SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

CBS Midseason 2023 Schedule; Oprah Interviews Abbott Elementary Megastar

CBS announced the premieres of the new word-twisting game show Lingo, hosted and executive produced by Emmy Award winner RuPaul Charles; the new action-drama series True Lies, starring Steve Howey and Ginger Gonzaga; along with returning series dates. Lingo, a brand-new, supercharged adaptation of the fast-thinking game show, debuts on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023 at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. True Lies, inspired by James Cameron's hit action-comedy film of the same name, premieres on a special night and time, Thursday, Feb. 23 at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. The drama moves to its regular time period on Wednesday, March 1 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT, with a lead-in by a special two-hour premiere of Survivor, hosted by Jeff Probst, from 8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT.

The competition series Tough As Nails, hosted by Phil Keoghan, will return for its fourth season with a special two-hour episode on Wednesday, Jan. 4 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) before moving to its regular 10:00 PM, ET/PT time period on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Specially themed primetime episodes of The Price is Right at Night, hosted by Drew Carey, will air at 8:00 PM, ET/PT beginning Wednesday, Jan. 4. As previously announced, the first-ever NCIS-verse crossover event with NCIS, NCIS: Hawai'i and NCIS: Los Angeles airs Monday, Jan. 2 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). New Friday drama Fire Country airs immediately after the NFL AFC Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 29. The 65th Annual Grammy Awards airs Sunday, Feb. 5. And additional original episodes of CBS returning series will begin airing the week of Jan. 2.

Oprah Winfrey Network will premiere an OWN Spotlight Oprah and Quinta Brunson Abbott Elementary Saturday, November 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT featuring the Emmy award winner in a conversation from Oprah's garden. In this OWN Spotlight, Oprah speaks with writer, executive producer, actress and comedian Quinta Brunson to discuss her megahit comedy series, Abbott Elementary. Brunson shares reflections about her childhood, her greatest mentors and the pivotal moments of her career. She also discusses the inspiration behind Abbott Elementary and why the world was ready for this Emmy Award-winning show. The interview will also be available starting Sunday, November 27 on both HBO Max and discovery+.

SitcomsOnline Digest: Mark-Paul Gosselaar Cast in black-ish Spinoff; Urkel Makes a Return in Scooby Doo

• Mark-Paul Gosselaar has joined the cast of mixed-ish, where he has been recast for the role that was played by Anders Holm in the backdoor pilot episode that aired as part of black-ish. (AV Club)
• Jaleel White is back as Steve Urkel in a new Scooby Doo series airing on the Boomerang streaming service... seriously! (Deadline)
• Since we live in an era where everything gets rebooted, Oprah is saying that she has considered a reboot of her talk show, which we're sure she could do if she wanted to. (Entertainment Tonight)
• Fall premiere dates have been set for NBC. (SitcomsOnline) 

WEEKLY PLANNER (JUNE 22 - JUNE 28)

• Decades has a binge of T.J. Hooker this weekend.
• Like the other two CBS reality series that came out of the reality TV boom that was a big deal almost 20 years ago, Big Brother still exists, and the 21st season debuts Tuesday night on CBS.

TV Land July 2008 Highlights; Mary Tyler Moore Reunion on Oprah; Different World Moves to Midnight on BET

