SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

• Catchy Comedy has a binge of Get Smart tomorrow.
• American Idol returns for a 24th season on ABC on Monday.

With a lineup of celebrities including a supermodel, a former White House press secretary, a Bachelorette, pro-athletes from the NFL and NBA, a Supreme and a '90s TV icon to name a few, Dancing with the Stars is waltzing its way into its highly anticipated upcoming 2019 season. The new celebrity cast is adding some glitzy bling to their wardrobe, breaking in their dancing shoes and readying themselves for their first dance on the ballroom floor, as the show kicks off Monday, Sept. 16 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT, on ABC. For the first time ever, viewers will have to tune in to the season premiere to find out with whom their favorite professional dancers are paired. This season also features the return of a loved pro, Peta Murgatroyd, and two new professional ballroom dancers. Episodes can also be viewed the next day on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu. As announced yesterday morning on ABC's Good Morning America, the celebrities and professional dancers heading to the ballroom this season (in alphabetical order) are the following:

Celebrities:
· Lauren Alaina - country music star
· Christie Brinkley - supermodel
· Ally Brooke - pop star
· Hannah Brown - The Bachelorette
· Karamo Brown - TV host, Queer Eye
· Kate Flannery - TV star, The Office
· Ray Lewis - NFL Hall of Famer
· Kel Mitchell - comedian/actor, Kenan & All/All That
· Lamar Odom - two-time NBA champion
· Sean Spicer - former White House press secretary
· James Van Der Beek - TV icon, Dawson's Creek
· Mary Wilson - The Supremes

Professional dancers:
· Brandon Armstrong
· Lindsay Arnold
· Alan Bersten
· Cheryl Burke
· Witney Carson
· Val Chmerkovskiy
· Sasha Farber
· Jenna Johnson
· Daniella Karagach
· Keo Motsepe
· Peta Murgatroyd
· Pasha Pashkov
· Gleb Savchenko
· Emma Slater

NBC will air A Little Late with Lilly Singh: The Primetime Special on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 10 p.m., two days following the premiere of her new late-night show on Sept. 16. The telecast will immediately follow the two-hour season finale of America's Got Talent. The hourlong special will introduce primetime audiences to Singh as she partakes in sketches, interviews, games and interacts with the audience. Celebrity guests and a musical guest will be added at a later date. Singh is a multi-faceted entertainer, finding success as an actress, producer, writer and creator. She's a leading force in the digital world, amassing a global audience of more than 14 million subscribers on her YouTube channel where she writes, produces and stars in comedic and inspirational videos.

Avocados From Mexico (AFM), the number-one selling avocado brand in the U.S., is back for the Big Game serving football fans an out-of-this-world experience during the first break of game day action on February 7, 2016 on CBS. And it's going to feature a classic sitcom star! The sitcom star is Scott Baio (Happy Days, Charles in Charge). On the heels of multiple major pop-culture integrations from the 89th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade® to a partnership with Sesame Street to promote Health and Wellness, AFM continues its track to join America's conversations in the game day creative. Throughout the spot, the alien guide points enthusiastically to a range of pop-culture phenomena's from a Rubik's cube to a mannequin wearing the infamous blue or gold dress that drove the internet crazy. Featured is actor Scott Baio who was obviously kidnapped and anxious to get to Earth.

After a successful debut in 2015, AFM is taking viewers through a hilarious, spaced out experience. Stationed on an interplanetary museum, the spot opens with a tall, orange alien tour guide leading a bunch of his comrades – of all shapes, sizes and tentacles – through an exhibit about Earth. The tour highlights what the aliens have determined are the most unique Earthly possessions that would amaze beings far and wide. These possessions, determined by the aliens themselves, showcase a number of pop-culture treasure troves, including the always in-season Avocados From Mexico.

Reruns of the hit '90s sitcom Kenan & Kel are now on MTV2! The fun begins late tonight after 2am in a block of episodes. Like with other MTV2 shows, it will not have a set schedule but will pop-up in random blocks overt the week. The block tonight is from 2-4am and another block will air 6-9am this Saturday. Kenan & Kel joins other sitcoms on the lineup like My Wife & Kids, Martin, Everybody Hates Chris, Bernie Mac, The Wayans Bros., The PJs and Saved by the Bell. Nickelodeon's first spin-off series, Kenan & Kel, is a buddy comedy starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell from All That. These two friends dauntlessly chase after things most teenagers dream about, but few dare to pursue.

Millennials who crave the iconic Nickelodeon shows of their childhood, including Kenan & Kel, Rugrats, Hey Arnold! and more, can rejoice. Starting Monday, Oct. 5, Nickelodeon will throw back to the '90s every day with the launch of "The Splat," a new multiscreen content destination spanning television, seven social media platforms and a dedicated web site aggregating the most loved Nick content from the 1990s and beyond. "The Splat" will dive deep to create a retro experience filled with landmark Nickelodeon programs; classic programming stunts like Nick or Treat, U-Pick and Super Toy Run; the recreation of specific days of programming as they aired in the '90s; and original promos and interstitials, including the Doo-wop Dinosaurs and the Opera Lady. "The Splat" will roar to life across all platforms on Monday, Oct. 5, launching that night on television on TeenNick from 10 p.m. - 6 a.m. (ET/PT). The TV block will be an eight-hour rotating TV lineup airing daily on TeenNick from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. (ET/PT). "The Splat's" rotating TV lineup on TeenNick will have weekly themes and monthly programming stunts featuring hit '90s animated and live-action series including All That, Angry Beavers, Are You Afraid of the Dark, CatDog, Clarissa Explains It All, Hey Arnold!, Hey Dude, Kenan & Kel, Ren & Stimpy, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Rocko's Modern Life, Rugrats, Salute Your Shorts and The Wild Thornberrys, with additional series rolling out throughout the year. At launch, "The Splat" will feature themed weeks and stunts like:

· First Time for Everything (week of Oct. 5) - first two episodes of fan-favorite animated and live-action series and game shows
· Rugrats Reptar Takeover (week of Oct. 12) - best of Rugrats episodes featuring Reptar
· Hey Arnold! Live from the Stoop (week of Oct. 19) - Stoop Kid-centric episodes
· Nick or Treat (week of Oct. 26) - call-in event where lucky callers get 40 seconds to choose from six doors, collecting tricks and treats along the way, plus scary and spooky themed animation episodes.

TV Land premiered the second season of sophomore sitcom Retired at 35 three weeks ago (June 26), but on Tuesday nights instead of the normal Wednesday original night. As a result, the sitcom has not done well in the ratings for its first three episodes of the season. In its defense, the series has been airing on an island surrounded by repeats. It makes it look like a burn-off, as the series was also delayed a few times in premiering its second season. TV Land will give it a better chance starting this week. It will not air tonight (Tuesday at 10), but instead will move to Wednesdays following new episodes of The Soul Man and The Exes. Now because of that move, Retired at 35 is no longer in primetime, since it will be airing Wednesdays at 11pm.
The new season brought a new cast member as Marissa Jaret Winokur joined the show. In Retired at 35, after 37 years of marriage, Alan Robbins (George Segal) and his wife Elaine (Jessica Walter, Arrested Development) are expected to cruise into retirement and live out their days happily ever after. However, they get an unexpected surprise when their uptight and overworked son David (Johnathan McClain), sick of the NYC rat race, decides to move in with them in their active-adult community. David finds himself dealing with his overzealous parents as well as his sister Amy (Marissa Jaret Winokur), who, while successful in business, has made less than impressive choices in her love life. Among the guest stars this season include Robin Givens (Head of the Class), John Ross Bowie (The Big Bang Theory), Melissa Peterman (Baby Daddy) and Daneel Ackles.
After these three very low rated airings (all at a series low 0.1 adults 18-49 rating), perhaps a third season is not in the cards unless it does pretty well on Wednesdays at 11. That might be a tough task as The Soul Man and The Exes slipped in week two: The Soul Man from a 0.6 to a 0.3 adults 18-49 rating and The Exes from a 0.4 to a 0.2 adults 18-49 rating. However, there was a week off in between for the 4th of July, but TV Land should have premiered both sitcoms a week or two earlier when they had repeats on June 13 and June 20.

In related news, Nick at Nite has pulled the airings of All That and Kenan & Kel after only three weeks. They both started airing Mon-Thurs in the 8pm hour on June 25, but Nickelodeon has now replaced them with back-to-back episodes of the original series VICTORiOUS as of last night. There will be no other schedule changes on Nick at Nite, which means VICTORiOUS is being brought in to help out struggling Nick at Nite original drama Hollywood Heights, which has only mustered a 0.1 adults 18-49 rating in recent airings in its 9pm time period. The series was ordered for 80 episodes, and they are about only a little over 25% done with that.

We now have some sad news. Todd will report on the passing of TV director and producer William Asher.

Legendary director and producer William Asher, best known for his work on I Love Lucy and Bewitched, has died. Asher died July 16 at a board and care facility in Palm Desert, California, of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Mr. Asher was 90.

Asher's career in television began as a writer and director for a filmed anthology series called Invitation Playhouse. He later started working for CBS Studios. His first directed TV pilot became Our Miss Brooks, which starred Eve Arden and aired on CBS from 1952-1956. In 1952, he was asked by Desi Arnaz to direct a few episodes of the second season of I Love Lucy. Asher went on to direct over 100 episodes of the series, including the classic Job Switching episode where Lucy and Ethel work at a candy factory. In 1955, he was nominated for the DGA award for the Lucy's Mother-in-Law episode. His other early directing credits included Racquet Squad, Big Town, The Danny Thomas Show, General Electic Theater, The Colgate Comedy Hour, December Bride, Sally, The Thin Man, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Twilight Zone, and The Patty Duke Show, which he co-created with writer Sidney Sheldon.

His best known work was as a producer and director of Bewitched. Asher produced the 1964-1972 ABC sitcom, starring his then-wife, Elizabeth Montgomery. He directed over 130 episodes of the series. Asher received four Emmy nominations for his work on the show, winning once in 1966 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy. Some of his other sitcom directing credits included Gidget, The Paul Lynde Show, The New Temperatures Rising, Operation Petticoat, Tabitha, Alice, The Bad News Bears, Private Benjamin, and Harper Valley. He also directed a couple of TV reunion movies - I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later in 1985 and Return to Green Acres in 1990. His film credits as a director and writer included three popular beach-blanket movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello - Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, and Beach Blanket Bingo.

The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with him on March 31 and April 26, 2000. His survivors include his wife, Meredith, daughters Liane Sears and Rebecca Asher, sons Brian, Bill Jr., Robert and John, four step-children, nine grandchildren and eight step-grandchildren. Asher was married to actress Elizabeth Montgomery from 1963-1973. They had three children. He was married to actress Joyce Bulifant from 1976-1993. Mr. Asher was a true pioneer in the industry. He's considered the man who invented the sitcom. He was one of the most proflific directors in the early days of television. We thank him for bringing us sitcom classics like I Love Lucy and Bewitched. He will be deeply missed.

Post your condolences on our Bewitched message board.