SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're hearing about yet another popular series that is getting the boot after sexual harassment allegations against the star, some newly colorized episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Who to Follow: Fred Willard (Twitter)

Claim to Fame: Fred Willard has been appearing on TV for over five decades, appearing in countless sitcoms. The list is too long to even mention. But his first starring role came in the syndicated series Fernwood 2 Night, as well as the continuation series America 2 Night. After that, he went on to D.C. Follies, which arrives on DVD on Tuesday. He has done numerous other things since then, including Roseanne and Modern Family, but with 301 acting credits (and counting), it's hard to talk about each individual one.
Pick of the Tweets: "Thanks for all the laughs, Jerry. (pic)" (August 20, 2017)

It's a busy recap day today. NBC was up at the TCA Winter 2015 Press Tour on Friday, followed by Fox on Saturday and FX on Sunday...and we have the full scoop! Let's start with NBC. In her return to a starring role on primetime television, NBC is teaming with SAG Award winner and multi-nominee Eva Longoria on the half-hour comedy series Telenovela. NBC has ordered 13 episodes of the singlecam comedy that will star and be executive produced by Longoria. From Universal Television and Unbelievable Entertainment, Telenovela captures the hilarious behind-the-scenes craziness of a popular Spanish telenovela. Longoria will play the willful but popular diva Ana Maria, star of Latin America's most beloved telenovela who strives to stay on top in a world where the drama on-camera is nothing compared to the drama off-camera. Stay with us for info as it will launch in 2015-16. Next, NBC is bringing both the heartbreaking and uplifting stories during one of America's most tumultuous periods to television in adapting author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Betty DeRamus' acclaimed book Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories From the Underground Railroad as an epic eight-hour miniseries titled Freedom Run. It will focus on three specific epic journeys and love stories, each based on actual people. Iconic musician Stevie Wonder will serve as an executive producer.

Zachary Levi is making his long-awaited return to television in NBC's upcoming event miniseries Heroes Reborn to play a key yet undisclosed role. Jack Coleman, who played Noah Bennet in the original Heroes series, has previously been cast to reprise his role as "HRG" for Heroes Reborn. With the return of Heroes Reborn, NBC will launch a digital series prior to the premiere that will introduce the characters and new storylines. This leveraging of social media is a way for fans to re-engage with what was one for the true pioneers in multiplatform storytelling. Still no premiere date has been given. And finally for NBC, they have signed a development deal with Dolly Parton, one of the most honored female country musicians of all time and an American icon. In conjunction with production partner Sam Haskell of Magnolia Hill Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television, NBC will develop a slate of two-hour TV movies based on the songs, stories, and inspiring life of Dolly Parton. This extraordinarily prolific country music artist and movie star will produce these projects that are meant to appeal to an inclusive family audience.

On to Fox, well that was fast. After just two episodes, Empire is coming back. Fox has renewed hit drama series Empire for a second season. The second episode grew from its already big premiere rating. It is the only new broadcast drama this season to grow from week one to week two. Fox has also ordered a third season of the award-winning comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And if two renewals weren't enough, Fox has also renewed hit drama series Gotham for a second season. Get ready to scream. Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Lea Michele (Glee), Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Keke Palmer (Masters of Sex) have been cast as series regulars in Scream Queens, a new comedy-horror anthology series from Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan and Dante Di Loreto, the executive producers of Glee and American Horror Story. Additionally, Grammy Award nominee and actress Ariana Grande will guest-star in a recurring role. Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) and Emma Roberts (American Horror Story: Freak Show) were previously announced in starring roles in the limited series. The first installment in the new anthology series revolves around a college campus which is rocked by a series of murders. Fifteen one-hour episodes have been ordered, which are scheduled to begin production in the spring, and premiere in Fall 2015 on Fox.

Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) and Paramount Television announced that superstar singers, dancers and actresses Julianne Hough (Safe Haven, Rock of Ages, Dancing with the Stars) and Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical, Spring Breakers, Gigi on Broadway) have been cast in leading roles in Grease: Live (working title). With Hough as the angelic Sandy - Rydell High's most talked-about newcomer - and Hudgens as iconic bad girl Rizzo, this first-ever live television production of Grease will re-imagine the hit crossover musical for an entirely new generation. Airing LIVE Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 from 7:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed on Fox, Grease: Live (wt) will be executive-produced by acclaimed film, television and theater producer Marc Platt. Grease: Live (wt) is based on the original musical Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and Paramount Pictures' 1978 feature adaptation. It will be a Paramount Television production.

Moving on to cable network FX, they have set the premiere date of Thursday, April 9 for the series premiere of the new comedy series The Comedians starring Billy Crystal and Josh Gad and the fifth season of the Emmy(R) Award winning comedy series Louie starring Louie C.K. The Comedians will air at 10:00 PM ET/PT, followed by Louie at 10:30 PM ET/PT. Also, FX has acquired the television rights to Emmy Award winner Louis C.K.'s next standup comedy special, Louis C.K. Live From the Comedy Store. C.K. will make the special available to fans first on his website, LouisCK.net, in coming weeks after his record-breaking run of shows at Madison Square Garden. C.K. is the first comedian to sell out three shows for the same tour in Madison Square Garden history. Tickets for the fourth Madison Square Garden show on January 27 went on sale Saturday. The hour-long comedy special will subsequently air on FX this spring. C.K. will write and direct the special. And the third piece of FX news also has Louie C.K. involved. FX Networks has ordered the comedy pilot Better Things, created by and starring Pamela Adlon and directed by fellow Louie star Louis C.K. Better Things is the fifth comedy series pilot produced or ordered by FX Networks within the past year, including the comedy series pilots Atlanta, created by and starring Donald Glover, and Pariah, starring Bill Burr for Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton. These projects reinforce FX Networks' position as the leading comedy brand in television. Let's see which of these make it to series. Stay with us.

It was day two for Fox's TCA summer 2014 press tour and they had FX and FXX take center-stage. Cowabunga! In celebration of its landmark acquisition of the exclusive cable and authenticated non-linear VOD rights to legendary animated comedy The Simpsons, FXX will launch a record-breaking marathon of the series on August 21, 2014. The marathon will begin August 21, 2014 at 10 AM ET/PT and will conclude September 1, 2014 at 12 AM ET/PT, making it the longest-running marathon in television history. For 24 hours a day, over the course of the 12 days, FXX will air 552 episodes of The Simpsons (through Season 25) as well as The Simpsons Movie (airing after episode 400), in chronological order. Beginning September 2, FXX will regularly schedule The Simpsons episodes in fringe, primetime and late-night dayparts on weekdays and weekends. We will have more info on that SOON! Additionally, every Sunday the network will broadcast a thematic mini-marathon consisting of eight Simpsons episodes beginning at 4 PM ET/PT and leading into the 8 PM ET/PT broadcast on Fox. Starting in August, through its deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television, FXX will become the cable network home for all seasons of The Simpsons, excluding seasons airing in their first run on Fox. FX Networks' app, FXNOW, will be the exclusive non-linear home for all seasons of The Simpsons, excluding seasons airing in their first run on FOX. FXX will get subsequent seasons of The Simpsons as new seasons begin their first run on Fox.

FX has picked up a fifth season of the Emmy(R)-nominated comedy series Louie. The seven-episode new season from Creator/Executive Producer/Writer/Star/Director/Editor Louis C.K. will premiere in Spring 2015. And aw geez, get your snow gear ready, FX is headed back to Fargo! Executive Producer and Writer Noah Hawley is moving forward with a second installment of the multiple Emmy(R)-nominated miniseries from MGM Television and FX Productions. And that's a wrap for our coverage of the TCA summer 2014 press tour. Stay tuned for the winter portion this January!

