SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

CBS announced its midseason schedule for 2020 and among them are the series premieres of two new dramas, FBI: Most Wanted and Tommy; the debuts of the milestone 40th season of Survivor and the 15th and final season of Criminal Minds; and the return of MacGyver and Undercover Boss. From Emmy Award winner Dick Wolf and the team behind FBI and the Law & Order franchise, FBI: Most Wanted will premiere Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT. FBI: Most Wanted stars Julian McMahon in a high-stakes drama that focuses on the Fugitive Task Force, which relentlessly tracks and captures the notorious criminals on the Bureau's Most Wanted list. NCIS: New Orleans will move to Sundays at 10:00 PM, ET/PT beginning Feb. 16, forming a strong two-hour NCIS block, with NCIS: Los Angeles at 9:00PM, ET/PT.

Tommy, starring multiple Emmy Award winner Edie Falco, will debut Thursday, Feb. 6 at 10:00PM, ET/PT, after Evil completes its 13-episode first season order. As previously announced, Evil will return for its second season in 2020-2021. The milestone 40th season and 20th year of the Emmy Award-winning, ground-breaking series Survivor debuts with a special two-hour episode Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 8:00-10:00 PM, hosted by Jeff Probst. It moves to its regular Wednesday at 8:00PM, ET/PT time period on Feb. 19. Criminal Minds begins its 15th and final season Wednesday, Jan. 8 from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT with a special two-hour episode. It moves to its regular Wednesday at 9:00PM, ET/PT time period on Jan. 15. Seal Team will return with a special two-hour episode Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT, following the two-hour series finale of Criminal Minds on Feb. 19 from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT.

MacGyver, a reimagining of the classic series starring Lucas Till in the title role, returns for its fourth season Friday, Feb. 7 at 8:00PM, ET/PT. The same night, Hawaii Five-0 moves to its new time period at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. Magnum P.I. will return in the spring after MacGyver concludes its season run. The ninth season of the Emmy Award-winning alternative series Undercover Boss premieres Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 8:00PM ET/PT, and will air in the time slot until the season premiere of Survivor on Feb. 12.

E! announced that the network will serve fresh new episodes of its long-running, legendary franchise, The Soup, hosted by comedian and actress Jade Catta-Preta. Premiering in early 2020, the evolved and supercharged series will feature Catta-Preta's irreverent sense of humor and sharp point-of-view on the entertainment world. From the hottest new series, to the latest O-M-G reality tv moments, to the best viral videos, plus everything in between, Catta-Preta is a "souper" fan who will catch viewers up on what they've missed and offer hilarious commentary on the most talked about pop culture moments.

Jade Catta-Preta is a Brazilian-born comic and actress working in Los Angeles, New York and Brazil. She performs at comedy clubs all over the country both in English and Portuguese. Her credits include MTV's Girl Code and Punk'd, Comedy Central's @Midnight and guest roles on Modern Family and The Jim Gaffigan Show. Premiering in 1991 as Talk Soup, the show launched the careers of hosts Greg Kinnear (Talk Soup host 1991-1995), John Henson (Talk Soup host 1995-1999), Hal Sparks (Talk Soup host 1999-2000) and Aisha Tyler (Talk Soup host 2001-2002). Re-launched as The Soup in 2004 with host Joel McHale, the series solidified its place in the pop culture zeitgeist as a take-no-prisoners comedy series with a total of 3329 episodes to date.

CBS has announced their premiere week dates. CBS opens with the special season premieres of The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon from 8:00-9:00 PM, leading into the series premiere of new drama Magnum P.I. at 9:00 PM, on Monday, Sept. 24 and then Bull at 10pm. Dick Wolf's FBI is sandwiched between NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans on Tuesday, Sept. 25. Survivor's 90-minute opener airs Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 8:00 PM, followed by the 90-minute season finale of Big Brother at 9:30 PM. Murphy Brown Debuts Thursday, Sept. 27 at 9:30 PM, after Big Bang, Young Sheldon and Mom, and the season premiere of S.W.A.T. airs at 10pm. The Friday dramas all return on Friday, Sept. 28 with MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods. Saturday, Sept. 29 has 48 Hours Mystery with its premiere from 9-11pm. On Sunday, Sept. 30, new drama God Friended Me launches at 8:30 PM, followed by the season premiere of NCIS: Los Angeles at 9:30 PM.

