Showing posts with label Just Shoot Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Just Shoot Me. Show all posts

Thursday, April 10, 2025

David Spade's Prime Video Comedy Special; Brett Goldstein's HBO Comedy Special Filmed in New Jersey

David Spade - Dandelion

Prime Video announced that Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor/comedian David Spade will make his Prime Video stand-up comedy debut with Dandelion, his first special since 2022. David Spade's newest comedy special will premiere May 6 on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. With signature sardonic takes on the perils of flying, charity auctions, and the evolution of porn, Spade is sharper and funnier than ever in Dandelion. Since his legendary tenure on Saturday Night Live, Spade's prolific career has included classics like Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, The Emperor's New Groove, Joe Dirt, and the sitcom Just Shoot Me!. He now co-hosts the wildly popular comedy podcast "Fly on the Wall" with fellow SNL alum Dana Carvey. Now, it's time for Spade to make a triumphant return to the stage in his highly-anticipated fourth comedy special.

Spade became a household favorite during his tenure as a cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live. For his memorable role as Dennis Finch, the wise-cracking, power-hungry assistant on Just Shoot Me, Spade received nominations for a 1999 Emmy Award, Golden Globe, and American Comedy Award. His latest stand-up special, Nothing Personal, debuted on Netflix in 2022, and he continues to be a box office draw, selling out stand-up venues nationwide.




Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life

The HBO Original comedy special Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life will debut Saturday, April 26 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. Emmy(R)-winning actor, writer, and comedian Brett Goldstein brings his irresistible charm and quick wit stateside for his first HBO stand-up special.

Best known for the hit shows Ted Lasso and Shrinking, Goldstein sheds his testy Roy Kent façade to share his hilarious insights on love, sex, masculinity, Sesame Street, and everything in between. Filmed at the Bergen Performing Arts Center, Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life offers up the musings of a comedy veteran in the most beautiful place on earth... New Jersey.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Rewind TV January 2023 Schedule; NBC Renews Quantum Leap for Season 2

Just Shoot Me! & Mad About You

Rewind TV has announced their new schedule starting January 2, 2023. There will be two new additions to the schedule, along with various existing shows moving to different timeslots. Joining the lineup are Just Shoot Me! and Mad About You. First, Just Shoot Me! will air weeknights at 9:00pm & 9:30pm and Saturdays from 5-7pm. Mad About You will air weeknights at 12:00am & 12:30am and a Saturday block from 11am-1pm. Returning to the lineup are also NewsRadio (weeknights 7:00pm & 7:30pm and Sundays 10:00am & 10:30am) and My Two Dads (Sundays 7:00pm-9:00pm). The other changes to the schedule are just various shows moving timeslots, as weekdays 9am-8pm is completely changed. One final note is that 227 has been heavily reduced and will air weekdays at 5:00pm & 5:30pm only. View the full schedule below.

Rewind TV 1stQ 2023 Program Schedule




Quantum Leap

NBC has renewed a second season of its freshman drama series Quantum Leap. The Quantum Leap pilot is currently up to a 2.0 rating in the 18-49 demo and 10.8 million viewers across linear, digital and streaming platforms. Quantum Leap is NBC's best-ever drama launch on Peacock and is the #2 new broadcast show of the season in the 18-49 demo. The series stars Raymond Lee, Ernie Hudson, Caitlin Bassett, Mason Alexander Park and Nanrisa Lee. Martin Gero serves as executive producer along with Dean Georgaris, Don Bellisario, Deborah Pratt, Chris Grismer, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, produces in association with I Have an Idea! Entertainment, Belisarius Productions and Quinn's House Productions.

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Grace and Frankie Final Episodes Premiere April 29; David Spade's Debut Netflix Comedy Special

Grace and Frankie

Premiering on Netflix on April 29, Grace and Frankie's final season will officially make history as Netflix's longest-running Netflix original series. Seven years ago, Grace and Frankie's lives turned upside down when their longtime husbands left them for... each other. Both sparring partners and partners-in-crime, Grace and Frankie formed an unlikely and unbreakable bond as they faced uncertain futures head-on, and hand-in-hand. They've laughed together, cried together, did shrooms together, and twice-over became successful entrepreneurs together. A history-making 94 episodes later, Grace and Frankie continue to show themselves, their families, and their fans what it means to live life to the fullest, fearlessly and unapologetically. Here's to seven seasons of laughs, tears, mood-enhancers, and good vibes. And, as Grace and Frankie would say, fuck it. This may be their final chapter, but they're just getting started.

Season 7: Part 2 (Episodes 705 -716) will be released on April 29, 2022, as Season 7: Part 1 (Episodes 701-704) was previously released on August 13, 2021 and you can binge those now!


David Spade

David Spade (Just Shoot Me!, SNL, Rules of Engagement, 8 Simple Rules) heads to Netflix for more laughs! Nothing Personal marks David Spade's first Netflix original comedy special. It premieres globally on Netflix April 26. He can also be seen in the Netflix Original films The Wrong Missy and The Do-Over. The special was filmed at the Pantages Theater in Minneapolis. David Spade serves as Executive Producer alongside Marc Gurvitz, Alex Murray and John Irwin. The special is Directed by Ryan Polito. Hot off the beach from his guest hosting duties on Bachelor In Paradise, David Spade makes his Netflix comedy special debut with Nothing Personal. From sharing his disdain for crabs to his unique approach to turning down drugs, David proves that no topic is off limits.

Monday, August 02, 2021

Antenna TV Fall 2021 Schedule; Rewind TV Launch Schedule Beginning September 1

It's time to gear up for the Fall! Antenna TV and its new companion network Rewind TV have announced their Fall schedules. Let's start with Antenna TV. Their new lineup begins on Monday, August 30 and there is one new series joining the lineup, as they have re-acquired Too Close for Comfort. That series will air on weekends, airing 3pm & 3:30pm. Most of the weekday schedule remains intact, however late fringe will get a makeover. Archie Bunker's Place and Maude return to weekdays and will air 12-1am & 1-2am. In the overnight, Family Ties and Mork & Mindy return to weekdays, and will air 3-4am and 4-5am. Mork is returning from hiatus and will also air on Rewind TV. The rest of the ATV changes are on the weekends, with the addition of Too Close for Comfort, along with the return from hiatus The Partridge Family (weekends 11am-12pm) and Mork & Mindy (weekends 6-7pm). A lot of the weekend shows on Antenna TV are moving to Rewind TV (i.e. The Hogan Family, Head of the Class, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, etc). Check the full Antenna TV Fall 2021 schedule image for full details.

Stunts and future programming wise, there is a lot to come. On Labor Day, there will be an Alice marathon. On Halloween there will be a Bewitched marathon, while a Coach binge will air on Thanksgiving weekend. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it's Antenna TV's annual Classic Christmas Collection marathon and Christmas Through the Years stunt. And finally, New Year's Eve will once again feature dance party episodes. More details on each stunt as we get closer to the dates. As we mentioned, AnTENna TV's final two months for their birthday blowout will have 10 episodes of Three's Company on Sept. 10 from 5pm-10pm and Hazel on Oct. 10 from 5pm-10pm. As for future programming, Antenna TV has reacquired Welcome Back, Kotter and it will begin this January, 2022. We hinted two shows returning to Antenna TV, and those are now announced: Too Close for Comfort and Welcome Back, Kotter.

Antenna TV Fall 2021 Schedule


Moving on to new Antenna TV companion network, Rewind TV. They will launch on Wednesday, September 1. The lineup will be seven days a week. Check the full Rewind TV launch schedule image for full details, but some highlights include: new acquisition Caroline in the City (12-1am), series moving from Rewind to Antenna like Diff'rent Strokes (5-6am and 1-2pm), The Facts of Life (6-7am and 12-1pm), Who's the Boss? (8-9am and 4-5pm), Head of the Class (3-4pm and 2-3am), along with series airing on both Antenna TV and Rewind TV like Mork & Mindy (11am-12pm on Rewind) and Family Ties (6-7pm on Rewind). Full list of launch shows: Caroline in the City, 227, Becker, Dear John, Designing Women, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Growing Pains, Head of the Class, The Hogan Family, Mork & Mindy, Murphy Brown, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Who's the Boss, and Wings.

No details on if there will be any stunts yet, but there are plenty of series coming to Rewind TV in the next couple years, with most that were already announced to join. The Drew Carey Show launches first this December. The John Larroquette Show, My Two Dads, NewsRadio and Suddenly Susan will join in early 2022, while Just Shoot Me! and Mad About You launch sometime in 2023. More details to come on these as we get closer to the dates.

Rewind TV Fall 2021 Schedule

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Remembering George Segal, Pops from The Goldbergs; HBO Max Comedy Series Made for Love Drops April 1

George Segal

Actor George Segal, who starred as Jack Gallo on Just Shoot Me! and as Albert "Pops" Solomon on The Goldbergs, has died. He died of complications from bypass surgery in Santa Rosa, California, on March 23. Mr. Segal was 87.

Some of Segal's early television guest appearances included The Play of the Week, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The United States Steel Hour, Naked City, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Channing, The Doctors and the Nurses and Arrest and Trial.

His first television starring role was as Andy Kooper on the 1987 CBS sitcom Take Five. The short-lived series was canceled after only two episodes had aired. In the semi-autobiographical series, Andy Kooper has a midlife crisis after his wife had divorced him and her father had fired him from his public relations job. He sang with his buddies in the Lenny Goodman Quartet, a semi-pro Dixieland jazz band in which he sang and played the banjo. The series also starred Severn Darden, Derek McGrath, Bruce Jarchow, Jim Haynie, Melanie Chartoff, Todd Field and Eugene Roche.

Just Shoot Me!

Segal starred as Jack Gallo on the 1997-2003 NBC workplace sitcom Just Shoot Me!. The series ran for seven seasons and 148 episodes. Jack Gallo was the successful yet often oblivious owner and publisher of a New York City fashion magazine called Blush. Segal was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1999 and 2000 as well as a Satellite Award in 2002 for the role. The series also starred Laura San Giacomo, Wendie Malick, Enrico Colantoni, David Spade, Chris Hogan (1997) and Rena Sofer (2002-2003).