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will remember award-winning actor James Garner on Monday, July 28, with an all-day 24-hour marathon featuring 12 of his films beginning at 6am. The lineup features Garner's performances in such movies as Toward the Unknown (1956), which marked his film debut; the racing drama Grand Prix (1966); the popular romantic comedy The Thrill of It All (1963); the Paddy Cheyefsky-penned The Americanization of Emily (1964); the groundbreaking drama The Children's Hour (1961); and the gender-bending Victor/Victoria (1982). Now us TV/sitcom fans are waiting for a marathon of Maverick, The Rockford Files and/or 8 Simple Rules. Besides the regular airings of those shows on the networks they air, no tribute has been planned yet. Stay with us, if anything comes up.

With the broadcast upfronts just 5 days away, Fox and NBC have announced some new series pick-ups already. We'll go over with you what they have picked-up already but stay tuned on Monday for more details when they announce their fall 2014 schedules. For Fox, they have given a 16-episode commitment to the John Mulaney comedy Mulaney. The sitcom is a multi-camera ensemble comedy series about a rising stand-up comic trying to take his career to the next level and the friends and mentors who lift him up, hold him back and push him around. Martin Short co-stars. Fox also gave a series order to drama Red Band Society. From Steven Spielberg, a diverse group of teenagers become unlikely allies and friends in this unconventional and, at times, comic high school drama, set in the pediatric wing of a hospital. This is one of the most ambitious and unorthodox shows in anyone's development this year. It represents a completely inspired way into young soap, a comedic one-hour, a hospital show, and a (surrogate) family drama. Octavia Spencer and Dave Annable star. They have also given the Lee Daniels series Empire a series order. It's a unique family drama set in the world of a hip-hop empire that will feature both original and current music. Gabourey Sidibe, Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Malik Yoba and Macy Gray star.

Fox had already given orders to the comedy Weird Loners starring Becki Newton and Zachary Knighton. It's a single-camera comedy about four relationship-phobic people who are unexpectedly thrust into one another's lives and form an unlikely bond in a townhouse in Queens, NY. They also have on tap a Will Forte comedy titled Last Man On Earth for mid-season. It's a single-camera comedy about two strangers who must overcome their differences and work together to ensure the survival of the human race. And finally they have a blinds series commitment for the Margaret Cho comedy Cabot College, which is a multi-camera comedy about a women's college that, for the first time in its history, begins accepting men. However, no word on if they have ordered it yet. Back to dramas, Fox has now ordered five drama series for next season, having previously given straight-to-series pick-ups to Gotham, Backstrom and Hieroglyph.

Onto NBC, as of now they have picked-up three new series. First up is the comedy Marry Me starring Casey Wilson, Ken Marino, JoBeth Williams and Tim Meadows. It's a single-camera comedy about a young couple who get engaged, something they quickly realize is harder than it looks. They have also ordered drama Allegiance starring Scott Cohen, Hope Davis, Margarita Levieva, Morgan Spector, Annie Ilonzeh, and Kenneth Choi. The drama is about a decorated Air Force officer in a high-security post whose former Russian spy parents are newly tasked with recruiting their son into espionage activity. Also, it's no surprise that the Katherine Heigl drama State of Affairs has been picked-up. Heigl portrays a key CIA attaché who counsels the president on high-stakes incidents around the world. She balances her intense political responsibilities with a complicated personal life. Alfre Woodard also stars. And finally, they have picked-up new drama Odyssey to series. It's a drama about three families who are torn apart when a stranded female soldier, a disillusioned corporate attorney and a disrespected political activist are pulled into the same shocking international military conspiracy. Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Treat Williams, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje star. NBC also has already ordered two comedies: Mr. Robinson, a single-camera comedy about an impulsive, good-hearted musician (Craig Robinson) who adjusts to his new life as a music teacher in a big-city middle school and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a single-camera comedy from multiple Emmy Award winners Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and starring Ellie Kemper, the series will center on a woman (Kemper) who escapes from a doomsday cult and starts life over in New York City. Stay tuned for more updates on both NBC and Fox on Monday!

After a 19-month hiatus, the critically acclaimed comedy series Louie returned in fine fashion as the fourth season premiere episode (5/5/14, 10PM) was up 19% vs. the series' season three average (941,000 vs. 791,000) and +26% in Adults 18-49 (635,000 vs. 505,000). Episode 2 of Louie (10:30PM) was rock solid, growing its audience by +3% in Adults 18-49 (651,000 vs. 635,000) compared to the Season 4 premiere episode, and it retained 97% of the Total Viewers (910,000 vs. 941,000). Compared to its Season 3 average, Season 4 of Louie is +17% in Total Viewers (925,000 vs 791,000) and +27% in Adults 18-49 (643,000 vs. 505,000). Monday's Season 4 debut of Louie outperformed its half-hour lead-in audience (9:30P) Horrible Bosses by +16% (941,000 vs. 809,000 Total Viewers).

We all know that the day of the opening of the Summer 2012 Olympics, Cloo aired a Cloo Classics Olympics marathon of many classic sitcoms to start their Cloo Classics Olympics... now as we promised over a month ago, we have the rest of the classic schedule for you during the Olympics. Yesterday saw the launch of Cloo Classics that will air for the next two weeks on weekdays. Mondays (July 30 and Aug. 6) will feature a Cloo Classics marathon of MacGyver beginning at 6:00am ET/3:00am PT on both days. On Tuesdays, (July 31 and Aug. 7), we have a Cloo Classics Olympics marathon featuring 24-hours of T.J. Hooker beginning at 6:00am ET/3:00am PT on both days. On Wednesdays, August 1 and 8, it's a Cloo Classics Olympics marathon featuring 24-hours of the '70s series Charlie's Angels beginning at 6:00am ET/3:00am PT on both days. Then on Thursday (Aug. 2 and Aug. 9), we have a Cloo Classics Olympics marathon of Mannix at also 24-hours beginning 6:00am ET/3:00am PT. The week ends with a classic sitcom marathon just like the previous Friday during the Opening Ceremonies. We once again get Paramount sitcoms The Odd Couple, Bosom Buddies, Taxi, Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Family Ties and Get Smart on Fridays, Aug. 3 and Aug. 10.
So if you're not into the Olympic Games, then NBC-owned Cloo Classics Olympics is the way to go every weekday until the summer games are over. And the monthly Cloo Classic marathon will air on Saturday, August 25 featuring Get Smart, Mannix and Charlie's Angels, so be sure to catch that as well!

FX has ordered 13 episodes of its hit comedy Louie for its fourth season. The current third season of Louie has eight all new episodes remaining this season airing Thursdays at 10:30 PM ET/PT. Louie will conclude with a special one-hour season finale on Thursday, September 27. Louie is a comedy filtered through the observational humor of Louis C.K. Each episode puts a spotlight on Louis' hectic life as a successful stand-up comedian and newly single father raising his two daughters in New York City.

Stay tuned for news on a pick-up for Charlie Sheen's sitcom Anger Management for a second season (probably for 90 episodes). It is expected that his father Martin Sheen will join the series as his father if there is a second season. Martin Sheen will guest star this season on the ninth episode airing Aug. 16. Anger Management airs Thursdays at 9:30pm through Thursday, August 23. FX will air a marathon of the entire first season of its new hit series Anger Management, running all ten episodes back-to-back on Thursday, Sept. 6 from 6-11pm. Charlie Sheen stars as a non-traditional therapist specializing in anger management. Prior to his career as a therapist, he was a stalled minor league baseball prospect whose road to the majors was sidetracked by his own struggle with anger issues. Thriving on the chaos in his life while still battling his own anger issues, his life is complicated by his relationships with his own therapist/best friend, an ex-wife with a positive outlook but poor choice in men, and their 13-year-old daughter with obsessive-compulsive disorder.