SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Antenna TV January 2024 Schedule; Max December Comedy Specials

As we mentioned, Antenna TV starts the new year with four new classic shows added to its programming schedule all shared from sister network Rewind TV, including Dear John, Mork and Mindy, The Facts of Life and The Drew Carey Show beginning in January. Only The Facts of Life and The Drew Carey Show will air wekdays, with Facts weekdays 2-3pm and Drew weekdays 1am-2am (and on Sundays in prime from 7pm-9pm). Dear John will air in the overnight on Sundays (early Monday morning) from 3am-5am, while Mork will air Saturday afternoons from 3-5pm. As far as the rest of the schedule, weekdays seems some minor changes including Maude and Benson airing weekday afternoons and Archie Bunker's Place moving to 6-7pm. Welcome Back, Kotter and One Day at a Time will be leaving the schedule completely.

Saturdays will have a lot of time changes between 8am-3am. The Ropers and Three's a Crowd are back on the line-up airing Saturdays 5-6am and 5-6pm. Sundays will also have a lot of time changes, but from 8am-9pm. View the full schedule.

Max announces programming coming to the platform this December, including the HBO Original comedy special Leo Reich: Literally Who Cares? (12/16), the comedian's first solo stand-up special debuts this December. Following rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and an Off-Broadway run, this self-diagnosed important young mind faces the swirling uncertainty of our collective future, asking the big questions, such as: "Is this helping?", "Am I hot?", and "No offense guys but literally what is going on?" Treading the line between hilarious stand-up and humorless performance art, the special blends songs, anecdotes, and anxious non-sequiturs in a valiant attempt to raise awareness about important social and political causes... or something. The special from A24 was taped at EartH in London.

In the Max Original comedy special Gary Ulman: Born on 3rd Base (12/21), comedian, actor, and best-selling author Gary Gulman (HBO's The Great Depresh) offers up his hilarious insights on a range of topics - from growing up poor to pretentious suffixes - all with a generous helping of his inventive humor and absurdism. Reflecting on his eccentric Jewish American family, Gulman chronicles his childhood experiences with free school lunch programs and questionable dental care, as well as incisive swipes at billionaire-ism. With thoughtfulness and empathy, the special sheds light on the performer's unique point-of-view on both lighthearted and serious subjects.

Antenna TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule; Rewind TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule

Cozy up with Antenna TV this holiday season for comfort and nostalgia from the shows you know and love. Antenna TV will air specialty programming on Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve. In 2024, Antenna TV welcomes four classic sitcoms to its lineup (all from sister network Rewind). Avoid the shopping hustle and bustle on Black Friday and watch TV how it was meant to be – in glorious black and white – with Antenna TV's "Black-and-White Friday Marathon." It's a full day of your favorite classic shows in magnificent monochrome, from The Burns and Allen Show to Bewitched starting at 5am Eastern on Friday, November 24. On Christmas Eve, Antenna TV presents its "Classic Christmas Collection," holiday-themed episodes curated from Antenna TV's catalog of classic sitcoms starting Sunday, December 24 at 5am Eastern. Rise early Christmas morning, Monday, December 25, to Antenna TV and the annual tradition of The Original Yule Log, from 5am to 10am Eastern. After you’ve warmed up with the glow of the fire, celebrate "Christmas Through The Years," a showcase of Christmas episodes from nearly 30 years of television, from Father Knows Best to Silver Spoons beginning at 10am Eastern.

Come New Year's Eve, you're invited to Antenna TV's "Party with The Partridge Family Marathon." You can't help but get happy as we say goodbye to one year and hello to the next. The party starts at 7pm Eastern on Sunday, December 31, and continues into the wee hours of New Year's Day. In 2024, Antenna TV starts the new year with four new classic shows added to its programming schedule, including Dear John, Mork and Mindy, The Facts of Life, and The Drew Carey Show -- all from sister network Rewind TV. More on the January schedule soon! View the full Antenna TV Holiday Programming Guide.

