SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

NBC has announced premiere dates for its burgeoning midseason schedule - dramas Allegiance, Night Shift, A.D. and Odyssey, event series The Slap, and comedies One Big Happy and Undateable. As previously announced, The Blacklist will return to the NBC schedule on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1, immediately following the game. The series then shifts to its new timeslot beginning Thursday, Feb. 5 at 9pm. The Blacklist will serve as a lead-in to the new spy thriller Allegiance from writer-director George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau). Allegiance will air Thursdays at 10pm also beginning Feb. 5. The eight-episode event series The Slap, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jon Robin Baitz and executive produced by the team of Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald (Gladiator, Men in Black) and director Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right), will air Thursdays at 8pm beginning Feb. 12. The series stars Peter Sarsgaard, Uma Thurman, Thandie Newton and Zachary Quinto.

Summer drama The Night Shift, returns to NBC on Monday, Feb. 23 at 10pm following the two-hour season premiere of The Voice. It looks like State of Affairs will wrap its season on Feb. 16. The Night Shift - about the courageous and irreverent men and women at San Antonio Memorial Hospital - stars Eoin Macken, Ken Leung, Jill Flint, Robert Bailey Jr., Jeananne Goossen, JR Lemon, Brendan Fehr and Freddy Rodriguez. Also moving from summer to midseason is the comedy Undateable, from executive producers Bill Lawrence, Adam Sztykiel and Jeff Ingold. The sitcom is about a group of friends who are close to finding a relationship but just need a little help - will begin its second season on Tuesday, March 17 at 9pm following The Voice. The series stars Chris D'Elia, Brent Morin, Ron Funches, Rick Glassman, David Fynn, Bianca Kajlich and Bridgit Mendler. NBC's new comedy One Big Happy - from writer Liz Feldman and executive producer Ellen DeGeneres - launches Tuesday, March 17 at 9:30pm, immediately following Undateable. The sitcom stars Elisha Cuthbert. Marry Me and About a Boy will return later in the season. And finally, on Easter Sunday, April 5, at 9 and 10 p.m., respectively, NBC will debut two of its highly anticipated dramas - 12-hour mini-series A.D. and action drama Odyssey.

FX Networks has ordered the comedy series pilot Atlanta created by and starring award-winning actor and writer Donald Glover (Community, 30 Rock). Glover serves as Executive Producer, along with Paul Simms (Girls, Flight of the Conchords, NewsRadio), and Dianne McGunigle of Schiff Company. The pilot will be produced by FX Productions. Atlanta revolves around two cousins on their way up through the Atlanta rap scene whose opposing views on art versus commerce, success and race will make their quest anything but easy. Glover will play "Earnest 'Earn' Marks," a college drop-out who reconnects with his long buried ambition and sets out to seize the life he imagined for himself when his estranged cousin becomes a sudden star.

Atlanta is the fourth comedy series pilot produced or ordered by FX Networks this year, adds to the growing roster of comedies series and projects that is unmatched by any network. FX is currently in production on the comedy series pilot Pariah, starring Bill Burr for Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton. In January FXX will launch Man Seeking Woman, starring Jay Baruchel from Simon Rich, Jonathan Krisel and Broadway Video, and in April FX will premiere The Comedians, starring Billy Crystal and Josh Gad, and next summer FX also launches Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, starring Denis Leary, Elizabeth Gillies and John Corbett. Earlier this year, FX ordered Baskets (2016), starring Zach Galifianakis from Galifianakis and Louis C.K. and directed by Jonathan Krisel, and the untitled Tracy Morgan project (TBD). Those new projects join the existing FX Networks comedy slate which includes Archer (FX), Louie (FX), Married (FX), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX), The League (FXX), and You're the Worst (FXX).

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we have an update for a new comedy in development at TruTV, updates on the final seasons of Parks & Recreation and Two and a Half Men, and news of a Maude complete series release. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• We mentioned last week that Mill Creek would be re-releasing Maude - The Complete First Season on February 3, but the bigger news is from Shout! Factory, as they will be releasing Maude - The Complete Series on March 17.
• Shout! is also bringing WKRP in Cincinnati to individual season releases, beginning with WKRP in Cincinnati - Season One and WKRP in Cincinnati - Season Two on March 17.
• Shout! will be wrapping up another series on March 10 with Quincy, M.E. - The Final Season.
• Warner Home Video released Batman - The Complete Television Series (DVD/Blu-ray) last month, but there were some minor issues with a few of the episodes. TVShowsOnDVD.com has information from the studio regarding a disc replacement program.

