SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

SitcomsOnline Digest: HBO Renews It's Florida, Man; Simpsons Voice Actor Announces Retirement

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're learning of the renewal of an HBO series, a retirement from The Simpsons, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

• It's not the high budget style we've gotten used to from HBO, but It's Florida, Man has been successful enough to get another season. (Deadline)
• With The Simpsons being in season 36, which is longer than most people spend in a single job, it shouldn't be surprising that cast members would want to retire, and we've officially got our first retirement with Pamela Hayden announcing she has retired from the series. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Meanwhile, amid speculation that The Simpsons and other animated series could potentially be moving from Fox to Hulu, Fox has renewed their deal with Hulu, somewhat quashing those rumors. (Deadline)
• What are people watching on streaming media right now? Lost, apparently. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Comcast is joining the "cord cutting" trend of most Americans by splitting off most of their cable networks to a separate company, with the exception of Bravo. (Variety)
• Norah O'Donnell has officially announced that her last day as anchor at CBS will be on January 24. (TV Insider)
• We have midseason updates from NBC. (SitcomsOnline)

WEEKLY PLANNER (NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 30)

• Marlo Thomas turned 87 this past week, and this weekend, Catchy Comedy has a That Girl binge.
• A new season of Children Ruin Everything arrives Friday on The CW.
• Antenna TV is having a marathon of The Jeffersons for Thanksgiving, while Rewind TV is having a marathon of Who's the Boss?

66th Annual Primetime Emmy Award Winners; Lost Centric Episode of Disney Animated Series Written by Lost Co-Creator

The Wonder Years Complete Series Coming to DVD; PaleyFest 2014 Schedule

CMT Acquires Reba and Yes, Dear; G4 Brings Back Lost Reruns

Nick at Nite Ends Chris Marathon Early; ABC 2010 Season Finale Dates; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 12, 2010)

Nick at Nite has been airing a week-long Everybody Hates Chris marathon from 10pm-6am all week since Monday (April 5), but they have pulled the event for tonight (Friday, April 9). Maybe the ratings weren't as good as their normal schedule? Anyway, airing tonight now will be the normal Friday line-up, but 2-5am will be an expanded block of Family Matters and not Everybody Hates Chris from 2-4am as usual on Friday nights. However, Everybody Hates Chris will still air tonight in the 9pm hour.
There are some additional one-time changes for the rest of the weekend, too. On Saturday (April 10), Everybody Hates Chris will air in the 9pm hour instead of Nickelodeon programming. The Nanny will be expanded to 10pm-1am, replacing an hour of George Lopez from 10-11pm. The 3am hour of Everybody Hates Chris will be replaced Family Matters, which will air 3-5am on the night. Chris will remain the 2am hour, though. And then on Sunday (April 11), George Lopez is expanded to 9-11pm, replacing the 9pm hour of Everybody Hates Chris. Airing from 11pm-2am will be The Nanny, as it is expanded and replacing an hour of Malcolm in the Middle from 1-2am on this night. Finally, 2-5am will be another expanded Family Matters, as Everybody Hates Chris is preempted in the 2am hour.
Strange schedule changes, but as of now they are for this weekend only. View these changes in a list form.

ABC has announced most of their season finale dates for the 2009-2010 season. The first finale is the series finale of Ugly Betty next Wednesday (April 14) at 10pm. Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution will have its season finale on Friday, April 23 at 9pm. Then the rest of the finales will be during May sweep. First up is Private Practice on Thursday, May 13 at 10pm. The ABC Sunday night line-up of America's Funniest Home Videos, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters will have their finales on Sunday, May 16 from 7-11pm! The very next night (Monday, May 17) the season finale of surging hit Castle will air at 10pm. On Tuesday, May 18 we see the season finale of V at 10pm following part one of the LOST series finale at 9pm. On Wednesday, May 19, ABC Comedy Wednesday will have their season finales from 8:30-10p featuring The Middle, Modern Family, and Cougar Town. On the last Thursday of the season, on Thursday, May 20, ABC presents a two-hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy from 9-11pm! Then on Sunday, May 23, ABC devotes the entire night to LOST, as it concludes its run. From 7-9pm will be a recap/clip show followed by the two-hour series finale from 9-11pm. Dancing with the Stars wraps up season ten on Monday, May 24 at 8pm and the two-hour grand finale on Tuesday, May 25 from 9-11pm! And finally ABC ends FLASHFORWARD with a thrilling season finale on Thursday, May 27 at 8pm.
Season finale dates for Romantically Challenged, Happy Town, and Wife Swap were not announced yet. And 20/20 is new all-year.

It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of April 12-16, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, April 12, 2010

• Jenna Elfman (Accidentally on Purpose/Dharma & Greg/Courting Alex) - Jenna stops by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC at 11:35pm.
• Kathy Kinney (The Drew Carey Show) - Kathy stops by The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:35am on CBS.
• Megan Mullally (Will & Grace/In the Motherhood) - Megan will stop by LIVE! with Regis & Kelly. Check your local listings.
• Carol Burnett (Carol Burnett Show/Mama's Family) - She stops to chat and cook on The Rachel Ray Show. Check your local listings.
• Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) - The former TV dad stops by Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm ET.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

• Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - The hilarious actors stops by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35am ET on NBC.
• Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) - Kelly will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 12:35am ET. And her appearance from March on Late Show with David Letterman will repeat on CBS at 11:35pm ET.
• Holly Robinson-Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper) - She will be a guest on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS. Check your listings for time/channel!
• Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) - The funny kid appears on ABC's The View! 11am ET/10am PT/CT on ABC.
• Michael J. Fox (Family Ties/Spin City) - The legendary actor stops by LIVE! with Regis & Kelly. Check local listings for time and channel.
• Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) - He stops by ABC's The View at 11am ET/10am PT/CT.
• Valerie Harper (Rhoda/The Hogan Family) - Valerie heads to The Wendy Williams Show. Check your listings or watch at 12am on BET.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

• Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) - Tracy stops by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC at 11:35pm.
• Alyssa Milano (Romantically Challenged/Who's the Boss?) - Alyssa will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC at 12:05am to promote her new ABC sitcom premiering April 19 at 9:30pm.
• Michael J. Fox (Family Ties/Spin City) - Michael will appear on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and then in late night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35am on NBC.
• Amy Yasbeck (Wings) - Amy stops by The Doctors show to chat about Aortic Dissection, which caused the death of her husband the late great John Ritter. Check your listings on when to watch!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

• David Duchovony (Californication) - David will be on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:05am ET and also earlier in the day he will appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
• Tina Fey (30 Rock) - A repeat of Tina's appearance on Late Show with David Letterman from last month will air at 11:35pm on CBS.
• John Goodman (Roseanne) - John stops by to talk to the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am PT.
• Aziz Ansari (Parks & Recreation/[scrubs]) - Aziz stops by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, check local listings for time and channel.
• Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) - Tracy chats it up on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central at 11pm.

Friday, April 16, 2010

• Tracy Morgan (30 Rock) - Tracy is making the rounds promoting his movie, this time on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly (check listings) and also on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:35am on NBC.
• David Duchovny (Californication) - David this will appear on The Bonnie Hunt Show so check your listings!
• Michael J. Fox (Family Ties/Spin City) - Michael will chat on The Rachel Ray Show, check your local listings for time and channel.
• Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - This is a repeat from early March but if you missed it, catch him on Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Craig Robinson (The Office) - This is a repeat from a few weeks ago when Craig appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:05am.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

ABC Announces March 2010 Return Dates for FLASHFORWARD and V; Comcast to Manage NBC with Merger with GE

ABC has announced a few more midseason dates! First off, as you all saw last night at the end of FLASHFORWARD, ABC said it will bring the show back in March now instead of January, so it can air repeat-free and avoid the Winter Olympics (Feb. 12-28). FLASHFORWARD will return on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8pm for 12 straight repeat-free weeks. 14 hours are left of the 24 hour season, so two times ABC will air two-hour episodes to fit them in during these 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, ABC has also announced that V will return Tuesday, March 30, 2010, but not in its 8pm slot it had in November. It will air at 10pm following LOST! 9 episodes remain in the first season.
As previously announced, Ugly Betty will air Wednesdays at 10 starting Jan. 6, Shark Tank Fridays at 9 starting January 8, and LOST will return Feb. 2, airing Tuesdays at 9pm.
There is still plenty of other midseason news to come for ABC, such as a return date for Dancing with the Stars, and premiere dates for Jamie Oliver series, The Deep End, Happy Town, and Romantically Challenged. ABC also has Wife Swap and Primetime: What Would You Do? waiting on the bench. As soon as they announce it, we'll let you know. So far only Fox has announced its full second half schedule. NBC has only announced Jan/Feb, while CBS has not announced anything yet. The CW has announced a bit, as well as ABC...but nothing full yet. So, stay with us, but for now view more on this FLASHFORWARD and V return dates!