Retired at 35

He starred as Alan Robbins on the 2011-2012 TV Land sitcom Retired at 35. It ran for two seasons and 20 episodes. The series follows a successful New Yorker named David (Johnathan McClain), who decides to leave the rat race and his job in the big city and visit his father (George Segal) and mother (Jessica Walter) who live in a retirement community in Florida. The series also starred Josh McDermitt, Ryan Michelle Bathe (Season 1) and Marissa Jaret Winokur (Season 2).

The Goldbergs

Segal has starred as Albert "Pops" Solomon on the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs for eight seasons since 2013. "Pops" is the eccentric but lovable grandfather of a semi-autobiographical family based on that of series creator Adam F. Goldberg. He is Beverly Goldberg's (Wendi McLendon-Covey) laid-back widower father and a World War II Veteran. Segal was an accomplished banjo player and played it several times on the show. The cast includes Jeff Garlin, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, AJ Michalka (Season 3–4; recurring 1–2 and 5–6, guest 7) and Sam Lerner (Season 5–present; recurring 2–4).

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included The Larry Sanders Show, The Naked Truth (4 episodes), Caroline in the City, Bette, The War at Home and Entourage (3 episodes). He appeared on five episodes of the sketch comedy series Tracy Takes On.... Some of his voice credits included Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, American Dad! and The Simpsons.

He starred as Daedalus Patrick Murphy on the 1988-1989 ABC crime drama Murphy's Law. He played Gordon in seven episodes of the syndicated adventure series High Tide from 1994 to 1995. Some of his television drama guest appearances included Murder, She Wrote, Burke's Law, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Private Practice, Boston Legal and Pushing Daisies.

Segal was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and won two Golden Globe Awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in A Touch of Class (1973). Some of his other film credits included Ship of Fools (1965), King Rat (1965), The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), Where's Poppa? (1970), The Hot Rock (1972), Blume in Love (1973), California Split (1974), For the Boys (1991) and Flirting with Disaster (1996).

Mr. Segal was a talented and verstatile actor. He was very funny as Jack Gallo on Just Shoot Me! and perfectly cast as "Pops" on The Goldbergs. We thank him for the many laughs and entertainment he brought us during his long career. He will be deeply missed.

Share your memories on our Just Shoot Me! and The Goldbergs message boards. View photos in our galleries.

Kim Tyler

We also remember child actor Kim Tyler. He was best known for his role as Kyle Nash on Please Don't Eat the Daisies. He died on February 10 at his home in Hollywood Heights, California, surrounded by loved ones, after a long battle with cancer. Mr. Tyler was 66.

Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Tyler starred as Kyle Nash, the oldest son of Joan (Patricia Crowley) and James (Jim) Nash (Mark Miller), on the 1965-1967 NBC sitcom Please Don't Eat the Daisies. The series ran for two seasons and 58 episodes. It also starred Brian Nash, Joe Fithian, Jeff Fithian, Shirley Mitchell, Harry Hickox (1965-1966), King Donovan (1966-1967), Dub Taylor (1965-1966), Ellen Corby, Bill Quinn (1966-1967) and Jean VanderPyl (1966-1967).

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Hazel, The Andy Griffith Show (as Billy Gray in the episode "One-Punch Opie"), The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (6 episodes), The Addams Family, My Three Sons and My Favorite Martian. He appeared on episodes of The 20th Century-Fox Hour in 1956 and The Law and Mr. Jones in 1961.

His family said he was a talented musician, a proficient poker player and an amateur videographer. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Michelle.

Mr. Tyler was very good on Please Don't Eat the Daisies. It was surprising that he didn't continue acting after the series ended. Please Don't Eat the Daisies is a wonderful series that should be shown again in syndication or be available on DVD or streaming. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Please Don't Eat the Daisies message board.


Made for Love - Cristin Milioti

The Max Original Made for Love debuts with three episodes on Thursday, April 1. The season continues with three episodes on April 8 and concludes with two episodes on April 15. Based on the novel by Alissa Nutting, the comedy series is a darkly absurd and cynically poignant story of love and divorce following Hazel Green (Cristin Milioti), a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen), a controlling tech billionaire. Soon she discovers that her husband has implanted a monitoring device – the Made for Love chip – in her brain, allowing him to track her, watch her, and know her "emotional data" as she tries to regain her independence. Through the chip, Byron's able to watch Hazel's every move as she flees to her desert hometown to take refuge with her aging widower father Herbert (Ray Romano) and his synthetic partner, Diane. Made for Love stars Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, Dan Bakkedahl, Noma Dumezweni, Augusto Aguilera, Caleb Foote and Ray Romano. The series is executive produced by Christina Lee, Alissa Nutting, Patrick Somerville, Dean Bakopoulos, Liza Chasin and SJ Clarkson. Christina Lee is showrunner and Paramount Television Studios is the studio. Stephanie Laing directed the pilot and is a Co-EP. The season was directed by Laing and Alethea Jones.

Saturday, May 06, 2017

SitcomsOnline Digest: Will and Grace to Air in Fall; Rhoda Season 5 to Arrive on DVD in August

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's sweeps month and networks are getting prepared for the new fall season, so we've got a very busy week of news this week, including news about the Will and Grace reboot, a new job (or two?) for Ryan Seacrest, and some great announcements from Shout! Factory. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB
  • As much as we've been talking about it, it still feels weird to say that the new season of Will and Grace will air this fall on NBC, something that was indirectly confirmed this week. (New York Daily News)
  • It literally went down to the very last second (and even a little bit beyond), but the great looming threat of a strike of the WGA was averted, meaning that your favorite TV shows will go on without interruption. (LA Times
  • The cast of Happy Days (minus Henry Winkler) reunited this week for the memorial of Erin Moran. (Us Weekly)
  • After an extensive search, Kelly Ripa finally got a new co-host, Ryan Seacrest, for the newly titled Live with Kelly and Ryan on Monday, just coincidentally in time for sweeps. (Variety)
  • Speaking of Ryan Seacrest, we knew that American Idol wasn't gone for good when Fox aired the "final season" just over a year ago, and while we last heard that NBC may be the one reviving it, it now looks very likely that ABC will be the network that brings it back. (Variety)
  • Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy have been renewed (along with the contracts of their respective hosts) through 2020. (Hollywood Reporter)
  • As we've mentioned before, specifically in regards to the NBC series This is Us (which performed very well in the first season), it's very important for TV series writers and producers to find ways to maintain those viewers and not just assume they'll stick around, and Fox is learning that as the audience for series Empire continues to erode and reach new ratings lows seemingly every week. (Deadline)
  • MeTV brings back their annual "Summer of Me" lineup beginning May 29, and a highlight of that lineup is ALF. (SitcomsOnline)  

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
  • It seemed unlikely that it would ever happen, but this week, Shout! Factory announced that the fifth season of Rhoda would arrive on DVD on August 15 with the release of Rhoda - The Final Season. This leaves only one season of Lou Grant (which had been announced but temporarily pulled from the Shout! Factory schedule) and both seasons of Phyllis as the only unreleased items from The Mary Tyler Moore Show chronology.
  • Another surprise announcement from Shout! Factory this week was the announcement of Just Shoot Me - The Complete Series, which will arrive on August 22.

TUESDAY (MAY 9) HOME MEDIA RELEASES
ALF - The Complete DVD Collection
  • ALF - The Complete DVD Collection (DVD, $54.98): While it is essentially just a repackaging of the previously released DVDs from Lionsgate, fans who didn't pick up these DVDs before can pick them up now in this release.
  • Mannix - The Complete Series (DVD, $129.98): The classic Mike Connors series comes together in one set on this release.
  • Orange is the New Black - Season 4 (DVD, $34.98; Blu-ray, $34.97): The fourth season of the Netflix series arrives in this release, just weeks before the debut of the fifth season.
  • The Streets of San Francisco - The Complete Series (DVD, $89.98): The classic Karl Malden and Michael Douglas series arrives in one complete set with this release.
  • The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Second Season (DVD, $29.99): With the first season released over a decade ago by Warner Home Video, Warner Archive (finally) brings this series back to DVD with the second season.

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Nicole Richie (Twitter), "  I invented post-it's"
Claim to Fame: Some people may be surprised to see us featuring Nicole Richie, because the daughter of musician Lionel Richie is probably best known as being famous for being famous (sort of like Paris Hilton, with whom she even co-starred on the reality show The Simple Life),  but she recently evolved from being a reality star to being a sitcom star, as she is in the main cast of NBC's Great News. It isn't her first time appearing in scripted television, as she has had guest roles in series such as 8 Simple Rules, American Dreams, and Chuck, but it is her first time having a regular role as a cast member in a sitcom, and who knows? Maybe she has found her non-reality show calling.
Pick of the Tweets: "2 supermodels talking all things @nbcgreatnews #FallonTonight (pic)" (April 5, 2017)

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Logo Acquires Just Shoot Me, Samantha Who & Brings Back Bewitched; Heroes and Icons Network to Add New Affiliate

Just Shoot Me Samantha Who?

Logo will start airing two more sitcoms beginning in early March. They have acquired the rights to Just Shoot Me! and Samantha Who? The sitcoms will air in block programing, with no set times, as per their other sitcoms. Just Shoot Me! launches on Wednesday, March 4 at 3pm with a block of episodes through 6pm. The sitcom will air primarily air on some nights in late nights. In this series, after opinionated news journalist Maya Gallo (Laura San Giacomo) is fired from her job, she has no other choice but to work for her father's (George Segal) fashion magazine, Blush. As for Samantha Who?, the single-camera comedy will launch on Friday, March 6 at 11:59pm with a block airing through 3am. Christina Applegate stars as Samantha Newly, an unlikeable real estate firm VP who develops amnesia after an accident. When the "new Sam" finally sees the errors of her past ways, Samantha must make amends with her loved ones. These comedies join the other Logo sitcoms such as The Golden Girls, Who's the Boss?, Living Single, Roseanne, Will & Grace and Happy Endings.