DECEMBER 9 HOME MEDIA RELEASES 

• Family Guy - Volume 13
• The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (DVD, $229.99): Fans of the classic series will finally get to "move on up" with this "deee-luxe set" from Shout! Factory.
• Mister Ed - The Complete Series (DVD, $139.99): The classic sitcom about a talking horse is completed on DVD with this release.
• Mork & Mindy - The Complete Series (DVD, $129.99): The classic Robin Williams sitcom is finally wrapped up on DVD with this release (also available is Mork & Mindy - The Fourth Season).

Who to Follow: Butch Patrick (Twitter) "Welcome to the New & Improved world of Butch. Life is great and I'll be sharing the fun times. Sober and moving along at light speed. ALL good thanks guys (:"

Claim to Fame: We're sort of continuing on a child sitcom stars theme again this week with Butch Patrick, who of course played Eddie Munster on The Munsters. But that wasn't the first place that he ever appeared on TV, as he had guest and recurring roles even before The Munsters on series including My Favorite Martian, General Hospital, and The Real McCoys. After The Munsters ended, he had more guest roles on series like I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, and My Three Sons. His next role was on the Saturday morning series, Lidsville. While he hasn't done a whole lot of acting (outside of playing himself or a version of Eddie Munster) since then, he is still out there to keep the memories of the classic series alive, and also serves as the webmaster of the official Munsters website at Munsters.com.

Pick of the Tweets: "Had a nice visit from my buddy Erin Murphy (: Catching up at Terror Con in R I .next week MadMonsterParty Phoenix !" (June 8, 2014)

Who's the Boss? is moving to Logo starting Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014. Viacom is moving the Tony Danza/Judith Light/Alyssa Milano sitcom from TV Land to Logo. TV Land was recently airing the series, but lately it was airing in the very early morning and now it is off the line-up. Logo will air the series in its trademark stack programming. There will be no set schedule, but you can catch the series everyday in a stack, so keep checking your listings for exact times and days. Who's the Boss? will start on Dec. 11 from 10am-2pm. Other sitcoms that are currently airing in stacks on Logo are Roseanne, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Living Single, The Golden Girls, Will & Grace and Designing Women. It looks like Apartment 23 and Happy Endings are currently not on the schedule, but could return soon. Who's the Boss? will get some longer stacks as well, such as on Sunday. Dec 21 from 10am-8pm. Stay with us for continued updates on Who's the Boss? and all things Logo TV.

In the first TV event of the new year, NBC is giving its landmark comedy Parks and Recreation a sendoff that will maximize the show's cultural impact. The seventh and final season of this critically-acclaimed and beloved series will begin Tuesday, Jan. 13 with back-to-back episodes from 8-9pm ET/PT and continue with back-to-back episodes each week until the hour-long series finale on Tuesday, Feb. 24 following The Voice at a special time from 10-11pm ET/PT. The return of the series, in fact, will be scheduled to premiere in the afterglow of the Jan. 11 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, co-hosted by Parks star Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. The first night of The Voice season premiere will be Monday, February 23 from 8:00-10:00pm ET/PT, and it will remain in that time period on Mondays through May 18. The Tuesday installment will remain in a two-hour format through March 10. Then on March 17, it will begin airing from 8:00-9:00pm ET/PT where it will remain through May 19. No word yet what will air at 9pm on Tuesdays beginning March 17. Marry Me will air at 9pm through Feb. 17 following the Parks and Recreation hour.

Starring Golden Globe winner Amy Poehler as a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Ind., Parks and Recreation has been Emmy Award nominated and is a winner of the Television Critics Assn. Award for best comedy, AFI Award, American Comedy Award and the highly prestigious Peabody Award. The series also stars Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Jim O'Heir and Retta.

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's another November week with light news, but we're here nonetheless with an update on what is going on with the network sitcoms, news about CHiPs (finally) continuing on DVD, and an update on the Mister Ed complete series DVD release. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• It looks like after a long hiatus, the series CHiPs will be continuing on DVD, with a release of CHiPs - The Complete Third Season on March 3. 
  