Rewind TV plays back your favorite shows from the 80s and 90s this holiday season. Highlights include Thanksgiving's "Food, Fun and Family Ties Marathon," "Christmas Through The Years" on Christmas Day, and "Drew Carey's Rockin' New Year's Eve" to close out the year. This Thanksgiving, invite the Keaton family into your home with Rewind TV's "Food, Fun and Family Ties Marathon" on Thursday, November 23, starting at 6am Eastern. It's an all-day marathon of Family Ties including a Thanksgiving episode from the series, "No Nukes is Good Nukes," airing at 8pm.

On Christmas Eve, Rewind TV will present its regular programming lineup but will showcase holiday-themed episodes starting at 6am Eastern on Sunday, December 24. It continues into Christmas Day with Rewind TV's "Christmas Through The Years," a full day of holiday television memories on Monday, December 25, starting at 6am Eastern. The best New Year's Eve party is inside the comfort of your home and comes to you straight from Cleveland! Join in with Drew Carey and Rewind TV for "Drew Carey's New Year’s Rockin' Eve" on Monday, December 31, beginning at 8pm Eastern. View the full Rewind TV Holiday Programming Guide.

SitcomsOnline Digest: Arrested Development Staying on Netflix (and Leaving Hulu); Grey's Anatomy Gets Season 20 Renewal

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're learning about a renewal of a long-running ABC series, getting a look at the revival of Clone High, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

• Arrested Development isn't leaving Netflix after all, but it will be leaving Hulu instead, and Disney will also be allowed to sell the entire series (including those produced for Netflix) into linear syndication. (Vulture)
• It's got a long way to go to beat the longevity of The Simpsons (and it doesn't make it any easier since The Simpsons is still in the race), but get ready for season 20 (yes, 20) of Grey's Anatomy. (Variety)
• We have our first look at the HBO Max revival of Clone High. (Deadline)
• The Steve Wilkos Show has been renewed, which is surprising given how many long-running daytime shows have been ending lately. (Deadline)
• The American Music Awards, like most other awards shows, has been in constant ratings decline (losing about 90% of the audience it had in the 90s, but even losing half of the audience it had just a few years ago), and now it is uncertain as to whether it will even be back this year. (Variety)
• With so many episodes of The Simpsons, everything eventually has to be based upon things that have happened or will happened, and it seems that an incident involving a Florida principal and the Michaelangelo's David was predicted by the long-running animated series. (Deadline)
• Rewind TV is celebrating the 45th anniversary of Mork & Mindy and Earth Day with a marathon of Mork & Mindy. (SitcomsOnline)

WEEKLY PLANNER (MARCH 26 - MARCH 31)

• It's the final binge ever for Decades (though the successor will also feature binges), with this weekend featuring The Mod Squad.
• Catchy Comedy replaces Decades on Monday, and brings new series with it as well, including Night Court, Full House, All in the Family, Sanford & Son, and Good Times.
• It's a busy week for animated season premieres, with HouseBroken on Fox on Sunday and American Dad! on TBS on Monday.
• Unstable, a new comedy starring Rob Lowe, debuts on Netflix on Thursday.

Rewind TV Celebrates Mork & Mindy's 45th Anniversary on Earth Day; Disney's 6th Season of Raven's Home on April 9

This Earth Day, REWIND TV is bringing out-of-this-world fun with "The Mork & Mindy Mother Nature Marathon" and a full-day of back-to-back episodes of Mork & Mindy in celebration of the sitcom's 45th anniversary on Saturday, April 22 starting at 6am ET through 3am ET. Curated episodes airing in "The Mork & Mindy Mother Nature Marathon" include "Mork Moves In," "Mork in Love," "Mork Goes Erk" and "It's a Wonderful Mork." Robin Williams stars as Mork, a bumbling alien who comes to Earth to study human behavior and crosses paths with Mindy, played by Pam Dawber. Mork & Mindy aired from 1978 to 1982 with 95 episodes over four seasons on ABC.