Comcast and General Electric officially announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture that will be 51 percent owned by Comcast, 49 percent owned by GE and managed by Comcast. The joint venture, which will consist of the NBC Universal businesses and Comcast's cable networks, regional sports networks and certain digital properties and certain unconsolidated investments, will be well positioned to compete in an increasingly dynamic and competitive media and digital environment.
The joint venture will provide consumers the broadest possible access to content, and support high-quality, award-winning content development across all platforms including film, television, and online. It will be anchored by an outstanding portfolio of cable networks and regional sports networks that will account for about 80 percent of its cash flow, including USA, Bravo, Syfy, E!, Versus, CNBC and MSNBC. The joint venture will be financially strong with a robust cash-flow-generation capability.
View the full press release, so you know the full details of this deal.

ABC Sets Feb. 2 Premiere Date for LOST Final Season, Chuck Returns for NBC; ABC Family Monday Originals in January

ABC announced that the premiere of the sixth and final season of LOST, will have a special all-night event on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. A recap special will kick off the night at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT, followed by the much anticipated two-hour premiere from 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT. The series will then air in its regular time period Tuesday nights from 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET beginning the following week, on February 9.
ABC has not announced anything else for 2010 in terms of schedule changes. LOST airing in the 9pm hour will likely have ABC move Scrubs and Better off Ted to the 8pm hour. Those comedies start airing in the 9pm hour starting Dec. 1 and will likely air there in January as well before LOST takes the hour starting in February. It is unclear what ABC will air at 8pm on Tuesdays in January. My guess? Shark Tank. ABC has some episodes still to air and they announced yesterday that repeats will air on Saturdays in January at 5pm ET starting Jan. 9. ABC will also air repeats of Shaq Vs. on Sundays at 5pm ET starting Jan. 3. Back to primetime, the forgotten will likely air Tuesdays at 10pm still in January and February. In March both Dancing with the Stars: The Results and V will return. They will air at 8pm and 10pm, but either time for each could work. The only other question mark for ABC will be Wednesdays at 10pm starting in January. Could Ugly Betty be on the move to that slot? Stay with us!

NBC's one-hour action-comedy series Chuck returns to the NBC lineup on Sunday, January 10 with all-new missions and two action-packed, back-to-back original episodes in its season premiere from 9-11 p.m. ET before the series -- starring Zachary Levi in the title role -- moves back to its regular day and time (Mondays 8-9 p.m. ET) beginning Monday, January 11. NBC has 19 hours of Chuck this season, so they are using three hours the first week.
In other programming news, a special two-hour episode of Heroes will be broadcast on Monday, January 4 from 8-10 p.m. ET and then the series moves to its new time slot (actually its old slot) of Mondays at 9 p.m. ET starting January 11. NBC has also announced they have ordered three more episodes of canceled drama Trauma. Why? For inventory reasons as they will need a few more hours to program. Trauma will air 10 episodes in 2009, so 6 episodes will remain to air sometime in 2010. It won't be airing Mondays at 9 in January that's for sure. Looks like it will return when maybe Heroes finishes up its run in February? Don't get too excited Trauma fans, NBC did the same thing by ordering more Lipstick Jungle last year and it remained canceled after that.

Finally, ABC Family will return its two original hit dramas, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Make It or Break It one week earlier, moving to Monday, January 4 at 8:00-9:00PM ET/PT and 9:00-10:00PM ET/PT. The Secret Life of the American Teenager returns (8:00-9:00PM ET/PT) to complete its second season with 12 all-new episodes; Make It or Break It (9:00PM-10:00PM ET/PT) returns to complete its first season with 10 all-new episodes. The two series were initially scheduled to return on Monday, January 11, 2010.
The network has also created its first 3-hour block of original programming on Monday nights by setting the premiere date for the return of Greek on Monday, January 25 at 10:00 PM ET/PT. Greek will join the new Monday line up in the 10 o'clock hour, which will round out its third season with 10 episodes.
We will have more on ABC Family January 2010 at a later date, if anything has changed on the regular daytime schedule (7am-8pm).

Tribune Stations Land Entourage, Curb for Fall 2010 Local Syndication; ABC Picks Up Modern Family, More Updates

HBO and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution have licensed the broadcast television syndication rights to the critically acclaimed and award-winning comedy series Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm to Tribune Broadcasting's stations in a three-year agreement for a fall 2010 airing.
Under terms of the three-year pact, Tribune has licensed all seven seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm and all six seasons so far of Entourage for broadcast on all of Tribune's owned-and-operated stations in 17 markets, including New York (WPIX-TV), Los Angeles (KTLA-TV) and Chicago (WGN-TV), among others. Both series will be presented in strip form on the Tribune Broadcasting stations, with episodes airing Monday-Friday, along with one weekend telecast, beginning in fall 2010.
As mentioned earlier this week, Spike TV has bought the cable rerun rights for Entourage starting in January 2010, so it will have a nine-month head start on cable. Curb Your Enthusiasm is also being shopped around for cable repeats.

ABC has made its first pickup for the fall season, a sitcom. Modern Family, the single camera mocumentary about about three suburban couples -- a traditional one, a gay one and a multi-ethnic one. ABC has ordered 13 episodes from 20th Television and the show stars Ed O'Neill (Married with Children), Sofia Vergara (Knights of Prosperity), Julie Bowen (Lost) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (The Class). The show has tested very well in focus groups and screenings. ABC also has unofficially picked-up drama Flash Forward, as teasers have aired during Lost the last two weeks to generate some buzz.
In other ABC updates, Surviving Suburbia will be preempted for a second week in a row for a two-hour Dancing with the Stars this coming Monday (May 11). That was scheduled to be its last Monday airing anyway, as the show will move to Wednesdays at 9:30pm starting May 27.
Meanwhile, the final episodes of According to Jim will run into the summer thanks to all the preemptions by President Obama. On Tuesday, May 26 and Tuesday, June 2, According to Jim will air its final four episodes (8-9pm both weeks), including the finale on June 2 at 8:30pm with a parade of guest stars. But before that there are two new episodes airing this Tuesday (May 12).

Stay tuned all next week for our predictions of the fall schedules for NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS, and The CW. First up will be NBC, which we will cover likely on Sunday and the rest will follow in that order every other day. And the following week of course is upfront week and we will get the actual schedules and you can compare to see what we got right and wrong! Big and fun time of year!