But wait there's more! Bewitched is coming back to Logo starting...today! It will air with a block of episodes from 10am-2pm and will air at various times per week in block format. Keep it right here for continued updates on Logo. Maybe Maude and Soap will return next for them? We shall see...


Heroes and Icons

We didn't mention this network back when it soft launched in late September, but now more affiliates are signing on for Heroes and Icons. The digital subchannel is owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting, and launched on September 29, 2014. The same company owns MeTV. KTTC-TV in Rochester, MN is ready to launch this network on March 1. H&I will be aired free on digital sub-channel 10.3. The syndicated shows offered by H&I "draw from both classic and more contemporary programming." That means it will air shows, including Hunter, Wild Wild West, Pretender, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Batman, The Commish, Rawhide, NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues, MacGyver, and more. As of now, only about a dozen stations carry this network. There is no word yet when the actual launch will be since this is still considered a "soft launch."

Thursday, September 23, 2010

NBC Fall Pilot Review: Outsourced - Premieres September 23; WGN America Pulls Entourage, Curb from Primetime

Outsourced

Outsourced - Thursdays 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Outsourced is NBC's latest "clash of the cultures" sitcom to explore how one person functions when being suddenly immersed in an unfamiliar environment. Todd Dempsey (Ben Rappaport) returns from his vacation to his office at Mid America Novelties to find that the call center his workplace has been "right-sized" in order to save the company every penny possible. Everybody has been fired, and their jobs have been replaced by employees in Mumbai, India. Well, not exactly everybody has been fired. Todd still has a job with Mid America Novelties, but now he is the lone American manager of the call center in India. But that is just the beginning of the story. Upon Todd's arrival into India, he discovers that his job is going to be much more difficult than anticipated when he finds that his employees are not exactly top-notch.

Cast Details:

* Ben Rappaport as Todd Dempsey
* Rizwan Manji as Rajiiv Gidwani
* Sacha Dhawan as Manmeet
* Rebecca Hazlewood as Asha
* Parvesh Cheena as Gupta
* Anisha Nagarajan as Madhuri
* Diedrich Bader as Charlie Davies
* Pippa Black as Tonya

Ben Rappaport (Todd) makes his television debut in his starring role in the series. A recent graduate of the Julliard School, he received the Drama Division's highest honor, the Michel and Suria Saint-Denis Prize. His credits include several Julliard performances and work with Roundabout, Ars Nova, Naked Angels, Irish Rep., The Actors Studio, and New Dramatists.

Rizwan Manji (Rajiiv) has many credits from guest starring roles in several series, including Glee, FlashForward, 24, Better Off Ted, Medium, How I Met Your Mother, and Without a Trace, among several other series. His movie credits include Charlie Wilson's War and Transformers.

Manchester-born Sacha Dhawan (Manmeet) has many credits to his name in the United Kingdom, but is new to American audiences. He is an accomplished tap-dancer who has previously appeared in British series such as Out of Sight and The Last Train.

Parvesh Cheene (Gupta) made his acting debut as Samir in the movie Barbershop and sequel Barbershop 2. He has many television credits in guest starring roles, including ER, The OC, Brothers & Sisters, and 'Til Death.

Diedrich Bader (Charlie) has many credits from films including EuroTrip, Napoleon Dynamite, Ice Age, Office Space, and more. Additionally, he has done many cartoon voices (including Batman) and also played Oswald Lee Harvey on the long-running series The Drew Carey Show.

Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs September 23, 2010) - Directed by Ken Kwapis
In the pilot, Todd Dempsey returns from his vacation at Mid America Novelties to find that the call-center that he has been hired to manage in Kansas City is gone, outsourced to Mumbai, India. Upon arriving in India, he meets his assistant manager, Rajiiv (Rizwan Manji), who already has his eyes on Todd's job, in anticipating that Todd won't last long in India. Once Todd arrives in the office, he finds that his new employees are less-than-stellar, including Madhuri (Anisha Nagarajan), the call-center employee with no self-confidence, Asha (Rebecca Hazlewood), who seems to be the most in-touch with American culture (but still struggles), Gupta (Parvesh Cheena), the obnoxious co-worker, and Manmeet (Sacha Dhawan), who is deeply intrigued by Todd's explanation of American lifestyle. He also meets Charlie Davies (Diedrich Bader), who works for All American Hunter and knows what the future holds for Todd, and Tanya (Pippa Black), a young Australian woman who quickly attracts Todd's attention.

Everything appears to be a disaster at first, but as the episode progresses, the call-center employees are slowly becoming interested in the products they are selling and in American culture, even if their understanding of American culture is fatally flawed. Will they make the adjustment before Todd loses his sanity?

Analysis:

The pilot was decent, but leaves some holes that need to be filled. In particular, it felt as if too much of the attention focused on Todd's adjustment to his new job. While it makes sense that the character should be the central character of the series, the other characters often seemed to just be an afterthought and seemed to have two-dimensional personalities. The series is going to need to have some complicated plots focusing on multiple characters and bring some depth into their distinct personalities. In particular, I'm hoping to see some power struggles between Todd and Rajiiv, similar to the power struggles between Michael and Dwight on The Office.

Some of the funniest moments in the pilot came from the cultural misunderstandings of the employees in India, but the problem with this is that the call-center employees are not the "fish out of water" in the series, and instead, that role belongs to Todd. He seems to adapt to the culture a little too easily in the pilot, and the series could certainly benefit if his character was more naive about the culture in India. Still, it is important for the series to continue to include the difficulties that the employees have adapating to American culture, as they are working with American customers. There were certainly many funny elements in the pilot, but there weren't enough (if any at all) laughs regarding Todd's character.

The series has a pretty decent cast, with each cast member fitting into the profile of the character he or she is playing. One of the things that I feared before seeing the pilot is that the series would stereotype all of the Indian characters as being the same, but they actually successfully managed to create a dynamic cast with each having a distinctive personality, even if the pilot episode did not present an adequate opportunity to present those personalities. Even though the cast is made up almost entirely of unknown actors, all of them seem to be prepared to take upon their roles and have great potential for the series.

Conclusion:

All in all, this isn't a bad show, although the pilot could have been better. The series probably wouldn't have a chance on another network, but it may benefit from being paired with The Office on NBC's Thursday night lineup. Still, NBC has the series Parks and Recreation returning later in the season, and something will have to be bumped to make room for it--and this series seems to be a prime candidate for that.

The success or failure of the series will depend upon whether or not people tune in, and the somewhat weak pilot may affect that significantly. Still, the pilot isn't a total disaster, and I'm hoping that the creative staff was really intending to JUST introduce us to the cast instead of creating a complex plot involving the characters (as there really wasn't any complex plot at all). The concept for the series is one that I hope to see work out for the best, and I think that with some improvements, it may attract some fans. It won't be a huge hit for NBC, for sure, but it has potential to be a stable part of the lineup.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3.5/5
Funniness: 3/5
Overall: 3/5

-- Reviewed by skees53 on 09/23/10

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, September 23 on our message board.

Related Links:

  • NBC.com Official Site
  • TV.com
  • epguides.com
  • Internet Movie Database
  • Wikipedia
  • Outsourced Photo Gallery

    Preview:



  • So, that's a wrap for the new sitcom pilot reviews. Better With You and Raising Hope were the pilots we liked best, while Outsourced was the lowest rated for us. Stay tuned later this season for more pilot reviews which includes Matthew Perry's Mr. Sunshine for ABC.


    Moving on to news, WGN America will make some schedule changes to its primetime/late night line-up beginning on Monday (Sept. 27). It looks like Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm didn't do well in primetime in the ratings and they will be moved to late nights only. Starting Monday, they will now air in the 1am ET hour leading into the already scheduled late night airings at 2am ET. Replacing them in primetime will be two episodes of How I Met Your Mother in the 9pm ET hour, as that series will no longer airing in the 11pm ET hour, with Scrubs returning to that hour now. Replacing Scrubs at midnight ET will be South Park, which moves up an hour (from 1am ET). One note, How I Met You Mother won't air in the 9pm hour on Mondays, because of CBS network obligations, so Old Christine will air in the 9pm ET hour then, in addition to its regular weekdays 8pm ET hour. Old Christine will not air now in the 7pm hour on Fridays, so Dharma & Greg is all five days now in the 7pm ET hour. The 9pm move is better news for Mother, as it was airing at 11pm where Lifetime also airs it. Now you don't have to choose what network you want to watch it at 11pm.
    There are some schedule changes to weekends, too. Saturdays will also see changes in primetime and late night. Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm will be replaced on Saturdays at 9pm ET also, this time by America's Funniest Home Videos. After the news at 10pm ET, How I Met Your Mother remains in the 11pm hour on Saturdays, so it will air Tues-Fri at 9pm and Saturdays at 11pm. But the Saturday late night line-up has changed, with South Park moved up to 12am ET instead of Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Instead Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm will now air in the 1am ET hour and another hour at 2am ET. So, Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm airs Mon-Sat in the 1am and 2am ET hours now. Another hour of South Park bookends Saturdays at 3am ET.
    On Sundays, Just Shoot Me! will now air on the schedule after all, airing in the Sundays at 6pm ET hour after Scrubs. Dharma & Greg is no longer planned in this hour now on Sundays. Be on the look out for Just Shoot Me! airing as a filler as well (such as when there is no WGN News at 10pm ET).
    View the FULL and updated WGN America Fall 2010 schedule. And stay tuned for any special stunts and marathon that WGN America always plans for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.