• Mister Ed - The Complete Series arrives on DVD on December 9, and as an added bonus, the set will included unedited versions of the first season.
• For fans of The Bob Newhart Show who didn't get the Shout! Factory release of the complete series, The Bob Newhart Show - Season Five and The Bob Newhart Show - The Final Season will both arrive on DVD on February 3.

RECENT REVIEWS ON SITCOMSONLINE.COM

• WKRP in Cincinnati - The Complete Series: Shout! Factory's release of this series is almost perfect and much improved from the season 1 release that Fox released several years ago. Most original music is included, but there are a few minor issues (though none that make the set less than worthy of owning).
• Highway to Heaven - The Complete Fifth Season: Mill Creek's final release of this series is consistent with most of their previous releases, giving fans a great series in a no-frills, low-priced set.

NOVEMBER 11 HOME MEDIA RELEASES 

• Batman - The Complete Television Series (DVD, $199.70; Blu-ray, $296.97): Once again, a series that was thought to never be possible on DVD arrives not only on DVD, but also on Blu-ray. The highly anticipated release, which is a collaborative release between Warner Home Video and 20th Century Fox, contains every episode of the series and plenty of special features, in multiple configurations. Also available for those who want the series in smaller doses is Batman - The Complete First Season.
• Dads - The Complete Series (DVD, $34.95): The short-lived Fox series arrives on DVD in a two disc set.
• Family Ties - The Complete Series (DVD, $89.98): The classic sitcom returns to DVD with a lower-priced complete series release (but without the special features included on the previous release).
• Taxi - The Complete Series (DVD, $79.98): The classic sitcom from the CBS library comes to DVD in a complete series configuration for the first time.
• Wings - The Complete Series (DVD, $69.98): Mill Creek takes flight as they bring all eight seasons of this classic series to DVD in a single release.

Who to Follow: Nick Offerman (Twitter), "actor-woodworker-husband"

Claim to Fame: As described, Nick Offerman is an "actor-woodworker-husband." As an actor, he first appeared on TV in an episode of ER in 1997 and episodes of other series, but he is best known these days for his role of Ron Swanson on the series Parks and Recreation. Oddly enough, his character does some woodwork on there... as does Offerman in real life. And he is husband to actress Megan Mullally, who also plays his ex-wife Tammy #2 on Parks and Recreation.

Pick of the Tweets: "A friend came to visit Ron Swanson today. Wouldn't leave me. L'il Sebastian is that you? #ParksandRec #5000candles https://twitter.com/Nick_Offerman/status/522220838196498434/photo/1" (October 14, 2014)

Marry Me - Tuesdays at 9:00PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at 9:00PM ET/PT

by Vincent

Six years ago, Annie and Jake bonded over their mutual love of nachos and they've been inseparable ever since. Now, after returning from a romantic two-week island vacation, Jake's all set to pop the question. Before he can ask, though, Annie lets loose on Jake for his inability to commit. She was expecting him to "put a ring on it" in paradise and now Jake's perfect proposal is ruined. Not wanting to spend the next 60 years talking about that mess of a proposal, Jake and Annie decide to hold off on the engagement until they can do it right.

Cast Details:

Casey Wilson as Annie
Ken Marino as Jake
John Gemberling as Gil
Sarah Wright Olsen as Dennah
Tymberlee Hill as Kay
Tim Meadows as Kevin One

Casey Wilson (Annie) is best known for her role as Penny Hartz on ABC's cult comedy hit Happy Endings. She was also a featured player on Saturday Night Live and starred in the Hulu exclusive series The Hotwives of Orlando, a parody of Real Housewives shows.

Ken Marino (Jake) starred as Ron on Starz's Party Down. He also plays Dr. Glenn Richie on Adult Swim's Children's Hospital. He has also appeared on the Yahoo! Exclusive web series Burning Love, a parody of The Bachelor.

John Gemberling (Gil) can currently be seen as Bevvers on Comedy Central's Broad City. He also appeared on shows such as The Office, Delocated, Happy Endings, and Key & Peele.

Sarah Wright Olsen (Dennah) has appeared in a number of television shows, most notably as Millicent Olsen on Parks and Recreation. She has also appeared on Mad Men, The Middle, Happy Endings, and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23.

Tymberlee Hill (Kay) appears regularly on Drunk History on Comedy Central. She also starred alongside Casey Wilson in The Hotwives of Orlando. Her other appearances include guest spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Bang! Bang! and Grey's Anatomy.