ABC Announces 12 Early Pick-Ups for 2009-2010, Returns Millionaire in Summer; GSN's Classic TV Airings

ABC has announced 12 early pick-ups for the 2009-2010 season for returning series. This doesn't mean all other shows not mentioned won't return, this is just the early pick-ups. The 12 early pick-ups for 2009-2010 season are America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor, Brothers & Sisters, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Private Practice, Supernanny, Ugly Betty and Wife Swap. No surprises here. 20/20 is also of course a lock to return, with shows like Castle and Samantha Who? also likely to return. We won't know the rest of the returnees until upfront on May 19.
Meanwhile, Regis is back in ABC primetime! Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the smash hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? comes back to ABC this summer for a special two-week event. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? premieres Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 8:00PM ET/PT and will air for 11 nights from Sunday-Thursday at 8:00PM, with the finale on Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 8:00PM.
Can you believe it has been 10 years? The show launched on Aug. 16, 1999 at 8:30pm as a half-hour series and aired all seven days for two weeks. We will see an hour of course in this run and Sun-Thurs instead of all seven days. A few weeks ago I said ABC would do a two-week run like this in August, and I turned up being right. Now if this is a success, I can see ABC doing a similar two-week run in December. ABC usually airs repeats then and when hey air new episodes, they are usually lower anyway. So Millionaire would be a great option for December, especially following holiday specials. One week they can even have ABC stars playing for charity for the holidays. I would also schedule Millionaire once or twice a week in January and February, as ABC usually needs help then. But before we think that far ahead, right now this is just a two-week anniversary event in August.

Speaking of Millionaire, GSN is airing the classic TV edition from 2001 starting this weekend! If you've never seen this or need to record and save this, now is your chance! GSN will air all four nights of this edition on Sunday, April 26; Saturday, May 2; Sunday, May 3; and Saturday, May 9 all from 5-6PM ET. The classic TV stars appearing and playing for a million dollars for charity are Adam West (Batman), Kim Fields (The Facts of Life), Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch), Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley), Melissa Gilbert (Little House on the Prairie), Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family), Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time), Marion Ross (Happy Days), Sherman Hemsley (The Jeffersons, Amen), and Ted Lange (The Love Boat).
Elsewhere on GSN, we have some other noteworthy specials. On Saturday, May 9 from 9-10PM we have a special Mother's Day themed episode from 2002 of Weakest Link with Classic TV Moms! Pat Crowley (Please Don't Eat the Daisies), Karen Grassle (Little House on the Prairie), June Lockhart (Lassie), Jo Marie Payton (Family Matters), Janet Hubert (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Carol Potter (Beverly Hills 90210), Beverly Garland (Lois & Clark), and Alley Mills (The Wonder Years).
On Mother's Day (Sunday, May 10) itself, GSN has a marathon of the Donny Osmond revival of Pyramid from 9am-4pm, and we have one episode from a Classic TV week in this marathon at 9:30am featuring Marion Ross and Erin Moran of Happy Days.

Sticking to our game show theme today, Chris Mann of Retroality.TV has posted a story on his take on Bob Barker's new book, Priceless Memories. See the real scoop on Bob and see video interviews with former Barker's Beauties models Holly Hallstrom and Dian Parkinson. It is quite an interesting read, and Chris has a book coming out on the drama behind the camera of the popular game show as well. We'll let you know more on that when available.
But for now, read his take on Barker's new book.

Week 25 Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did; Ugly Betty Returns May 7, ABC Season Finale Dates

Just to let you know, we have some news on this Sunday. See below our normal ratings for news on ABC's season finale dates. Also, stay tuned tomorrow for our review of the Better Off Ted sitcom that premieres Wednesday on ABC!

Week 25 numbers (first four nights final averages, Mon-Thurs):
(We don't have network averages through Thursday, but we do have final program numbers for Thursday in our analysis...)

Households: N/A.
Total Viewers: N/A.
Adults 18-49: N/A.

Analysis: Week 25 had the return of Dancing with the Stars for ABC, and the series had its best season premiere ever in the ratings! We don't have first four day averages, but I am "predicting" through the first four day, Fox is on top, with CBS in second everywhere, while ABC is third in everything but second in 18-49. And NBC is fourth everywhere else.
Last week, CBS won in week 24 in HH/viewers, but Fox took 18-49 by a wide margin, over second place CBS. ABC was third in all categories, while NBC was back in fourth of course.
Monday it was all ABC as Dancing with the Stars had its season eight premiere. ABC aired the two-hour season premiere of Dancing with the Stars at an impressive 22.83 million, 14.1 HH rating and a 6.1 18-49 rating...wow. After that, ABC aired the series premiere of crime-romance drama Castle doing a solid 10.76 million...could be better, but solid for ABC in this slot. It has a chance to grow since it is not serialized. CBS did decent but the comedies suffered thanks to the big Dance premiere. A new episode of The Big Bang Theory did 9.47 million which is down nearly 1.5 million week-to-week, while a new How I Met Your Mother did worse with 8.68 million, which was down well over two million from previous week. #1 sitcom Two and a Half Men did 13.44 million, that also was down two million from previous week. A new Rules of Engagement followed and did 9.95 million, and yes that was down near two million week-to-week. At 10pm a new CSI: Miami did 14.21 million, which was up from previous week by nearly a million...go figure. Fox started with House and did a below normal 12.38 million, but still solid, followed by 24 at 11.37 million, up a bit from previous week, but that was two-hours. NBC was next with its so-so line-up. A new Chuck did 5.8 million, down nearly a million from previous week. Heroes still struggled and did 6.7 million, down from previous week and just a 3.2 18-49 rating for a series low. Medium followed with 7.13 million, down just a bit from previous week. The CW was next with a repeat of Gossip Girl doing 1.0 million, down some from previous week's repeat and a repeat of One Tree Hill did 1.07 million, up some from previous week's repeat. CW has done a terrible job scheduling new and repeats for this night.
Tuesday Fox had a two-hour American Idol and of course it doubled up the nearest network. Fox had that two-hour Idol doing 25.77 million, up from previous week but still down year-to-year. CBS started with a repeat of NCIS at 13.52 million, down a bit week-to-week. A repeat of The Mentalist also did a solid 14.32 million, up nearly two million from previous week as looks like viewers thought it was new...you never can tell with shows like this. Without a Trace was also a repeat and did 10.22 million, and that was off a bit from previous week's repeat. NBC was next with a two-hour The Biggest Loser at 9.38 million, up some from previous week. NBC followed with a new episode of Law & Order: SVU doing 11.07 million...not bad, but maybe because CBS was a repeat. ABC was next and started with the last scheduled Homeland Security USA at 5.14 million, down some from previous week...5 episodes remain and I can see this show returning on Fridays soon. ABC then aired two Scrubs repeats doing just 2.85 and 2.69 million. Don't know why this is repeating but Dancing with the Stars: The Results premieres this week to help ABC on this night. Finally, ABC ended with the addicting Primetime: What Would You Do? doing 5.25 million, the next two will get a big boost thanks to Dancing before it ends its season. The CW aired a new episode of Reaper and did just 2.17 million, down a bit from previous week's premiere and an encore of 90210 only did 990,000 viewers. How many times has The CW aired each episode so far? It is crazy. This isn't a crime drama.
Wednesday saw you know who dominate. Fox moved American Idol results to 9pm and it did 25.55 million, up nearly three million from the previous week which was at 8pm. New Fox drama Lie to Me moved to 8pm and started the night off with 11.25 million, which was up a million from previous week when it aired at 9pm...could it be Idol pre-tune in? CBS started with a new episode of sitcom Old Christine at 7.46 million and a new Gary Unmarried did 7.63 million, growing from its lead-in. A new episode of Criminal Minds followed and did 14.34 million. CSI: NY followed with a new showing doing 13.63 million. NBC opened the night with the premiere of of Chopping Block doing a terrible 3.77 million...ouch, down over two million from the Knight Rider finale even, a new showing of dud Life followed and did just 5.21 million, Donal Logue is wasted on this show, too bad Knights of Prosperity didn't last on ABC...that was gold. Law & Order followed at 10pm with a new episode and did 7.64 million. ABC was next with two repeats of Scrubs (again?) at just 3.55 and 3.25 million...the show is finally new this Wednesday at least. An enhanced encore of Lost followed at 9pm doing 4.34 million, down some from previous week, but that was at 8pm... Lost is all-new this week at 9pm. A new Life on Mars did 4.49 million on its own..at least it built on the lead-in. For those who saw, Mark Linn-Baker guest starred...and was good. The CW was on the map with America's Next Top Model doing a nice 4.45 million, which is actually up from previous week's two-hour premiere...The CW followed with an encore of...what else...90210 at 900,000 viewers. What a waste.
Thursday saw CBS and ABC battle for the win. CBS started with Survivor: Tocantis doing 12.82 million, up a million from previous week as it was affected by Idol the past two weeks, followed by a new CSI at 17.13 million, down over three million from previous week, and a new Eleventh Hour followed with 11.61 million, down from previous week. ABC started with a new Ugly Betty doing 7.12 million, up from previous week as yes Idol affected it the past two weeks, a new episode of Grey's Anatomy was next and did 13.64 million and a night best 5.0 18-49 rating. A new episode of Private Practice followed and did 8.8 million at 10pm and a second place 3.3 18-49 rating, not bad against Clooney on ER. NBC started with a REPEAT of My Name is Earl doing just 4.17 million, the finale of Kath & Kim followed with only 3.89 million, down from previous week. A new episode of The Office did 7.87 million, down from previous week. A new showing of 30 Rock followed with just 6.43 million, down from previous week. A new ER was next and did 10.86 million, up two million week-to-week and best showing in two years, but really should have been better with Clooney and all those favorites returning. Fox finally aired Bones and did a solid 9.67 million and an all-new Hell's Kitchen at 9pm did 7.71 million, down two million from previous week when Idol was its lead-in. Smallville was all-new on The CW and did a solid 3.57 million, followed by a new Supernatural at 2.84 million.
Now, as usual final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday with new episodes of Ghost Whisperer, Flashpoint, NUMBERS as usual. ABC finished second for the night helped by Superanny and 20/20. NBC was way back and Fox was off the map with the should-be-pulled Sarah Connor Chronicles and the new Dollhouse.
Saturday numbers were low with CBS winning a slow night in viewers but Fox won by a wider margin in 18-49.
Tonight will be a battle between CBS and ABC again. CBS has a new 60 Minutes and The Amazing Race, followed by Cold Case and The Unit. ABC will have new showings of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters should be more than enough to win the night in 18-49. NBC has a Dateline special at 7pm, followed by the two-hour premiere of Kings which to me looks like will bomb big, followed by Celebrity Apprentice at a special time of 10pm...that will just confuse viewers. Fox has an all-new lineup finally of its animated comedies again...even Family Guy.
As for the week, Fox or CBS could win the week. Fox for sure in 18-49, though. ABC will be third in HH/viewers, but 2nd likely in 18-49 and NBC fourth everywhere. As for the coming week...Dancing with the Stars: The Results returns Tuesday (with a new new Dance-Off feature at the end for the next few weeks), so that will help ABC. ABC premieres new sitcom Better Off Ted on Wednesday at 8:30pm (see our review tomorrow), and March Madness starts on CBS this Thursday, Friday and Saturday in primetime. Don't forget to make your brackets!

