SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

TV Land has changed the name of the upcoming Hot in Cleveland spin-off series starring Cedric the Entertainer. The sitcom was titled Have Faith, but now TV Land has changed it to The Soul Man. Like the Have Faith title, this is not to be confused with another sitcom (Soul Man, 1997-98 on ABC).
The Soul Man is TV Land's newest original sitcom, created by Cedric "The Entertainer" and Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin. The show revolves around Cedric's character, Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine, an R&B superstar-turned-minister who takes over as preacher of his father's church. Niecy Nash (Reno 911, Dancing with the Stars) also stars as the reverend's wife, Lolli. The character of Reverend Boyce originated on a second season episode of Hot in Cleveland in which Cedric guest starred.



The Soul Man is slated to premiere on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 10:00pm and will have a 12-episode order. The series will be paired with the second season of The Exes, which also returns on June 13 at 10:30pm, as previously announced for June. TV Land's current Wednesdays at 10:00pm & 10:30pm line-up is Hot in Cleveland season three and Happily Divorced season two and both will conclude their seasons on Wednesday, June 6 -- a week before the premieres of The Soul Man and The Exes. We also have another scoop for you. TV Land has finally scheduled another date for the second season of Retired at 35. It will now premiere on Tuesday, June 26 at 10:00pm, as previously it was going to air Wednesdays in March then later changed to Wednesdays in June. So TV Land is starting a second night of original comedy with Tuesdays being added. As of now, nothing will be paired with Retired. If you forgot, Retired at 35 follows a successful businessman (Johnathan McClain) who decides to chuck the New York City rat race... and retires to Florida, three decades ahead of time! He ends up moving into his parents’ Florida condominium, joining his pop (George Segal) in a brand new world of sunshine and fun, from slow-moving softball games to really early dinners. Mom (Jessica Walter) and a cast of characters look on skeptically as father and son bond again, new-found buddies enjoying the glories of total irresponsibility!
We will have more info on all of TV Land's original comedies when official announcements come in, so stay tuned!



I think everyone has heard about the comments that Kirk Cameron has made, so I won't get into that into detail (if you don't read the link below). Our buddy Eric from Just My Show invited a former Growing Pains actor and previous Just My Show guest to share his thoughts on the situation. Actor and comedian Bill Kirchenbauer played the recurring role of Coach Graham Lubbock, Mike Seaver's teacher and occasional mentor, before starring in the Growing Pains spin-off Just the Ten of Us.
"When I first started working on the show, Kirk was a very nice well mannered young man who seemed to have his ego in check. Some time after he turned religious, he then started doing things like getting Julie McCoullough fired because he thought her to be an immoral young girl because of her appearance in Playboy. Not very Christian like..." That's just a bit of what Bill had to say about Kirk Cameron on Just My Show. Read the full statement and read about this Kirk Cameron story on Just My Show.

Fox has officially announced the Tuesday night sitcom spring schedule that they planned back at upfront. The full-night of sitcoms on Fox Tuesday will begin Tuesday, March 6. First up, second year comedy Raising Hope will move to a new time of 8:00pm for five weeks. Then at 8:30pm will be the return of multi-camera sitcom I Hate My Teenage Daughter for five weeks. For Raising Hope, two episodes will remain to air after these five weeks, so Fox could use them on another night when needed. For I Hate My Teenage Daughter, only four episodes have aired and after these five air, nine of the thirteen would have aired. Fox could also air the remaining four episodes of this season if needed on another night. The two comedies will replace Glee, which will go on a seven week break after its Feb. 21 airing. A special American Idol will air on the last Tuesday of February sweep on Feb. 28. Glee will return to the Fox line-up on Tuesday, April 10 until the end of the season for its final seven episodes of the season.
At 9pm, Fox will keep its comedy anchor New Girl at 9pm but it will now lead-in to the second season of Breaking In. Fox has ordered 13 episodes for the second season and it will likely air 10 episodes through May 8. Not sure when the others would air, unless they use them on another night or something. The second year sitcom will have new cast member Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) shaking up the Contra Security team. Odette Annable will be a recurring star now as she is now on Fox's House.
Stay with us for any further updates on when the remaining episodes of these comedies will end up airing. As the Breaking In theme goes, "we got your back!"