This July on TV Land it's the season finale of She's Got The Look (which premieres in June by the way) and the premiere of Family Foreman, starring George Foreman! But first, let's talk about some schedule changes. TV Land will start some summer marathons on Monday, July 14 airing 9pm-1am Mon-Thurs. On Mondays from 9-11pm Mad About You will remain, but 11pm-1am will be Murphy Brown. Tuesdays from 9-11pm The Beverly Hillbillies remain but 11pm-1am will be The Jeffersons. Wednesdays, from 9-10pm Sanford & Son will lead into Family Foreman, then 11pm-1am it's a block of M*A*S*H. Thursdays is a bit odd, 9-10pm will be I Love Lucy, 10pm-12am is Andy Griffith and 12-1am is Leave it to Beaver.
As for the highlights, take a fresh look at TV Land's original modeling competition series for women ages 35 and older in a 5-hour marathon on Saturday, July 6 starting at 6pm and and catch exclusive bonus footage as TV Land countdowns to the finale on Wednesday, July 9.
4th of July weekend will see marathons of I Love Lucy, Hogan's Heroes, and She's Got The Look.
It's a Night of a Thousand Georges on TV Land. In anticipation of the launch of the newest TV Land original, Family Foreman, starring George Foreman, TV Land brings you a night full of Georges with a 5-hour marathon of everybody's favorite loudmouthed businessman George Jefferson on Sunday, July 13!
Then get an intimate look into the remarkable life of George Foreman - former heavyweight boxing champion, multi-million dollar pitchman, ordained minister, and family man in Family Foreman. Come along for the ride as this tough-love Dad and his wife try to manage their clan of 10 children. For six weeks starting Wednesday, July 16 at 10pm.
Finally, this summer, leave your cares behind and catch some R&R with four nights of M*A*S*H beginning Friday, July 25. Viewer leave begins every night at 8pm. Watch the 4077th combat stress and make the best of a bad situation as they find ways to have fun both on the job and off. Whether it's going away on leave, throwing cocktail parties, pulling pranks or just blowing off steam, it all adds up to 12 hours of inspired recreation that viewers won’t want to miss.
For complete details and episode info on the stunts and more, I advise you to check our TV Land July 2008 Highlights!

The cast of the iconic sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show got together again at a taping of Oprah recently. And you'll get to see it on Oprah next week! Like always with reunions on Oprah, Oprah has recreated the set! The newsroom and Mary Richards' apartment has been recreated. Joining Mary Tyler Moore are fellow cast members, Ed Asner, Betty White, Gavin MacLeod, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman and Georgia Engel. A toast to the late Ted Knight is also made...very classy! Who knows we might see the crowd get free DVDs!
Tune in Monday, May 19 (check local listings for time and channel...in NY: WABC 4PM) for a historic television reunion! Oprah and the cast o...f The Mary Tyler Moore Show! It's a full circle dream come true. Oprah was a big fan of Mary and the show, so this is a dream come true for her.
Oprah's website has more info...tune in Monday! See the promo.

Starting next week A Different World is moving to midnight on BET. The show currently airs weeknights at 11 & 11:30pm, but now it will move to 12 midnight and 12:30am ET/PT starting Monday (May 19). The late night airing of 3 and 3:30am will remain the same. Encores of The Boot and Hell's Date will move down an hour to 11 and 11:30pm.
And another BET programming note: two episodes of Sanford are scheduled at a special time on Sunday, May 18. The Sanford episodes will air at 6:00pm & 6:30pm this Sunday. It will also air at its normal 12 noon and 12:30pm time as well...both hours will be different episodes. And speaking of Sanford, we mentioned before a Father's Day marathon is planned for the short lived sitcom and now it is indeed confirmed. Sunday, June 15 from 12 noon to 5pm, the same time slots as the Thea Mother's Day marathon this past week. And finally, don't forget to watch the "Strokes-World Memorial Day Marathon" on May 26. It's an all-day event of Diff'rent Strokes (9am-7pm) and A Different World (7pm-3am). Episode info will be available early next week, so check our message boards.