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of March 2-8, Week 24)

• The Simpsons (Fox) - 5.96 million for an all-new episode...seems way below normal.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - A new episode did 4.95 million...down from previous week.
• Family Guy (Fox) - Yes, a new episode! Did a below 7.09 million though...
• American Dad! (Fox) - 5.37 million...should be better.

Week 25:
Monday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 9.47 million for a new episode. I was right last week when I said with Dancing coming it'll go down some.
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 8.68 million for a new showing...wow didn't think it would go this down.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 13.44 million for a new episode...down two million from previous week.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 9.95 million for a new episode...imagine how low Worst Week could have been against Dancing.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Scrubs (ABC) 2 episodes - Two repeats did just 2.85 and 2.69 million. Thankfully no more of these repeats.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - 7.46 million for a new episode...not bad.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - 7.63 million for a new episode...built on the lead-in.
• Scrubs (ABC) 2 episodes - 2 repeats getting ready for FINALLY new episodes this week, did just 3.55 and 3.25 million.

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - 4.17 million for a repeat...the only repeat of the night.
• Kath & Kim (NBC) - The finale only did 3.89 million...so yeah this one has no chance at all of coming back.
• The Office (NBC) - 7.87 million for a new episode...below normal.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - 6.43 million for a new episode...up and down pattern continues.

Friday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A new episode did a prelim 1.83 million.
• The Game (The CW) - A new episode did a prelim 2.07 million...wow seems higher than normal.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are all-new Fox animated comedies from 8-10pm!

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, The Office were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Rules of Engagement, Gary Unmarried) or just plain old terrible (such as Kath & Kim, FOUR repeats of Scrubs).

We have some news! As many Ugly Betty fans know, Ugly Betty is taking a break after its airing this Thursday (March 19)...but not to fret, it is only a six week break. The show will return Thursday, May 7 at its normal time. ABC has announced the series will have a two-hour season finale on Thursday, May 21 from 8-10pm ET/PT. ABC will have five episodes left after this week, so one episode will probably have to air on another night? My guess is a two-night finale? So one episode on Wednesday, May 20 and the final two of the season on Thursday, May 21? We'll see, but we know the season finale is two-hours on May 21.
As for other ABC season finale dates: Better off Ted will conclude its 7-episode first season on April 29. In the Motherhood and Samantha Who will air 6 episodes a piece and will end the season on April 30. Yes, I know Samantha Who would still have 5 other episodes left, so I guess that will be held over for next season. Private Practice ends its 22 episode season on the same night, April 30 at 10pm. The following night, Friday, May 1, will be the season finales of Wife Swap & Supernanny. Then as previously known, the series finales of According to Jim and Scrubs will air for one-hour each on Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6 in the 8pm hours. On Sunday, May 10, Brothers & Sisters has its season finale after 24 episodes at 10pm. The following night at 10pm will see the season finale of rookie Castle after 10 weeks. Then the next night, Tuesday, May 11, will see the season finale of another rookie, Cupid at 10pm, after 7 episodes. Then the big two-hour season finale of Lost is on the next night (Wednesday, May 13) from 9-11pm, as the show concludes its 17 episode season. Finale central continues with the two-hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy after 24 episodes this year on Thursday, May 12 from 9-11pm. And the next night is the season finale of America's Funniest Home Videos on a special night (Friday, May 15) from 8-10pm. Then on Sunday, May 17 we get two, two-hour season finales...Extreme Makeover: Home Edition from 7-9pm and Desperate Housewives from 9-11pm, closes its 24 episode season. Then Dancing with the Stars has its final performance show on May 18, from 8-9PM, followed by the two-hour grand finale the next night from 9-11PM. And finally, as mentioned earlier, ABC concludes their season finales with Ugly Betty on Thursday, May 21 from 8-10pm. ABC has not announced finale dates for two yet to premiere series: comedy Surviving Suburbia and comedic drama The Unusuals.
Check these finale dates in a list form.

ION Television March 2009 Highlights; Early Edition Delayed on Sci Fi

ION Television has finally released its full March 2009 schedule and highlights. As we told you, they made changes to the schedule starting today...and that schedule will be in effect in March. Steve Harvey Show and Family Feud will now air in the 6pm hour rather than have back-to-back full hours Mon-Thurs. While the 7pm hour will be ER on Mondays and Boston Legal on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, with Total Theatre Thursday on Thursday. The Thursday movies will now be two in primetime on Thursday nights, with most airing 7-9pm and 9-11pm, although a few start earlier than 7pm if they are longer movies. And on most Fridays now, RHI movies are removed in favor of more blockbuster movies from Warner Bros. The Thursday movies premieres The Outlaw Josey Wales, Tango & Cash, Goodfellas, and Batman Forever. Friday movies include the premiere of Three Kings and encores of movies such as Batman Forever. The RHI movies/miniseries for the month include the three-part, six-hour Larry McMurtry's Dead Man's Walk, Human Trafficking, Noah's Ark, Invasion, and Magical Legend of the Leprechauns in time for St. Patrick's Day. And as we mentioned, the premiere of the miniseries The Color of Magic on Sunday, March 22 from 7-11pm.
So head on over to our ION Television March 2009 schedule thread to discuss and to see the schedule, list of movies, and RHI movies/miniseries for the month.

