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The new talk show battle is on! ABC and NBC owned stations will battle it out next fall. Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, a segment of The Walt Disney Company, continues to secure outstanding station clearances for its new syndicated daytime talk show hosted by Tamron Hall with over 70% of the U.S. sold. In addition to the previously announced ABC Owned Television Stations Group and Hearst Television stations, the show has been licensed to top stations from leading broadcast groups for fall 2019, including Cox Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, The E.W. Scripps Company, Meredith Corporation, Tribune Broadcasting, Gray Television and Nexstar Media Group, among others. Visionary producer Bill Geddie (The View) has been named executive producer of the new syndicated daytime talk show hosted by Tamron Hall.

The new nationally syndicated daytime program The Kelly Clarkson Show has been sold in more than 80% of the U.S. for its fall 2019 debut. As previously announced, this new daily, one-hour talk show starring Kelly Clarkson, a multi-talented, Grammy Award-winning artist, will air as the lead-in to Ellen on the NBC-owned television stations (replacing Steve on their stations). The Kelly Clarkson Show will also air on leading station groups across the country, including Scripps, Hearst, Meredith, Sinclair, Gray, Hubbard, Cox, Tegna, Nexstar, Capital, Dispatch, Graham Media, Block, Watermen, Weigel, Quincy, Bahakel and Bonneville. Newly added major market stations include KOMO Seattle, WXYZ Detroit, KTVK Phoenix, WKYC Cleveland, WBAL Baltimore, WTVF Nashville, WDRB Louisville, WJXT Jacksonville and many more. Clarkson is bringing her enthusiastic, funny and unfiltered voice to daytime TV. In her new talk show, Clarkson uses her gift of connection to unite people, from all walks of life, into a funny and very real "weekday hang." Coupled with heart-warming stories, live musical performances, games and big surprises, The Kelly Clarkson Show seeks to uplift the daytime viewer and make the world a little bit smaller by reminding everyone of all the good things we have in common.

Actress, comedian and singer Kaye Ballard, who starred as Kaye Buell in The Mothers-in-Law, has died. She died at her home in Rancho Mirage, California on January 21. Ms. Ballard was 93.

Ballard starred as Kaye Buell in the 1967-1969 NBC sitcom The Mothers-in-Law. Kaye Buell was married to Roger Buell, who was played by Roger Carmel in the first season and Richard Deacon in the second season. She was the friend and next door neighbor of Eve Hubbard (Eve Arden), who was married to Herb (Herbert Rudley). Their children Jerry Buell (Jerry Fogel) and Susie Hubbard (Deborah Walley) married and made them in-laws. The series was created by Bob Carroll, Jr., and Madelyn Davis. Desi Arnaz was the executive producer.

She had a recurring role as Angie Pallucci in ten episodes of the CBS sitcom The Doris Day Show from 1970 to 1972. Angie and her husband, Louie (Bernie Kopell), owned and operated an Italian restaurant below an apartment in San Francisco that Doris Martin (Doris Day) lived in.

Ballard starred as Mrs. Treva Travalony in the 1990-1991 syndicated sitcom What a Dummy. Mrs. Travalony was the pushy next door neighbor of the Brannigan family in Secaucus, New Jersey. The series starred Stephen Dorff, Joshua Rudoy, David Doty, Annabel Armour and Janna Michaels.

Some of her sitcom guest appearances included The Patty Duke Show, Here's Lucy, Love, American Style, The Montefuscos, Alice, The Love Boat, The Musters Today and Daddy Dearest.

She made three guest appearances in the Canadian crime drama/comedy Due South from 1994 to 1995. Some of her other drama guest appearances included Police Story, Fantasy Island, Here's Boomer, Trapper John, M.D., The Law and Harry McGraw and Monsters.

Some of her film credits included The Girl Most Likely, A House Is Not a Home, Which Way to the Front?, The Ritz, Falling in Love Again, Tiger Warsaw, Modern Love and Eternity.

Ballard was also known for her stage work. She starred on Broadway as Helen in The Golden Apple in 1954. Some of her other stage credits included Reuben, Reuben, The Pirates of Penzance, Molly, Wonderful Town and Carnival.

Ms. Ballard was a talented and funny actress. We thank her for the laughs and entertainment she brought us during her career. She will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our The Mothers-in-Law message board. View photos in our galleries.

It's "The Summer of Me!" The MeTV Network has got new shows coming up this summer on their schedule, such as The Lucy Show and Ironside, which will join other recently launched shows from last month like, Dragnet, Leave it to Beaver and Adam-12. Several shows will also change time periods and a few are taking a summer vacation from the summer schedule. "The Summer of Me" begins Monday, June 3 and The Lucy Show will air weekday mornings at 6am, while Ironside will air weekdays at 11am (so you have all summer to watch while the new Ironside will launch this fall on NBC Wednesdays). To make space for these new shows launching on the schedule next month, some long-running and popular series need to take a summer vacation to rest a bit before they return to the MeTV line-up. So we say goodbye to Lucy, Bob and Rod Serling as I Love Lucy, The Bob Newhart Show and The Twilight Zone depart from their program schedule on June 3 after an almost continuous run on the network since MeTV launched in 2010. Not to fret, the memorable entertainment continues with another Lucille Ball series, The Lucy Show, as we mentioned weekday mornings, while Night Gallery moves to a new time and picks up at the same time where The Twilight Zone leaves off. For Bob Newhart, it's time for him to take a shrink sabbatical after treating MeTV viewers to a healthy dose of laughs for so long.

While we have new shows, shows leaving, and shows with new timeslots, we also have shows returning to the schedule after a hiatus. Family Affair is back and will air weekdays at 7 AM. Daniel Boone is back and will air weekdays at 8 AM, while Gomer Pyle patrols at 5:30 AM on Sunday mornings and Mothers-in-Law has the Sunday shift at 2 PM. Since the I Love Lucy Sunday block is taking a break, joining Mothers-in-Law will be extra runs of Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie and That Girl to form a new 2-4pm Sunday afternoon block immediately following the Brady Bunch Brunch block. We will have more on MeTV very soon as they will announce some new acquisitions. We will have complete details on those soon. For now, view the MeTV "Summer of Me" schedule beginning Monday, June 3!


ABC Family has added another original series to its roster of original programming that will premiere this summer. Spell-Mageddon is an hour game show where contestants take on hilarious distractions while spelling increasingly challenging words. Spell-Mageddon, which takes a traditional spelling bee to a whole new level, is created and Executive-Produced by Adam Reed, Adam Freeman and Leslie Greif of Thinkfactory Media. Additional Executive Producers are Jeff Krask and Michael Canter. It will join ABC Family's Wednesday night comedy line-up on Wednesday July 24, 2013 at 9pm following sitcoms Melissa and Joey and Baby Daddy. The series will replace Dancing Fools, which will have its season finale on July 17 at 9. As a reminder, the block of Melissa and Joey, Baby Daddy and Dancing Fools launches tomorrow night (Wednesday, May 29) at 8|7c. Look for our review of the season premieres of those sitcoms tomorrow at noon! Meanwhile, more details on Spell-Mageddon will be coming soon, such as the host.

With Valentine's Day about three weeks away, The MeTV Network is getting ready as love is in the air on the MeTV Sunday Showcase! That's of course a weekly block of various themes, stunts, and marathons every Sunday from 3-7PM ET. The Valentine's stunt will be airing on Sunday, Feb. 10 from 3-7PM with various comedies showcasing episodes dealing with love and romance. Kicking it off will be an episode of The Honeymooners, where The Kramdens and Nortons visit the Wedemeyers and the wives believe their husbands are neglecting them. Following that will be an episode of Make Room for Daddy, where Terry thinks that Danny and Kathy's marriage has lost its spark, so she advises each of them to be more romantic toward the other. Then it's The Dick Van Dyke Show, as Laura and Rob plan to see a play but she gets locked in a bathroom at their hotel. Other series airing in this stunt are The Mothers-In-Law, Love American Style, I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch and The Bob Newhart Show. It's a classic Brady Bunch episode where Mike and Carol switch roles for a day in order to prove a day with the opposite sex involves much less work, as Carol must help the boys with baseball practice and Mike must help Marcia with a cooking badge. Classic!

And the week prior, on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 3), The MeTV Sunday Showcase will feature a four-hour marathon of The Donna Reed Show! That's a nice way to showcase the comedy since it airs early mornings on weekdays. Keep it right here for further updates on MeTV!

On the next...The Middle:
By: Pavan

ABC's Comedy Wednesday sitcom starring Patrica Heaton airs Wednesday nights at 8:00pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (Jan. 23). The episode features The Heck family doing what they do the best, being a real family. In the episode airing tonight, "The Friend," Mike (Neil Flynn) is upset with Frankie (Patrica Heaton) when he discovers that she set him up on an adult playdate with a new neighbor (guest star David Koechner) who shares the same interests. Meanwhile, when the school cheerleaders announce that they're taking over cheering for the wrestlers - thus putting Sue (Eden Sher) and her Wrestlerettes out of business - a determined Sue demands a cheer off; and Brick (Atticus Shaffer) makes a lovesick Axl (Charlie McDermott) begin to question whether he's intellectually stimulating enough for his smart, new girlfriend.

On this hilarious all-new episode, we are presented three different storylines. And as usual, The Heck family rocks it! A couple of weeks ago the episode "Life Skills" showscased the show perfectly and this is once again one of those episode that just works very well and clicks on all cylinders. The good thing about this show is that it just feels so real. The main plot of this episode is about Frankie meeting a new couple that has moved into the neighborhood, and we all know Frankie always means well but she can be kind of meddling. She sees the husband is just a fun guy and she realizes well Mike is not. She secretly sets up a "play date" between the two and of course Mike finds out. The two get along really well, so you'll have to see what happens next! As for the kids, Sue's job as a Wrestlerette is in jeopardy when the school cheerleaders announce they will do triple duty and are now also cheering on the wrestlers because they are supposed to do well. Sue Heck is just a breath of fresh air and won't let anything stand in her way, no matter what everything thinks. She is like a perfect role model for teenage girls these days and that you don't need to be popular to have a great outlook on life. Anyway, in the end it's a cheer off when the cheerleaders battle the Wrestlerettes on who will cheer on the wrestling team. It's hilarious but also so well done! "Remember my name!" And the storyline with Brick and Axl also is fun and factual. Axl is dating a smart girl and Brick notices that all they have is a physical attraction and they don't talk, so he questions Axl saying that she might get bored soon because they don't have a friendship and intellectual stimulation. Yeah, Brick's been reading Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. He thought it was going to be a science fiction book, ha. Anyway, Axl takes Brick's advice and we get to see Axl try to have a conversation with Cassidy. How will it go? It's going to be fun, that's for sure! B+

The Middle as always is on its game. Even in its fourth season, the plots are fresh and its such a real-take on families in America, especially in middle America. I think America can really relate to the Heck family and that's why it does so well and audiences embrace it. I just wish it gets more props when everyone mentions their best current comedies. It's just as good as any comedy out there today. The Hecks are like the modern day Brady Bunch and like that show, it will be a part of pop-culture for years to come. Each member of the family is vital to the show and I always look forward every Wednesday to see what topic they deal with next, because you can always relate to something from the episode. The character of Sue Heck might go down in TV history as the most positive TV character of all-time. She may have a clueless exterior, but she knows what she is doing and that's why she's always so happy. Anyway, tune in tonight for another fine episode that we all have come to expect from this show for the last four years. The Middle is not in the middle class of comedies, it's in the high class. It's definitely deserving to be on the top 5 lists of everyone's top 5 lists for not only TV comedies, but of all TV shows on television today! Go Hecks!

Today we are bringing you MeTV Network's fall 2012 schedule. The line-up will launch on Monday, September 3, 2012 with some more classics coming to the network. The classic TV network has 132 affiliates and has clearances in 82% of the country. Joining the line-up will be Make Room for Daddy weekdays mornings at 5:30am ET, The Donna Reed Show weekday mornings at 7:30am ET, Emergency! Mon-Sat at 5:00pm ET, Remington Steele weeknights at 8:00pm ET, and Night Gallery weeknights at 1:30am ET. Returning to the schedule will be Kojak, airing weeknights at 12:30am following Perry Mason and Burke's Law late on Saturday nights at 4am ET. Also MeTV Network will present the MeTV Sunday Showcase every Sunday from 3:00pm-7:00pm. The programs will vary and the first week will be a Night Gallery marathon on Sept. 9.

With all these new series joining, this means some shows will be off the regular line-up for now. Shows not on the fall 2012 schedule are Family Affair, Cannon, The Untouchables, The Mothers-In-Law, Love American Style, Green Acres, Honey West, The Rogues, Happy Days, and Laverne & Shirley. Perhaps some of these will air during the MeTV Sunday Showcase, so stay alert. "The Summer of Me" primetime marathons will conclude on Friday, Aug. 31, so the new primetime schedule on weeknights will start off with Remington Steele at 8 leading into the comedy hour of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show at 9pm. At 10, Cheers and The Bob Newhart Show will air to close out primetime.
View the FULL MeTV Network Fall 2012 schedule, so you can see where your favorite series will be. Stay with us for further updates, if there are any.

Moving on, Nick at Nite has pulled original drama Hollywood Heights from its schedule effective tonight. The drama had been airing weeknights at 9pm for the last two months. 40 episodes of its 80 episode order were fulfilled. Reruns of My Wife & Kids will take over the hour starting tonight at 9pm ET. All is not lost for Hollywood Heights though, Nick at Nite will move it to sister network TeenNick and they will air the remaining 40 episodes every weeknight at 8pm ET beginning tonight. That should last them another two months through October, ratings pending of course. The series bombed on Nick at Nite with episodes only averaging a 0.1 adults 18-49 rating. The rest of the Nick at Nite schedule will remain unchanged with George Lopez at 10, leading into a Friends block from 11pm-1am. Then more Lopez is at 1am, followed by an hour of Everybody Hates Chris at 2. At 3am, we have an episode of My Wife & Kids at 3am, leading into an hour of Yes, Dear from approx. 3:30am-4:30am. The Nanny concludes the night though 6am. The late night 2-6am line-up just mentioned is only Mon-Wed, as marathon blocks air Thurs-Sun with Yes, Dear on Thursdays, The Nanny on Fridays, George Lopez on Saturdays (1-6am), and now Friends on Sunday (11pm-6am). My Wife & Kids was on Sundays in the block from 1-6am but Friends will take over this coming Sunday and expand to 11pm-6am.