And stay tuned for "REWIND TV Beach Blanket Bonanza" featuring summer-themed episodes of your favorite REWIND TV shows on Monday, May 29! More details on this one to come!

Raven's Home, the long-running hit comedy series starring and executive produced by Raven-Symoné, will return for its sixth season on Sunday, April 9, at 8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW, and will be available Wednesday, April 19, on Disney+. As the season begins, Raven, Booker and Alice travel to London to visit Victor, where they become entangled in a mix-up of majestic proportions when Alice is mistaken for a member of the royal family.

A spinoff of the iconic Disney Channel comedy That's So Raven (2003-2007), Raven's Home follows the hilarious adventures driven by somewhat psychic Raven Baxter (Raven-Symoné) and her son Booker (Issac Ryan Brown), who has inherited his mom's gift to catch glimpses of the future. Also starring in the series are Rondell Sheridan as Raven's easygoing and loveable dad, Victor; Mykal-Michelle Harris (ABC's mixed-ish) as Raven's young cousin, Alice; Felix Avitia (Disney's Gamers Guide to Pretty Much Everything) as Neil, Victor's neighbor and Booker's high school classmate; and musician and singer Emmy Liu-Wang (The Slumber Party) as Ivy, a young neighbor who babysits Alice.

Returning in recurring roles for season six are Ernie Grunwald (Call Me Fitz) as Lazlo, Victor's loyal head chef at the Chill Grill; Juliana Joel (Absolute Dominion) as Raven's wealthy design assistant, Nikki; JeCobi Swain (Home Economics) as Alice's classmate and arch-rival, Dylan; and Marissa Reyes (Spirit Halloween) as Booker's on-again, off-again girlfriend, Cami. Additionally, former "Raven's Home" series regular Sky Katz (Surviving Summer) will return for a guest-starring appearance as Tess O'Malley, Booker's high-spirited and confident friend, whose arrival in San Francisco causes a jealous Neil to question his status as Booker's BFF.

Antenna TV Spring 2023 Schedule; Rewind TV Spring 2023 Schedule

Beginning Monday, March 20, 2023, Antenna TV is making some changes to its schedule for some spring cleaning. The changes are mainly early weekday mornings and Saturday primetime, along with McHale's Navy & Welcome Back, Kotter returning to weekdays. Weekday early mornings now has only one episode each of Burns & Allen and Jack Benny from 5-6am (previously was airing an hour each from 6-8am). I Dream of Jeannie is added to mornings airing 6-7am while Bewitched's morning hour moves to 7-8am (instead of 5-6am). At noon, McHale's Navy returns to weekdays as My Favorite Martian departs weekdays. And also Welcome Back, Kotter returns to weekdays airing 4-5pm replacing Too Close for Comfort, which departs on weekdays. The other changes are to weekends, with Saturday primetime seeing the most changes, One Day at a Time moves up to 8-9pm instead of Alice (moves to 1-2am on Sat), while The Jeffersons gets the 9-10pm hour. The rest of the changes are minor, which includes Kotter Saturday block cut to 7-8pm, as Too Close for Comfort moves to Saturdays 6-7pm. My Favorite Martian retains the Saturday 12pm hour but will also add the Sunday 9am hour, instead of McHale's Navy.

Sister network Rewind TV is making spring changes beginning today - Monday, March 6! The biggest change is that Paid Programming is now gone from 6-9am! Sitcoms will now air 6-9am, with Paid Programming being now only 4-6am. So Rewind TV is only making changes to 3am-9am due to this Paid Progamming change. NewsRadio will air weekdays 3-4am, Head of the Class Saturdays 3-4am and It's a Living Sundays 3-4am. After Paid Programming, weekdays 6-9am will have an hour each of It's a Living, 227 and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, while Saturdays will have an hour of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and two hours of Mork & Mindy. Sundays will have an hour of Head of the Class into two hours of 227. The rest of the Rewind TV schedule remain as it is now, with sitcoms such as Drew Carey, The Facts of Life, and Diff'rent Strokes staying in their current slots.