We mentioned Sci Fi was launching Early Edition on Monday, March 9, but now Sci Fi has delayed it. It was set to launch weekdays at 4pm starting the 9th, but now Sci Fi has opted to go with a second episode of Lost instead. Lost will also still air weekdays at 1am, as scheduled. Previously, Lost was just airing Monday nights in primtime (now replaced by Star Trek: TNG), but they moved it to weekdays 1am and Tuesdays 7-9pm. The Tuesday evening airings will be gone though in March replaced by two Star Trek: Enterprise episodes, so Lost will air 4pm and 1am weekdays. Sci Fi has not said when Early Edition will be rescheduled, but as of now early April schedules do not list it.
We also mentioned originally that Highlander was having a marathon on Mach 19. That that is NOT happening, but Sci Fi has moved that same marathon to Thursday, April 2 from 8am-9pm, with an airing of the movie Highlander: The Source at 9pm, followed by two more episodes at 11pm and 12am. Also in April, instead of Daytime Rotation marathons for two weeks, starting Monday, April 13 through April 27 we get movies from 8am-4pm...mostly movies that are mini-series or related, like The Odyssey and Stephen Kings movies. The Daytime Rotation marathons earlier in the month (April) include Tru Calling, Invasion, Joan of Arcadia, and Jeremiah. Then The Sentinel and Jericho are a few after the two week movies.

More ABC Midseason 2009 Updates; More Network Notes

We detailed most of the ABC midseason schedule for January, now we have some spring news. Three new dramas will be joining the ABC lineup this spring: Castle on Monday, March 9 at 10:00 p.m.; Cupid on Tuesday, March 24 at 10:00 p.m.; and The Unusuals on Wednesday, April 8 at 10:00 p.m. In addition, ABC News Primetime: What Would You Do? will return on Tuesday, January 6 at 10:00 p.m. replacing Eli Stone (all times ET/PT).
ABC will also return Dancing with the Stars for an all-new season starting Monday, March 9 with a two-hour premiere leading into the premiere of crime drama Castle. Castle will benefit for three weeks from Dancing because Dancing will be two-hours for the first three weeks before settling into its regular 90-minute slot from 8-9:30pm. ABC has not announced yet what will air at 9:30pm starting that night (March 30), one would think it would be either Samantha Who? or new sitcom In the Motherhood. Or even Scrubs? The Dancing with the Stars: The Results show will launch a week later on Tuesday, March 17 at 9:00pm. Looks like there will be no elimination the first week, as there is no results show on March 10. No idea yet what will air following the first results show (perhaps the finale of Primetime: What Would You Do?) on the 17th, but on the 24th ABC will launch new comedy-drama Cupid at 10pm. It is still not known what will happen to Scrubs, but most likely it will go back an hour to 8pm replacing According to Jim. ABC still has not announced dates for new comedies Better Off Ted and The Goode Family, although promos for The Goode Family indicate it is coming this spring. I don't think starting Jan. 20 one of those will premiere, so expect Scrubs double airings Tuesdays 9-10pm for awhile.
As for Wednesdays, ABC has not yet announced what will air before Lost. However, we think that Wednesday at 8pm slot starting Jan. 28 will likely be the new docudrama Border Security USA, but it is not official yet. My guess is that will be it and will run for 11 weeks before perhaps The Goode Family taking over in April. We do know that ABC will air last season's three-part season finale of Lost on Wednesday, January 14 from 8-11pm, a week before the new season starts on Jan. 21. This means Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money will not finish its runs on Wednesdays, as on January 7 ABC will air an ABC News Special called Earth 2100, a look at what the world will look like in 2100 where cities are abandoned and our population has dropped by 80 percent if we do not head the warning signs. Will those two and Eli Stone be used on Saturdays? We shall see. Life on Mars will finish its 17 episodes by April 1, so that is how The Unusuals is launching on April 8.
View complete details on these new three shows announced.

The CW will return Reaper on Tuesdays at 9pm starting March 17. 13 episodes have been ordered for its second year. Returning for its second season, Reaper blends suspense and humor as it follows Sam, a slacker whose world turned upside down on his 21st birthday when he learned that his parents sold his soul to the Devil before he was born. Reaper will follow 90210 on Tuesdays, so the series will be replacing Privileged. Privileged aired a new episode this past Monday at 9 on a special night, and will also air next Monday at 9 with an immediate repeat on its normal night at 9pm. However, it will return to Tuesdays at 9 on Jan. 6 to finish off its 18 episodes. 6 episodes will remain starting then.
Meanwhile, NBC is set to announce its post-Super Bowl plans for midseason (including what will air immediately following the Super Bowl) this week. NBC has announced its January midseason plans, but has not announced nothing more than that yet. One thing you will see is two-hour episodes of Celebrity Apprentice, according to creator Mark Burnett. Sundays 9-11pm is one option or even Wednesdays 8-10pm. So stay tuned, as we learn what NBC will do.

ABC January 2009 Midseason Plans; The CW Cancels MRC Sundays, Tyra Banks Show Heads to CW Daytime Next Fall

ABC has announced its January 2009 plans. ABC made it official yesterday with the swapping of Private Practice and Life on Mars. Private Practice will move to Thursdays at 10PM following Grey's Anatomy, where Life on Mars was airing, while Life on Mars will move to Wednesdays at 10PM, where currently Dirty Sexy Money was airing. As mentioned already, Lost will take over Wednesdays at 9PM starting January 21, replacing Private Practice. Yes, Life on Mars will indeed follow Lost. Lost's season premiere is two-hours, so Life on Mars will debut on the night on January 28. 7 episodes have aired thus far, with six still remaining in the original order...but now ABC has ordered four more episodes, so a total of 17 will air this season at least. As for Private Practice, it will launch with new episodes on Thursdays on January 8, with repeats of the series in the slot on Dec. 11, 18 and 25 so fans are used to the change by the time is launches with new episodes on Jan. 8. The show will continue to air Wednesdays at 9 through and including Dec. 17. It is still not known what will air on Wednesdays in January prior to Lost coming (Jan. 21). It seems Private Practice will NOT air Wednesday at 9 on Jan. 7 and 14...could they double pump Pushing Daisies or Dirty Sexy Money? We'll let you know, when we know.
The news is not good for Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone, as ABC has announced they will not order more episodes than the 13 episodes from the original order. The word cancelation is not used, but all of them will likely not return next season, but...as of now, all 13 episodes of each will air.
Elsewhere, ABC has announced Scrubs will have its eighth season premiere on Tuesday, January 6 with two back-to-back episodes from at 9:00pm & 9:30pm ET/PT, replacing According to Jim. Jim will slide down into the 8:00pm & 8:30pm ET/PT slots, after airing in the 9pm hour starting in December. Scrubs will also air for the full-hour on Tuesday, January 13, opposite the same night of American Idol's two-hour season premiere. Then starting January 20, Scrubs will be followed by the new midseason animated comedy The Goode Family more than likely. ABC has not yet announced plans for Tuesdays at 10 following the comedies and Wednesdays at 8 leading into Lost. One option for either slot is Border Security USA, the new docudrama 11 episode series. My guess is Wednesdays at 8.
Keep checking back right here because the day is not over and we could have more announcements! Busy busy day!

The CW has canceled the MRC (Media Rights Capital group) programming block completely and will take over programming of the night effective Sunday, Nov. 30 due to very low ratings. So this coming Sunday (Nov. 23) is the last of MRC on The CW. MRC was programming The CW's Sunday night programming from 5-10pm, with an hour of 4Real at 5pm, Valentine encores at 6pm, In Harm's Way at 7pm, Valentine at 8pm, and Easy Money at 9pm.
Effective Sunday, Nov. 30, The CW will air encores of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game in the 5pm hour. Then in the 6pm hour they will go into the vaults of Warner Bros. and air back-to-back episodes of '90s sitcom The Drew Carey Show. At 7pm The CW will use its CBS Paramount library and air the short-lived drama Jericho, which aired on CBS for two seasons. And finally at 8pm, they will air Movies from MGM. So it looks like The CW is putting good use of their CBS-Warner libraries, hence the name The CW. Will this do any better than the MRC block? It remains to be seen, but if it does...expect more library programming on the night, as The CW plans to air this for the rest of the season before coming up with a new strategy next season.
So what will happen to the shows that were slated to come to the MRC block in midseason? One of them was the Bob Saget multicamera sitcom Surviving Suburbia. That sitcom has taped many episodes and still is scheduled to tape episodes in December and January. They last taped an episode last night before taking next week off for the Thanksgiving holiday. I am not sure what will happen to this sitcom. MRC could shop the sitcom for another network or perhaps The CW would pick it up for another night, possibly Fridays with the other comedies?

