SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

All month long TV One will feature music-centric episodes of its sitcoms on Tuesday nights in primetime (with an immediate encore following). The block will air Tuesdays from 8pm-11pm and encore from 11pm-2am. The music-centic episodes launches tomorrow night (Tuesday, Jan. 7) with back-to-back What's Happening!! episodes centered around Stevie Wonder and The Doobie Brothers. Episodes of The Rick Smiley Show, A Different World and The Tracy Morgan Show follow from 9-11pm on Jan. 7 which center around Gladys Knight, Snoop Dogg and others. On Jan. 14 we get another hour of What's Happening!! (with more Doobie Brothers action and music acts on The Gong Show), another episode of The Rick Smiley Show followed by a triple shot of A Different World, which will have Lena Horne guest starring. Tuesday, Jan. 21 will feature two episodes of Living Single, an episode of Everybody Hates Chris, back-to-back A Different World and another Living Single. Music talent guest starring on this night includes Heavy D & The Boyz. And on Tuesday, Jan. 28 we get another hour of Living Single, followed by The Rick Smiley Show at 9, then an episode of A Different World and an hour of Love That Girl from 10-11pm. TV One airs original series centered around music like R&B Divas and Unsung.

Moving on, TV One will officially launch Everybody Hates Chris (which they previewed on New Year's Day) on Friday, Jan. 17 with a marathon from 8pm-2am. The sitcom will then air every Friday night from 8-9pm and encores will be seen later that night from 11pm-12am. As we mentioned, Chris can also be seen on UP Mon-Thurs from 11pm-12am and Saturday afternoons. I think we now officially covered all the details on Chris on TV One and UP! Enjoy!

Dedicated to expanding its network and channel brands and content across multiple platforms and devices, Disney/ABC Television Group announced that the new "WATCH ABC Family" authenticated service will launch today (Monday, January 6, 2014). Similar to DATG's WATCH ABC and suite of WATCH DISNEY services, the new WATCH ABC Family offering will allow viewers with participating TV subscription services access to 24/7 live viewing of the network, as well as continued on demand access to such popular series as Pretty Little Liars, Switched at Birth, The Fosters, Baby Daddy and Melissa & Joey at home and on the go via a wide array of devices. At launch today, the WATCH ABC Family app will be available on iOS and Kindle Fire devices, as well as select Android tablets, including Samsung Galaxy devices. Select Android phones, as well as Blackberry and Windows 8 devices, will be able to access the WATCH ABC Family service later this month. Viewers can also access WATCH ABC Family online at WATCHABCFamily.com.

Also, in support of DATG's growing authenticated WATCH initiative, the availability of free streaming episodes from ABC and ABC Family will change beginning January 6. To watch the most current episodes of ABC and ABC Family shows the day after they air, viewers will log in to the WATCH ABC and WATCH ABC Family apps, WATCHABC.com, WATCHABCFamily.com and hulu.com with their subscription TV account usernames and passwords. Following an advantaged viewing window for subscription TV customers, on demand episodes will be unlocked for all WATCH ABC users eight days after their initial broadcast. On demand episodes of ABC Family series will only be available to verified customers of participating subscription TV providers.

Everybody Hates Chris is coming to TV One beginning Wednesday, January 1, 2014. The series will launch with a marathon paired with original series Love That Girl. The marathon begins at 12 noon ET with Love That Girl, followed by the pilot episode of Everybody Hates Chris at 12:30pm. The two comedies alternate until 2:00am, with Love That Girl on top of each hour and Everybody Hates Chris at the bottom of each hour. Everybody Hates Chris has been on the Viacom networks since 2009 but now they are losing the rights. It has aired on Viacom's Nick at Nite, TeenNick, MTV2, BET and Centric but now it will be moving to TV One and one other network that we will have info on next week. TV One and that network will have a shared deal for Everybody Hates Chris. However, as of now TV One has not scheduled Everybody Hates Chris on its regular schedule. We will let you know as soon as they do, but for now enjoy the launch marathon on New Year's Day. Stay with us also for the details on Everybody Hates Chris on this other cable network. Hmm...