NBC Orders Mike O'Malley Sitcom with Jon Cryer; Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin Premieres Nov. 23; Remembering Mork & Mindy and Perfect Strangers Creator Dale McRaven

NBC has ordered Mike O'Malley's comedy series to series. From Lionsgate Television and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, with Mike O'Malley writing and executive producing, along with Tom Werner, Wyc Grousbeck, Emilia Fazzalari, George Geyer. The series will star Jon Cryer, Donald Faison, Abigail Spencer, Finn Sweeney, and Sofia Capanna. In the series, after an amicable divorce, Jim and Julia decide to continue to raise their kids at the family home while taking turns on who gets to stay with them. Navigating the waters of divorce and child-sharing gets more complicated for Jim when the owner of his favorite sports team enters the picture and wins Julia's heart. The sitcom is likely airing sometime in 2023. Stay tuned!

Peacock has released new images for their new comedy Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin that will premiere on Wednesday, Nov. 23 with all 6 episodes from executive producer Elizabeth Banks. In the new series for Peacock, several years after we last saw him in Pitch Perfect, Adam Devine's Bumper Allen moves to Germany to revive his music career when one of his songs becomes big in Berlin. 

Adam Devine will play Bumper Allen, who, after his a cappella TikTok goes viral in Berlin, moves to Germany to pursue his dreams of becoming an international pop star. Flula Borg (Pitch Perfect 2, The Suicide Squad, Curb Your Enthusiasm) will play Pieter Krämer who has transitioned from German a cappella star to discredited German music manager. Sarah Hyland (Modern Family, The Wedding Year) will play Heidi, Pieter and Bumper's cheery and slightly odd American assistant. Lera Abova (Anna) will play Thea Krämer, Piëter's sister and a prominent Berlin DJ and music producer. And Jameela Jamil (The Good Place, She Hulk) will play a bombastic and flashy up-and-coming German pop star and is Pieter's ex-girlfriend and Bumper's main rival at the German Unity Day concert.

Television writer and producer Dale McRaven, who created Mork & Mindy, Angie and Perfect Strangers, has died. He died on September 5 of complications from lung cancer at his home in Porter Ranch, California. Mr. McRaven was 83.

McRaven's early writing credits included The Joey Bishop Show (14 episodes), The Dick Van Dyke Show (9 episodes), That Girl (1 episode), Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (5 episodes), Hey, Landlord (5 episodes), Accidental Family (1 episode), Good Morning World (1 episode), Get Smart (1 episode), Love, American Style (3 episodes), Room 222 (2 episodes), The Partridge Family (15 episodes), The Girl with Something Extra (1 episode), Laverne & Shirley (1 episode), The Practice (1976) (1 episode) and The Betty White Show (1 episode).

He created the short-lived 1974-1975 ABC sitcom The Texas Wheelers. The series, produced by MTM Enterprises, is about the cantankerous but lovable Zack Wheeler (Jack Elam), a long-lost father who returned to raise his children Truckie (Gary Busey), Doobie (Mark Hamill), Boo (Karen Obediear), and T.J. (Tony Becker) in rural Texas after their mother died. He wrote five of the episodes and was an executive producer for six episodes.

McRaven, Garry Marshall and Joe Glauberg created the 1978-1982 ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy. The series stars Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrestrial who comes to Earth from the planet Ork, and Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell, his human friend, roommate, and eventual love interest. McRaven also worked as a producer and executive producer. He wrote 13 episodes. Mork & Mindy received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy series in 1979.

He co-created with Garry Marshall the 1979-1980 ABC sitcom Angie. The series stars Donna Pescow in the lead role, Robert Hays as her love interest and eventual husband, Doris Roberts as her mother and Debralee Scott as her sister. He was also the executive producer for four episodes of the series.