Meanwhile, first-run syndicated talk show The Tyra Banks Show from Warner Bros. Television is moving to The CW next fall (Sept. 2009) for its fifth season. How? Well, it will air daily on The CW Daytime back-to-back at 3PM (classic episode) and 4PM (all-new episode)! Which means the talk show will leave syndication and air exclusively on The CW! So this means both Tyra Banks' shows The Tyra Banks Show and America's Next Top Model will air on the same network starting in the fall...one in the daytime and one in primetime.
Currently airing on The CW Daytime is rookie Warner Bros. court show Judge Jeanine Pirro from 3-4pm, now that show will leave CW Daytime next fall and will be moving to first-run syndication! Let the bidding begin. From 4-5pm currently are sitcoms The Wayans Bros. and The Jamie Foxx Show, and they will be off the line-up, obviously. Who knows if the new CW Sunday is successful, maybe these will move to Sundays next fall somewhere between 5-7pm.

I know I promised the network holiday specials dates today, but because of this unusually busy Friday, I will give them to you on Monday...no matter what happens. So stay tuned for that!

TV One December 2008, Acquires Jeffersons, Sanford & Son; ABC Schedules Season 5 Lost Premiere; More Network Notes

This December on TV One they are going all out in celebrating with holiday episodes of sitcoms and more, including the launch of Half & Half on Kwanza and classic sitcom The Jeffesons and Sanford & Son on New Year's Day. But first we have to talk about some schedule changes. The weekday 7-9am block has changed and will now be actual series programming rather than original repeats. Starting Monday, December 8 following Amen from 6-7am will be All About the Andersons at 7am, followed by back-to-back episodes of Comics Unleashed from 7:30-8:30am and the sitcom Good News at 8:30am. 9am-11am will continue to be originals, while 11am-4pm continues to be the daily marathons. Also on this date, TV One launches its HD channel TV One HD!
To the highlights we go, Saturday, December 13 is the beginning of the TV One "12 Days of Christmas" Promotion that features a mix of holiday series, movies, and specials to keep viewers filled with joy and Christmas spirit leading up to Christmas Day. First up is a Christmas Sitcom marathon on December 13 beginning at 7am through 10pm featuring Christmas-themed episodes of Amen, Martin, Roc, Wanda at Large, Living Single, Eve, The Hughleys, Good News, The PJs, All of Us, and Good Times.
On Sunday, December 14 from 3-6pm, you can catch a block of Amen Christmas episodes leading into the animated Christmas special Santa Baby at 6pm about a little girl who gets a wish for Christmas returns to TV One for the holidays and stars the voices of Patti LaBelle, Gregory Hines, and Eartha Kitt. This special has an encore broadcast on Sunday, December 21 at 7pm (and Saturday, Dec. 20 in the daytime at 12pm).
From Monday, December 15 through Friday, December 19, TV One devotes the 8pm-12am timeblock exclusively to "The 12 Days of Christmas" themed programming including sitcom episodes of Martin, Living Single, Good Times, Amen, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, All of Us and For Your Love from 8-11pm, original Christmas specials at 11pm, and the holiday film The Kid Who Loved Christmas starring Sammy Davis Jr. premiering Friday, December 19 at 10pm.
On Saturday, December 20 beginning at 6am, the holiday fun starts bright and early as TV One continues the "12 Days of Christmas" programming with a holiday marathon mix of sitcoms, holiday specials, movies that will give viewers the warm and fuzzy feel of holiday time at TV One. Sitcoms airs from 6am-12pm, 2pm-7pm, and late nights from 3-6am. Catch holiday episodes of Where I Live, Amen, All of Us, Eve, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Good Times, The PJs, and Living Single on this day.
From Monday, December 22 through Wednesday, December 24, the TV One "12 Days of Christmas" themed programming begins each night at 5pm and continues all night with sitcoms, movies, and specials to keep viewers Christmas Cheer at a high level as we get closer to the biggest holiday of the year. Sitcom episodes airs from 5pm-1am these three days. Catch episodes of Good Times, Roc, The PJs, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Wanda at Large, Parent'hood, Martin and Eve from 5-8pm, with blocks of All of Us (Mon), Good Times (Tues), and Martin (Wed) from 8-10pm. The fun continues from 10pm-1am with holiday showings of For Your Love, Cedric, Eve, Living Single, The Hughleys, Good Times, Roc, The PJs, and Martin.
On Thursday, December 25, TV One gives viewers 24 hours of Christmas on Christmas Day itself starting at 6am with themed movies, music, and specials keeping the holiday cheer at a high and then beginning at 5pm, the annual TV One sitcom Christmas Day Marathon closes out our "12 Days of Christmas" promotion with Christmas-themed episodes from sitcoms For Your Love, Roc, Martin, Good Times, Living Single, Parent'hood, Wanda At Large, Cedric, The PJs, All of Us, Eve, and The Hughleys.
TV One sure knows how to showcase sitcom Christmas episodes! I hope you all got that! One thing missing is Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, as it has left the line-up. It was airing Saturdays 7-8am but was replaced by Parent'hood on Dec. 6 and holiday specials/marathons for the rest of the month. No word on when it could return.
We're not done with TV One! Three shows will launch with big marathons! On Friday December 26 (Kwanza), beginning at 8pm, TV One introduces Half & Half to its sitcom lineup with a 24-hour Mega-thon that will keep viewers laughing all night long as they are introduced to the characters in the latest series added to the TV One sitcom landscape. Half & Half, starring Essence Atkins, Rachel True, Valarie Pettiford and Telma Hopkins, is a sitcom about two 20-something half-sisters who share the same father. They are completely unlike each other, but they live in the same apartment building, creating a situation of conflict and love especially with their often feuding mothers. Half & Half joins the TV One weeknight lineup on Monday, December 29 airing back to back episodes in the 7pm & 7:30pm timeslots Monday-Friday. It will replace an episode each of Martin and Eve. Half & Half will also air in the 4-5am hour replacing All of Us and Good Times in the hour.
As a sneak peak to January, TV One has acquired two classic '70s sitcoms: The Jeffersons and Sanford & Son! On New Year's Day, Thursday, January 1, beginning at 10am through 6am, the classic sitcom The Jeffersons makes its bow on TV One in a New Year's Day marathon taking viewers on a trip down memory lane with George & Weezy (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford) and the hilarious cast of characters that will keep viewers laughing and reflecting all day long. The Jeffersons joins the TV One weeknight lineup on Monday January 5. More on that in our January highlights next month.
Finally, on Friday, January 2 beginning at 9pm through 9pm on Saturday, January 3, TV One premieres another classic sitcom Sanford and Son to its sitcom landscape in a 24-hour Mega-thon that introduces viewers to cantankerous junk dealer Fred Sanford (played by the late Redd Foxx) and his son Lamont (played by Demond Wilson) who run a junk business in a Los Angeles Watts neighborhood. Sanford & Son also joins the TV One weeknight lineup on Monday January 5 (more on that next month).
Recently President-Elect Barack Obama mixed up these two sitcoms by saying "I'm coming Weezie," when discussing McCain's Health Care plan. So maybe now Obama will know the line is "I'm coming to join you Elizabeth."
Both The Jeffersons and Sanford & Son are NOT exclusive to TV One, so TV Land will continue to air both series as well, but TV One will give them better timeslots obviously. Discuss all of TV One's December programming in our TV One December 2008 Highlights.

