SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Pop TV, now fully owned by CBS Corporation, announced that the critically-acclaimed series One Day at a Time will continue with a new 13-episode fourth season premiering in 2020 after its Netflix concluded after three seasons. The Network shared the news amid fan campaigns rallying behind the series. Produced by Sony Pictures Television, the fourth season of One Day at a Time will air exclusively on Pop. As part of the innovative deal to pick up the new season, One Day at a Time will also be broadcast on the CBS Television Network later in 2020, following its run on Pop. CBS was the home of the original series that aired over 40 years ago.

One Day at a Time, the comedy-drama inspired by Norman Lear's 1975 series of the same name, follows the life of Penelope Alvarez (Screen Actors Guild Award(R) winner Justina Machado), a newly single Army veteran, and her Cuban-American family, as they navigate the ups and downs of life. Now a nurse practitioner, Penelope is raising two strong-willed children. When faced with challenges, Penelope turns to her "old-school" mother Lydia (Emmy(R), Grammy(R), Oscar(R) and Tony(R) winner Rita Moreno), and her building manager Schneider (Todd Grinnell), who has become an invaluable confidant. The series offers a contemporary take on what life looks like in both good and bad times, and how loved ones can help make it all worthwhile. The series also stars Isabella Gomez as Elena Alvarez, Marcel Ruiz as Alex Alvarez and Stephen Tobolowsky as Dr. Berkowitz.

WGN America announced that JAG, the longest running military drama in the history of television, joins the entertaining line-up of fan-favorites at the network. The procedural series is set to premiere with a two-day "JAG of July" marathon on Thursday, July 4 and Friday, July 5 starting at 9:00am ET/8:00am CT. Following its network launch, JAG will air on WGN America every Monday through Friday for two hours, starting at 4:00pm ET/3:00pm CT with the exception of Wednesday, which will run until 12:00am ET/11:00pm CT. All ten seasons of the series will air in chronological order, making WGN America the sole cable network where audiences can catch the show.

JAG follows an elite legal wing of officers trained as lawyers who investigate, prosecute, and defend those accused of military crimes. JAG stars David James Elliott (Trumbo) as the resourceful Navy lawyer and officer Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. and Catherine Bell (Bruce Almighty) as his equally savvy partner Marine Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, who traverse the globe together investigating and prosecuting crimes, and acts of terrorism and espionage related to the Navy and Marine Corps.

TVGN is tapping into the CBS/Paramount library with some TV classics. They are adding sitcoms and dramas from various eras: Wings, Family Ties, The Love Boat, JAG, Joan of Arcadia and 7th Heaven. They will join existing CBS/Paramount series Cheers and Sony's Who's the Boss? on the line-up. Some of these series have already started and are airing in a block format weekly in the afternoons. Series still to premiere include: The Love Boat, which begins on Thursday, July 31 with a block from 12-4pm, while 7th Heaven will be aired as a strip beginning Monday, Aug. 4 airing weekdays at noon. Afternoon blocks will be as follow: JAG on Mondays, Family Ties on Tuesdays, Wings/Cheers on Wednesdays, The Love Boat on Thursdays and Joan of Arcadia on Fridays, all from about 12-4pm (then 1-4pm once 7th Heaven starts). Who's the Boss? will air weekdays from 9-10am (times vary). This is certainly great news and we hope TVGN gets even more sitcoms/dramas from that CBS/Paramount library. Perhaps Webster or Dear John?

The premiere of Hallmark Channel's original movie For Better or For Worse, starring Lisa Whelchel and Kim Fields (The Facts of Life), became Hallmark Channel's highest rated and most watched original movie of 2014 to-date, as well as the #1 household-rated cable movie of the week and day, averaging a 1.8 household rating with 1.6 million homes. The film also struck a chord in key demo ratings, making the network #1 in total viewers (0.9 rtg) and #2 among women 18-49 (0.8 rtg) and women 25-54 (0.9 rtg). The world premiere of For Better or Worse reached more than 3.0 million unduplicated viewers. In the movie, Facts of Life alumnae Lisa Whelchel and Kim Fields reunite in an adaptation of the bestselling novel For Better Or For Worse by Diann Hunt. Antonio Cupo, Edward Ruttle and Alicia Josipovic co-starred in this romantic comedy about a woman who learned that opening herself up to a second chance at love may allow her to find true happiness again.

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.