Monday's new one-hour comedy block begins Oct. 1 with the series debuts of The Neighborhood and Happy Together from 8:00-9:00 PM. SEAL Team and Criminal Minds begin 9-11pm on Wednesday, Oct. 3. And Madam Secretary begins Sunday, Oct. 7 at 10pm following the time period debuts of God Friended Me and NCIS: Los Angeles.

Freeform doubled down on their promise to make the holiday season bigger than ever by announcing casting for two original holiday movies today. Actors Francia Raisa (grown-ish), Charles Michael Davis (Younger), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha), Gavin Stenhouse (Allegiance), Shanica Knowles (The Young & the Restless), Alphonso McAuley (The Middle), Hank Chen (The New 30) and Alison Fernandez (Once Upon a Time), as well as the previously announced Dave Annable (Yellowstone) and Odette Annable (Supergirl), have all been cast to star in holiday films airing during Freeform's "25 Days of Christmas" annual programming event. Both projects will start production this month.

Announced earlier this morning by Tyra Banks on her Instagram account, the cast of Life Size 2 has been confirmed. Francia Raisa will play Grace Manning, the confident and funny CEO of Marathon Toys, a huge toy company started by her mother that is most famous for manufacturing the iconic Eve doll. Grace is also a hot mess in the middle of her quarter-life crisis and realizing that she is in over her head as CEO. To make matters worse, her wild-child ways are causing the company's stock to plummet. Joining Raisa and Banks are Gavin Stenhouse as Grace's potential love interest Calum; Shanica Knowles as Tahlia and Hank Chen as Brendan, who are Grace's best friends; along with Alison Fernandez as Lex, Grace's young next-door neighbor.

Dave and Odette Annable will star in No Sleep 'Til Christmas, an unexpected and whimsical holiday romantic comedy about two insomniac strangers plagued by exhaustion. Lizzie (Odette Annable) is a high-end event planner preparing for her own life's biggest event - her wedding. She lies awake nightly while her devoted fiancé Josh (Charles Michael Davis) rests peacefully, unaware of how to solve her issue. When a sleep-deprived incident causes her to run into Billy (Dave Annable), a low-key bartender who is just as sleepless and frustrated as she is, they discover that they can only fall asleep while next to each other. What seems like an odd coincidence, and frankly a disruption to their lives, might be more meaningful than they'd like to admit. Sheryl Lee Ralph also stars as Josh's mother Mrs. Wright with Alphonso McAuley as Andy, Billy's best friend.

CBS announced the renewals of 11 more primetime series for the 2018-2019 season. Combined with previously announced pickups, CBS has now renewed 17 series for next year, including its entire Tuesday and Friday night lineups. New picks-up are: Blue Bloods, Bull, Hawaii Five-0, Madam Secretary, MacGyver, NCIS: LA, NCIS: New Orleans, Survivor, The Amazing Race, 48 Hours and 60 Minutes. They join the previous pick-ups of The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Mom, NCIS, Seal Team and S.W.A.T. The fate of some series are still up in the air, including Superior Donuts, Scorpion, 9JKL, Kevin Cain Wait, Life in Pieces, and more.

BET Networks announced its upcoming 2018-2019 fiscal year programming slate. Now, more than ever, black culture is powering every area of mainstream from politics and social media to music and fashion. As the #1 Cable Network for African American viewers 18-49 for 17 consecutive years, BET is omnipresent in its influence of all aspects of pop culture with new original series, featuring some of Hollywood's biggest stars and influencers, both in front and behind the camera. From Dwayne Johnson, T.I., Will Packer, En Vogue, SWV, Salt, Pepa, Spinderella, Swizz Beatz, Tracey Edmonds and more, BET is raising the bar on premium programming content and will deliver 21% more original programming than last year. From engaging new provocative series, to culture-defining moments, BET continues to entertain, empower and engage its audiences.