McRaven created the 1986-1993 ABC sitcom Perfect Strangers. The series chronicles the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton (Mark Linn-Baker) and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean Europe, Balki Bartokomous (Bronson Pinchot). He wrote three episodes of the series. He worked as an executive producer for 16 episodes and as an executive consultant for 125 episodes.

Some of his other writing credits included 9 to 5, Nearly Departed and Grand. His other producing credits included Valentine's Day, The Partridge Family, The Betty White Show, Nearly Departed and Davis Rules.

Mr. McRaven worked on more than 20 sitcoms during his career. We thank him for creating Mork & Mindy, Angie, Perfect Strangers and for his work on other sitcoms. He will be greatly missed.

We also remember stand-up comedian, sitcom writer, producer, and actor David A. Arnold. He worked on The Rickey Smiley Show, Fuller House and That Girl Lay Lay. He died on September 7 at his home in Los Angeles due to natural causes. Mr. Arnold was 54.

Arnold's sitcom writing credits included Meet the Browns (15 episodes), House of Payne (12 episodes), The Rickey Smiley Show (14 episodes), Partners (2014) (1 episode), Zoe Ever After (1 episode), Bigger (1 episode), Fuller House (3 episodes) and Side Hustle (3 episodes)

He created the Nickelodeon comedy That Girl Lay Lay in 2021 and served as showrunner for the series. The series stars That Girl Lay Lay, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, Tiffany Daniels, Thomas Hobson, Peyton Perrine III and Caleb Brown. He wrote two episodes. He appeared as Pastor Brown in one episode.

Arnold's other sitcom acting credits included Entourage, Meet the Browns (3 episodes as Darnelle) and Side Hustle.

Some of his other sitcom producing credits included Bigger, Fuller House and Side Hustle.

Mr. Arnold was a talented and funny comedian. He had two Netflix stand-up comedy specials: David A. Arnold: Fat Ballerina (2020) and It Ain't For The Weak (July 2022). He will be sorely missed.

SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Sequel Casts Prosecutor; Norman Lear to Executive Produce Fictional Gamergate Series

 Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're getting more casting news on the reboot of Night Court, we're learning of a new project from (almost) 100 year old Norman Lear, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

• The reboot/sequel of Night Court has a new prosecutor, whom we would imagine will be different from the role that John Larroquette (who will be in the new series as well) played on the original. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Norman Lear is going to turn 100 years old in a few months, and in what is the most bizarre and unexpected news story we could hear about a man about to turn 100, he is looking to get back in to the executive producer role for a series about Gamergate, of all things. (Deadline)
• It's been a very busy week with syndicated daytime shows getting cancelled, including Nick Cannon, The Good Dish (the Dr. Oz spinoff that just started after Dr. Oz left his own series), and Judge Jerry (which is notable as it will put an end to Jerry Springer's 31 year career in daytime TV, barring any comebacks). (TV Insider)
• It's better news for Judy Justice on IMDb TV, which has been renewed for a second season. (Deadline)
• Abbott Elementary is giving back to schools, in the form of a bus tour that will give free books to elementary school students. (Deadline)
• Conrad Janis, who played Mindy's father on Mork & Mindy, has died at 94. (People)
• Just like Estelle Getty moved her character Sophia to Empty Nest once The Golden Palace ended, Marcus Scribner is making a similar move as he moves from black-ish to grown-ish. (SitcomsOnline)

WEEKLY PLANNER (MARCH 12 - MARCH 18)

• Three's Company is turning 45 years old, and Antenna TV is celebrating that anniversary with a 45 episode marathon on Tuesday.
• Decades has a binge of The White Shadow this weekend.
• Young Rock and Mr. Mayor return for new seasons on NBC on Tuesday.
• ALF is now available on Shout! TV, but unfortunately, it's still the edited episodes that we've been seeing in the United States for the past 20 years or so.

