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Remembering Peter Scolari of Bosom Buddies and Newhart; Mythic Quest Gets 2 Season Renewal

Emmy-winning actor Peter Scolari, who starred as Henry Desmond on Bosom Buddies and as Michael Harris on Newhart, has died. He died from leukemia in Manhattan on October 22. He had been diagnosed with the disease two years earlier. Mr. Scolari was 66.

Scolari's first sitcom starring role was as Benny Loman on the short-lived 1980 ABC series Goodtime Girls. The comedy was set in 1942 in Washington, D.C., during World War II. Benny Loman was a street performer whose pantomime, juggling and unicycle acts were part of the regular physical comedy and pratfalls seen in every episode. He was the roommate of macho hustler cabbie Frankie Millardo (Adrian Zmed). The series also starred Annie Potts, Lorna Patterson, Georgia Engel, Francine Tacker, Marcia Lewis, Merwin Goldsmith and Sparky Marcus.

He next starred as Henry Desmond with Tom Hanks (Kip Wilson) on the 1980-1982 ABC sitcom Bosom Buddies. The show features the misadventures of two single men, working in creative advertising, struggling in their industry while disguising themselves as women (Hildegarde and Buffy) in order to live in the one apartment they could afford. Henry Desmond was a junior copywriter (and aspiring painter) working at a New York City advertising agency. The series also starred Wendie Jo Sperber, Donna Dixon, Telma Hopkins, Lucille Benson (1980-1981) and Holland Taylor.

Scolari starred as Eddie Riddle on the short-lived 1983 ABC sitcom Baby Makes Five. Eddie Riddle was an accountant who found his family growing faster than expected. The series also starred Louise Williams, Janis Paige, Prsicilla Morrill, Andre Gower, Emily Moultrie and Brandy Gold.

He starred as Michael Harris on the CBS sitcom Newhart from 1984 to 1990. Michael Harris was the yuppie producer of Dick Loudon's (Bob Newhart) television show and Stephanie Vanderkellen's (Julia Duffy) husband. Scolari joined the cast a recurring cast member in the second season before becoming a main cast member in the third season. He received three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the role in 1987, 1988 and 1989. He also directed one episode of the series in 1990. The cast included Mary Frann, Tom Poston, Jennifer Holmes (1982-1983), Steven Kampmann (1982-1984), William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Voldstad.

Scolari starred as Dr. Jonathan Lerner on the short-lived 1993 CBS sitcom Family Album. Jonathan and Denise Lerner (Pamela Reed) and their three children move from California to Philadelphia to be closer to their relatives. The cast included Ashlee Levitch, Christopher Miranda, Philip Van Dyke, Doris Belack, Alan North, Rhoda Gemignani, Nancy Cassaro and Giovanni Ribisi.

He starred as Warren Mosbey on the short-lived 1995 CBS sitcom Dweebs. Warren Mosbey was a young computer software writer who owned the highly successful software company named Cyberbyte in Seattle. The series also starred Farrah Forke, Corey Feldman, David Kaufman, Stephen Tobolowsky and Adam Biesk.

Scolari starred as Wayne Szalinski on Disney's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The 1997-2000 syndicated series was based on the 1989 film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Wayne Szalinski was a wacky inventor in Matheson, Colorado. Scolari directed five episodes of the series. The science fiction comedy series also starred Barbara Alyn Woods, Hillary Tuck, Thomas Dekker, George Buza (1998-2000) and Andrew T. Grant (1998-2000).

He had a recurring role as Tad Horvath, the father of Hannah Helene Horvath (Lena Dunham), in 21 episodes of the HBO comedy-drama Girls from 2012 to 2017. He won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for the role in 2016.

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Angie, Happy Days, Family Ties, The Love Boat (3 episodes), Trying Times, Nurses, Empty Nest, The Mommies (2 episodes), A Whole New Ballgame (2 episodes), Can't Hurry Love, Dave's World (2 episodes), The Home Court (2 episodes), The Drew Carey Show, The Nanny, George & Leo, Reba, The King of Queens, What I Like About You, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (2003), Listen Up (2 episodes), Odd Mom Out and Murphy Brown (2018).

Scolari had a recurring role as Gillian B. Loeb, Gotham City’s corrupt police commissioner, in five episodes of Gotham in 2015. He appeared as Bishop Thomas Marx in nine episodes of Evil from 2019 to 2021. Some of his other drama guest appearances included Remington Steele, Finders of Lost Loves, Hotel, The New Mike Hammer, The Twilight Zone (1988), Burke's Law, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Touched by an Angel, Ally McBeal, ER, The West Wing and White Collar.

Some of his voice credits for animated series included Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, Gargoyles, Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man, Pinky and the Brain, Hey Arnold!, What's New, Scooby Doo? and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Mr. Scolari was a talented and versatile actor. He was also an avid juggler who occassionally showcased his talents on Circus of the Stars and on TV talk shows. He was funny and memorable on Bosom Buddies, Newhart and many other television series. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment he brought us during his career. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Bosom Buddies and Newhart message boards. View photos in our galleries.

Actor James Michael Tyler, who was best known for his role as Gunther on Friends, has died. He died from prostate cancer at his home in Los Angeles on October 24. Mr. Tyler was 59.

Tyler played the recurring role of Gunther in 148 episodes of the NBC sitcom Friends from 1994 to 2004. Gunther was the manager of the Central Perk coffee house who had unrequited love for Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston). He appeared in more episodes than any other recurring character. In 2021, he appeared via Zoom on the Friends: The Reunion HBO Max special.

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Just Shoot Me!, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (2001) and Scrubs. He played himself in a 2012 episode of Episodes, in which Matt LeBlanc tries unsuccessfully to get the other main stars from Friends to appear in the promotional video for the fictional television show Pucks. He appeared as Chad Levitz in the 2013 web series Modern Music.

Mr. Tyler was a familiar face and a fan favorite on Friends. It was nice that he was able to appear on the Friends: The Reunion special earlier this year. He will be sorely missed.

Share your memories on our Friends message board. View photos in our galleries.

Apple TV+ announced a season three and four pick up of Mythic Quest, the hit sitcom from creators Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Megan Ganz, which has been hailed by critics as "hilarious and endearing," "a ton of fun," and "the best workplace comedy on TV." McElhenney, who also stars, shared the news in his signature comedic style with a video featuring fellow Apple TV+ star and Emmy Award-winner Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso), and Academy Award-winner Sir Anthony Hopkins, who recently earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Narrator for his guest star role in the Mythic Quest special, "Everlight." Boasting a 100% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, the series is set to open the writers' room for season three later this year.

Mythic Quest follows the team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all time. In addition to McElhenney, who stars as the fictional company's creative director, Ian Grimm, the ensemble cast includes Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham, Danny Pudi, Imani Hakim, Charlotte Nicdao, Ashly Burch, Jessie Ennis and David Hornsby, who also executive produces. Additional cast includes Naomi Ekperigin, Caitlin McGee, Humphrey Ker, Chris Naoki Lee and Jonathan Wiggs. The series is produced for Apple TV+ by Lionsgate, 3 Arts Entertainment and Ubisoft Film & Television.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:40 PM

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Labels: Apple TV+, Bosom Buddies, Friends, Girls, Mythic Quest, Newhart, Obits

SitcomsOnline Digest: Will & Grace Limited Series Gets Additional Episodes; Shout! Announces New Diff'rent Strokes and T.J. Hooker DVDs