Hollywood Heights centers on Loren Tate (Brittany Underwood, One Life to Live), a shy teen whose musical aspirations inch closer to reality when she wins a songwriting contest sponsored by Eddie Duran (Cody Longo, Fame), a rock star at the top of his game. Although Loren and Eddie's budding partnership - on-stage and off - faces obstacles, their strong family bonds inspire them to keep going. Loren finds the support system she needs in her single mom, Nora (Jama Williamson, Parks and Recreation), as Nora returns to the dating scene for the first time in years. Meanwhile Eddie's unbreakable bond with his father, Max (Carlos Ponce, Couples Retreat, telenovela actor/singer) - strengthened by family tragedy - is challenged by Eddie's budding romance with a beautiful, but manipulative model and aspiring actress, Chloe Carter (Melissa Ordway, 17 Again). As Loren begins a meteoric rise on the music scene and Eddie's star begins to fade, together they learn that the road to love and stardom often carries a heavy price tag. Justin Wilczynski (Kaya) also stars as Eddie's bitter former friend, Tyler Rorke.

Every weeknight this summer MeTV is different! From television's pioneers to groovy cats and campy classics, MeTV delivers a colorful assortment of action and drama, comedy and adventure all summer long. The "Summer of Me" starts Monday, June 18 and runs through September 3 and even has two new sitcom additions: Green Acres and The Mothers-in-Law! Check out the new primetime "Summer of Me" block schedule:

Mary & Dick & Bob & Ralph Mondays
8:00pm - The Mary Tyler Moore Show
8:30pm - The Dick Van Dyke Show
9:00pm - The Bob Newhart Show
9:30pm - The Honeymooners

Groovy Tuesdays
8:00pm - The Brady Bunch
8:30pm - The Mothers-in-Law
9:00pm - That Girl
9:30pm - Love, American Style

Hillbillies & Hooterville Wednesdays
8:00pm and 8:30pm - The Beverly Hillbillies
9:00pm and 9:30pm - Green Acres

Summer Camp Thursdays
8:00pm and 8:30pm - Batman
9:00pm and 9:30pm - Get Smart

Comedy Classic Fridays
8:00pm and 9:00pm - The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour

MeTV's two newest acquisitions will receive multiple airings every week. Green Acres will have two episodes aired Wednesdays at 9:00pm, as mentioned above, and two more episodes on Saturdays at 6:00pm & 6:30pm. The Mothers-in-Law will have one episode aired on Tuesdays at 8:30pm in "Summer of Me" and two more episodes on Sundays at 2:00pm & 2:30pm. As for the rest of the schedule, Hogan's Heroes moves to weekdays at 5:00pm and 5:30pm, while Kojak is leaving the schedule completely. View the full schedule (effective Monday, June 18) here. Discuss the schedule here.

It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of June 11-15, 2012, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, June 11, 2012

• Eric Andre (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Watch Eric on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) - Jack appears on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Jerry O'Connell (Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Jerry guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly on Monday and Tuesday, so check your listings.
• David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me) - David is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Tom Arnold (Roseanne/The Jackie Thomas Show/The Tom Show) - Tom guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Patrick Duffy (Step by Step) - Patrick visits NBC's Today between 7-9am. The new Dallas premieres on TNT on June 13.
• Tyler James Williams (Go On/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tyler stops by The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

• Patrick Duffy (Step by Step) - Catch Patrick on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with other Dallas cast members at 11:35pm on NBC.
• Raven-Symoné (That's So Raven/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/The Cosby Show) - Raven drops by LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) - Melissa appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

• Lena Dunham (Girls) - Watch Lena on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory/Roseanne) - Johnny visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) - Yvette guest co-hosts a repeat of The Nate Berkus Show, so check your local listings.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

• Jada Pinkett Smith (A Different World) - Catch Jada on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Don Rickles (C.P.O. Sharkey/Daddy Dearest) - Mr. Warmth appears on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Max Greenfield (New Girl/Modern Men) - Max is a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/The Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - Sofia appears on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Christina Applegate (Up All Night/Samantha Who?/Married with Children) - Christina stops by LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.

Friday, June 15, 2012

• Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope) - Watch Martha on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Joel McHale (Community) - Joel guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Laura Linney (The Big C) - Laura visits LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!