BET and Paramount Television are partnering to reboot the 1992 American romantic comedy film Boomerang as a half-hour comedy, in which a successful executive finds that his lifestyle choices have turned back on him when his new boss turns out to be a bigger deviant than he is. This updated version explores contemporary workplace dynamics, including the changing role of gender, office politics, relationships, and the conflicts between Generation X and Millennials. 10 episodes have been ordered. And one more comedy is coming, too...Peachtree Place follows five 30-something year olds living in Atlanta as they try to build professional and personal lives they can be proud of, but find that being a real adult is easier said than done. Unresolved feelings from college are uncovered and secrets revealed, forcing these friends to finally deal with uncomfortable truths about love, sex and reluctantly, growing up. Peachtree Place is executive produced by Will Packer and co-executive produced by Sheila Duckworth and Felischa Marye, who also serves as a writer on the series. 10 episodes have been ordered for this, too.

Splitting Up Together - Tuesdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 9:30PM ET/PT

by Vincent

Lena and Martin were once madly in love. But, like many marriages, time and circumstance eventually took their toll and the romance disappeared. Finding themselves in a platonic marriage and acting more like a pair of camp counselors wrangling their kids than a couple hopelessly in love, they decide that everyone's lives would be better served if they got a divorce. Still wanting the best for their three kids and facing a daunting real estate market, the couple decides to "Bird Nest" instead. One parent will live in the house as the "on-duty" parent taking care of the kids, while the "off-duty" parent will live in the detached garage, doing whatever he or she pleases while switching off every other week. Could being apart ultimately lead to them getting back together?

Cast Details:

Jenna Fischer as Lena
Oliver Hudson as Martin
Bobby Lee as Arthur
Diane Farr as Maya
Lindsay Price as Camille

Jenna Fischer (Lena) is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the long-running NBC sitcom The Office. She has also appeared in films such as Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Hall Pass.

Oliver Hudson (Martin) is an actor known for his role on the TV series Scream Queens, Nashville, and the long-running sitcom Rules of Engagement. He is also the brother of actress Kate Hudson and son of Goldie Hawn.

Bobby Lee (Arthur) is a comedian and actor known for his long-running stint on the sketch comedy series MADtv, and for his role in films such as Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Pineapple Express and The Dictator.

Diane Farr (Maya) is an actress best known for her roles in the hit shows NUMB3RS and Rescue Me, as well as guest appearances on series such as Modern Family, Private Practice and CSI.

Lindsay Price (Camille) is an American actress previously known for her roles on soap operas, from daytime soaps such as All My Children and The Bold and the Beautiful to the primetime soaps such as Beverly Hills 90210, Lipstick Jungle and Eastwick.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (Airs Tuesday, March 27 at 9:30PM ET)

After breaking the news to their friends and family about their divorce, Lena has to deal with her son Mason's growing pains. Meanwhile, Martin, still feeling guilty about refusing to dance with Lena at their wedding, secretly tries to atone for his oversight and surprise his ex-wife with new moves.

Analysis:

The most interesting thing about Splitting Up Together is the creators behind it. The show was created and is executive produced by Emily Kapnek, and also has Ellen DeGeneres credited as an executive producer. Kapnek previously created cult favorite ABC sitcoms Suburgatory and Selfie. Suburgatory started off as a promising hit with lots of positive buzz (and ratings), but gradually faded and was quietly canceled after its third season. Selfie only lasted for half of a season, but it garnered a following in that short time and remains a popular brilliant but cancelled: cult hit. What's notable about both shows, though, is that they were able to garner followings based on their lovable, quirky characters and gradual yet effective warmth and ability to tug on the heartstrings. Both shows had big concepts (in the case of Suburgatory a suburban satire, in the case of Selfie a shallow millennial woman learning how to care about people), but quietly deconstructed those concepts to reveal the true human beings behind them. Splitting Up Together has a similarly big concept, and in these early episodes for review, it shows potential of moving past it and revealing the depths of its characters - but it doesn't quite get there yet.

Splitting Up Together's pilot episode is a little boring, frankly - it gets a lot of plot out of the way and is light on jokes, but clearly has the entire cast putting in their all. And the cast is very game for whatever comes their way, particularly Jenna Fischer, whose first major sitcom role since The Office finds her a lovable anchor of the series. Future episodes begin to allow her to have a little more fun, and as expected, she handles it with aplomb. If I have one major concern with the series, it's that these early episodes are clearly laying a path to get its central couple back together, and the show is far more interesting examining why their marriage doesn't work than when it's suggesting that they should get back together. It would be incredibly generic and predictable for this to turn into another "will they/won't they" series, and I hope the glimmers of something more interesting is the direction the series goes down in the future.

Final Thoughts:

Splitting Up Together has an excellent cast and team of creators behind it, and there is potential for it to live up to the name of those involved in its early episodes, even if much of the show's early goings are a bit bland and predictable. Hopefully, the show will follow Emily Kapnek's former ABC sitcoms and begin leaning into its more interesting, character-building side and utilize all of its talent to their best of their abilities.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

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

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 9:30PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

A.P. Bio Photo Gallery

Preview:

CBS has announced season finale dates for its primetime comedies, drama and unscripted series for spring 2018. See below!

Monday, April 16
10:00-11:00 PM SCORPION (4th Season Finale)

Wednesday, April 18
9:00-11:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS (2-Hour 13th Season Finale)

Friday, May 4
8:00-9:00 PM MACGYVER (2nd Season Finale)

Monday, May 7
8:00-8:30 PM KEVIN CAN WAIT (2nd Season Finale)

Tuesday, May 8
9:00-10:00 PM BULL (2nd Season Finale)

Thursday, May 10
8:00-8:30 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY (11th Season Finale)
8:30-9:00 PM YOUNG SHELDON (1st Season Finale)
9:00-10:00 PM MOM (1-Hour 5th Season Finale)

Friday, May 11
10:00-11:00 PM BLUE BLOODS (8th Season Finale)

Monday, May 14
9:00-9:30 PM SUPERIOR DONUTS (2nd Season Finale)

Tuesday, May 15
9:00-11:00 PM NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (2-Hour 4th Season Finale)

Wednesday, May 16
9:00-10:00 PM SEAL TEAM (1st Season Finale)

Thursday, May 17
9:00-10:00 PM LIFE IN PIECES (1-Hour 3rd Season Finale)
10:00-11:00 PM S.W.A.T. (1st Season Finale)

Friday, May 18
9:00-10:00 PM HAWAII FIVE-0 (8th Season Finale)

Sunday, May 20
8:00-10:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES (2-Hour 9th Season Finale)
10:00-11:00 PM MADAM SECRETARY (4th Season Finale)

Monday, May 21
8:30-9:00 PM MAN WITH A PLAN (2nd Season Finale)
9:30-10:00 PM LIVING BIBLICALLY (1st Season Finale)

Tuesday, May 22
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS (15th Season Finale)

Wednesday, May 23
8:00-10:00 PM SURVIVOR (36th Season Finale)
10:00-11:00 PM SURVIVOR LIVE REUNION SHOW

We told you that MacGyver is coming on Dec. 19, but now we have the full MeTV Winter 2017 schedule that begins in January. From the return of one of television's most iconic series to brand-new action and adventure, criminal investigations and even supernatural situations, the MeTV winter 2017 schedule — starting Monday, January 2, 2017 — promises to thaw out those wintertime blues. All he needs is his Swiss Army knife, a roll of duct tape and maybe a paperclip or two. Angus MacGyver brings his bad-guy-busting ingenuity to our schedule twice every weekday. And Mac joins the schedule early: Starting December 19, catch MacGyver weekdays at 5PM | 4C and weeknights at 9PM | 8C. Gee Whiz! One of television's most iconic series returns and moved to MeTV - Leave It to Beaver comes to weekdays at 8AM | 7C and 8:30AM | 7:30C. The hunks of the California Highway Patrol are cruising back into action on CHiPs. And like MacGyver, Ponch and Jon join the schedule early: Starting December 19, watch the motorcycle-riding officers keep law and order in sunny Los Angeles weekdays at 4PM | 3C.

The original, 30-minute episodes of Gunsmoke return, weekdays at 1PM | 12C & 1:30PM | 12:30C. These black-and-white episodes, which originally ran from 1955 to 1961, compose the series' first six seasons. Also, a fresh batch of Columbo movies comes to Sunday nights at 8PM | 7C. See Peter Falk as the sleuth during his ABC years, which comprises made-for-TV movies produced between 1989 and 2003. He may not be a gunslinger, but he's unstoppable in a fistfight. James Garner stars as Bret Maverick, an Old West anti-hero who's a good guy at heart. Tune in for Maverick on Saturdays at 10AM | 9C. Late night crime doesn't stand a chance — Mannix, Ironside and 77 Sunset Strip slap the cuffs on criminals weeknights starting at 2AM | 1C. And finally, Carl Kolchak investigates the bizarre and supernatural Sunday nights at 10PM | 9C. See the intrepid newspaper man face off against a myriad of monsters on Kolchak: The Night Stalker.




The special premiere of new comedy The Mick will air Sunday, Jan. 1 in all time zones immediately following NFL doubleheader game coverage and The OT, at 8:00 PM ET and 5:00 PM PT, on Fox. The episode then will encore that same night in the Pacific time zone at 8:00 PM and the Mountain time zone at 7:00 PM. The series will make its time period premiere with an all-new episode Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 8:31 PM ET/PT. The Mick is a comedy about an unapologetic degenerate (Kaitlin Olson, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) who suddenly finds herself stuck raising her spoiled niece and nephews (Sofia Black-D'Elia, Thomas Barbusca, Jack Stanton) in affluent Greenwich, CT. It's pretty much everything she never wanted. Regardless, she's determined to rise to the occasion and transform these little monsters into honest, hard-working, decent members of society - something she knows absolutely nothing about. The series also stars Carla Jimenez and Scott MacArthur.

We hinted in our A Very Merry MeTV Holiday schedule that MacGyver is coming to The MeTV Network, now we have some more details. First up, that holiday episode will air Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2pm. Then, MacGyver will make his way inside the regular MeTV schedule starting Monday, Dec. 19 at 5:00pm & 9:00pm. The series will air each weeknight at 5pm and in primetime at 9pm. MacGyver currently also airs on cable on Esquire TV on Wednesdays from 12-8pm and also weekdays on Cloo. The show follows secret agent Angus MacGyver, played by Richard Dean Anderson, who works as a troubleshooter for the fictional Phoenix Foundation in Los Angeles and as an agent for a fictional United States government agency, the Department of External Services (DXS). MacGyver originally aired on ABC for seven seasons from 1985-1992. The series is owned by CBS Television Distribution and of course as you all know CBS has started a new MacGyver series on Friday nights on CBS.

Pull up a chair for more food, fun and friends on the new season of Cooking Channel's Dinner at Tiffani's, as Tiffani Thiessen entertains family, former castmates, and star-studded guests for intimate dinner parties. From mouthwatering Mediterranean meals to French feasts, and from classics dishes with a modern twist to backyard BBQs, Tiffani showcases her culinary skills for preparing crowd-pleasing meals, and her talents for throwing effortless get-togethers. Don't forget to RSVP for more delicious dishes, entertaining stories, and laughs that fill the ten new episodes, beginning on Sunday, January 8, 2017 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Special guests for this third season of 10 episodes include Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay, Bree Turner and Marla Sokoloff, French Stewart, Nicole Sullivan and Nate Berkus, Sara Rue and Ross Mathews, Ethan Embry, Sunny Mabrey and Ashley Williams, Marguerite Moreau and Chris Redman, Bill Bellamy and Eric Close, Daisy Fuentes, Constance Marie and Cynthia Watros, and finally Tim Meadows and Missi Pyle.