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, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of Dec. 30, 2013-Jan. 3, 2014, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVRs (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, December 30, 2013

• Billy Crystal (Soap) - Watch Billy on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen) - Ellen appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show) - Bill is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Bradley Whitford (Trophy Wife) - Bradley appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Mary Steenburgen (Ink) - Tune in to see Mary on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Eric Andre (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Eric is a guest on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Tisha Campbell-Martin (My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha appears on a repeat of The Arsenio Hall Show, so check your local listings.
• Nia Long (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sanaa Lathan (The Cleveland Show) - Nia, Sanaa and the rest of the cast of The Best Man Holiday are guests on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) - Miley appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg/1600 Penn) - Jenna is a guest on a repeat of Home & Family at 10am on Hallmark Channel.
• Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke co-hosts NBC's Today in the 9am hour.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

• Connie Britton (Spin City/The Fighting Fitzgeralds) - Catch Connie on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Andy appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Bailee Madison (Trophy Wife) - Bailee is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simple Rules) - Tune in to see Kaley on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) - Aziz appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Anthony Anderson (Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons)- Anthony is a guest on a repeat of The Arsenio Hall Show, so check your local listings.
• Rob Lowe (Parks and Recreation) - Rob appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny will be on ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am.
• Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke co-hosts NBC's Today in the 9am hour.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

• Alyssa Milano (Who's the Boss?/Romantically Challenged) - Watch Alyssa on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Julie Bowen (Modern Family) - Julie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• The Love Boat Reunion - Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Fred Grandy, Lauren Tewes, Jill Whelan and Jack Jones are guests on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel is a guest on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) - Tune in to see Zoey on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) - Kunal appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen) - Ellen is a guest on a repeat of The Steve Harvey Show, so check your local listings.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

• Will Arnett (The Millers/Arrested Development) - Catch Will on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) - Alec appears on a repeat of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Kevin Connolly (Entourage/Unhappily Ever After) - Kevin is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Nia Long (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Nia appears on a repeat of Tavis Smiley on PBS, but check listings for time.
• Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) - Adam is part of the guest panel on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
• Seth Green (Dads/Greg the Bunny) - Seth chats on a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Brad Garrett ('Til Death/Everybody Loves Raymond) - Brad guest co-hosts a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/Hot Properties/The Knights of Prosperity) - Sofia appears on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke co-hosts NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
• Jim Rash and Gillian Jacobs (Community) - Jim and Gillian talk about Community on the TODAY show in the 10am hour. They will also be on WNBC's New York Live in NYC at 12:30pm on WNBC4.
• Candace Cameron (Full House) - Candace will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am to talk about balancing Hollywood and motherhood. Her new book is out now as well.

Friday, January 3, 2014

• Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Watch Tom on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS. He will also be on a repeat of LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Louie Anderson (Life with Louie/The Louie Show) - Louie is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Bob Newhart (The Bob Newhart Show/Newhart/Bob) - Tune in to see Bob on a repeat of Tavis Smiley on PBS, but check listings for time.
• Billy Gardell and Reno Wilson (Mike & Molly) - Billy and Reno are guests on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Seinfeld) - Julia appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Whoopi Goldberg (Whoopi/Bagdad Cafe) - Whoopi is a guest on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Dan Cortese (Veronica's Closet/What I Like About You) - Dan talks about the second season of Guinness World Records: Unleashed and see an attempt to break two records in-studio on a repeat of Katie, so check your local listings.

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!

Save Me - Thursdays at 8:00PM and 8:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 8:00PM ET/PT

by Skees

Life isn't so pleasant for Beth Harper (Anne Heche) in NBC's latest sitcom, Save Me. The housewife is in a bit of a funk in life, and her husband Tom (Michael Landes) is on the verge of divorcing her to be with his mistress. Fortunately for Beth, she gets lucky (sort of...) when she chokes on a sandwich late at night, and becomes something a bit "divine."

Cast Details:

Michael Landes (Tom Harper) is best known for his role as Jimmy Olsen in the first season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (he was replaced by Justin Whalen beginning in the second season). He has had small roles in series including thirtysomething, The Wonder Years, The Torkelsons, Step by Step, and more.

Alexandra Breckenridge (Carly Brugano) began acting at the age of 15, and is also a photographer and voice artist. She has appeared in series such as Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, but her biggest roles have been those of Willa McPherson on Dirt and many various roles on episodes of Family Guy.

Heather Burns (Jenna Derring) has appeared in films such as Miss Congeniality and Two Weeks Notice, but has most recently had a starring role in the HBO series Bored to Death. She is married to actor Ajay Naidu.

Madison Davenport (Emily Harper) made her television debut in 2005 in the series Numb3rs. She has since had guest roles in other crime dramas such as CSI, CSI: NY, Bones, and most recently had a recurring role in the Showtime series Shameless.

Can this show be "saved?" I doubt it. When a series debuts after the end of the official TV season, it is pretty much an indication that the network has given up on the series before they even decided to give it a chance. Honestly, I don't understand why they chose to burn this series off. It seems that a lot of the critics have come to the same solution: this series would give Anne Heche an Emmy Award... if the series on Showtime. It is a bit of a fish out of water on NBC, but at the very least, I hope that they give us the opportunity to see all of the episodes that have been produced. I do have hopes that the series will continue with the positive momentum that the first episode had, and we'll be able to judge for ourselves as the second episode (which we were not able to review) will air immediately following the pilot. All in all, the pilot suggests something very promising... except it is on the wrong network at the wrong time.

As part of its growing aggressive program strategy, TV One has added the half-hour sitcom Family Time to its Friday night classic comedy block. The half-hour comedy created by Bentley Kyle Evans (The Jamie Foxx Show, Martin, Love That Girl) and produced by Evans and partner Trenten Gumbs, airs Fridays at 7:30PM/ET since earlier this month. The sitcom is a Bounce TV original sitcom and six episodes were produced and aired last summer. No word if the series has been picked-up for a second season and if TV One will take over, but for now TV One is just airing repeats. TV One also airs original episodes of original comedy Belle's, every Friday at 10pm since Feb. 1. It is TV One's newest scripted comedy that centers around widower William "Big Bill" Cooper who owns and operates his family's upscale soul food restaurant and stars Emmy(R) Award-winning actor Keith David (Crash), Elise Neal (All of Us, The Hughley's), Tami Roman, Ella Joyce (Roc) and Miguel Núñez, and introduces young actress Nadja Alaya. The half-hour series is co-created and executive produced by legendary Emmy(R) Award-winning producer Ed. Weinberger (Taxi, The Cosby Show), Belle's co-star Miguel Núñez and Oscar Turner for Gallery Road Productions. The season finale is slated for March 1 and a marathon of all six episodes from the first season will air Saturday, March 2 from 4-7pm. Ans for Love That Girl, TV One has not yet renewed it for a third season. The second season ended last year.

As for Family Time, it centers around the life and times of the Stallworths, a working class African American family who get lucky with a scratch-off lottery ticket and makes the leap to middle class status overnight. Starring Omar Gooding and Angel Conwell as parents Anthony and Lisa Stallworth, and Jayla Calhoun and Bentley Kyle Evans, Jr as their children, the Stallworths represent a true-to life African American family working to pursue the American dream. The series follows the family as they move to a middle class community in southern California resulting in classic comedic moments tinged with humorous drama. TV One airs the series Fridays at 7:30pm, followed by a classic TV block of sitcoms from 8-10pm, then Belle's at 10.

Stay with us for continued updates on TV One, including Family Time and Belle's, and we might have some classic TV news for TV One later this week...so come on back!

On the next...New Girl:
By: Todd

Fox's Tuesday adorkable sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel airs Tuesday nights at 9:00pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (Feb. 19). In the episode airing tonight, "Parking Spot," Schmidt (Max Greenfield) discovers a previously unknown, yet highly-coveted parking spot, prompting Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and the roommates to fight over who will get to use it. The situation gets even more complicated when Schmidt discovers that Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess kissed, as he fears it will trigger the "no nail" clause the guys signed when Jess moved in. Meanwhile, Winston (Lamorne Morris) has a hard time finding an essential item when he gets an impromptu invitation from Daisy (guest star Brenda Song).

It's Garage Wars on tonight's all-new episode. The episode begins with Jess and Nick brushing their teeth and talking about how things are not weird between them and they are just roommates. Schmidt finds a hidden parking spot in the garage behind a dumpster. Jess suggests that they share the spot, but everybody else has a different idea. Winston receives a text from Daisy. In a flashback scene, Jess has to deal with outside Dave in her parking spot. Later, Jess tries to flirt with Nick in his hoodie in order to sway his vote. Winston finally arrives at Daisy's apartment, but he has forgotten a condom. Schmidt gives Nick a beer to try and get his vote. Jess and Nick reveal to Schmidt that they have kissed. Meanwhile, Winston goes to the store, but he doesn't have any money with him. Everybody makes a frantic rush to be the first car parked in the spot to win it. Jess' discovers some feral cats in her current parking spot. Cece talks to Shrivang at her apartment before Winston arrives and asks her for a condom. Schmidt goes to great lengths to stay in the spot. He talks about the "no nail" oath they agreed to when Jess moved in. Winston finally locates a condom, but he has problems finding Daisy's building. The winner of the parking spot is revealed as the episode closes.

This episode continues to build the momentum from the big kiss between Jess and Nick a few weeks ago. Jess and Nick are very funny and awkward together. They have some hilarious facial expressions and interactions tonight. There is some real sexual tension between them. The secondary story of Winston trying to find a condom is pretty short but funny. It was nice that they added Brenda Strong in a recurring role, but I wish they gave her more screen time. She appears in only one quick scene in the episode. There's also another big kiss between two characters in this episode that will only add to the tension and cause more sparks to fly in future episodes. Overall, it's just a funny outing that is full of win. Who will ultimately claim the parking spot? Tune in to find out. B

TV One has been pretty quiet in terms of making changes to its regular schedule, but as always TV One will celebrate the holidays with holiday episodes all month long. Catch holiday episodes of your favorite TV One sitcoms in their normal time periods for shows such as The Jeffersons, Amen, Good Times, Sanford & Son, Living Single, Martin, and original sitcom Love That Girl, so keep checking the episode titles for these series. But if you want to watch a marathon of holiday episodes, then TV One has just the thing for you! On Christmas Eve (Saturday, Dec. 24), TV One presents a holiday marathon featuring multiple holiday episodes of A Different World, Good Times, Love That Girl, Martin, and Living Single from 9am-4pm.
On New Year's Eve (Saturday, Dec. 31), TV One will present its annual marathon of Martin beginning at 1pm ET and lasting into the night as we welcome in 2012.

G4 recently started airing reruns of the sci-fi series Quantum Leap every weekday. The series is airing weekdays at 11am and 12 noon since last Thursday (Dec. 1). The 1989-93 drama was last seen on cable on Syfy (then known as Sci Fi Channel) and also on ION Television in 2008. The NBC series starred Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist from the (then future) year of 1997, who becomes lost in time following a time travel experiment, temporarily taking the places of other people to "put right what once went wrong." G4 doesn't air any other scripted series but airs reality series such as Cops and Cheaters.
Stay with us for further information and if G4 decides to add any other series to its line-up.

TV One started their March 2011 schedule the other day, but they didn't send it out in time to us to let you know in advance like usual. The changes to the regular schedule are minor, though. Basically, the 2pm-7pm block has some time changes. Judge Karen's Court moves from 4pm to 2pm. That means The Jeffersons is moving from 2pm to 4pm. The 3pm hour is now Half & Half instead of Sanford & Son, which now moves to 6pm, replacing Half & Half. The lone survivor in the block is Amen at 5pm. Shine on me, indeed! Looks like Judge Karen's Court isn't bringing in the ratings, as she started at 6pm, moved to 4pm, and now is at 2pm.
Stunts wise, TV One will continue to air new episodes of original sitcom Love That Girl every Monday at 9pm, followed by encore episodes from 9:30-11pm. There will be a marathon of The Jeffersons on Sunday, March 20 from 12 noon to 6pm ET. Select episodes will encore in the overnight from 3am-5am later on in the day. The only other sitcom stunt will be All of Us on Saturday, April 2 from 12pm-8pm with select encores from 12am-6am. TV One March 2011 is certainly more quieter than TV One February 2011. Stay with us in the coming weeks for the April 2011 schedule.

CSI is once again appearing on TV Land. It has aired before in stunts and special week-long blocks, but it hasn't been seen lately. The show airs on sister network Spike TV, so that is how they can air it the show. TV Land will air the series for at least three weekends in March. As of now, it is not on the April schedule, which we will try to give to you by tomorrow. CSI will air in big chunks on both Saturdays and Sundays. It will air Saturdays from 11:30am-9pm and Sundays 11:30am-8pm through March 27. Yes, why 8 1/2 hours and 7 1/2 hours? They are airing shows with more commercials and off-the-clock, so you get about a total of 30 more minutes of commercials in these blocks and one less episode, if that makes sense.
"CSI Weekends" will replace I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, All in the Family and Sanford & Son on weekends...for these three weeks at least. Could CSI carry over into April? Sure. But right now it isn't. So, as of now, this means Bewitched is totally off the schedule for the next three weeks, as it doesn't air on weekdays anymore.
I'm sure more will come out of this, so stay with us! For now, view the TV Land March 2011 schedule again.

The TCA (Television Critics Association) Winter 2011 press tour begins today with the first of three days for cable networks from Jan. 5-7. The broadcast networks will start on Monday (Jan. 10) with ABC, then Fox on Jan. 11, NBC on Jan. 13 and CBS and The CW on Jan. 14. PBS is in between on Jan. 8-9, but we will not cover them here. FX ends the press tour on Jan. 15.
Up today at the TCA press tour will be MTV Networks, TV Guide Network, National Geographic Networks, TV One, Weather Channel, ESPN and Comcast Entertainment Group.
For MTV Networks, we had TV Land, CMT among the networks. Yesterday we announced the TV Land February 2011 schedule and among the highlights were a two-part Hot in Cleveland episode airing Feb. 16 and 23. It's a cross-promotion! ABC Daytime and TV Land have joined forces to create an unprecedented network event where characters from ABC Daytime's All My Children and TV Land's Hot in Cleveland cross over to continue a storyline established on last season's Hot in Cleveland. The story revolves around Wendie Malick's character, Victoria Chase, and her industry-nemesis, Susan Lucci. The two-part Hot in Cleveland episodes will air on TV Land with guest stars Susan Lucci, Michael E. Knight and Darnell Williams on February 16 and 23 at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT, and the All My Children episode will air on ABC at 1:00 p.m., ET/12:00 p.m., PT on February 24 with guest star Wendie Malick. Meanwhile, CMT promoted their upcoming original sitcom Working Class (premieres Friday, Jan. 28) starring Melissa Peterman and Ed Asner. The show will also feature multiple guest stars throughout the season, including recently-announced Reba, whose on-screen reunion with Melissa Peterman will air in February. Additional guest stars include David Faustino (Married with Children), Kathy Kinney (The Drew Carey Show), Martin Mull (Roseanne), John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard), Ryan Stiles (Whose Line Is It Anyway) and Lesley Ann Warren (Desperate Housewives), as well as CMT's own Evan Farmer from CMT Top 20 Countdown.
TV One reminded everyone that their original sitcom Love That Girl premieres Monday (Jan. 10). Love That Girl! stars Tatyana Ali (Fresh Prince of Bel Air) as Tyana, a young divorcee who returns home to Southern California for a second chance in life and a career in her father's real estate business. When her unemployed brother Latrell, an aspiring stand-up comedian, unexpectedly moves in with her, the world that she was trying to create is suddenly turned upside down, and life will never be the same. Meanwhile, TV One also announced a three-week event titled "Way Black When." Way Black When is TV One's Black History Month initiative. Over the course of three weeks, five nights per week, this high-energy one-hour talk show will showcase Black pop culture icons – actors, comedians, athletes, musicians, and many more --- from Black Power through Hip Hop. Guiding a live studio audience and television viewers on their trip back through 'blackness' will be three hosts who embody each decade's essence. Sinbad will conduct a fantastic voyage through the 70's; Niecy Nash keeps it moving and groovin' through the 80's; and Chris 'Kid' Reid picks up with 90's hip hop. Each night, guests who characterize the specific week's decade will be showcased along with a musical act and a comedian who provide the tunes and the tone of the time. We will have more info on this on our monthly TV One schedule highlights when February 2011 is announced.

Character actor Bill Erwin, whose nearly seven-decade Hollywood career included his memorable role as the grumpy old man on television's Seinfeld, has died. He actually died the morning of Dec. 29, 2010 at his home in suburban Los Angeles' Studio City, according to his son Mike Erwin in Jacksonville, OR. He died of age-related causes.
Erwin's Hollywood career dates back to 1941, when he appeared in the movie You're in the Army Now. His scores of credits include guest roles on The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy, The Danny Thomas Show, Leave it to Beaver, Bachelor Father, The Andy Griffith Show, Mister Ed, Maverick, The Fugitive, Mannix, Perry Mason, My Three Sons, The Jeffersons, Dallas, The Waltons, Eight is Enough, Here Come the Brides, Mayberry R.F.D., Get Smart, The Golden Girls, Highway to Heaven, Moonlighting, Growing Pains, Just the Ten of Us, Punky Brewster, Married with Children, Full House, E/R, The Dukes of Hazzard, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Who's the Boss?, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Mad About You, Michael Richards Show, The Drew Carey Show, Grace Under Fire, Suddenly Susan, Cybill, Living Single, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The John Larroquette Show, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Quantum Leap, So Little Time, Just Shoot Me!, The West Wing, Monk, The King of Queens, Everwood and his last TV appearance in 2006 on My Name is Earl. But his old man character Sid Fields on Seinfeld, which got him an Emmy nomination in 1993, is perhaps his most memorable role.
The only series he was a regular in was the short-lived CBS 1979 sitcom Struck by Lightning with Richard Stahl. The series lasted just 3 episodes. Mr. Erwin lived a long life and will be deeply missed. Nearly everyone must have seen him in at least one role. He just turned 96 last month.