    Wednesday, August 25, 2010

    TeenNick Fall 2010 Schedule; Minor Changes to WGN America Fall 2010 Schedule

    Today we will take a look at TeenNick's Fall 2010 schedule. The schedule starts on Tuesday, Sept. 7, as on Labor Day (Sept. 6) TeenNick presents a full-day marathon of Degrassi. As for the schedule, it is pretty similar to the schedule now but with a few time tweak and minor returns. Growing Pains returns to the schedule airing on Sunday nights (early Monday mornings) in the 5am hour! Other notable airings are Full House everyday from 6am-9am, One on One from 11am-1pm & 3am-4:30am, What I Like About You from 1pm-3pm & 1am-3am, That '70s Show from 11pm-1am, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch from 4:30am-6am. Sabrina seems to be leaving the schedule starting Sept. 23, so One on One will air from 3-6am.
    As for highlights, there are two Degrassi stunts: Labor Day and Oct. 1-3 with full day marathons. That '70s Show gets a 24-hour marathon starting at 6pm on Friday, Sept. 10.
    View the FULL TeenNick Fall 2010 schedule. If there are any additions in October, we will let you know...so come on back. And as always come on back tomorrow for another fall cable schedule!

    We have given you two updates already on WGN America (update 1 / update 2), but now we have another update. This isn't anything major, but it is noteworthy. Starting Monday, Sept. 13, WGN America will add a second airing of Matlock to weekday mornings, adding 9am ET and it will also still air at 10am ET. The Beverly Hillbillies was set to air at 9am ET, but now that will be moved to the 8am ET hour where paid programming was originally planned. The other changes are to weekends, with an extra In the Heat of the Night being added to Saturday mornings starting Sept. 25 at 10am ET, replacing Matlock. And Heat will still air in the 9am ET hour. For Sundays, starting Sept. 26, WGN America will now have Dharma & Greg air in the 6pm ET hour rather than Just Shoot Me!, and as a result, Just Shoot Me! is not on the schedule anymore. We will let you know if it will be rescheduled again, but as of now, it will not. Drive in Theatre Movie will now air Sundays at 10am-12pm.
    View the FULL and updated WGN America Fall 2010 schedule.

    Wednesday, July 28, 2010

    WGN America Fall 2010 Schedule; TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour: CBS

    Sorry for the late post today, but it has been very busy today due to the TCA and to top it off, we are bringing you WGN America's Fall 2010 schedule! WGN America is adding plenty of new sitcoms and dramas to its line-up beginning in September. Joining the weekday schedule, as previously announced, are contemporary comedies Curb Your Enthusiasm, How I Met Your Mother, Old Christine, & Entourage. But today we have the timeslots for them! Curb Your Enthusiasm launches with a mini-marathon on Sunday, Sept. 12 from 8-10pm ET and 11pm-2am ET. The series will then settle into its Mon-Sat 9pm ET timeslot and encores at 2:30am ET on weeknights. The series will also air Saturday nights at 12:30am ET, in addition to 9pm. The other series won't get a pre-marathon but are heavily featured on the primetime schedule. Entourage will be paired with Curb, with it airing Mon-Sat at 9:30pm ET and weeknight encores at 2am ET. It will also air on Saturday nights at 12am ET, in addition to its 9:30pm ET slot.
    Old Christine will air weeknights at 8:00pm & 8:30pm ET, except on Thursdays for WWE Superstars. As a result, that preemption will air in the Friday 7pm ET hour leading into the regularly scheduled airings. Old Christine will also air on Sunday nights in the 7pm ET hour. And How I Met Your Mother will air Tues-Sat at 11:00pm & 11:30pm ET and it will also air Sunday nights from 8-10pm ET.
    Classic series wise, joining the weekday schedule will be Walker, Texas Ranger airing weekdays at 2pm and 3pm ET, as The Beverly Hillbillies moves into the 9am ET hour and I Dream of Jeannie heads to 4pm ET. Bewitched and Cheers also move up an hour to 5pm and 6pm ET, as Becker's contract has expired and will not be renewed. Also expiring is The Cosby Show. So, yes, this means with TV Land/Nick at Nite also not renewing, The Cosby Show will be out of a cable home for now come this fall. Wonder if any network will pick it up? 7th Heaven will be leaving the daily schedule come this September, as will Outta Sight Retro Night on Sundays, as the contracts to Newhart and Barney Miller are expiring. Retro night had a great run but ratings had softened in recent months. WGN America will instead use Scrubs at 5pm ET and new addition of Just Shoot Me! at 6pm ET to lead into the new contemporary sitcom block on Sunday nights.
    As for weekends, WGN America will be losing Boston Legal, however The Unit and Monk are being added to join Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Bones. The Unit will be used with those two on Saturday afternoons, while Monk will air on Sunday nights from 11pm-2am ET. WGN America will also air classic series on weekend mornings with dramas (In the Heat of the Night, Matlock and Walker Texas Ranger) on Saturdays and an hour of Bewitched on Sundays. Saturday nights will have the new contemporary comedies, like every other night.
    Also of note, on and off sitcom Coach will get a marathon airing on Outta Sight Retro Night on Sunday, Aug. 29 from 5pm-10pm ET and 11pm-4am ET to kick-off college football weekend! There are no plans to put it on the regular schedule again, though. This is the last night for Outta Sight Retro Night, with the last regular line-up airing a week prior (Aug. 22). There is also an Addams Family sighting on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 5:30pm ET after baseball. It is just filler, but hopefully it gets to air. Movies will follow.
    To recap, Walker Texas Ranger, Curb Your Enthusiasm, How I Met Your Mother, Old Christine, Entourage, Just Shoot Me!, Monk, The Unit all join the schedule while Newhart, Barney Miller, Reno 911, Chappelle's Show, 7th Heaven, Cosby Show, Becker, Boston Legal, Bob & Tom Show, Singstation, Toni On!, Smash Cuts, Hollywood & Dine, Cultivating Life all leave the line-up.
    View the FULL WGN America Fall 2010 schedule and highlights. And stay tuned tomorrow for another Fall 2010 schedule as our annual cable fall schedules barrage continues!

    Today is the first day of the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour and CBS is up first. We are not at the press tour, but our friend Mike of TVTango.com is there and is providing live blogging updates for everyone! You even get to submit a question and he will try to ask for you. Sounds cool right?
    Anyway, CBS started the morning off right by having a selection of favorite breakfast items with showgirls and slot machines for added fun in honor of the new Wednesday drama The Defenders. Then the sessions started with Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment taking quesitons. Among the highlights from this session were: Nina commented on the resignation of ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson: My first thought was "Dammit, Steve got out of doing a press tour." CBS has given a name to the new CBS Daytime talk show set to replace soap As the World Turns this October. The talk show will be called The Talk. As a result of the talk show, Julie Chen (one of the co-hosts on this new talk show) will continue in a consulting capacity on The Early Show. Nina on pulling The Bridge from Saturday nights: The show wasn't delivering the numbers we needed. Generally, our Summer strategies work. We'll look at doing Canadian shows in future. I haven't decided yet. As for Two and a Half Men and Charlie Sheen: We have no indication that there will be any delay on the delivery of episodes as planned. Nina's comments on the move of Big Bang Theory to Thursdays: It was difficult, but not in the sense that you don't have complete faith and belief in the show...the time felt right. The show is enjoying an extraordinary amount of support and love. This was a great opportunity to move it into a strategic place. We don't expect it to do the numbers it did on Mondays quite yet. CBS is planning to air episodes of the original 1970's Hawaii Five-0 on one of their sister cable networks, Spike TV in September. More info on that will come soon.
    Then The Big Bang Theory was up next at the panel. On hand were stars Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, and executive producers Prod Chuck Lorre & Bill Prady. After that the new sitcom Mike & Molly was up next and on hand were stars Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy, Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi, Swoosie Kurtz and executive producer Chuck Lorre and creator Mark Roberts. The next panel before was the upcoming new CBS Daytime talk show (tentatively titled The Talk) with co-hosts Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur. And the final panel before lunch was Hawaii Five-0 with stars Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Alex Kurtzman, and executive producer Peter Lenkov.
    After a lunch break with boxed lunches, the new drama The Defenders was up at the panel. On hand were stars Jim Belushi, Jerry O'Connell, Jurnee Smollett, Tanya Fischer, executive producer Carol Mendelsohn, co-creator Kevin Kennedy, co-creator Niels Mueller, executive producer Harry Gantz, executive producer Joe Gantz and show runner Greg Walker. Then next at the panel was new Friday drama Blue Bloods. On hand were stars Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, and executive producers Mitchell Burgess & Robin Green. And finally the last panel was the new sitcom S#*! My Dad Says with the star William Shatner and executive producers David Kohan & Max Mutchnick and co-executive producer Justin Halpern.
    Then when everything is over today, CBS asks to join them under the summer sky with stars, producers and executives from CBS, Showtime, The CW and CBS Television Distribution at "The Tent," 9900 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, directly across from the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where you can eat, drink and party outside in a fun festive setting.

    Stay tuned tomorrow for The CW's turn at the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour!