We were among the first to report the Lost season 5 premiere date and time on our message boards on Friday, but if you haven't heard, Lost will launch its fifth season on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 with an "all-night event." The first hour will be a recap one-hour clip show from 8-9pm ET/PT, followed by the two-hour season premiere from 9-11pm ET/PT. So, the promos that aired on Election Night on ABC were correct about the two-hour premiere.
Lost will then air Wednesdays at 9pm ET/PT starting the following week, as the show returns to Wednesdays after moving to Thursdays last winter. ABC has not announced what it will do at 8pm and 10pm on Wednesdays yet, but adding Lost to anchor Wednesdays is a good move. I'm guessing Private Practice will follow Lost, with new docudrama Border Security USA could lead off the night. Dirty Sexy Money is possibly on the move to another night and the jury's still out on Pushing Daisies. ABC is expected to announce their midseason winter schedule this week. We will bring it to you first either here or on the message board...depending on the timing. So keep checking back!

In other network news, NBC has picked-up the back nine episodes of sophomore crime drama series Life, giving it a full 22 episodes, despite low ratings. Life joins Kath & Kim and Knight Rider in surprising NBC full season orders. Life moved back to Wednesdays last week, but this time at 9pm, after disappointing in its Friday at 10pm slot. Speaking of Knight Rider, NBC is looking to change the direction of the series and we will get the direction back to the style of the '80s series...making it a show about a man and his car going out and helping regular people. Finally! This new style was dumb and a disgrace to the franchise I thought, and it is no wonder the ratings are bad. NBC is expected to start the changes on episode ten, which will be part one of a two-part episode. Episode ten will air in January (possibly after an NFL game), with episode nine as the fall finale on Nov. 26 (good riddance to this new style). Due to this change, three major stars, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Yancey Arias and Bruce Davison are leaving the show after 13 episodes. There are no immediate plans to add new regulars to the show, as now the show will focus on the five remaining characters: Mike (Justin Bruening), Sarah (Deanna Russo), Billy (Paul Campbell), Zoe (Smith Cho) and of course K.I.T.T. The producers also are looking to do stunt guest castings. Maybe more Hoff? Could this save this revival series?
Meanwhile, Fox has ordered a full season of the Family Guy spin-off series The Cleveland Show...and it hasn't even premiered yet. The show will now launch in Fall 2009 rather than this coming Spring. No reason was given for the delay in airing, but my guess is it would be better to launch in the fall. No word on what will happen to the other Fox animated series that was set to come, Sit Down, Shut Up. I would think that is still slated for this Spring. We'll let you know, as soon as we do.

Happy 4th of July...Marathon Time; Sci Fi Channel Schedule Updates

Happy 4th of July everyone! We hope you and your family have a nice safe holiday and see a lot of fireworks, whether it be on TV or outside. Enjoy it and be safe!
If you're staying indoors to beat the heat, then there are some marathons on TV for you!
Sci Fi will bring its Twilight Zone 4th of July marathon once again. It actually started Thursday and will run until early Saturday morning! TNT has what else, an all-day Law & Order marathon starting at 8am. USA has a JAG and the spin-off NCIS marathon starting at 10am until 11pm. TV Land has quite a few marathons, starting with original series She's Got The Look from 9am-2pm, followed by the classic sitcom I Love Lucy from 2pm-7pm and again from 1am-2pm the next day, followed by Hogan's Heroes on Saturday from 2pm-7pm and again Sunday from 1am-4pm. They will also run the movies National Lampoon's Vacation and National Lampoon's European Vacation this weekend. BET launches The Steve Harvey Show this weekend with hour slots from 4-5pm all weekend. FX will be king of the hill this 4th of July with a King of the Hill marathon from 9am-6pm. Encore Westerns will launch Maverick at high noon until midnight, pardners. ABC Family will launch That '70s Show with a marathon from 11am-7:30pm, leading into a Harry Potter weekend.
If you like more movies, TBS has some action movies starting at 10am while Lifetime brings Christmas to July with holiday movies starting at 9am. Fox Movie Channel will air an all day marathon of ID4, that's Independence Day starring Will Smith. Spike TV also has some movies on tap.
If you're in the Los Angeles, CA area, KTLA will air a cool sitcom marathon. Hang out and hang ten with the California surfer chick Gidget in The 4th of July Gidget Marathon on Friday, July 4 from 10am-3pm PT. Surfs up!
Other marathons include Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel, Predator related documentaries on MSNBC, Cheaters on G4, Comedy Central Presents on Comedy Central, America's Next Top Model on MTV, Chowder on Cartoon Network, Paranormal State on A&E, I Love New York on VH1, Family Reunion on TV One, Raw Nature on Animal Planet, What Not To Wear on TLC, The Next Food Network Star on Food Network, The Revolution on History, and more. Some weird stuff.

We mentioned like two months ago or so that Sci Fi Channel has struck a deal with CBS Paramount to air many shows. As you all know, Star Trek: The Next Generation has already started airing in a block on Mondays starting at 7pm. Slowly other shows will be incorporated. The should haven never been canceled drama Joan of Arcadia starring Amber Tamblyn, Joe Mantegna, Mary Steenburgen, and Jason Ritter is coming to Sci Fi next Friday (July 11) airing Fridays at 8PM. That is a nice tribute to the series, as the show originally aired Fridays at 8PM on CBS for its two seasons. Then in August, the drama series The Sentinel will be airing in the daytime rotation marathon (10am-4pm) in many spots starting in August. And in September, the drama Seven Days will get the weekday treatment, airing weekdays at 4pm starting September 2. So far no other news on the Paramount shows like Mork & Mindy and Highlander, but stay tuned, as soon as we know, we will post!
In other Sci Fi news, Lost reruns will air Mondays 7-11pm starting September 15, which means Star Trek: The Next Generation will be on the move to Tuesdays at 7pm.

Enjoy the fireworks and don't forget to come on back tomorrow to see the blog!

New TV Special: TV's All-Time Funniest Airing on ABC; Two-Hour Season Finales for Grey's and Lost

Sitcom fans take note of a great new two-hour special airing May 9 on ABC! Conjure up a list of your favorite comedy characters from the greatest sitcoms in history... Who would be your favorites? TV fans across the country were asked to choose their funniest characters in the following eight categories:
1. Funniest Comedy Fathers, 2. Funniest Mothers, 3. Funniest Kids, 4. Funniest Relatives, 5. Funniest Neighbors, 6. Funniest Friends, 7. Funniest Boss and 8. Funniest Co-Workers.
Collected by Nielsen Media Research, the results will be revealed in the two-hour TV's All-Time Funniest, a Paley Center for Media special, airing Friday, May 9 from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET/PT on ABC!
Who is America's funniest father? Is it Cliff Huxtable or Homer Simpson? Is the funniest mother Lucy Ricardo or Marion Cunningham? Watch to see if your funniest character is also America's funniest.
Interviews with TV icons such as Rainn Wilson (The Office), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), Marion Ross (Happy Days), Mary Tyler Moore (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show), Valerie Harper (The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and Rue McClanahan (The Golden Girls) will be highlighted. These comedic stars will offer revealing insight into their funniest sitcom moments, accompanied by hilarious clips.
This is a special you will not want to miss! It will have lots of sitcoms being showcased and for sure one of your all-time favorites will be featured in one of the categories at least! To discuss this special, click HERE!

Meanwhile, ABC announced special two-hour season finales of Grey's Anatomy” and Lost. The Grey's Anatomy season finale airs Thursday, May 22 from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT, and the Lost season finale airs a week later, Thursday, May 29 from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT on ABC. This marks an additional hour for each show this strike shortened season, for a total of 17 hours for Grey's Anatomy and 14 hours for Lost. (*Note: So Lost will be preempted on May 22 due to the Grey's Anatomy season finale.)
Remember Grey's Anatomy” returns with original episodes on Thursday, April 24 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT, and Lost returns with originals that night as well, when it moves to its new 10:00 p.m. ET/PT time slot.
ABC also announced Lost encores will air on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT opposite the American Idol finale, preempting Wife Swap and Supernanny. These episodes will be encore presentations of both the Thursday, May 1 and May 8 episodes combined. The May 15 Lost encore will air at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Thursday, May 29 leading into the two-hour season finale from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.