TV Land has picked up its hit original sitcom, The Exes, for a second season. The Exes, written by Frasier scribe Mark Reisman, stars critically-acclaimed actors Donald Faison (Scrubs), Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Hot in Cleveland), David Alan Basche, Kelly Stables (Two and a Half Men) and Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock From The Sun). Season two is set to premiere in June of this year along with the network's new original sitcom, Have Faith (working title), starring Cedric "The Entertainer" and Niecy Nash. To date, The Exes has averaged an audience of 1.5 million total viewers, earning a 0.65 Adults 25-54 rating and a 0.81 among Women 25-54 (Source: Nielsen, 11/30/11-1/25/12, Wed 10:30p-11p, most current data). Guest stars this season have included Judith Light (Who's The Boss?), Diedrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show), Janina Gavankar (True Blood), Ken Marino (Party Down) and NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire. The season one finale aired last Wednesday (Feb. 1) at 10:30pm.
So what does this mean for the June launches? As of now it was supposed to be Hot in Cleveland season 3B and Have Faith on Wednesday nights starting June 6, but now it looks like it will be The Exes season two and Have Faith? Or will TV Land open a second night of comedy this summer? We know that Happily Divorced season two moved up and will launch on March 7 at 10:30pm, following repeats of Hot in Cleveland. So perhaps TV Land will air the second half of the third season of Hot in Cleveland now starting March 7 at 10pm after just a two week break (the first half ends on Feb. 15)? We're not sure yet, but we'll let you know. We also await the season two premiere of Retired at 35, as that was originally penciled in for June, but is now delayed. If they open a second night of comedy in June, they could premiere that in June as planned.

We were pretty busy yesterday with our scoop on Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers reuniting, so we couldn't bring you the TCA Winter 2012 Press Tour news for cable that was held this past weekend. The biggest news for us came from TV Land. TV Land has picked up its fifth original sitcom, Have Faith, starring Cedric "The Entertainer. This sitcom is not to be confused by the late '80s ABC short-lived sitcom that was produced by John Ritter. The network has ordered 12 episodes for the first season, which is tentatively set to premiere on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 10:30pm following the second half of the third season of Hot in Cleveland. The sitcom, which was created by Cedric and Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin, revolves around Cedric's character, Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine, an R&B superstar-turned-minister who takes over as preacher of his father's church. Niecy Nash (Dancing with the Stars, Reno 911) also stars as the reverend's wife, Lolli. The pilot also features John Beasley as his father, Wesley Jonathan (What I Like About You) as his younger brother, and Jazz Raycole (My Wife and Kids) as his daughter. The character of Reverend Boyce originated on a second season episode of Hot in Cleveland in which Cedric guest-starred, making this a spin-off series.



Meanwhile, Hot in Cleveland, TV Land's first original sitcom starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White, has also been greenlit by the network for a 24-episode fourth season. A syndication deal was recently reached for"Hot in Cleveland, giving CBS Television Distribution the domestic distribution rights for the series. This season pickup would bring "Hot in Cleveland" to 80 total episodes. The series, which is currently in its third season, averages 2.5 million total viewers per episode. The winter finale will be on Wednesday, Feb. 15, before the series returns for the second half of the season on June 6.

In other TV Land news, TV Land announced that the second season of the hit original sitcom Happily Divorced will begin production today (January 17, 2012) at CBS Radford Studios and will be filmed in front of a live studio audience. The twelve new episodes of Happily Divorced will now premiere on Wednesday, March 7 at 10:00 pm ET/PT. Previously it was set to return on June 6 at 10:30pm, but TV Land has changed their minds and will now test the waters by having this sitcom lead an hour. The sitcom, which stars Fran Drescher (The Nanny) is also inspired by her real-life story, and revolves around Fran, a Los Angeles florist, who finds out after 18-years of marriage that her husband is gay. Having to live under the same roof as her ex-husband and start over in the dating world is complicated but Fran jumps head first as only Fran can with laughter ensuing.
Last season, Drescher was reunited with her Nanny cast mates, Renee Taylor and Charles Shaughnessy. According to Nielsen, the first season of Happily Divorced averaged 2.2 million viewers and was a ratings success for TV Land. TV Land will air the second season of Retired at 35 as planned starting Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30pm for ten all-new episodes. TV Land has not given any updates yet on The Exes, which premiered on Nov. 30. If it gets another season we will let you know, but you can watch that show every Wednesday at 10:30pm through Feb. 1.

Elsewhere on cable, we will have even more Niecy Nash. TLC has ordered a docu-sitcom titled Leave it to Niecy. Blending together production and storytelling elements from both the traditional sitcom genre and the world of non-scripted reality shows, Leave it to Niecy offers a new balance of real-life humor through the lens of the beloved comedy format. The eight-episode half-hour series will premiere Wednesday, March 28 at 10/9c. The docu-sitcom takes viewers into Niecy and her husband Jay Tucker's home, which includes her three kids, and her opinionated mother. Together, they balance work, life, and love to create a modern blended family. Also, CMT is joining forces with Ryan Seacrest Productions on a new reality series. The eight-episode series, Melissa and Tye: A New Reality (working title), starring television personality Melissa Rycroft (Dancing With the Stars, The Bachelor) will premiere on CMT in April. Melissa, a SitcomsOnline favorite, the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and America's favorite bachelorette definitely has gotten the last laugh after being dumped on national TV. She found the ultimate redemption by becoming a hugely popular contestant on Dancing with the Stars, which ignited a television hosting career on series and specials such as Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Bachelor Pad, The Insider, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. But her greatest success came when she re-connected with the "real" man of her dreams, home town boyfriend, Tye Strickland. Now married with an eleven-month old daughter, Melissa is about to embark on her biggest journey yet - moving to Los Angeles from Texas to pursue her Hollywood dreams. The series will follow the couple as they navigate the trials and tribulations of being new parents, making a long-distance relationship work and making their dreams become a reality.
Finally, the world knows Shannen Doherty (Charmed, Beverly Hills 90210) as an icon, but she's also a devoted daughter and friend and now a newlywed. In the brand-new original series, Shannen Says, premiering Tuesday, April 3 at 9pm ET/PT, WE tv reveals a woman with substance and a sense of humor as she takes viewers on the hilariously bumpy ride of planning her wedding. Eight hour-long episodes of Shannen Says follow Shannen and her groom-to-be, famed photographer Kurt Iswarienko - two busy career-focused individuals with strong and often conflicting viewpoints - as they plan for their special day. Wedding preparations are sure to be stressful enough, but they've added to the pressure by allotting only seven weeks to get it all done! Pre-wedding jitters, a career-distracted groom, family turmoil and wardrobe malfunctions should be enough to make them pull the plug - but maybe love will conquer all in Shannen Says. After being engaged for over a year, Shannen and Kurt finally set a wedding date and did we already mention it's only seven weeks away? Shannen and Kurt are new to actual wedding planning and being from very different backgrounds with loyal sets of opinionated friends and family, they have quite an undertaking ahead of them. Among the highlights on this series, Shannen's Dancing with the Stars partner Louis Van Amstel is set to help the couple with their first dance.


We broke the news on the internet on late Friday that ABC has pulled new sitcom Work It off the schedule after just two episodes. The series premiered to a 2.0 18-49 rating, which was weak but doable. However, by the second episode the series dropped to a 1.5 18-49 rating and ABC has since then pulled the series. Repeats of Last Man Standing will air at 8:30pm starting tonight for at least the next three weeks. The Tim Allen comedy will also air in its normal 8:00pm slot.
ABC has not yet announced what will air Tuesdays at 8:30pm starting Feb. 7. One option of course is to air the unscheduled third season of Cougar Town. ABC had planned to start airing the comedy in March, but it could be called on earlier than planned. The sitcom has a 15 episode order for this season. Series creator Bill Lawrence has heard that today could be the day we get an announcement on a Cougar Town premiere date, so stay with us if any info comes out. As for Work It, eleven episodes will remain to be aired. Perhaps ABC will burn them off in the summer or just put them on abc.com like they did with the remaining five episodes of Man Up ("Camping," "Fear," "Up All Night," "Letting Go," and "Be Who You're Not."). Or not air them at all ever. We'll let you know if they do end up airing them somewhere whether it be on TV or online.