Network Notes, Includes More According to Jim; WPIX Brings Back Honeymooners; Oprah Talks to Shatner and Winkler

We have some network notes for you today. ABC announced its post-strike schedule and series already, but now we could have two more series return this season with new episodes! ABC will have 6 more According to Jim episodes this season! 12 episodes were shot of the sitcom before the strike ended now 6 more will be shot following the strike (taping resumes March 7)! So, the show will fullfill its 18 episode order for the season. Currently, the show is airing Tuesdays at 9PM on ABC but after March 11, the show will be on the move to another timeslot, as Dancing with the Stars: The Results will take over in that slot. By March 11, 11 of the 12 episodes would have aired. We will let you know when ABC will air the remaining episodes of the season when they announce it. This will likely be the final episodes, so be sure to tune in to Jim and the gang. And as a heads-up, this week the show will announce a major storyline plot...so tune in!
The other ABC show that could return this season with new episodes following the strike is the new hit drama Women's Murder Club. The drama has been a decent hit on Friday nights and ABC has found a new showrunner and thus 3 new episodes will be produced and could be on the air by April. No word when they will launch yet, but I am assuming it will remain Fridays at 9, as ABC certainly needs help 8-10pm on Fridays as repeats of other series are doing nothing there. We will let you know as soon as ABC announces!
Moving on to NBC, they have all but confirmed that Las Vegas will not return this season with new episodes or next season. So, the finale that aired a few weeks ago, could be the series finale. NBC also will not return new series Bionic Woman and Journeyman, as we stated previously. However, we might have some good news for the struggling Lipstick Jungle. NBC has ordered 6 more scripts, so that is a good sign. Maybe NBC will order those scripts to episodes and have it air in the summer, as NBC is going for a 52-week season rather than Sept-May only.

Last week we announced what will happen to WPIX, WWOR and WNYW in New York when Everybody Loves Raymond moves from WPIX to WWOR. There was one TBA timeslot that I couldn't announce until today. The TBA slot was for Sunday nights from 1-2am on WPIX. So, the TBA slot will be...The Honeymooners!
For over 30 years, the WPIX-TV (CW11) has been New York's home for The Honeymooners. Now, the CW11 will begin a year-long Honeymooners Viewer's Choice Hour to run every Sunday night. See all 108 episodes of hamana-hamana-hamana hijinks with Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason), Ed Norton (Art Carney), Alice Kramden (Audrey Meadows) and Trixie Norton (Joyce Randolph) in a weekly viewer's choice hour commencing Sunday, March 16 from 1-2 am.
Beginning on March 7, Honeymooners fans can visit CW11.com to vote for their favorite episodes. Each week, the two episodes with the most votes will air in the Viewer's Choice Hour on the CW11 on Sunday nights.
Can't remember the title of your favorite episode? CW11.com will feature a short clip from all 108 Honeymooners episodes (with title, cast and summary information) on the voting page. Each week, viewers can log on and vote for the two episodes they want to see on air that weekend. On Sunday nights at 1am the CW11 will air back-to-back-episodes of the top two vote-getters. Once an episode has aired it will be removed from the polls and all episodes will air only once.
Great news and start voting on March 7! To discuss this news with other fans, click HERE!

Oprah gave us a Cosby Show kids reunion a few weeks ago, and she has talked to classic TV stars such as Phylicia Rashad and Valerie Bertinelli about their current projects in the past few days, but now she will have a legends episode with two classic TV legends and a music legend tomorrow (Tuesday, February 26, check local listings for time and channel in your area).
Here is what Oprah says: Our viewers have been asking for him, and now he's rocking out on our stage. It's rock legend Rick Springfield! Watch as Rick makes one unsuspecting fan's big dream come true! Then, Oprah chats with one of the most recognized people on planet Earth, beloved TV icon William Shatner (Star Trek)! He shares what it has meant to him to be loved by millions as Captain Kirk and how he has been able to reinvent himself again and again over his half-century career. Plus, Oprah talks to TV's "coolest" legend..."The Fonz!" Henry Winkler (Happy Days) talks about his place in TV history and how he has managed to use his celebrity to help children with learning disabilities.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some big news (everyday is a big day now it seems, Oprah must be proud of us)...the launch schedules for ME-Too in Chicago and ME-TV in Milwaukee! Lots of Classic TV!