• NBC's upcoming Will & Grace limited series is a little less limited now, as it has received an order for more episodes. (Variety) 
• The HBO series Girls is coming to an end very soon, and given the title, it's sort of hard to believe that it took this long for somebody to do a parody where the cast does a parody (though it isn't quite character for character) of The Golden Girls, but Jimmy Kimmel helped deliver that this week. (Deadline)
• In the old days (as in five years ago), a TV series would air on a broadcast or cable network, and if it did well there, it would eventually air on an online streaming service. Now, the Amazon Prime series Transparent is about to do the opposite, as Sundance will be airing the first season beginning this summer. (Deadline) 
• The People's Choice Awards has aired on CBS every year since it began in 1975, but that will change in 2018, as it moves to E!. (New York Times)
• Joe Harris is definitely not a household name, but if you've seen the commercials with the Trix rabbit or The Underdog Show, both characters that he created and animated, then you are familiar with his work. He died this week at age 89. (Deadline)
• Four decades ago, Alice and One Day at a Time were a regular part of the CBS lineup. Two decades ago, they were paired again on the cable network E.! It's been 20 years since they were last together, so it only makes sense that they would be paired again, this time as both recently started airing on the cable network Logo. (SitcomsOnline) 

• For a while, we doubted that Diff'rent Strokes would ever be completed on DVD, but our doubts are quickly being erased now, as Shout! Factory released Diff'rent Strokes - The Complete Fifth Season just this past week and already has plans for the Diff'rent Strokes - The Complete Sixth Season, to be released on July 25.
• Shout! Factory also announced another surprise this week, with their announcement of T.J. Hooker - The Complete Series, set for a July 18 release.

• Father Knows Best - Season Five (DVD, $34.99): It's not exactly a new release, but this former Shout! Select release comes to regular retailers with this release.
• Silicon Valley - The Complete Third Season (DVD, $24.98; Blu-ray, $34.98): The hit HBO series continues on DVD with this release.
• Veep - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD, $24.98; Blu-ray, $34.98): The Julia Louis-Dreyfuss HBO series arrives on DVD in this release.

Posted by Skees -- SitcomsOnline.com at 2:00 PM

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Labels: Diff'rent Strokes, Girls, People's Choice Awards, SitcomsOnline Digest, T.J. Hooker, Transparent, Will & Grace

ABC Celebrates the Oscars with Stunts; HBO Sunday Series Available Early on HBO GO

Leading up to the 89th Oscars, ABC is getting viewers ready for the biggest night in Hollywood by featuring a marathon of Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Oscars and Oscar-themed episodes of new comedy Speechless, Good Morning America and The Chew. A best of marathon of Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Oscars specials (from 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2016) will kick things off and air every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. EST, this week (February 20-24). Speechless will air an original Oscars-themed episode Wednesday, February 22, at 8:30-9:00 p.m. EST. Good Morning America will have Robin Roberts and Lara Spencer reporting live from Los Angeles and special sit-down interview with Jimmy Kimmel on Friday, Feb. 24. Finally, The Chew will get viewers ready for Oscar Sunday with a fun-filled episode featuring ideas for the perfect Oscar party and their predictions on the night's biggest winners on Friday, February 24, at 1:00 p.m. EST, 12:00 p.m. PST; check local listings.

In the Speechless episode, when the Dimeos throw their annual Oscar party with other special-needs families, Maya feels threatened by new mom Becca, who seems a little too perfect. Meanwhile, Jimmy encourages the fathers at the party to let loose while Ray tries to impress a girl by pretending to be someone he is not, on Speechless. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the Oscars will air live Sunday, February 26, on The ABC Television Network, at 7:00 p.m. EST/4:00 p.m. PST.

You can watch the Oscars in peace now. With the race for this year's Oscars(R) heating up and the year's most acclaimed movies set to go head-to-head for the industry's highest honors next weekend, HBO wants to make it easier for fans of its Sunday night lineup to choose what to watch. For viewers who can't wait until Sunday to find out what happens next on the buzzy new limited drama series Big Little Lies, or to laugh along with comedies Girls and Crashing, HBO has announced that the upcoming episodes of these series, scheduled to debut Sunday, February 26, will be available to stream early exclusively via HBO NOW and HBO GO, in addition to HBO On Demand and affiliate portals, on Friday, February 24.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:00 PM

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Labels: ABC, Crashing, Girls, HBO, Speechless