We usually cover Cloo for their Cloo Classics stunts and they will be continuing those this fall! But first, Cloo really doesn't have a set strip schedule, as they air block marathons, so we will do our best to cover everything. From Tuesday, September 4 through Sunday, September 9 from 6am-6am ET, Cloo will present an all-week JAG Farewell marathon, as the long-running drama exits the schedule. JAG was airing Wednesdays and will be replaced by more Monk. On Mondays, there will be All-Day "Cloo Classics" MacGyver Marathons, which started actually on Aug. 13 and will continue in September and October. The rest of the schedule will feature the dramas we are used to like The Dead Zone, Monk, NCIS, House, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: SVU, Burn Notice and The Unit. The sitcom 'Til Death will still air on Sunday mornings from 6-7am. And the biggest highlight for us on the Cloo Fall 2012 schedule is the 30th Anniversary of the classic sitcom Cheers, which Cloo will be airing an all-day marathon on Sunday, September 30 from 6a-6a ET. Cheers (1982-1993, NBC) of course follows the lives of the staff and patrons of the titular Boston bar, where everybody knows your name and drinking buddies are more like family. Starring Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt, Shelley Long, Nicholas Colasanto, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Bebe Neuwirth, and Kirstie Alley. Cheers airs on sister network USA Network in filler airings in late nights and early mornings.
View the FULL Cloo Fall 2012 schedule and discuss the farewell marathon of JAG and the 30th anniversary marathon for Cheers! Stay with us for further updates, as hopefully there will be more Cloo Classics stunts with sitcoms!

Actor William Windom, who starred in The Farmer's Daughter and won an Emmy for his role in My World and Welcome to It, has died. He died on August 16 at his home in Woodacre, California, from congestive heart failure. Mr. Windom was 88.

Windom's early television work included episodes of Robert Montgomery Presents, Guestward Ho!, Surfside 6, The Gertrude Berg Show, The Donna Reed Show, The Lucy Show, The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke and 77 Sunset Strip. His first starring role was in The Farmer's Daughter. The 1963-1966 ABC sitcom, which co-starred Inger Stevens, was about a young Minnesota woman who becomes the housekeeper for a widowed Congressman. In 1967, he appeared as Commodore Matt Decker in the Star Trek episode The Doomsday Machine. He would later reprise the role in a 2004 episode of Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II.

Windom's next starring role was in My World and Welcome to It, which aired on NBC for a single season in 1969-1970. He played John Monroe, a James Thurber-like writer and cartoonist who works for a magazine that closely resembles The New Yorker, called The Manhattanite. Windom won an Emmy Award in 1970 for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series. He continued to make appearances on many television series, including The Name of the Game, The Virginian, Night Gallery, The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, Mannix and The Streets of San Francisco. In 1979, he starred in the short-lived Brothers and Sisters, a frat-house comedy series that aired on NBC. He had a recurring role on Murder, She Wrote for more than a decade and over 50 episodes as Dr. Seth Hazlitt. His film roles included To Kill a Mockingbird, The Detective and Brewster McCloud. View his extensive list of credits at the IMDB.

Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Patricia Tunder Windom; four children - Rachel, Heather, Hope and Rebel; and four grandchildren. He was a talented and versatile actor. It would be great to his see his two major sitcom starring roles on TV or DVD. The Farmer's Daughter was supposed to be part of Antenna TV's launch in January 2011, but apparently the episode prints were in such poor shape that Sony was unable to remaster them. Hopefully somebody will go to the expense of making them available soon. My World and Welcome to It is another lost gem that would be ideal for DVD. Mr. Windom will be greatly missed.

Me-TV remembers William Windom with an episode of Star Trek on Saturday at 9pm ET/8pm CT. In the classic episode The Doomsday Machine, he played tortured Commodore Matt Decker who tries to thwart a doomsday machine that threatens the Enterprise. The episode was originally broadcast on October 20, 1967.

Actress and comedienne Phyllis Diller, who appeared on television for more than 50 years and starred in the sitcom The Pruitts of Southampton, has died. She died on August 20 at her home in Los Angeles, California. No cause of death has been released. Ms. Diller was 95.

Diller first starred in the 1966-1967 ABC sitcom The Pruitts of Southampton (later retitled The Phyllis Diller Show). She played Phyllis Pruitt in the show about a supposedly incredibly wealthy family living on Long Island in the Hamptons. Gypsy Rose Lee, Richard Deacon, John Astin, Marty Ingels and Paul Lynde were featured in supporting roles. In 1968, she starred in the short-lived NBC variety show The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show. Diller's other sitcom guest appearances included Get Smart, The Good Guys, Love, American Style, The Love Boat, 227, Dream On, Boy Meets World, Blossom, Full House, Cybill, Titus, The Drew Carey Show, Even Stevens, Life with Bonnie and Quintuplets. She made regular appearances on many variety series and game shows, including Rowan and Martin's Laugh In, The Dean Martin Comedy Hour, The Gong Show, The Hollywood Squares and Super Password. She appeared in 23 Bob Hope TV specials. Her voice credits include Mad Monster Party, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, A Bug's Life, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Robot Chicken and Family Guy. Some of her other television drama guest appearances included CHiPs, 7th Heaven, Boston Legal and The Bold and the Beautiful. View her extensive list of credits at the IMDB.

The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with her on March 8, 2000. Survivors include three children from her first marriage. Ms. Diller was a comedy legend and pioneer. She was the queen of one-liners and a true original. We thank her for all the laughs she brought us over the years. She will be deeply missed.