We have also lost Ann Francis. Ms. Francis died on Sunday (Jan. 2, 2011) in Santa Barbara, CA. The cause was complications of pancreatic cancer, according to her daughter Jane Uemura. Ms. Francis had surgery and chemotherapy after she learned she had lung cancer in 2007. She was recurring on ABC's My Three Sons in 1971, but it was her title role on the ABC crime drama Honey West in 1965 that made her a name. She was nominated for an Emmy and won a Golden Globe for the role. She was a movie star in the '50s and '60s but when her movie career declined, Ms. Francis became active in television. She appeared in dozens of series, including Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Rawhide, The Untouchables, Cannon, Columbo, Charlie's Angels, Riptide, Simon & Simon, Fantasy Island, Dallas, CHiPs, Quince ME, Hawaii Five-0, The Love Boat, Crazy Like a Fox, Hardcastle and McCormick, Matlock, Jake and the Fatman, The Golden Girls, Murder She Wrote, Burke's Law, Wings, Home Improvement, The Drew Carey Show, Nash Bridges, Fantasy Island 99, and her last role in 2004 on Without a Trace.
She wasn't know for sitcoms, but she was quite a popular TV actor, mainly in dramas. Her TV series Honey West airs nationally on the Me-TV Network. As a tribute this Saturday (Jan. 8) at 8 PM ET/7PM CT (through 2am ET/1am CT), Me-TV Network will honor award-winning actress Anne Francis with a special tribute. Francis, whose career spanned more than 50 years, was known for her prolific work in both film and television. This tribute carries on the Me-TV tradition of paying homage to the lives and careers of classic TV stars. The Me-TV tribute begins and ends with the crime-drama Honey West, featuring Francis in the starring role as a sultry and resourceful private eye who uses James Bond-like methods to solve her cases. The show, produced by Aaron Spelling, won Francis a Golden Globe. Francis was also a frequently featured guest-star on many of Me-TV's western and crime dramas. Saturday's tribute includes several of these classic TV appearances sandwiched in between four episodes of Honey West, these classic TV appearances are from Cannon, Rawhide, Gunsmoke and The Untouchables.
Ms. Francis will be deeply missed. She was a gifted actress. Ms. Francis was 80.

TV One has made some schedule changes for January 2011 that start today! Half & Half replaces The Hughleys on the weekday schedules in the 9am hour, as that series is now totally off the schedule. NY Undercover moves to 10am replacing original series encores. Another hour of The Jeffersons is added in the 2pm hour replacing an hour of Judge Karen's Court. In the 3pm hour, Sanford & Son now doubles up in the hour as Between Brothers is removed at 3:30pm. Judge Karen's Court moves to the 4pm hour replacing NY Undercover, while another hour of Amen now airs in the 5pm hour replacing Half & Half, which now moves to 6pm replacing the evening airings of Judge Karen's Court. The evening/late night schedule remains as is with popular series Good Times, Martin, A Different World, and Living Single from 7pm until 3am.
The Saturday morning schedule will change a bit come this Saturday (Jan. 8) as well. Like Family remains in the 6am hour, but the 7am hour will now be Half & Half, replacing All Of Us. Then from 8am-10am, an hour each of The PJs and Martin will remain, but the 10am hour will have Sanford & Son instead of Good Times, which moves to the 11am hour replacing That's My Mama! which is now off the schedule.
TV One launches the second season of their original sitcom Love That Girl on Monday, Jan. 10, airing Mondays at 9pm for 26 all-new episodes. The series' first season of four episodes will re-air this week (Jan. 4-7) from Tues-Fri at 9pm. A Martin marathon from 12pm-9pm will be the lead-in to the season premiere at 9pm on Jan. 10. Tatyana Ali stars as Tyana Jones in Love That Girl! Tyana is a recent young divorcee returning to Southern California in search of new independence, a new career and a brand new chapter in her life. The series will air in a block on Mondays from 9-11pm.
Besides the Martin stunt on Jan. 10, there will be plenty of other sitcom stunts in January! On Saturday, January 8, it's a Living Single marathon from 12pm-8pm with an encore from 10am-5:30am. On Sunday, Jan. 9, it's a multiple episode marathon of two or three or even four-part episodes of Martin and Good Times from 10:30pm-5:30am in late night. On Sunday, Jan. 30, from 12pm-7pm we have another marathon of Martin that focuses on love leading into an encore block of Love That Girl.
Stay tuned for TV One's February 2011 highlights in the next week few weeks as they celebrate Black History month with classics again like The Flip Wilson Show and The Richard Pryor Show!

We previously told you that Syfy will have a marathon of The Green Hornet on Tuesday, Jan. 10 of all 26 episodes, and that is still happening, but now over-the-air digital network Me-TV has also added a marathon! Me-TV Network will air the marathon a day after the new film premieres at the box office on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011. The marathon will have all 26 episodes as well airing from 11am-12am. As of now, the national Me-TV Network is available in Chicago, Milwaukee, and South Bend. More affiliates will be on the way, but as of this writing, we are not sure if any more will be added by the time this marathon airs. We will let you know of any affiliate updates for Me-TV as soon as we get them!

We're a bit late for TV One December 2010, but we are technically still on time since December doesn't start until tomorrow. There are no changes to the regular schedule, but we have plenty of sitcom stunts! On Saturday, December 11 from 1pm-8pm, TV One presents a marathon of your favorite TV One sitcoms featuring Christmas themed storylines on Martin, All of Us, A Different World, Living Single, and The Tracy Morgan Show. Encores of Martin and A Different World will air later that night from 2am-6am. Some of these episodes will reair also on Sunday, Dec. 19 from 4pm-8pm.
The following week on Saturday, December 18 from 12pm-8pm, we get more sitcom Christmas episodes, this time of classic series! Featured on this marathon are Good Times, Amen, The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, The Hughleys and The PJs. Select encores air later that night from 3am-6am.
Beginning on Monday, December 20 and continuing through Friday, December 24, TV One airs Christmas comedy marathons from 9pm-11pm each night in primetime with a different TV One sitcom to keep viewers in the holiday spirit, including Martin on Monday, Good Times on Tuesday, A Different World on Wednesday, All of Us on Thursday and Amen on Friday. The block will encore from 12am-2am also. And if that's not enough holiday episodes for you, every weeknight that week in the 7pm hour will also be holiday episodes instead of the regular Good Times hour. On Monday it will be Tracy Morgan Show/Sanford & Son, on Tuesday it will be The PJs, on Wednesday it will be Living Single, on Thurdsay it will be Half & Half/The Jeffersons, and on Friday it will be more holiday episodes of The Jeffersons. We also get holiday episodes of The Jeffersons and The Hughleys on that Friday (Dec. 24) from 3am-6am.
On Christmas Day (Saturday, Dec. 25), TV One gives us a FULL day worth of sitcom Christmas episodes beginning at 8am through 8pm! We get multiple episodes of Amen, The Jeffersons, All of Us, Living Single, Good Times, A Different World, Martin, and the only Sanford & Son Christmas episode. We get encores of Living Single and A Different World later that night from 3am-6am.
As TV One gets ready for a second season of their original sitcom Love that Girl, you can watch all four first episodes on Sunday, Dec. 26 from 10pm-12am, with an encore from 1am-3am. The series returns with 26 more episodes in early 2011, as we mentioned.
Finally, on Saturday, January 1 beginning at 6am, TV One rings in the new year with a 24-hour laugh fest, airing a "Martin: New Years Day Mega-thon" featuring episodes focusing on the relationship between Martin Payne and his lady love Gina Waters.

TV Land announced that it has given cast-contingent greenlights to two new sitcom pilots, Happily Divorced written by Fran Drescher (The Nanny) and Peter Marc Jacobsen (The Nanny, What I Like About You), and Rip City written by Terri Minsky (Less Than Perfect, Lizzy McGuire) and executive produced by Michael Hanel (Rita Rocks, Retired at 35) and Mindy Schultheis (Reba, Retired at 35). These join the previously announced Ex Men on the network's list of sitcom pilots. These pilot orders represent TV Land's push to continue to expand its role in the original sitcom landscape. The network's first original sitcom, the critically acclaimed Hot in Cleveland, is cable's #1 sitcom and it returns for its second season on Wednesday, January 19, 2010 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will be followed by the premiere of TV Land's second original sitcom, Retired at 35, starring George Segal and Jessica Walter at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.
Based on Fran Drescher's real life, Happily Divorced centers around how Drescher deals with dating after finding out her husband is gay. The show focuses on how she juggles her relationship with her current boyfriend and ex-husband post-divorce.
Rip City is a multi-camera office comedy which takes place at Rip City Cola, a regional beverage manufacturer and distributor. When a young, Ivy League-educated female takes over as the boss, the entire office, particularly a confident man in his 50s, is shaken and unsure of what happens next.
The network previously announced the comedy pilot Ex Men by former Frasier executive producer Mark Reisman. The pilot revolves around 3 divorced men who live in an apartment building together where the landlord is a smart and sexy divorce attorney.
None of these sitcom pilots have been picked-up to series yet, if and when they do, we will let you know. There is still a long way to go for all three. First, the casting needs to be done. Then the pilot will be taped and after that TV Land will decide which will make it on the air with Hot in Cleveland and Retired at 35. So stay with us!

In January 2010, TV One aired four episodes of a new comedy called Love That Girl for a "test run," as we previously mentioned. Now it's back as TV One has ordered its first scripted series. Bent Outta Shape Productions/Hazrah Entertainment will reprise the show. TV One has ordered a full season of 26 episodes (13 have already been produced, reports B&C). The series, from Bentley Kyle Evans (Martin, The Jamie Foxx Show), is targeted for a first-quarter 2011 return. The series stars Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, TV One Access) as a divorcee who returns home to Southern California to make a fresh start at life and a career, but one complicated by the arrival of her stand-up comedian brother (Alphonso McAuley).
Martin Lawrence will continue to serve as executive producer as well as appear in the series! We will have more information, such as a premiere date, in the coming weeks...so stay with us! Lots of original sitcoms are airing these days on basic cable (MTV, TV Land, ABC Family, CMT, etc). We will have even more original sitcom news tomorrow! So come on back!

First it was Barbara Billingsley, now it's Tom Bosley. Tom Bosley was a warm and comforting presence on American TV sets for decades. Bosley, best known as the often flustered but always fatherly Howard Cunningham on Happy Days, died Tuesday (Oct. 19, 2010) in Palm Springs, CA. Bosley died suffering heart failure at a hospital and also had lung cancer.
Bosley earned a place as one of the most memorable dads in TV history as the hardware store owner, father to Richie (Ron Howard) and Joanie Cunningham (Erin Moran) and landlord to Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler) on the long-running sitcom. He played well with his TV wife Marion Ross as well. The sitcom was set in the '50s/60s but aired on ABC from 1974-1984. The series became the #1 show on television by its third season.
Angela Lansbury played Bosley's unfaithful wife in the 1964 Peter Sellers film The World of Henry Orient. Then decades later, from 1984 to 1988, Bosley played a recurring role in Lansbury's long-running TV series, Murder, She Wrote, as folksy Sheriff Amos Tupper. Bosley also played the crime-solving priest in television's The Father Dowling Mysteries, which ran from 1989 to 1991 on ABC.
But it was his fame from Happy Days that lead him to serve as a pitchman for GLAD trash bags along with other products on commercials. Among his many appearances on other TV series include Diagnosis: Unknown, The Law and Mr. Jones, Car 54 Where Are You, Route 66, Ben Casey, The Defenders, The F.B.I., Get Smart, The Virginian, The Mod Squad, Bonanza, Marcus Welby MD, The Bill Cosby Show, Night Gallery, Bewitched, Mission: Impossible, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, The New Temperatures Rising Show, Medical Center, Maude, The Paul Lynde Show, Love American Style, McMillan & Wife, The Love Boat, Streets of San Francisco, Joanie Loves Chachi, Finders of Lost Love, Hotel, Out of this World, Burke's Law, The Drew Carey Show, Boy Meets World, Early Edition, Walker Texas Ranger, ER, Family Law, Touched by an Angel, It's All Relative, Still Standing, One Tree Hill, Family Guy, That '70s Show, and more. He was also a regular on the short lived 1969-70 CBS comedy The Debbie Reynolds Show and the 1972 CBS sitcom The Sandy Duncan Show. He then voiced the character of Harry Boyle on the animated comedy Wait Till Your Father Gets Home from 1972-74 and after that of course came Happy Days. There were a few Happy Days reunion retrospectives as well. Happy Days Reunion Special in 1992 and Happy Days: 30th Anniversary Reunion in 2005, which both aired on ABC.
Tom will be DEEPLY missed. As far as on-air tributes on television, so far there are no marathons planned. But you can watch Happy Days Mon-Thurs on The Hub at 10pm & 10:30pm ET. If they, or any other network, do a marathon, we will let you know. Also, in memory of Tom Bosley, Bio TV will air the Happy Days 30th Anniversary Reunion Special from 2005 on Friday, Oct. 22 at 8AM & 2PM ET/PT. He just celebrated his 83rd birthday on October 1, so Tom was 83.