Tim Meadows (Kevin One) is best known for his long-running role as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1991 – 2000. He also starred as Principal Duvall in the hit film Mean Girls. His other TV appearances include spots on Bob's Burgers, 30 Rock, and The Goldbergs.

Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" (Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 9:00PM ET/PT)

After a botched engagement, Annie (Casey Wilson) and Jake (Ken Marino) agree to "re-try" their engagement so they don't have to tell such a terrible story for 60 more years. However, after their next engagement gets botched, they begin to worry if they’re cut out for marriage after all.

Analysis:

In what has been a generally dire fall season for new network comedy, Marry Me is one of two comedy pilots that actually made me laugh out loud (the other is Black-ish). This, alone, makes it a contender for the best comedy pilot of the season, but it already has a few other things going for it. It's helmed by David Caspe, the creator of Happy Endings and stars Casey Wilson, one of the stars of Happy Endings (and also his wife!). It features a pretty solid recurring cast that could easily turn into a likable ensemble given some time, and its talented lead couple already have very good chemistry with each other. All of this adds up to a show that I think could eventually become great, but it's not there yet. The show's premise is groan-worthy, leaning hard on both sitcom and gender clichés that the show will hopefully be able to iron out pretty soon. And while I think the ensemble could become promising, the pilot doesn’t bring them all together in a way that a pilot of a wannabe ensemble comedy probably should. I'm not entirely sure if these people even know each other outside of their relationship to Annie and Jake, and I'm still not clear on who we're going to be seeing every episode (assumingly Jake and Annie's parents won’t be part of the ensemble – although, confusingly, one of her dads is listed as a regular while the other is not).

All of this leads to the Marry Me pilot feeling a little bit formless – there's a clear center at Annie and Jake, but it's unclear what, exactly, the rest of this show is going to be. And although Annie and Jake's relationship is somewhat interesting, it's not unique enough to sustain an entire premise of a show on its own. Of course, looking back at the Happy Endings pilot, it had similar issues – a cliché and unappealing premise (remember when it was a show about a couple that separated at the altar? Me neither!) and an ensemble that seemed talented but wasn’t fully fleshed out yet. The Marry Me pilot is considerably better than the Happy Endings pilot (if only because it has a much more assured sense of humor), but it also sort of feels like it’s desperately trying to be the show that Happy Endings eventually became. And really, that just makes me miss Happy Endings. So my instruction to Marry Me, as if it;s listening to me: make it so that I don't miss Happy Endings every time I watch you. Become your own show, with your own premise, with your own interesting characters. Flesh out your ensemble past the point where they’re all just stereotypes, and dig into your lead characters so they feel more unique and less like cardboard cutouts. If you do all of that, we could be on the way to something special here.

Conclusion:

Marry Me is loaded with potential. It has a creator who's proven himself before, a talented and likable lead couple, and an already sharp sense of humor. What it needs to do now is figure out just what, exactly, it is. "Couple that gets engaged" is not an interesting enough premise to sustain itself for a full season or even, really, a few episodes, so what it needs to do now is expand its world and its ensemble into something that we want to keep coming back to. It's on its way, but it needs a little bit more work to get there.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 3/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Discuss the show after you watch it on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014 at 9:00PM ET/PT on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Marry Me Photo Gallery

Preview:

ABC has picked up the new hit comedy black-ish (22 episodes) and the new hit drama How to Get Away with Murder (15 episodes) for full seasons, in the first series pickups of the new season. How to Get Away with Murder was television's top series debut of the season and the biggest 10pm drama debut in two years in Adults 18-49. black-ish opened as the #2 series debut and the #1 comedy debut on television by the same metric. Additionally, black-ish had the best-ever viewer retention out of Modern Family for any comedy debut. The comedy stars Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson, Jr., Miles Brown as Jack Johnson, Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson and special guest star, Laurence Fishburne as Pops.

How to Get Away with Murder stars Academy-Award Nominee Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, Billy Brown as Nate, Alfred Enoch as Wes Gibbins, Jack Falahee as Connor Walsh, Katie Findlay as Rebecca, Aja Naomi King as Michaela Pratt, Matt McGorry as Asher Millstone, Karla Souza as Laurel Castillo, Charlie Weber as Frank Delfino and Liza Weil as Bonnie Winterbottom.