SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

ABC has announced most of its 2016 summer schedule. New series include sitcom Uncle Buck, To Tell the Truth (hosted by black-ish star Anthony Anderson) and The $100,000 Pyramid (hosted by GMA's Michael Strahan). The 2016 ESPYS return to the network line-up and returning are Bachelor in Paradise, Mistresses, Celebrity Family Feud, BattleBots and the CMA Music Festival to the previously announced The Bachelorette. ABC has not announced a premiere date for second season drama Secrets & Lies yet. The following are the premiere dates:

Thursday, May 26
8:00–10:00 p.m. 500 Questions

Monday, May 30
10:00-11:00 p.m. Mistresses

Saturday, June 11
9:00–11:00 p.m. O.J.: Made In America – Part 1

Tuesday, June 14
8:00-9:00pm To Tell the Truth (Sneak Peak)
9:00-9:30 p.m. Uncle Buck (New Series Premiere)
9:30-10:00 p.m. Uncle Buck
10:00–11:00 p.m. To Tell the Truth (New Series Premiere)

Thursday, June 23
8:00-10:00 p.m. BattleBots

Sunday, June 26
8:00-9:00 p.m. Celebrity Family Feud
9:00-10:00 p.m. The $100,000 Pyramid (New Series Premiere)

Wednesday, July 13
8:00-11:00 p.m. The 2016 ESPYS

Tuesday, August 2
8:00-10:00 p.m. Bachelor in Paradise

Wednesday, August 3
8:00-11:00 p.m. CMA Music Festival

Monday, August 8
8:00-10:00 p.m. Bachelor in Paradise (Time Period Premiere)

Tuesday, August 9
8:00-9:00 p.m. Bachelor in Paradise
9:00-10:00 p.m. Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise

TBS, a division of Turner, has another comedy hit on its hands with The Detour, which shot out of the starting gate last week to rank as cable's #1 new comedy series of the year among adults 18-49. TBS announced two weeks ago that it has already ordered a 13-episode second season of The Detour. The show marks the latest in a string of acclaimed hits launched by the network this year, a growing list that includes Angie Tribeca and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. New episodes of The Detour premiere each Monday at 9/8c on TBS, tbs.com and the Watch TBS mobile app, with availability on TBS On Demand and TV providers' websites and apps the next day. The Detour is an often too honest look at the family dynamic and the chaos that erupts from not being truthful with the ones we love. Starring Jason Jones, Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich and Liam Carroll.

Here are some of the highlights from The Detour's early success:

The Detour is reaching an average of 5.3 million viewers across TBS platforms through its first two episodes (the April 11 premiere, which was followed immediately by the second episode).
The Detour's reach includes 1.5 million viewers and 848,000 adults 18-49 in Live + 3 delivery, the latter making it cable's top new comedy series with young adults for the year-to-date.
The Detour has drawn a large number of viewers through time-shifted viewing, with the first two episodes charting a +37% increase among adults 18-49 in Live + 3 vs. Live + Same Day.
Success for The Detour extends beyond the television screen to include exceptional digital and social media engagement. Leading up to last week's launch, the show drew 39 million social media impressions through Facebook and Twitter.
TBS also made the pilot available to watch via social media the weekend prior to show's launch, scoring a total of 8.7 million video views across Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Happy Memorial Day! As usual, we have the holiday marathons on a holiday for you! We want to also give you a rundown of the top 10 series airing this summer on television once again! (Scroll below for that after our annual look at Memorial Day marathon on TV).

As we pay tribute to our troops every year on this day, let's have some fun as well watching TV marathons on the tube on this day off! If you're not going outside in the heat, then there are plenty of TV options for you on this day! Are you headed to the shore or would you rather watch some good TV marathons like Who's the Boss?? It's a brand new life! So bring out your lawn chair, throw some burgers on the BBQ, and watch some television!
Among the marathons today are the marathons we have previously mentioned, such as the Who's the Boss marathon in NY on WLNY-TV 10/55 from 7am-7pm. We also told you about the Maverick marathon on Cozi TV from 8am-5pm, followed by the primetime launches of Starsky & Hutch and Knight Rider from 8pm-12am! Sitcoms getting the marathon treatment on this day include Malcolm in the Middle on IFC from 6am-6pm. Logo will have a Roseanne marathon today from 10am-4pm. TVGN will celebrate Alan Thicke starting at 9:30am with both Growing Pains movies airing with episodes of his new series Unusually Thicke. TV One will spend the holiday with Martin Lawrence with a block of Martin from 11am-8pm. BET will have a marathon of its hit series The Game from 8am-7pm. Comedy Central will have a Tosh.0 marathon beginning at 11am and running to 11pm. Other sitcoms airing today will be in their regular blocks, like Saved by the Bell on MTV2 from 9am-12pm.

Moving on to dramas, INSP salutes the troops with a JAG marathon from 11am-7pm. Hallmark has a marathon of The Waltons beginning at 2pm today. If you like more current drama, then spend the day with Julianna Margulies with a marathon of The Good Wife on Hallmark Movie Channel beginning at 9am. It wouldn't be a holiday without marathons of Criminal Minds and once again ION and A&E will have marathons, with ION airing it from 11am-3am and A&E from 9am-4am. Another fitting marathon for this day is NCIS: Los Angeles and USA Network has a marathon of this spin-off series from 9am-8pm. TNT will have a promotional marathon for Falling Skies from 10am-8pm, which returns June 22 on TNT for its fourth season. Cloo has marathons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent from 6am-5pm, followed by Law & Order: SVU from 5pm-11pm. The short-lived drama Persons Unknown will get a marathon today on Chiller from 11am-6am with all 13 episodes airing. Other notable marathons include Defiance on Syfy and a Walker Texas Ranger marathon on TV Land. And kick butt with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Pivot from 10am-10pm or Jessica Alba as Dark Angel on El Rey Network from 5-8pm. Reality series wise, CMT will showcase Party Down South with a marathon from 11am-9pm. Spend the day with Kim Kardashian (who got married this weekend) in Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E! from 9am-4pm. Other reality best bets for the day are Lizard Lick Towing marathon on truTV, The Real Housewives of Orange County marathon on Bravo, Family Feud marathon on GSN, Dr. Phil on OWN from 6am-1pm, Pawn Stars marathon on History and Undercover Boss marathon on TLC.

If you like movies on TV, watch Antenna TV's Memorial Day Cinema Salute begins at 7am. Ovation will have a marathon of the Rocky film franchise from 11am-12am. Fuse will have a House Party movie marathon. And you can of course catch movies all day on Lifetime, LMN, AMC, TCM and other networks that usually air movies.
For the full times of these marathons and much more marathons we didn't cover, check out the full list from our pals at TV Tango!


Now let's take a look at the top 10 summer series to watch (that haven't launched yet with their series or season premieres):

1. Mistresses (ABC, Mondays 10|9c beginning June 2) - Last summer's juiciest drama is back and it gets more steamier! 8 months have passed by in the storyline and you'll be surprised on what has happened since we last saw Savi, April, Karen, and Joss. We have some new characters and love interests this season that will spice things up even more. It is the perfect summer show with the perfect setting. The top pick for the second straight year with a sultry season premiere. Alyssa Milano rocks in everything she does!

2. Girl Meets World (Disney, Fridays 8:30|7:30c beginning June 28) - Cory and Topanga Matthews back together again! Yes, Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel return! This is one of the highly anticipated series this summer. The Boy Meets World continuation! Made for kids and families, Girl Meets World tells the wonderfully funny, heartfelt stories that Boy Meets World is renowned for - only this time from a tween girl's perspective. It focuses on relationships with family and friends and the important, indelible values therein, as the relatable and adventurous Riley and her bold best friend Maya traverse the twists and turns of teenage years at Manhattan's John Quincy Adams Middle School where Riley's dad is their History teacher. In the premiere episode, the typically studious Riley joins a homework rebellion in an attempt to be more like Maya, but it quickly leads to a rift between father and daughter. The top sitcom pick of the summer!

3. Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family, Tuesdays 8|7c beginning June 10) - The liars are back for an all-new season with season five! This is one of the best teen series of all-time and everyone wants to know who is on the A team. As usual, we will have 12 episodes in the summer with a Halloween special in October before the rest of the season airs next winter. ABC Family spreads the season out well and makes it into an event. We are getting closer and closer in finding out who "A" is and what will happen to Ezra? We shall see in the season premiere. The main four girls have ultra hot chemistry and Ashley Benson is the complete package with comedic fun even.

4. Rookie Blue (ABC, Thursdays 9|8c beginning June 19) - The fifth season of the Canadian drama returns and it just gets better and better. This is one of the best cop shows on television and it airs every summer. Missy Peregrym leads a great cast of rookie cops who are getting experience each season. The relationships on this show is like no other and reminds you of other ABC series like Castle and Grey's Anatomy. Will "McSwarek" return?

5. Jennifer Falls (TV Land, Wednesdays 10:30|9:30c beginning June 4) - TV Land's first-ever single camera comedy revolves around Jennifer Doyle (Jaime Pressly), a former high-powered executive who has fallen and hit every bump on the way down to rock bottom. With her teenage daughter (Dylan Gelula) in tow, Jennifer moves back in with her mother (Jessica Walter) and takes a job in the bar owned by her meek brother (Ethan Suplee) and passive-aggressive sister-in-law (Nora Kirkpatrick) as a last resort. There, she reunites with her former best friend (Missi Pyle) who turns out to be holding quite a grudge. But every cloud has a silver lining: there's nowhere to go but up.

6. Mystery Girls (ABC Family, Wednesdays 8:30|7:30c beginning June 25) - Another reunion! Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth of Beverly Hills 90210 are together again, this time on a sitcom. The comedy series follows two former detective TV show starlets brought back together by a real-life mystery. Charlie Contour (Garth) is a suburban housewife and mother, while Holly Hamilton (Spelling) longs for her glory days in the 90's when she was on television. Both of their lives are disrupted when Nick (Miguel Pinzon), a witness to a crime and a "Mystery Girls" fanatic, will only speak to the infamous duo, and the former friends must reunite and put their TV crime-solving skills to the test. The series is also executive produced by Spelling and Garth.

7. Witches of East End (Lifetime, Sundays 9|8c beginning July 6) - Last fall this was one of the best dramas to air. Now the second season will launch this summer and we cannot wait to see what the Beauchamp family will do next. Jenna Dewan Tatum shines in this series and is flawless. This season, with the portal to Asgard open, what comes through will forever change the lives of the Beauchamps. Darkness surrounds East End as a new stranger arrives. Joanna is still weak with poison in her blood as the Beauchamps search desperately for a cure. With the death of Penelope), Killian and Dash's warlock powers return.

8. Covert Affairs (USA Network, Tuesdays 10|9c beginning June 24) - The very fun and awesome series starring Piper Perabo as Annie Walker returns for a fifth season. Season five picks up with CIA operative Annie returning to the Agency after having faked her death to go deep undercover to find a traitor to the CIA. The new season will examine the price Annie will have to pay for this risky maneuver and the implications it will have on her relationships - both personally and professionally - as she attempts to re-emerge into the world she once knew. It's not as complicated as Alias (which was a great show), but this is more for the mainstream audience and it works well as that.

9. Young & Hungry (ABC Family, Wednesdays 8|7 beginning June 25) - From Ashley Tisdale, this new comedy stars Emily Osment. Two worlds collide when Josh (Jonathan Sadowski), a wealthy young tech entrepreneur, meets Gabi (Emily Osment), a feisty young food blogger, looking to be his personal chef. Gabi is desperate for the job and must prove herself, mostly to Josh's aide, Elliot (Rex Lee), who prefers a famous chef for the job. When Josh enlists Gabi to prepare a romantic meal for him and his girlfriend, the dinner goes awry and Gabi finds herself in a very awkward position. With the help of her best friend Sofia (Aimee Carrero) and Josh's housekeeper Yolanda (Kym Whitley), Gabi turns a difficult situation into an opportunity for employment and maybe even love.

10. Taxi Brooklyn (NBC, Wednesdays 10|9c beginning June 25) - Chyler Leigh and Jennifer Esposito lead this new drama series, which is an action-comedy police procedural. It is centered on the fractious, closely bonded partnership between a streetwise Marseilles-born New York City taxi driver and an intensely driven NYPD detective for whom this immigrant cabbie becomes chauffeur, insider on the streets and unofficial partner.

There are of course much more series airing but these are our ten best picks and ones you should make an effort to watch. Series that will run into summer a bit include Devious Maids, Hot in Cleveland, Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy. Other notables include reality staples America's Got Talent (NBC), Big Brother (CBS), Wipeout (ABC), The Bachelorette (ABC), So You Think You Can Dance (Fox) and some interesting newbies like Rising Star (ABC), along with scripted series options like Chasing Life (ABC Family), Falling Skies (TNT), The Last Ship (TNT), Undateable (NBC), Welcome to Sweden (NBC), Motive (ABC), Under the Dome (CBS) and the Halle Berry series Extant (CBS). Plenty of options in the summer and more than ever!

ABC announced its summer lineup, with four new series joining the schedule: new drama The Astronaut Wives Club on Thursday, July 24 at 9:00pm; new reality Bachelor in Paradise on Monday, August 4 at 8:00pm; new singing reality series Rising Star on Sunday, June 22 from 9:00-11:00pm; and new reality The Quest on Thursday, June 19 at 8:00 pm. These series join returning shows The Bachelorette, which premieres at a special time, on Monday, May 19 at 9:30pm, before moving to its regular time period of 8:00pm on Monday, May 26; game show Bet On Your Baby returns on Saturday, May 31 at 8:00pm; Extreme Weight Loss is back on Tuesday, May 27 at 8:00pm; drama Mistresses returns on Monday, June 2 at 10:01pm; crime drama Motive on Wednesday, May 21 at 10:00pm; real life docudrama NY Med on Tuesday, June 24 at 10:00pm; long-running cop show Rookie Blue on Thursday, July 17 at 10:00pm; and summer staple Wipeout, which debuts with a special two-hour premiere on Sunday, June 22 at 7:00pm, before moving to its regular time period of 8:00pm the following Sunday, June 29.

As previously announced, new drama Black Box will debut on Thursday, April 24 at 10:00pm and will run into July. The 2014 Billboard Music Awards will air on Sunday, May 18 at 8:00pm. And finally, Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night primetime specials will be back for the seventh consecutive year, airing each night of the NBA Finals, starting with Game 1 on Thursday, June 5 at 8:00pm.

The Boondocks, the award-winning animated comedy series returns for its final season on Monday, April 21 at 10:30pm (ET/PT) on Adult Swim. The Boondocks is produced by Sony Pictures Television. This season was produced without the involvement of Aaron McGruder, when a mutually agreeable production schedule could not be determined. In The Boondocks, Robert "Granddad" Freeman (John Witherspoon, Friday After Next) is the cantankerous legal guardian of his rambunctious grandkids Huey and Riley (Regina King, Southland, 227) and has moved them from the south side of Chicago to the quiet and safety of "The Boondocks" (in this case, suburban Woodcrest), hoping that he can ignore them altogether and enjoy the golden years of his life in peace. But Huey, a 10-year-old left wing revolutionary, is determined not to enjoy the affluence of suburbia. This attitude is seconded by his 8-year-old brother, Riley, a proud product of contemporary rap culture. Although they torture each other and provoke the neighborhood, they are no match for Granddad, who is eccentric even by "crazy-ass-old-black-man" standards. Gary Anthony Williams (Boston Legal) as Uncle Ruckus, Gabby Soleil (Johnson Family Vacation) as Jazmine Dubois and Jill Talley (Camp Lazlo) as Sarah Dubois round out the cast, with Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!) returning as the voice of fan favorite Colonel H. Stinkmeaner in addition to Tom Dubois.

Throughout the final season, an eclectic mix of hip-hop artists, actors, comedians and media personalities will voice guest characters on the series, including Jenifer Lewis (Think Like a Man), Dennis Haysbert (24), Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Ghostface Killah, CeeLo, Lil Wayne, Donald Faison (Scrubs), Aisha Tyler (Balls of Fury), Kym Whitley (Reno 911!), Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris), Mo'Nique (The Parkers), Marion Ross (Happy Days), Tavis Smiley, Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Bill Duke (X-Men: The Last Stand), and Cedric the Entertainer (Talk to Me). Reprising their guest roles from last season are Xzibit, Charlie Murphy, MTV's Sway and Katt Williams, among others.