ABC's Post Strike Schedule; CBS Swaps 'Bang' and 'Mother's' Slots; NBC Announces Classic TV Streaming Episodes

ABC has saved their post-strike schedule for last, but it is well worth the wait! ABC will return television's biggest hit shows, including Boston Legal, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Samantha Who? and Ugly Betty. Returning first is the hit new comedy Samantha Who? with 6 new episodes (three of those are from pre-strike episodes, so three more new ones will be shot). The show returns Monday, April 7 at 9:30pm following Dancing with the Stars, which will be two-hours on March 24 and March 31 (season premiere on March 17 is 90-minutes). Boston Legal returns next with 6 all-new post-strike episodes also starting Tuesday, April 8 at 10pm. The megahit Desperate Housewives returns on Sunday, April 13 at 9pm for the first of five original episodes and a special two-hour finale (so, seven hours total). What will this mean for Oprah's Big Give? That reality show will launch on March 2 and was supposed to be for 8 weeks (lasting through its April 20 airing), so maybe ABC will move the last two episodes into the 8pm slot giving Extreme Makeover: Home Edition a well deserved two-week break (as the show has done very well in two-hour episodes this season)? We will find out and let you know. The other Sunday hit Brothers & Sisters returns with four all-new post-strike episodes a week later, on Sunday, April 20 at 10pm. The bit Thursday shows will return on April 24 with 5 all-new episodes each for Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy. Lost will move to its new 10:00pm time period on that very same day (Thursday, April 24), with five weeks of original episodes. Lost will end its 8-week run at 9pm, which are the pre-strike episodes, on Thursday, March 20. Three of this season's top hits, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money will return next season with all-new episodes.
Everything else not mentioned scripted wise, is in limbo and has no status yet, which includes According to Jim, Cavemen, Carpoolers, Women's Murder Club, Big Shots, October Road, MEN IN TREES, Cashmere Mafia, Eli Stone, and Notes from the Underbelly. A few of these could return next season...having the best shot is Women's Murder Club and MEN IN TREES. According to Jim always seem to have some life, so it could also return.

CBS's hit freshman comedy The Big Bang Theory will lead off CBS's Monday comedy block when it moves to Mondays at 8:00PM, beginning March 17 when it returns with all-new episodes. This means, How I Met Your Mother, which was airing at 8:00PM, will shift to The Big Bang Theory's former Monday 8:30PM time period when it returns with new episodes on the same night.

NBC Digital Entertainment and NBC Universal Cable Entertainment announced that they are streaming vintage television content on their entertainment websites. Full episode streaming of classic, fan-favorite series including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kojak, Miami Vice, the original Battlestar Galactica, The A-Team and Emergency! will be offered on NBC.com, SCIFI.com, ChillerTV.com and SleuthChannel.com beginning this month.

Here is a full list of shows on each website:

NBC.com
The A-Team
Emergency!
Night Gallery
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Miami Vice
Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Buck Rogers

SCIFI.com
Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Buck Rogers
Tek War
Night Gallery

ChillerTV.com
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Swamp Thing
Tremors
Crow
Night Gallery

SleuthChannel.com
Kojak
Miami Vice
Simon & Simon
The A-Team
Night Gallery

Still to come this week on the blog...full details on Classic TV Reunions happening next week and how the move of Everybody Loves Raymond from Tribune stations to Fox stations will affect New York City.

Day 88: WGA's Strike; Even More NATPE Notes; Day Break Joins TV One March; Family Matters Coming to Nick at Nite in...

It is day 88 of the strike. Nothing new at all to report. Tomorrow is my birthday...the best present I could get is certainly announcement that the strike is ending. It could happen. If not tomorrow then certainly in the next week or two.
ABC will launch the new season of Lost tonight! I have seen tonight's premiere and the second episode slated to air next week already...and I must say it is VERY good. I loved it and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I am not allowed to reveal any major story lines, but I will tell you someone we thought died in the season finale is alive and someone else who died will appear in the episode in some form. We will also get a nice flash forward in tonight's episode and an interesting flashback in next week's show. Are these people who are going to rescue them good or bad? You'll get bit more of a sense after these two episodes! Tune in!

Today is the last day of NATPE, but we will have a full wrap-up tomorrow if we missed anything. And we will try to give you a list of everything coming in Fall 2008 in syndication. Anyway, here are some latest NATPE updates:

- FremantleMedia North America is looking to revive the classic game show Match Game. They are in discussions with cable networks and is expected to lock up a deal soon. The company also is looking for an executive producer, with casting to follow. It was hinted at a "Coffee With" Q&A session at NATPE.
- GSN has bought a game show set to launch soon. The series is called Bingo America, an original, 40-episode series, beginning Monday, March 31 at 7PM/6C. Developed by executive producer Andrew Glassman, the fast-paced, "free-to-play-along-and-win" new series blends all the classic elements of trivia-based game shows with traditional bingo game-play. Bingo America and host Patrick Duffy (Dallas, Step by Step) will be awarding cash and prizes to both on-air contestants and at-home viewers in every episode.
More notes coming, if any. Check back with us.

This March on TV One we will get our normal sitcom stunts and also a launch of a new acquisition...the short lived action-packed drama Day Break starring Taye Diggs.
On Saturday, March 8 from 12 Noon to 8pm, spend a day with TV One's legendary male comedians - Martin (Lawrence), Cedric (the entertainer), and Eddie (Murphy) in an all-day marathon of comedies Martin, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, and The PJs that will keep the funny coming from all different angles.
Then, Saturday, March 8, and Sunday, March 9, in primetime, TV One offers a Taye Diggs Weekend with a two-day TV One premiere of the blockbuster film How Stella Got Her Groove Back starring a then-unknown Taye Diggs in his first big role alongside Angela Bassett and Whoopi Goldberg.
Then, on Sunday, March 9, at 10pm, Taye Diggs Weekend continues with the TV One premiere of the recent ABC network action drama series Day Break. In the series, Diggs plays a detective framed for the murder of an assistant district attorney. 'Groundhog Day'-style, Diggs' character relives the same day over again each episode as he tries to investigate the murder, discover who framed him, and clear his name. TV One plans to air all 13 episodes of Day Break, which includes 7 episodes never seen before on American television, as ABC never aired those (they only aired them on abc.com). TV One premieres the season with two back-to-back action-packed episodes and will air subsequent episodes on Sundays at 10pm and 1am, with rebroadcasts Thursdays at 10pm and Fridays at 12pm. I suggest you all watch this series, as it is very good and actually has a conclusion after 13 episodes.
And we will have more on this in the coming weeks, but joining the TV One line-up in April will be the sitcom The Hughleys! It will get an all-day April Fool's Day marathon from 10am-6am, before joining the network line-up weekdays at 6:30pm and 11:30pm...more details on April soon!

As I mentioned a few times this week, Family Matters is coming to Nick at Nite. The official announcement should be coming soon, but Nick at Nite has access to the show beginning in March, but it won't premiere then (see below). ABC Family Channel, which currently airs the show weekdays (7-8am and 1-2pm) will lose rights after the Feb. 29 airing. So it will be leaving ABC Family.
However, the show will not be premiering on Nick at Nite in March after all. Family Matters is currently set to launch in June 2008. I think the reason they are holding it back by three months is to give it much more promotion because it will probably do very big for the network. It's going to be the Summer of Urkel this summer on Nick at Nite for sure! It really didn't make sense to launch it in March as planned because there is not much time to promote it. We will certainly have full details in the coming months on Family Matters' launch on Nick at Nite this June! Get ready for Urkel joining Tim the Toolman, George, and Will on Nick at Nite! "Did I do that?"