Celebrate the holiday season with a stocking full of TV treats as MeTV wishes everyone "A Very Merry MeTV." The family television event will feature a collection of holiday-themed TV classics that bring home the gift of timeless and festive comedies, westerns and dramas. "A Very Merry MeTV" also includes a special holiday episode of the original MacGyver, which will join MeTV's weekday schedule in December. "A Very Merry MeTV will air on MeTV Sunday afternoons from 2:00 to 5:00 pm ET/PT, beginning Sunday, November 27, and continuing through Christmas, Sunday, December 25. Everyone is invited to celebrate the holidays with these merry and memorable MeTV programs and episodes.

This special event will present series that are familiar to the MeTV audience, as well as shows not currently on their schedule. Families and fans can enjoy offerings from such current MeTV series as The Brady Bunch, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Happy Days, Gilligan's Island, Mister Ed, The Love Boat and Laverne & Shirley. Newer series specially presented in "A Very Merry MeTV" include MacGyver, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Touched By An Angel, and Family. It's going to be four very Merry MeTV Sundays beginning Nov. 27! Tune in!

The CW has set its midseason schedule, including the series premiere of the highly-anticipated new drama Riverdale, and the returns of The 100, Reign, The Originals and iZombie. In addition, DC's Legends of Tomorrow moves to its new night on Tuesday, January 24 at 9:00pm ET/PT, paired with The CW's #1 series The Flash. On Thursday, January 26, Supernatural returns from its winter hiatus at its new time at 8:00pm ET/PT, followed by the series debut of The CW's new drama Riverdale at 9:00pm ET/PT, a surprising and subversive take based on the iconic characters from Archie Comics. The 100 is back Wednesday, February 1 at 9:00pm ET/PT, paired with Arrow at 8. Reign returns for its fourth season Friday, February 10 at 9:00pm ET/PT. With The Vampire Diaries concluding after eight seasons on Friday, March 10, The Originals will return on Friday, March 17 at 8:00pm ET/PT.

The season finale of DC's Legends of Tomorrow is set for Tuesday, March 28, and iZombie will make its season three debut with back-to-back new episodes on Tuesday, April 4 at 8:00pm and 9:00pm ET/PT, before moving to its regularly scheduled time period after The Flash on April 11. The season finale of No Tomorrow will air Tuesday, January 17 at 9:00pm ET, with the season finale of Frequency set for the following week Wednesday, January 25 at 9:00pm ET/PT. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend wraps up its second season run on Friday, February 3 at 9:00pm ET/PT.

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we have news coming out of Comic Con, an announcement of a popular 90s sitcom finally arriving on DVD for the first time ever, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• Warner Archive announced a surprise release this week, of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper - The Complete First Season. The release is set to arrive on August 2.

TUESDAY (JULY 26) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

• Family Matters - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD, $29.99): Get ready to join the Winslows and Urkel for some more family fun in the seventh season of this series, available from Warner Archive.

Who to Follow: Dawnn Lewis (Twitter), "Award winning Songwriter, Singer, Actress, Producer, Philanthropist & Continually Blessed By God!"

Claim to Fame: With the announced release of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper on DVD, we are featuring one of the stars of that series for our Follow Me this week. Dawnn Lewis only appeared on the first season of the series, and was not part of the series as it was retooled for the second season. That was hardly her only sitcom credit, though. She also appeared in the first five seasons of A Different World. In recent years, she has continued to do roles in all genres of television and on stage, including Days of Our Lives, Doc McStuffins, The Boondocks, One Tree Hill, and more.

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This is that time of the year (specifically this week) where just about all of the news is about what has been cancelled, what has been renewed, and what new series we'll be seeing in the fall, so not surprisingly, most of our news this week relates to these issues. But we also have a few other things, including the passing of more sitcom stars and the retirement of a 60 Minutes correspondent. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

TUESDAY (MAY 17) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

• The Facts of Life - The Final (Ninth) Season (DVD, $29.93): For those interested in having all of the "facts" on DVD, Shout! Factory wraps up the individual season releases with this release.

Who to Follow: Greg Evigan (Twitter), "Actor, writer, producer, director, singer"

Claim to Fame: We've spent the past two weeks doing Mad About You stars as our Follow Me, and as we often do, we're using last week to pivot into this week with Paul Reiser's co-star from his earlier series My Two Dads: Greg Evigan. While Evigan may be known to (slightly) younger people from his role on that short-lived (but memorable) series, his bigger claim to fame came a decade earlier in another short-lived (but very memorable) series, BJ and the Bear. After My Two Dads, he had another role on yet another short-lived (but memorable) series, TekWar. He has never been on a series that has lasted more than three seasons, but despite that, the series that he has appeared on have been memorable ones. He still does some acting these days, most recently appearing in a Hallmark Channel film with his own daughter Briana Evigan, Once Upon a Holiday. He also has another acting daughter, Vanessa Evigan, with whom he is also appearing in movie roles.

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we have news of Fox getting back into the Saturday night sketch comedy series for the first time since 2009, a pair of MacGyver reboots, several new releases from Shout! Factory that aren't just re-releases in any manner, and much more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• Shout! Factory made a very surprising announcement this week, by announcing that they will be releasing Cop Rock on DVD. Cop Rock - The Complete Series is due to arrive on May 17.
• That wasn't the only surprise announcement this week. The other surprise announcement from Shout! Factory this week was the spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant. Lou Grant - The Complete First Season will arrive on May 3.
• Finally, Shout! has announced one other release that is much less of a surprise (but it is a continuation of a series that hasn't seen a release in a while), with Newhart - The Complete Fifth Season on May 10.

TUESDAY (FEBRUARY 9) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

• The Carol Burnett Show - Treasures From the Vault (DVD, $59.95): Available as a retail release for the first time, this six disc set brings 15 classic episodes from the earlier years of The Carol Burnett Show to DVD. Also available (with fewer episodes) in a three disc and single disc configuration.

Who to Follow: Janet Hubert (Facebook), "BLACKTRESS, inside my mind are the many characters that I created. Life is too short, open your door and let the breeze blow through. Parody can be fun!"

Claim to Fame: Janet Hubert, or as she refers to herself on social media, Blacktress Janet Hubert, first appeared on TV in 1988 on an episode of 21 Jump Street, and made other small appearances here and there before landing her first major role as Vivian Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Unfortunately, that was not a very long-lived role, as she ended up leaving that role following a contract dispute, and another actress replaced her.  Since then, she has had several guest starring and recurring roles on various series. In recent weeks, though, her social media page has garnered more attention as her disputes with Will Smith have resurfaced in relation to the racial diversity controversy regarding the upcoming Oscars, which you can read more about in this article from People. She is not, in any way, afraid to run away from controversy. In any event, for those who want to interact with her on social media, she does sometimes personally respond... but if you are disrespectful to her, she will respond accordingly. These days, she seems to be preparing to appear in a pilot for some sitcom, Ward of the State, which we can't seem to find anything else about online, so we don't know what the status of this is or really anything about it for that matter... but she has a preview of it on her Facebook page, and we would love to see it become a reality.

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! As the fall season has fully arrived now, everything is getting back to business as usual at the broadcast networks (of course, cable and streaming doesn't know the seasons), and this week, we've got news of yet another Tina Fey and Robert Carlock comedy project (this time at CBS though), a reboot of MacGyver, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• It looks as if Growing Pains - The Complete Sixth Season may be coming sooner than anticipated, with a release date of October 20 now showing.
• Another Warner Archive favorite, The Middle, is set to continue on DVD on October 27 with the release of The Middle - The Complete Fifth Season.
• Family Guy - Season Thirteen has been confirmed by Fox for a December 8 release.

Who to Follow: Ken Jeong (Twitter)

Claim to Fame: Ken Jeong used to be a doctor, and now he just plays one on television. He was born in Detroit in 1969, and in 1995, he received his MD. While he was completing his residency, he dabbled a bit in stand-up comedy, and moved to Los Angeles at the urging of former NBC president Brandon Tartikoff. At first, he continued his medical career, but his acting career soon began to take over. His first regular television role came with his role as Señor Ben Chang, the Spanish teacher, on the NBC comedy Community, and last night, his new ABC series Dr. Ken debuted.