    Tuesday, July 27, 2010

    TBS Fall 2010 Schedule Has American Dad; My Wife and Kids Premieres Aug. 30 on Nick at Nite

    We continue our look at the fall 2010 schedules for cable networks today with a look at TBS's Fall 2010 schedule. We also have coverage of the first day of the TCA Summer 2010 Press Tour, as NBC is up today. So let's get to it! TBS will add one new series to its fall schedule as the animated comedy American Dad! joins the line-up starting Monday, Sept. 20, 2010! But before we get into the fall schedule, TBS is making a minor change next week. Starting Monday, Aug. 2, a third airing of Home Improvement will be added at 11am, replacing Just Shoot Me! So this means Home Improvement will air from 11am-12:30pm. Just Shoot Me! will move to Saturday mornings starting at 8am (sometimes it is just a half-hour and other times it airs until 10am) effective Aug. 7.
    Now that we got that out of the way, we can move on to the TBS Fall 2010 schedule! The schedule starts on Monday, Sept. 20 with weekdays from 6am-9am remaining the same as it is now, which means Married...with Children from 6-7am and Saved by the Bell from 7-9am. Then the 9am hour will see changes as Yes, Dear moves to the hour replacing Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Not to worry because Fresh Prince will move to 10am-11:30am, as it replaces House of Payne and Home Improvement from 10:30am-11:30am. At 11:30am & 12pm TBS will air an hour of House of Payne, replacing two more airings of Home Improvement. TBS is pulling Home Improvement from the weekday schedule, but more on this later. At 12:30pm, TBS adds weekday airings of Wednesday hit, Meet the Browns replacing According to Jim, which slides to 1pm replacing Yes, Dear. TBS will air Everybody Loves Raymond from 1:30-3pm, as it replaces Yes, Dear at 1:30pm. According to Jim airs at 3pm replacing House of Payne, while The Office moves to 3:30pm replacing According to Jim. The 4pm hour will see Friends take over replacing Raymond in the 4pm half-hour. Another Everybody Loves Raymond airs at 5pm, followed by The King of Queens replacing Friends/The Office. At 6pm, we have another The King of Queens followed by Seinfeld, replacing King of Queens at 6:30. At 7pm Seinfeld remain, but American Dad! joins the line-up at 7:30pm replacing Seinfeld.
    In primetime (8-11pm), the schedule remains the same, but American Dad! will air Fridays 8-9pm replacing Family Guy. And on Saturdays, the morning sitcom block remains unchanged, but the late afternoon/early evening block starting at 3:30pm has changed a bit. According to Jim still starts it off at 3:30pm, followed by only one airing of Raymond now at 4pm, King of Queens moves to 4:30 & 5pm, and Seinfeld airs 5:30 & 6pm. A block of American Dad! has been added airing from 6:30-8pm. Late nights/early mornings will have Married..with Children at 5am and Home Improvement at 5:30am, its only airing on the schedule now.
    No further changes are expected in October, so this is officially the TBS Fall 2010 schedule. Highlights for the month include a Labor Day at The Office marathon on Monday, Sept. 6 from 10am-8pm and a catch-up marathon of My Boys on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10pm-1:30am leading into the one-hour season finale on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 10pm.
    View the full TBS Fall 2010 schedule and highlights, and feel free to discuss the schedule. Stay tuned for another fall schedule tomorrow as our annual cable fall schedule barrage continues! Stay with us!

    Apparently NBC has switched dates for the TCA summer press tour, so they are up now on Friday. Originally set visits were on Friday, but now they are today. Sorry about that and stay tuned tomorrow for CBS.
    We will bring you a news story instead today due to the mix-up. Nick at Nite has announced a Monday, Aug. 30 premiere date for its new acquisition My Wife & Kids. We previously announced the news at Nick at Nite's upfront in March, but now we have a launch date. Promos started airing last night announcing the premiere date. The Damon Wayans sitco will air in the weekday 8pm hour, but what about the rest of the schedule? You'll have to stay tuned to our fall schedules barrage for that! So keep coming back everyday!

    Thursday, February 04, 2010

    Just Shoot Me! On TV Guide Network; Remembering Producer Aaron Ruben

    The '90s sitcom Just Shoot Me! is now airing on the TV Guide Network. It is airing every weeknight at 6:00pm & 6:30pm ET/PT. It also continues to air on TBS in the daytime and in local syndication as well. Comedy Central and other Viacom entities (like TV Land) have stopped airing the series since December. Boy this series gets around!
    Just Shoot Me! is the first sitcom to air on TV Guide Network. Other series airing on TV Guide Network currently are Punk'd, American Idol Rewind, My Fair Brady, Celebrity Fit Club, and Ugly Betty (for now this is just encores of the weekly ABC airings). TV Guide Network also even airs movies now (weekdays 11am and 4pm).
    Coming Wednesday, March 10 at 10pm on TV Guide Network are reruns of Curb Your Enthusiasm, as we previously announced. TV Guide Network will preserve the integrity of the show by keeping as much original content as suitable for basic cable audiences. The episodes will be edited by HBO for standards and practices, but will not be edited for time. The episodes will be edited only for language and nudity.

    Aaron Ruben, a comedy writer, producer and director whose five-decade career included producing The Andy Griffith Show for the first five seasons and creating the spin-off series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., has died.
    Ruben, who devoted much of his later life to being a court-appointed advocate for abused and abandoned children, died Saturday (Jan. 31, 2010) of complications from pneumonia at his home in Beverly Hills.
    In the early 1950s, he was a writer on specials starring Danny Thomas, Ed Wynn and Eddie Cantor. He wrote for The Milton Berle Show, Caesar's Hour and The Phil Silvers Show, where he also began directing.
    Ruben then moved on and produced The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 to 1965 and also wrote and directed some of the episodes of the popular CBS series. He also did Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. as executive producer. Gomer aired on CBS from 1964 to 1970 and was the No. 2 top-rated program in the Nielsen ratings for the 1965-66 season. He then teamed up with Carl Reiner and co-wrote and co-produced The Comic, a 1969 movie directed by Reiner about the rise and fall of a silent film comedian starring Dick Van Dyke.
    In the 1970s, Ruben was the initial producer of Sanford and Son, the hit 1972-77 series starring Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson for which Ruben wrote many early episodes. Among his other credits as a producer, executive producer or write is The Headmaster, C.P.O. Sharkey, Teachers Only, Too Close for Comfort, The Stockard Channing Show, and The New Andy Griffith Show.
    Mr. Ruben leaves his legacy on his many hit series. He lived a long life and will be missed. Mr. Ruben was 95.

    Monday, August 10, 2009

    FX, USA, TNT, Hallmark, Comedy Central Fall 2009; Hallmark Weekend Change

    Today's fall schedule barrage theme is "more of the same." There will be some cable networks who really aren't changing anything this September. They include FX, USA Network, TNT, Hallmark Channel and Comedy Central. USA Network will continue to have
    Wings and Becker air on some weekdays in the 6am hour with various late night filler airings also. Drama blocks and movies still air on weekdays for shows such as Monk, NCIS, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Wednesday mornings has Walker, Texas Ranger and JAG.
    As for Comedy Central, it's more of the same as well. Just Shoot Me! continues to air in the weekday 8am hour, but Scrubs will move from the 7pm hour to the 8pm hour starting Sept. 14, as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report take the 7pm hour. That's really the only change.
    FX, TNT, and The Hallmark Channel have the exact same line-up for September as they do right now, with shows like Malcolm in the Middle and Bernie Mac on FX; Charmed, Law & Order, Bones and CSI NY on TNT; and Golden Girls, Touched by an Angel, and M*A*S*H on Hallmark...all in the same time slots!
    We had to cover these because we would get the question if these networks are making any changes in September. But are these the fall line-ups? We're not sure. Changes could be made in October, so stay tuned. However, USA Network is more of the same in October, so don't expect anything from us for that.
    Stay tuned for more fall schedules all this week. We still have WGN America, Nick at Nite, The N, BET, WE tv and more to go through.

    We didn't get a chance to warn you on Friday but Hallmark Channel has made some weekend changes that started this past Saturday (Aug. 8). The Saturday morning 6-9am episodes of Little House on the Prairie have been replaced by The Golden Girls. The same goes true for the Sunday morning airing from 8-11am as more Golden Girls are added. And if you think that's it, you're wrong because Hallmark will be thanking you for being a friend late nights on weekends as well! Both Saturday and Sunday nights (that's early Sunday and Monday mornings) from 1-3am are now also Golden Girls instead of a late night movie. So they go from no airings on weekends to all of this!

    Monday, July 13, 2009

    Comedy Central, USA Network Sitcoms Reduction; RTV's Emergency King in Phoenix

    Comedy Central has dropped Just Shoot Me! from its line-up already. It was airing weekdays at 3:30pm and 4pm and weekends during mid-morning since June 1. It looks like ratings must have been pretty low for it to be dropped totally. It was dropped last week. No word on when or if it will return to Comedy Central, or on any Viacom-owned network for that matter. It had bombed on TV Land already. Now Comedy Central only airs Scrubs, sitcom wise. And as we mentioned on Friday, they have an original sitcom coming soon with a 10-episode order.
    Meanwhile, USA Network has quietly removed Becker and Wings from its weekday morning line-up. They were airing most weekdays in the 6am hour. Now they are starting marathon stacks at 6am of their dramas like Monk and Law & Order: SVU. Becker and Wings will next air together during late night on Friday, July 24 (early July 25) in the 3-4am hour. In August, they will also air in the 3-4am hour together on Saturday nights (early Sundays). Becker will get filler plays during the week sometimes in the late night as well in both July and August. Check your listings. Becker is also airing in marathon blocks on Universal-owned network Universal HD, airing in HD and weeknights on WGN America as well. Wings is only on USA Network.
    We will have more on these two shows on USA Network very soon when we announce the fall line-up in our annual fall schedules barrage here on the blog!

    Retro Television's KAZT (7.2) in Phoenix is killing the competition at 3PM. At 3PM RTV's KAZT airs Emergency! and they are doing very well with it in the A25-54 demo. Last Monday (July 6), Emergency! posted a 0.7 A25-54 rating beating Oprah's 0.6 on KTVK. It also beat many other Phoenix airings throughout the day in A25-54 such as The Doctors, Dr. Phil, Rachel Ray, Fox's (KSAZ) primetime House, and The CW (KASW) primetime.
    That's not all! The very next day (Tuesday, July 7) it was #1 in Men 25-54 in its 3PM timeslot in Phoenix beating not just Oprah at 3pm, but everything at 3pm! Emergency! posted a 1.2 M25-54 rating, beating Oprah's 0.8, Yes Dear on TBS's 0.8, Ellen DeGeneres Show on KPNX's 0.6, and so many other shows such as Gunsmoke on TV Land's 0.2 in Phoenix.
    Emergency! aired originally from 1972-79 and was produced by Universal. The series followed the early years of the Paramedic program in the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) with the focus on the personnel of Fire Station 51, in particular Firefighter/Paramedics. Robert Fuller stars.
    View more on Retro Television on their official website.

    Tuesday, June 02, 2009

    Just Shoot Me Joins Comedy Central; Scrubs Also Airing on Spike TV; JustMyShow.com Goes Wang Chung Tonight

    Just Shoot Me!, the hit '90s sitcom, has now joined Comedy Central's line-up airing weekdays at 3:30pm & 4:00pm following episodes of Scrubs at 2:30pm & 3:00pm. Just Shoot Me! was previously on sister station TV Land (also owned by Viacom), but the ratings were not too good. Now it is getting a run on Comedy Central. The show will also air on weekends anytime between 10am-1pm, also paired with Scrubs. Scrubs will also remain in its weeknights 7-8pm slot as well.
    Just a note, Just Shoot Me! is also still airing on TBS weekdays from 2-3pm. The series lasted 148 episodes on NBC from 1997-2003.

    We have some Spike TV news! They have been airing CSI and CSI: NY all day long (9am-8pm) for a while now, but this July finally the regular schedule will return. But before that happens, another show that was on TV Land will make its way to a sister station. We get more Scrubs! Scrubs will air on Spike TV on Thursday nights to start-off in the 1am hour starting June 18, replacing MANanswers and Beavis & Butt-head. Then a few weeks later it will lose that hour to MANswers, but gain so much more. Scrubs will join the Spike TV weekday line-up starting Monday, July 6 airing in the 11am hour, following the daily return of Married...with Children from 9-11am weekdays. So yes, Scrubs will be on two Viacom networks (Comedy Central and Spike TV) along with WGN America and local syndication. That sure is a whole lot! But with this addition, it seems TV Land will not be airing it again. Married...with Children was airing on Sundays from 9am-10:30am on Spike TV since these CSI and CSI NY marathons have been airing lately and the show also has been airing on sister network TV Land. Lots of cross airings on Viacom networks it seems lately.
    The rest of the new Spike TV schedule starting July 6 has Spike's Most Amazing Videos at 12 noon, back-to-back CSI NY from 1-3pm, CSI from 3-5pm, more CSI NY from 5-7pm, and more CSI from 7-9pm. This means Unsolved Mysteries is not on the schedule and won't return for now it seems. Primetime has movies and originals. The late night schedule has CSI, Spike's Most Amazing Videos, Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol, Star Trek: Voyager, MXC, and The Shield, with the latter two just once a week.

    Our good buddy Eric from the wonderful JustMyShow.com is back with another new podcast! Hint: Everybody Wang Chung Tonight! He brought you some of the '80s most memorable hits. Now he's here to tell you how it all happened. JMS chats it up with Wang Chung lead singer Jack Hues. And that's not all! There is a special appearance by Emmy-winning writer Ken Levine! There is a bonus clip that will interest us the most probably. The bonus clip has Ken Levine discussing his famous Cheers Wang Chung line, as that sitcom had an episode ("To All the Girls I've Loved Before") that featured Wang Chung. So head on over to JustMyShow and listen to this podcast and the bonus audio!

    Friday, January 02, 2009

    TV One February 2009 Highlights; Few TV Land Overnight Changes for Jan. and Feb.

    We're in January still, but we have highlights for February 2009 for TV One! There will be a few notable items sitcom wise for TV One in February. On Saturday February 14, beginning 12pm through 9pm, TV One celebrates Valentines Day with a Martin marathon that chronicles the romance and marriage of Martin & Gina. Viewers will experience the highs and the lows of their loving relationship concluding with their romantic Caribbean wedding. Select episodes will encore from 2am-6am later that night.
    On Sunday, February 22, beginning at 7pm and running to 11pm, TV One brings back the much loved and critically praised dramedy South Central in a four-hour mini-marathon that will remind viewers of the special nature of this before its time groundbreaking series. The first eight episodes will air. The series was set to launch on TV One a few months back but was delayed but now it is airing! South Central was a short-lived series about the struggles of a family residing in South Central Los Angeles. Joan Mosely, an independent-minded single mother, must find a way to make ends meet while still keeping a close eye on her teenage children, Andre and Tasha. In addition, she has taken in Deion, a five-year-old foster child with special needs. A critically acclaimed but extremely short-lived series, South Central is now perhaps best remembered as one of the earliest acting roles for Jennifer Lopez, who had a recurring role as Joan's co-worker at the co-op. The marathon will have an encore play beginning at 2am through 6am.
    There is no word yet if South Central will have a regular slot on the schedule, but maybe it will in March? We will let you know. But for now enjoy the marathon! There will be no other changes or marathons in February, so new additions like The Jeffersons and Sanford & Son remain in their current slots that will start Jan. 5. If you're reading this on Jan. 2, then you can catch the Sanford & Son 24-hour launch tonight at 9pm on TV One.

    TV Land will be making a few overnight changes in January and February, mostly on Fridays. Fridays in January only we will have the TV Land PRIME Movie be until 12:30am each Friday in January, so following the movie will be 3rd Rock from the Sun from 12:30-1:30am, while M*A*S*H will be shifted a bit to 1:30am-2:30am. Also, for these four Fridays, The Brady Bunch will air 5-6am (early Saturdays), so these two episodes will encore later in its 10am-12pm block on Saturdays.
    Then in February, on most Wed-Fri nights we now have Scrubs and Just Shoot Me! in the 5am hour for February instead of M*A*S*H (and no more Brady Bunch on Fridays). Scrubs/Just Shoot Me! will start out by just Friday the first week, then expands to Thursdays the following week, and by the time High School Reunion launches the third week, we will have Wednesdays added. M*A*S*H will still encore Monday and Tuesday nights in the 5am hour starting the third week of February.
    These are very minor changes, but still are changes to be made a note of.

    Monday, December 15, 2008

    TV Land Removes Four Sitcoms; TBS Schedules New Sitcom Meet the Browns for January and My Boys for March

    We gave you details on TV Land's changes coming in January starting Dec. 29 and told you Paid Programming would be expanded and moved to 6-9am, so Designing Women, Mad About You, Murphy Brown and Just Shoot Me would move back to 4-6am instead of 3-5am. Now TV Land will remove these four sitcoms all together. Starting Monday, Dec. 29, we now get another hour of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in the 4am hour followed by more M*A*S*H in the 5am hour. Yes, Designing Women, Mad About You, Murphy Brown and Just Shoot Me will be off the regular line-up totally now, so watch them these next few weeks all you can. Just Shoot Me will still air in the weekend "TV Land.Comedy Month," on Jan. 17 from 2-6am. For regular airings, these four do not have return dates. If they shall returns, we will certainly let you know.
    View the rest of TV Land's January 2009 schedule and highlights.

    After bringing his unique style to TBS with the enormously popular sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Tyler Perry is preparing to add to his successful track record with a spin-off based on characters of his popular play and hit movie, Meet the Browns. The series stars David Mann as the fun-loving but sometimes crass Downtown Leroy Brown, who also appeared in several episodes of House of Payne on TBS. This series opens with Leroy Brown trying to fulfill his father's dying wish by opening a retirement home. Helping him out are his daughter, Cora (Tamela Mann); his nephew Will (Lamman Rucker), a doctor; Will's wife, Sasha (Denise Boutte), a nurse; Carmen Martinez (Jeanette Sousa), a beautiful young social worker; and Jesus Hernandez (Antonio Jaramillo), a maintenance engineer studying to be a lawyer. Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns comes to TBS from Debmar-Mercury. As he does for his other series, Perry is once again serving as executive producer and director, as well as occasionally writing.
    Meet the Browns launches Wednesday, January 7 airing back-to-back episodes for five weeks, as 10 episodes have been ordered, through and including February 4. House of Payne will lead-into the series from 8-10pm and lead-out as well from 11pm-12am, giving it an ample lead-in.
    TBS has also scheduled all 10 episodes of Meet the Browns the weekend of Feb. 21-22, as part of a Tyler Perry marathon, in case you miss any. The first two will encore on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 9-10pm, following two episodes of House of Payne from 8-9pm. Then TBS will air the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman at 10pm followed by a House of Payne marathon from 12:30am-8:30am on Sunday. Then the remaining eight episodes of Meet the Browns will follow from 8:30am-12:30pm, followed by another airing of Diary of a Mad Black Woman, and finally more House of Payne from 3-8pm...so it is all Tyler Payne for 24-hours!
    Meanwhile, My Boys will return in March for a third season! This critically acclaimed comedy stars Jordana Spiro as PJ Franklin, a 20-something sports writer looking for love while also trying to maintain her close connection with her friends, most of whom are guys. Co-starring with Spiro is the show's top-notch ensemble cast, including Jim Gaffigan, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Michael Bunin, Jamie Kaler and Kellee Stewart. My Boys premiered on TBS in November 2006, ranking as ad-supported cable's #1 original sitcom of the year. This year, the show averaged 1.5 million viewers, up 14% when compared to last summer. My Boys comes to TBS from creator Betsy Thomas.
    Speaking of third seasons, just a reminder, TBS's popular late-night comedy 10 Items or Less, a loosely scripted look at life behind the scenes at a family-run grocery store, returns for a third season on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 11pm. It is co-created by acclaimed comedy improv actor John Lehr. It delves into the offbeat lives of the employees at Greens & Grains. In addition to Lehr, the series stars Kirsten Gronfield, Chris Payne Gilbert, Greg Davis Jr., Christopher Liam Moore, Roberta Valderrama and Robert Clendenin, as well as new cast member Kim Coles. 10 Items or Less is written and executive-produced by Lehr and director Nancy Hower.

    Tuesday, August 19, 2008

    TV Land October 2008 Sees Many Changes; Show Coming on ION This September Is...NCIS

    Late last week we mentioned that TV Land will change their line-up a bit in October, and now we know the full details! We mentioned a lot already 3rd Rock from the Sun will join the TV Land line-up and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is now eligible for daily play on TV Land rather than just once a week, and now we know when they will air!
    First, 3rd Rock from the Sun will replace Cheers weekdays at 8:30am starting Wednesday, October 1. 3rd Rock will then get more slots the week after, starting October 6 airing weekdays (except Wednesdays/Fridays) at 10:00pm & 10:30pm after Scrubs. The show will also air Saturday nights at 1:00am & 1:30am. TV Land will officially welcome the band of alien explorers posing as a typical "family" of four to observe human nature and relationships on the planet earth the weekend of Oct. 11-12 with a 6-hour marathon on Saturday night, October 11 from 11:59pm-6am and a 4-hour marathon on Sunday, October 12 from 12p-4pm, starting with the pilot episode on Sunday.
    Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will get a seven-day primetime marathon as it now will air daily on TV Land! It's a makeover takeover on TV Land. From Monday, September 29 to Sunday, October 5 from 9pm through 1am each night, don't miss a week-long primetime marathon of the popular series. From the "After The Storm" specials (Hurricane Katrina) to the 2-hour episodes and all the laughter and tears in between, TV Land brings you all the best that Ty and his gang of hardworking homebuilders have to offer. Don't forget the Kleenex. The series will then air weekdays at 7pm & 11pm, Mondays at 11am, and on weekends the special two-hour episodes will air Saturdays 8-10am & 8-10pm and Sundays 8-10am & 6-8pm.
    Other schedule changes starting Oct. 6 are Andy Griffith Show shifting from 6-8pm to 5-7p, as it makes room for Home Edition at 7pm. So the 5-6pm Hillbillies hour is gone. As we mentioned 3rd Rock replaces M*A*S*H at 10pm, Home Edition also replaces M*A*S*H at 11pm, while M*A*S*H moves to 1-2am replacing Sanford & Son. The weeknight late night block will get a huge makeover. 2-3am hour will now be an episode each of Hogan's Heroes and Beverly Hillbillies replacing The Jeffersons. The I Love Lucy/Leave it to Beaver hour now moves from 5am to 3am replacing two episodes of Beverly Hillbillies. Then from 4-6am, the shows that were dropped return after a short break. That's Designing Women, Mad About You, Murphy Brown and Just Shoot Me from 4-6am weeknights. So, Three's Company and The Brady Bunch will be off the line-up after two months of airing. During weekends, the changes as we mentioned were two-hour Home Edition episodes 8-10am on both days, replacing Green Acres on Saturdays, which is now also off the line-up. Andy Griffith Show will shift from 9-10am Saturdays to 10-11am. Saturdays from 6-8pm will be a block of Cosby Show, followed by a two-hour Home Edition from 8-10pm, encores of Myths & Legends at 10, Scrubs Saturdays shifts to the 11pm hour, followed by Cosby Show at midnight and 3rd Rock in the 1am hour. On Sundays, the Home Edition 8-10am, Scrubs Sundays from 5-6pm, and another Home Edition from 6-8pm. No other changes on Sundays. See the full schedule link below if you get confused.
    To the highlights, Myths & Legends will return for a second season starting Wednesday, October 8 with two all-new episodes! Then the next 6 Wednesdays one half-hour episode will air each Wednesday at 10pm. TV Land Myths & Legends promises to go behind the scenes to investigate the mysteries that have grown up around some of Hollywood's most memorable stars, TV shows, films and music. In a town called the Dream Factory, where reality collides with wild imagination, there's a blurred line between truth and fiction. Did heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne bite the head off of a live bat? Was Jayne Mansfield decapitated in her fatal automobile accident? Was a comic book based on the rock band KISS printed with the blood of the band members? Is J.Lo's butt really insured for $1 billion dollars? TV Land will explore these infamous mysteries and more on TV Land Myths & Legends Season 2 as they set the record straight about some of the most confused and confounding moments in entertainment history.
    TV Land's Movie Land Friday block for October will feature classic comedies such as Police Academy, Lethal Weapon and Easy Money!
    View the full TV Land October 2008 schedule and highlights.

    We told you yesterday ION's September 2008 highlights and we said a drama not yet announced will air Mondays and Tuesdays at 9PM starting Sept. 8, and now ION has announced it! And that drama is ... NCIS!
    ION Television, a contemporary general entertainment network, today announced that it will add Emmy-nominated NCIS to its primetime lineup on Monday, September 8th at 9 p.m. ET. ION Media Networks, Inc., ION Television's parent company, has entered into a content agreement with CBS Television Distribution for the broadcast syndication rights to the first four seasons of the naval investigators procedural series. The top-rated, hour-long program will air on Mondays and Tuesdays in the 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET timeslot.
    NCIS marks the 3rd show acquired from CBS Television Distribution, with the other two coming in Fall 2009 -- Criminal Minds and Ghost Whisperer.
    NCIS, the hit spin-off of CBS's military legal drama, JAG, comes from acclaimed producer Donald P. Bellisario. Revolving around a fictional group of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Major Case Response Team (MCRT) of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps., NCIS is more than your average action drama. With liberal doses of humor, it focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a squad forced to work together in high-stress situations. From murder and espionage to terrorism and kidnappings, these special agents travel the globe to investigate high-profile crimes involving persons and property associated with the Navy or Marine Corps. The popular show premiered on September 23, 2003, on CBS and enters its sixth season on the network this fall.

    Thursday, July 10, 2008

    TV Land Schedule Changes; Summer 2008 TCA Press Tour: Cable Day 3

    We will start today with some changes to the TV Land regular schedule. The changes will start Monday (July 14) and will be for weekday mornings and primetime/late night. There will be minor changes in the mornings between 7:30am-12pm. Just Shoot Me will be leaving the morning line-up and will be relegated to just weekend airings in the late night, and most of the time it will be preempted then for original series encores or sitcom marathons. In the mornings, Mad About You will join the morning line-up at 7:30am, followed by Designing Women & Cheers, both of which will be shifted a half-hour later. In the 9am hour, Sanford & Son and All in the Family will swap slots, so All in the Family will be at 9am followed by Sanford & Son at 9:30am. The Jeffersons remains at 10am, but the 10:30am episode will be replaced by Good Times. The 11am Good Times remains, but the 11:30am Good Times will be replaced by Leave it to Beaver, which is not going to air 1-2pm anymore, as The Beverly Hillbillies will take that slot. Gunsmoke will move to 2pm, followed by a double shot of Bonanza at 3pm & 4pm.
    Then the schedule doesn't change until 9pm. Weekdays from 9pm-12am and 2-5am they will have marathons. Hogan's Heroes (Mon), The Beverly Hillbillies (Tues), Sanford & Son (Wed), The Andy Griffith Show (Thurs) and I Love Lucy (Fri). Lucy will be 8-10pm actually on Fridays and the late night marathon will be 2-6am. So Murphy Brown will be off the line-up, but will air sometimes on weekends, like Just Shoot Me. The Brady Bunch will just air weekends at 4:30am. M*A*S*H block will be 12-2am weeknights.
    So, the changes that were happening before, with the summer marathons will not happen and these new marathon slots are the summer marathons.
    These changes will be in effect until the end of August. In September, there will be more changes coming as Scrubs joins the line-up on September 1 and The Cosby Show on Sept. 15. Fans of Just Shoot Me and Murphy Brown take note that these shows will be back on the regular schedule airing late nights. The same goes for Designing Women and Mad About You, and those two will retain its current morning slots, as well. Unfortunately for Brady Bunch fans, the show will be off the line-up completely come September. Three's Company is returning, but it will just air once a week in he late night...but it will be three episodes in a row! We will have more on September in the next week or so. So stay tuned for that!
    But anyway, for now look at the TV Land changes happening July 14 by clicking HERE!

    Moving on to day three of the cable portion of the summer 2008 TCA press tour. Up first today were the Discovery Networks.
    Animal Planet talked about its new series Whale Wars, which premieres in November. This new, thrilling and adrenaline-fueled mini-series follows the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society which uses unconventional and radical methods to eradicate alleged illegal whaling operations.
    The Discovery Channel talked about series such as Secrets of the Dinosaur Mummy, which launches in September. A team of amateur fossil hunters exploring the Montana badlands uncovered what many are calling the "Holy Grail" of paleontology -- the first fully intact dinosaur cadaver, with 90 percent of its body covered in skin. They also have a series coming in August titled Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein. It's a thrill ride filled with adventure and mystery, ancient riddles and modern day issues as international explorer Josh Bernstein travels the world on an epic quest of discovery.
    The network Planet Green has hired Bob Woodruff for a series called Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff. The series launches this Saturday. As the definitive weekly eco-newscast, this series features seasoned ABC News journalist Bob Woodruff as he guides viewers on the green headlines of the week and provides them with a variety of hard-hitting, late-breaking, and top-of-mind issues facing the world today. Planet Green will also launch Battleground Earth: Ludacris v. Tommy Lee on August 3. Battleground Earth brings together hip hop superstar Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and rock god Tommy Lee to battle against the toxic forces destroying Mother Earth as they travel across the country on a 10-episode tour.
    TLC President Angela Shapiro-Mathes gave an overview of TLC and the upcoming programming as well as the rebranding of the network. Two new Real Estate series are in the works and will launch in August. One of them will be hosted by Kirsten Kemp Becker and the other will be called Over Designed.

    ESPN was also up today at the press tour. They have quite a few films and documentaries in the works. Spike Lee and Steve Nash are producing the documentary 30/30. Branch Rickey III, grandson of Jackie Robinson, is producing the Jackie Robinson/Branch Rickey project.

    Sundance Channel was touting Architecture School, a new series launching August 20. This six-part series follows the students in the URBANbuild program at Tulane University's highly celebrated School of Architecture as they submit competing designs and build the winning design in the devastated city of New Orleans. Sundance/IFC will also premiere Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... in December. A series of 13 one-hour programs hosted by legendary singer/songwriter Elvis Costello and executive produced by Sir Elton John, this show is conceived to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and musical performance with a variety of musicians, artists and personalities.

    HBO was next and they were talking about the special Ricky Gervais Comedy Special, coming this Fall. They also talked about Generation Kill, a mini-series launching this Sunday. Executive produced and co-written by David Simon and Ed Burns, the team behind the critically acclaimed HBO series, The Wire, this seven-part miniseries tells the true story of young U.S. Marines of the elite First Reconnaissance Battalion whose unit was part of the first wave of the American military assault on Baghdad in 2003. On August 18, they will air Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House. Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House profiles iconic journalist Helen Thomas, a tour de force in political reporting, who has covered the White House and every president since John F. Kennedy. In September, HBO will launch a new comedy series, Little Britain USA. Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the stars of the smash-hit BBC comedy Little Britain headline this new HBO comedy series set in contemporary America. This series will feature favorite Little Britain characters in new sketches, as well as brand-new American characters, and was shot on location in North Carolina and Los Angeles before a live audience. HBO will also launch a new drama series called True Blood on September 7. Based on the popular Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, True Blood is created by Alan Ball, creator of HBO's Emmy-winning series, Six Feet Under. This series takes place in the not-too-distant future, when, thanks to the invention of synthetic blood, vampires no longer need humans for their fix, and can walk freely, if not yet comfortably, among their living counterparts.

    Finally, GSN was promoting its new original game show Catch 21, which launches July 21 with a 40-episode order. Created by executive producer Merrill Heatter, Catch 21 melds pop trivia with the excitement of the classic card game, 21. Built from GSN.com's online game "Catch 21," the show, hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), will showcase three contestants competing to win larger-than-life playing cards and trying to build the closest hand to 21. With every card they are dealt, contestants gain the power to make their opponents hand worse by passing their card.

    Wednesday, January 30, 2008

    Day 87: WGA's Strike; More NATPE Notes; 2 More RTN Stations Added; TV Land Scores Big in January 2008

    Today is day 87 of the strike. Various reports are saying the strike could end very soon because the informal negotiations are going well. Let's hope this is true and we get an official announcement soon. If the strike were to end in the next week or two, we could see many of our favorite scripted shows return for a month or two of new episodes this spring! But there are reports shows like Pushing Daisies and Law & Order: SVU would not be able to come back with new episodes until the fall. We'll keep you posted for sure.
    In other news, NBC has renewed Celebrity Apprentice for another season. The second season of The Celebrity Apprentice will premiere in January of 2009. The first season wraps up Thursday, March 27 from 9-11pm.

    As we did yesterday, we have some more NATPE notes for you.
    - Program Partners and 44 Blue Productions have cleared Family Court With Judge Penny, a new syndicated courtroom show, in more than 70% of U.S. markets for this Fall. Clearances include WNYW/WWOR in New York, KTTV/KCOP in Los Angeles, WCIU/WWME in Chicago, WUPA in Atlanta, WBFF/WNUV in Baltimore and KTVT/KTXA in Dallas.
    - It looks like The Montel Williams Show is ending after this season. However, CBS TV Distribution will offer 260 episodes of the best of Montel to stations for fall 2008. The show has aired for 17 seasons. Fox stations in the top two markets declined to renew the series for next season.
    - NBC Universal's The Steve Wilkos Show was renewed for season two, with clearances in more than 85% of the country including top-market stations WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles, WGN Chicago and WPHL Philadelphia. Top Sinclair stations picking up the show for season two include WTTA Tampa, Fla.; WNUV Baltimore; WTTE Columbus, Ohio; and WLFL Raleigh, N.C., and Fox-owned stations extending their deal include WFTC Minneapolis and KUTP Phoenix.
    - Litton Entertainment announced that Storm Stories, an unscripted series based on raw footage of extreme weather, has cleared 70% of U.S. stations. It will launch this fall. It comes from The Weather Channel and features customizable format options with features such as live local news and weather updates from station meteorologists. Major-market stations that have signed on include WABC in New York, KCAL/KCBS in Los Angeles, WGN in Chicago, KYW in Philadelphia, WJBK in Detroit, WSB in Atlanta, WTSP in Tampa, Fla., WJW in Cleveland, KPHO in Phoenix, KUSA in Denver, WESH in Orlando, Fla., KXTV in Sacramento, Calif., KSDK in St. Louis, WPXI in Pittsburgh and WJZ in Baltimore.
    Litton has done big so far in NATPE, already selling Baywatch reruns to ION and has Cribs, and Pimp My Ride up for sale for this fall.

    Retro Television Network (RTN) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Media General to bring RTN programming to Mobile, AL/Pensacola, FL and Columbus, GA. The new affiliates will launch in the second quarter of this year on a digital stream of WKRG, the CBS affiliate in Mobile/Pensacola, and WRBL, the CBS affiliate in Columbus.

    TV Land scored its most-watched month ever across several key categories for January 2008, according to Nielsen Media Research (12/31/07-1/27/08). The successful launch of new acquisition Just Shoot Me!, the network's regularly scheduled "Friday Night Movies" which included a telecast of The Jerk and "The Beverly Hillbillies New Year's Eve Marathon" led the network to score double-digit gains in rating and delivery among its target A25-54, core A40-54 audience and total viewers in total day.
    In total day, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating (382,000 viewers) among A25-54, up +33% in rating and +33% in delivery over a year ago. The network attracted an average of 782,000 total viewers, up +18% over January 2007. Among its core audience, A40-54, the network scored a 0.5 rating (279,000 viewers), representing a rise of +25% in rating and +29% in delivery over last year. In prime time, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating (460,000 viewers), up+3% in delivery over last year, and among A40-54, the network averaged a 0.6 rating (336,000 viewers). Additionally, TV Land attracted an average of over 1 million total viewers.
    For more on the best month ever in the ratings for TV Land, click HERE!

    Come on back tomorrow for TV One March and details on Family Matters coming to Nick at Nite. Family Matters will launch on... (sorry you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that!)


    Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

    Friday, September 12

    Vampirina: Teenage Vampire - "First Year to Watch" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    As Vee arrives at Wilson Hall, she learns that performing arts boarding school might have more challenges than she thought; Demi vows to protect Vee from Van Helsings.

    Vampirina: Teenage Vampire - "First Day of School" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
    Vee's plans to have an amazing first day of school are threatened by a dire warning from the Vampire Council; Demi continues his search for Van Helsings.

    Complete TV Listings


    Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 8)

    Friday, September 12

    • Regina King (The Boondocks/Leap of Faith/227) - Watch Regina on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Michael Chiklis (Daddio) - Michael is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
    • Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
    • Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Kumail is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
    • Domhnall Gleeson (The Paper) - Domhnall appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
    • Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
    • Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken talks about 99 to Beat on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
    • Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Broadway's Oh, Mary! and Shrinking on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
    • Zosia Mamet (Laid/Girls) - Zosia talks about Does This Make Me Funny? on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
    • Emeril Lagasse (Emeril) - Sunny Anderson gets a big surprise from Drew – cooking with the legendary Emeril Lagasse on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
    • Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Drew is chatting with Jennifer about the new season of The Morning Show, her kids cookbook, Cook with Clydeo, and her haircare line on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
    • Hannah Pilkes (Leanne) - Hannah is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
    • Charlie Sheen (Anger Management/Two and a Half Men/Spin City) - Real Time with Bill Maher features a one-on-one interview with Charlie Sheen, actor and subject of the new two-part documentary aka Charlie Sheen on Netflix, and author of the new book The Book of Sheen: A Memoir at 10pm on HBO.


    New on DVD and Blu-ray

    The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

    01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
    02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
    03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
    04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
    05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
    06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
    06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
    07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
    08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)

    More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


    Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

    09/11 - Remembering Polly Holliday of Alice and Flo; Prime Video's Overcompensating Renewed for Season 2
    09/10 - Netflix Renews Leanne for Season 2; Hazbin Hotel Returns October 29
    09/09 - HBO Comedy The Chair Company; Trailer for Disney's Vampirina: Teenage Vampire
    09/08 - The Paper Renewed for Season 2, NYC Event on Tuesday; Final Season of Bel-Air
    09/07 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 8, 2025)
    09/06 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Shifting Gears Picked Up for Three Additional Episodes; The Paper Renewed for Season Two
    09/05 - Crutch Premieres November 3 on Paramount+; Trailer for Season 2 of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
    09/04 - Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween 2025 Schedule; Dancing with the Stars Season 34 Cast
    09/03 - Live Staged Reading of Three's Company Episode; Freeform Acquires According to Jim for October
    09/02 - Hulu's Chad Powers Trailer; BET's The Hospital Premieres September 10
    09/01 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2025 Include Archie Bunker's Place and George Lopez
    08/31 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 1, 2025)
    08/30 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Saturday Night Live Cast Changes Loom; NBC Renews Password for Third Season
    08/29 - HBO's Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television; Adult Swim Slates Two Series for October
    08/28 - NBC's Password Renewed for Season 3 for 2026; Pluto TV Streaming CBS Shows Ahead of Fall Season
    08/27 - Hulu's Deli Boys Renewed for Season 2 with Fred Armisen; HBO's I Love LA Premieres November 2
    08/26 - English Teacher Returns on FX for Season 2; Jesse Williams Prime Video Series Trailer
    08/25 - Doc Season 2 Trailer for Fox; Remembering David Ketchum and Jerry Adler
    08/24 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 25, 2025)
    08/23 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Home Improvement Cast Members to Reunite on Shifting Gears; The Paper to Have Binge Drop
    08/22 - Hulu's Futurama Season 13 Trailer; A Man on the Inside Returns November 20 on Netflix
    08/21 - George Lopez Coming to COZI TV; The Morning Show Season 4 Trailer
    08/20 - Welcome Back, Kotter 50th Anniversary Marathon on Rewind TV; Apple TV+ Palm Royale Season 2 Premieres November 12
    08/19 - Antenna TV's Archie Bunker's Place Labor Day Marathon; Larry the Cable Guy Prime Video Special
    08/18 - Nobody Wants This Season 2 Premieres October 23; HGTV and Retta Continue Partnership
    08/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 18, 2025)
    08/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Paramount Plans Retool of Cable Networks; King of the Hill Revival Scores Big Ratings
    08/15 - Catchy Comedy Acquires Hot in Cleveland; Netflix's Animated Comedy Strip Law Premieres in 2026
    08/14 - Dan Levy's Netflix Comedy Series Cast; Betty la Fea: La Historia Continúa Season 2 Premieres Friday
    08/13 - Remembering Danielle Spencer of What's Happening!!; Trailer for Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building
    08/12 - Netflix's Comedy Kiss or Die Premieres September 9; Lori Harvey Joins Reasonable Doubt
    08/11 - Roku Originals Books a Return Trip with Season 2 Renewal of Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross; Netflix's Fixed Trailer