ABC and The CW have announced most of their summer 2013 schedules. First up for ABC, three new series are joining the schedule, the innovative procedural Motive, which will have a special debut following the performance finale of Dancing with the Stars on Monday, May 20 at 9:00pm, before moving to its regular night on Thursday, May 23 at 9:00pm; sexy new drama Mistresses (pictured), starring Alyssa Milano, Yunjin Kim, Rochelle Aytes and Jes Macallan, will premiere a week later than initially announced, on Monday, June 3 at 10:01pm; and Whodunnit?, a new mystery reality competition show from Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of the CSI franchise, which will premiere Sunday, June 23 at 9:00pm. Motive was previously set to have its series preview on Tuesday. May 21 at 10pm following the real Dancing finale, but now Dancing with the Stars: The Finale will be 9-11pm (after a special recap at 8pm) leading into local news (which affiliates love).

These series join returning shows Celebrity Wife Swap, which has its summer premiere on Sunday, June 23 at 8:00pm; Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition, which debuts a new season on Tuesday, May 28 at 8:00pm; season four of Rookie Blue on Thursday, May 23 at 10:00pm; the summer season of What Would You Do? on Wednesday, May 29 at 10:00pm; and an all-new season of Wipeout on Thursday, May 9 at 8:00pm. The Bachelorette will now premiere on Monday, May 27 at 8:00pm instead of the previously announced Monday, May 20 9-11pm premiere. 10:00pm programming for May 20 will be announced soon. New comedy Family Tools, which premieres Wednesday, May 1, is likely going to spill into summer with its 10 episode order, but if it does well, ABC will likely only air 4 in May sweep and hold on to the remaining episodes for a second season. New game show Bet On Your Baby, premiering this Saturday at 8pm, will spill over into summer as well through June 1. Stay tuned for more summer programming updates (including burn-off news for series like Zero Hour and 666 Park Avenue) as ABC might have some more summer series including Nightline Primetime and possibly Secret Millionaire.

For The CW, continuing its commitment to more original year-round programming, The CW has set premiere dates for its new summer 2013 primetime series. The CW's summer slate officially kicks off on Tuesday, July 16 with two all–new half hour shows, including the return of the hit improv comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the new dating competition Perfect Score. Premiere night will feature back-to-back original episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (8:00-9:00pm ET) and Perfect Score (9:00-10:00pm ET). Starting the next Tuesday, original episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway? will air from 8:00-8:30pm ET (with encores at 8:30pm), and Perfect Score original telecasts will air at 9:00-9:30pm ET (with encores at 9:30pm ET). You all know what Whose Line is, but Perfect Score puts a unique twist on dating game shows by not only giving players a chance to win a date, but also the opportunity to win cold hard cash -- IF they can successfully identify their perfect match. On Monday, July 29 at 9:00pm ET, the acclaimed reality series Breaking Pointe returns for a second season. And finally, new reality The Hunt will premiere on Wednesday, July 31 at 9:00pm ET. In this intense new wilderness competition, 12 teams of 2 will enter "The Arena," a fenced-in enclosure in the middle of the wild, where they must live for one month and compete against each other for scarce resources.

FEARnet adds a cult favorite to its Tuesday night Twisted Comedy Block with the wildly popular ABC Studios one-hour comedy series Reaper, licensing both seasons of the hour-long series for a complete 31 episode order that ran on The CW from 2007-09. Reaper will be the lead-in program at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT to FEARnet's original half-hour comedy series Holliston, which premieres its second season that same night at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT. But wait, reruns are not the only item acquired! In addition to airing the series, FEARnet is producing a half-hour special reuniting some of the original cast and crew in which they will discuss the series' popularity, its finale and their rabid community of fans in a round-table format. Set to appear in the special are series stars Bret Harrison (Sam Oliver), Tyler Labine (Sock) and Ray Wise (The Devil), among others. Hopefully Miss Peregrym (Andi) as well! The quirky series focuses on the life of Sam Oliver (Harrison), a college drop-out who, on his 21st birthday, learns that he now must work as a bounty hunter for the Devil (Wise), as part of a deal made many years ago when Sam's parents offered up their firstborn son in exchange for good health for the ailing father. Tyler Labine (Invasion, Mad Love) and Rick Gonzalez (Coach Carter) play Sam's slacker friends who help him in his new secret double-life of 'reaping' souls, using a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner as well as other modern household items. Often noted by TV fan websites as a series that was cancelled too soon, Reaper continues to enjoy a thriving community of devoted viewers who have rallied for the series to come back in syndication since its last network broadcast. Stay with us for continued updates!