue of mental illness, revealing that Gretchen suffers from depression, leading to much of the chaotic and self-destructive behavior she showcases through-out the series. That revelation elevated You're the Worst from entertaining to a show genuinely interested in exploring the human condition and what it means to be in a relationship with someone and to accept them for who they are.

Now at the start of its fourth season, You're the Worst has broken up its central couple, and promises to tackle break-up tropes in classic off-kilter You're the Worst fashion. After the season premiere showed us what Jimmy and Gretchen were up to after the break-up, the show has stomped all over conventional TV break-up rules by having Gretchen refusing to leave Jimmy's bed (she paid rent in advance, after all) - squashing the "keep them apart" mentality that most TV shows follow. If it's anything like what the show has done in the past, it should be hilarious, dark and moving in its own wild and weird way.

So that's it for my spotlight on particularly great fall comedies. Next week, we'll dive into network TV's slate of sitcoms for the fall this year - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Ghosted - Sundays at 8:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres Sunday, October 1, 2017 at 8:30PM ET/PT

by Pavan

Starring Craig Robinson and Adam Scott, Ghosted is a single-camera, live-action comedy about the partnership between two polar opposites – a cynical skeptic and a genius "true believer" in the paranormal – who are recruited by a secret government agency, known as The Bureau Underground, to save the human race. Also starring Ally Walker, Adeel Akhtar and Amber Stevens West, this heroic group of underdogs will look into "unexplained" activity in Los Angeles, as they attempt to uncover the truth and keep the earth rotating on its axis for at least one more day.

Cast Details:

by Vincent

One of the major trends in television comedy lately has been to depict the lives of people who are generally rich, famous and much more privileged than the average viewer of said comedies. This dates back all the way back to the likes of Friends and Seinfeld, sitcoms about people who held down respectable jobs and managed to live in impressive sized apartments in the most expensive and desirable city in the world. This continued into the 2000s, with nearly every major sitcom representing people in high-class jobs living lavish lifestyles - 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and even cable comedies such as Girls, Entourage, and Louie.

I don't mean to knock these shows - I love most of them! But it's an interesting trend, especially considering it wasn't always the case. Older sitcoms had no problems depicting rural lifestyles (Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, etc), or working class families (All in the Family, Roseanne) or low-wage workers (Taxi, Cheers). And there's something about sitcoms that are able to depict the lives of ordinary, everyday people and highlight how the challenges and complexities of everyday, middle class life in America. Shows like Roseanne and All in the Family were able to capture the zeitgeist by reflecting what Americans were going through every day back at them on their TV screens. And there's nothing like an ensemble show about working class misfits like Taxi or Cheers that helps you feel just a little bit more at home at your own less-than-enthralling job.

Luckily, there are signs the times are changing. There are a handful of sitcoms on the air right now that channel some of these older, working class sitcoms - The Middle does an excellent job of portraying working class family life, while Superstore has echoed Taxi or Cheers in the way it creates a makeshift family of people in a down-on-their-luck position. ABC has also officially announced a Roseanne reboot that should certainly prove interesting in our current era. It's been fun hanging with high society, but I'm ready for sitcoms to get a little more down to Earth.

Fox has set the fall 2017 premiere dates for its new and returning series. Most will launch during premiere week (Sept 25-Oct. 1), but there are a few exceptions. The Gifted, the new family adventure series, produced in association with Marvel Television, launches Monday, Oct. 2 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following the return of Lucifer at 8:00 PM ET/PT. No word yet what will air on Monday, Sept. 25, the first night of the new TV season. New comedic drama The Orville, from creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane and director Jon Favreau, debuts with a special two-night series premiere on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 8:00 PM ET/PT and Sunday, Sept. 17 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, immediately following NFL On Fox doubleheaders. The Orville will then make its time period premiere on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following Gotham's Season Four return on a new night at 8:00 PM ET/PT. The new buddy comedy Ghosted, starring Craig Robinson and Adam Scott, premieres Oct. 1 at 8:30 PM ET/PT, during a Sunday night of premieres, including Bob's Burgers (7:30PM ET/PT), The Simpsons (8:00 PM ET/PT), Family Guy (9:00PM ET/PT and The Last Man on Earth (9:30PM ET/PT).

Lethal Weapon Season Two now leads off Tuesdays, beginning Sept. 26 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, followed by the season premieres of The Mick at 9:00 PM ET/PT and Brooklyn Nine-Nine at 9:30 PM ET/PT. Empire (8:00PM ET/PT) and Star (9:00 PM ET/PT) join forces on an epic night of music and drama, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 27. Friday, Sept. 29 sees the returns of Hell's Kitchen (8:00PM ET/PT) and The Exorcist (9:00 PM ET/PT).

We're jumping for joy because Modern Family has been picked up for TWO more amazing seasons, its 9th and 10th seasons. The 8th season wraps up next week, and in the season finale, Manny's father, Javier (guest star Benjamin Bratt), shows up for his graduation and takes him out on a wild night of celebration, and then Jay steps in to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is getting ready for Luke and Manny's big day and dealing with the emotions that come with seeing your kids grow up and leave the nest. Modern Family anchors ABC Wednesdays at 9pm and will likely stay in that slot next season (and probably the year after, too).


Time for a speed round of pre-upfront news. ABC has canceled Last Man Standing after six seasons, in somewhat of a surprise. The series was pretty expensive, as ABC did not own it and Tim Allen's salary is steep. ABC also has announced that next season will be the last for Scandal, its seventh season. NBC has canceled freshman drama Timeless. In good news, Fox has ordered new seasons of Gotham and sitcom The Last Man on Earth, while NBC has renewed Blindspot and the three veteran Chicago series (Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med). And finally, The CW has renewed iZombie and The Originals.

Moving onto new series, The CW has picked up a few new dramas, including Black Lightning. The first African-American DC Super Hero to have his own stand-alone comic title, the series is based on the character created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden in 1977 and stars China Anne McClain. The CW has also ordered Life Sentence, a dramedy about a young woman diagnosed with terminal cancer and when she finds out that she's not dying after all, she has to learn to live with the choices she made when she decided to live like she was dying. Lucy Hale stars. The biggest new CW series will probably be Dynasty, a reboot of Esther Shapiro and Richard Shapiro's famed 1981-1989 series about two of America's wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, as they feud for control over their fortune and their children, among the stars are Alan Dale, Brianna Brown, Elizabeth Gillies and Grant Show. And finally, The CW has picked up Valor, a drama about a U.S. Army base that houses an elite unit of helicopter pilots trained to perform clandestine international and domestic missions.

Fox has picked up new drama The Resident. A tough, brilliant senior resident guides an idealistic young doctor through his first day, pulling back the curtain on what really happens, both good and bad, in modern-day medicine. The series stars Matt Czuchry, Bruce Greenwood and Emily VanCamp. Comedy wise, Fox has ordered two series: Ghosted and LA to Vegas. In Ghosted, a cynical skeptic (Craig Robinson), and a genius "true believer" in the paranormal (Adam Scott), are recruited by a secret government agency to look into the rampant "unexplained" activity in Los Angeles -- all while uncovering a larger mystery that could threaten the existence of the human race. And in LA to Vegas, it is an ensemble workplace comedy about an airline crew and the eccentric passengers who, every weekend, take the roundtrip flight from Burbank to Las Vegas with one goal in mind - to come back a winner. Dylan McDermott stars.