Marathons for Garry Marshall on TV; REELZ Books Robin Williams Documentary

Week 30: How the Sitcoms Did; 'Happy Days' S2 DVD Is Terrible

We don't have final four day network averages through Thursday, thus we won't give the final averages for the first four nights and an analysis. We do have How the Sitcoms Did, and final numbers for all sitcoms:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of April 2-8)

• The War at Home (Fox) 2 episodes - Two repeats did 2.06 and 2.67 million.
• The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat did 4.95 million, down two million from last week's repeat.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - A repeat did 4.69 million...nice retention from lead-in.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 5.47 million for an encore, not bad, but down from last week's repeat by more than a million.
• American Dad (Fox) - 4.98 million for a repeat beat the 8pm hour repeats.

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - A new episode did just 7.64 million, down a lot from normal numbers, but up a bit from the last new episode on March 19 (7.27 million).
• Old Christine (CBS) - A new episode built from the lead-in a bit and did 7.69 million.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - A new episode built from the lead-in a bit and did 13.46 million, down from its average of new episodes but up from the last new episode on March 19 (11.68).
• King of Queens (CBS) - The series returned and built on the lead-in in Households! In viewers it did 13.41 million.
• CW Monday Comedies: Chris, All of Us, Girfriends, The Game. Repeat of Chris started it off with 1.98 million, actually the lowest of the block. All of Us did 2.0 million, Girlfriends did 2.19 million and The Game did 2.15 million.

Tuesday Sitcoms

None.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• George Lopez (ABC) - 2 all-new episodes did decent, both did 6.36 million. 8pm was up from last week's 5.99 million, but 8:30 was down from last week's 6.53 million.
• According to Jim (ABC) - A repeat did just 5.05 million. This week it moves to 8pm with new episodes the rest of the way!
• In Case of Emergency (ABC) - Just 3.77 million for the final airing..
• 'Til Death (Fox) - A two episode finale from 8-9pm was way down from post-Idol numbers. 7.05 and 8.64 million. 8.64 million is pre-Idol tune-in...inflated numbers.

Thursday Sitcoms

• My Name is Earl (NBC) - The show returns after a long break and did just 6.67 million and a 3.0 A18-149 rating. What happened?
• The Office (NBC) - 7.71 million and a 4.1 18-49 rating built on Earl on BOTH!
• 30 Rock (NBC) - Lost nearly 3 million from lead-in. 5.07 million. This won't be an Office like success story likely.
• Scrubs (NBC) - Held almost all of the lead-in's ratings did 5.05 million and built on 18-49 from a 2.6 to 2.7 rating.

Friday Sitcoms None. Saturday Sitcoms None. Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox comedies. Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, King of Queens, The Office and 'Til Death 8:30 were impressive for the week (pathetic week). Everything else was OK (such as George Lopez, My Name is Earl) or just plain old terrible (such as 30 Rock and In Case of Emergency). We first reported that the Happy Days opening theme "Rock Around the Clock" was replaced on the season two DVD by the "Happy Days" theme that started in season three and we also reported that music has also been replaced, but after we reviewed the set, it was even WORSE than we thought. Nearly all of the music is replaced. The season had over 50 popular songs and we only get about 5 of them, and they are not the major ones. Even "Blueberry Hill" is replaced on all episodes but just one. And the one where it is intact it is only briefly heard. What has CBS DVD done to this set? If the music issue is not enough, the video quality is very bad. We can see a lot of debris and flashing white dots on the film. Some scenes are likely edited out where music was played because the runtimes seem low on a few. Todd and I went through all the episodes for the music search and we came up with a good list on what is intact and what isn't. The what isn't list is much much bigger. Click HERE to read the review. It is right up there with WKRP in the DVD Wall of Shame. CBS DVD also didn't do a great job with the second season of Laverne & Shirley. Laverne is slightly better than Happy Days, but still bad. Mork & Mindy is the best and most complete of the three, as it used the least amount of music. Read those reviews: Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy.