SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

GAC Family Acquires Fuller House; Crown Media Extends Lacey Chabert Partnership

We mentioned on Digest this past Saturday that reruns of Netflix's Fuller House are coming to cable network GAC Family, but now we have more details. GAC Family will start airing the Full House revival series next week on Monday, February 28. GAC Family of course started airing Full House as well as of earlier this month. Fuller House will air five episodes every weeknight from approx. 10pm-1:30am, replacing a block of Who's the Boss?, and airing right after seven episodes of Full House from approx. 6pm-10pm. No other changes are being made to the GAC Family line-up, that we mentioned when Full House started. Fuller House ended on Netflix after 5 seasons (75 episodes) in 2020, but one can wonder if it can be revived on GAC Family and continue the storyline without the late Bob Saget?

Crown Media Family Networks and Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls, The Wedding Veil, Christmas at Castle Hart) have signed an exclusive multi-picture overall deal, the company announced. As part of the deal, Chabert will headline and executive produce movies and develop other content for Hallmark Channel and other Hallmark platforms over the next two years. Chabert is an all-time Crown Media fan favorite, starring in many of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries' most-watched original movies. Most recently, she developed, executive produced, and starred in The Wedding Veil a new movie trilogy for Hallmark Channel. The first installment, which premiered on January 8, became an instant hit, registering as the 2nd most-watched non-holiday movie among Households and Women 18+ in network history. Premiering this past Sunday, the second installment was the most-watched cable program of the week among Women 18+. Additionally, Chabert also stars in, and executive produces one of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries most popular movie series, Crossword Mysteries. Chabert's history with the networks began with Elevator Girl, her first original movie for Hallmark Channel in 2010. Since that time, she has starred in over 30 original movies across Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Chabert's resume is as extensive as it is versatile. She received her first break in a cough syrup commercial before successfully auditioning for the Broadway production of Les Misérables, in which she played young Cosette for two years. In 1998, she made her feature film debut as Penny Robinson in Lost in Space. Best known for her role as Claudia on the Golden Globe Award(R)-winning Fox television series Party of Five, Chabert has appeared on ABC Family's sitcom Baby Daddy and ABC's daytime drama All My Children, as well as in several made-for-TV movies, including Gypsy starring Bette Midler; A Little Piece of Heaven with Cloris Leachman; and Lifetime's What If God Were the Sun? starring opposite Gena Rowlands.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Full House, Fuller House, GAC Family, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Party of Five, Who's the Boss?

SitcomsOnline Digest: Trailers for Punky Brewster and Saved by the Bell Reboots Released; Party of Five Reboot Canceled

• In case you missed it, Peacock (which launched this week for Comcast subscribers but will come later for the rest of us) released trailers of some of their new series that will be launching in the upcoming months, including their reboots of Punky Brewster and Saved by the Bell. (Deadline)
• Despite it being in development for what seemed like an eternity, the party is over for the Party of Five reboot after just one season. (Vulture) 
• There are more "Stars in the House" reunion specials with casts from Dallas, China Beach, Pop's One Day at a Time, and more, which you can see here. (Deadline)
• Saul Turteltaub, who had writing and producing credits for series including Sanford & Son, What's Happening!!, Kate & Allie, and That Girl, among others, has died at age 87. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Actor Brian Dennehy has died at age 81. (CNN)
• Netflix is releasing the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt interactive special next month. (SitcomsOnline)

• Antenna TV has a binge of It's a Living today, and Wings tomorrow.
• Decades has a binge of Father Dowling Mysteries this weekend.
• The final episode of Will & Grace airs Thursday night on NBC.

Posted by Skees -- SitcomsOnline.com at 1:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Party of Five, Peacock, Punky Brewster, Saved by the Bell, SitcomsOnline Digest

Freeform January 2020 Schedule with The Simpsons, Superstore, Family Guy; WarnerMedia and Xandr Upfront Now Combined in 2020

Freeform will be changing up its schedule this January. Among the new additions are Family Guy, which will air Fridays from 8pm-11pm starting Friday, Jan. 3. In a quiet addition, Freeform has acquired current NBC comedy Superstore and will air it weekday mornings from 7am-9:30am starting Monday, Jan. 6. In a corporate synergy move, The Simpsons will now air regularly on Freeform Monday-Friday from 4pm-6pm starting Jan. 6 (and of course it will still remain on FXX). The only other sitcom on the schedule is The Middle, which will now air usually between 1pm-4pm.

January is also a big month for Freeform for original series. The new Party of Five has its series premiere on Wednesday, Jan. 8 with back to back episodes from 9pm-11pm. Drama Good Trouble has its season premiere the following week on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 10pm. In comedy news, grown-ish has its season premiere on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 8pm, followed by new comedy Everything's Gonna Be Okay with its series premiere on the same night (Thursday, Jan. 16) with back to back episodes from 8:30pm-9:30pm. And finally, returning drama The Bold Type has its season premiere the following week on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 9pm.

WarnerMedia and Xandr, both part of AT&T, announced the two companies will join together for the first time on the Upfront stage next May 13, 2020. This inaugural event will showcase the future of advertising capabilities. After more than a year of significant collaboration, launching new and enhanced products with dozens of successful advertising case studies, both will step out on stage together. WarnerMedia and Xandr will share the unparalleled opportunity to advertisers when assembling world-class brands, premium content and experiences, powerful advertising technology, distinct collections of audiences, personalized insights, 5G-enabled capabilities, and a future-look for ongoing innovation.

In 2019, both teams collaborated on go-to-market strategies but featured two separate, complementary Upfront events. Building on what both groups accomplished in the past year, this Upfront promises to not only highlight premium storytelling and content coming to the WarnerMedia brands, but also lean into tangible results through advertising solutions available now, with an eye toward future development, including the anticipated AVOD version of HBO Max, expected in 2021. The WarnerMedia and Xandr Upfront will take place the morning of Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Additional details will be available closer to the date of the event.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Everything's Gonna Be Okay, Family Guy, Freeform, Good Trouble, grown-ish, Party of Five, Superstore, The Simpsons, Upfronts, WarnerMedia

SitcomsOnline Digest: A Look at the Party of Five Reboot; The Simpsons Not Ending Soon, Says Producer

• NBC is interested in a sitcom inspired by the last surviving Blockbuster video rental store. (Deadline)
• The reboot of Party of Five is coming, and now we have our first preview. (Deadline)
• Despite what the music composer for the series said in a now viral interview, The Simpsons is not coming to an end "very soon" as some media outlets have reported, at least according to producer Al Jean. (Screen Rant)
• Actress Joan Staley, who appeared in many classic series in the 1960s, has died. (Deadline)
• Although the "tradition" is only a few years old now, it just wouldn't be Christmas without CBS doing an I Love Lucy special event. (SitcomsOnline)  

• Decades is airing both The Powers of Matthew Star and Wonder Woman this weekend.
• Fox has their limited holiday sitcom, The Moodys, starting on Wednesday night.

Posted by Skees -- SitcomsOnline.com at 1:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Party of Five, SitcomsOnline Digest, The Simpsons

SitcomsOnline Digest: Party of Five Reboot Coming in January; Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey to Reunite for Office Ladies Podcast

• The Party of Five reboot will debut in January on Freeform. (Entertainment Weekly)
• Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer have a new podcast coming soon in which they will discuss classic episodes of The Office. (Deadline)
• Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman is going to prison for 14 days, but Lori Loughlin could looking at enough time in prison to come out as great-great-aunt Becky. (Yahoo! Entertainment)
• Waiting for a Friends reboot? It's not happening... or at least that's what they're saying. (TV Guide)
• Rocci Chatfield is unlikely to be a name you know, but she had a very long and unique career as a TV writer, writing for series including My Three Sons, Family Affair, Knots Landing, and Days of Our Lives. Now, she has died at age 93. (Deadline)
• The one who is coming to Antenna TV next year is... That Girl! (SitcomsOnline)  

• Decades has a binge of The Big Valley this weekend.
• NBC's newest late night talk show entry, A Little Late with Lilly Singh, debuts Monday night with Mindy Kaling as her guest, with Rainn Wilson also making an appearance.
• We forgot to mention it last week, but The Ranch returned to Netflix yesterday with new episodes.

Posted by Skees -- SitcomsOnline.com at 1:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Friends, Party of Five, SitcomsOnline Digest, That Girl, The Office

According to Jim Starts March 4 on Laff; Freeform Picks Up Party of Five to Series

According to Jim is coming to Laff, as we mentioned. Now we have a start date and timings. The hit Jim Belushi sitcom will launch on Monday, March 4 and air multiple times per day. It will air weekdays 10-11am, 5-7pm and 11pm-12am. The series will also air Sunday mornings from 8-9am. That's a whole lotta Jim and company! According to Jim hasn't been seen since it aired on TBS and local syndication. Laff will also air an According to Jim marathon on Saturday, March 30 from 1pm-7pm. Laff also airs Grounded for Life, Spin City, Home Improvement, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Drew Carey Show, That '70s Show, Grace Under Fire, and A Different World. In addition to Jim, Laff is adding World's Funniest Videos to early mornings. Laff is removing Night Court from the line-up come March and no word if it will return at a later date. See the full lineup coming March 4.

In advance of the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour session, Freeform announces the pickup to series of the reboot of fan-favorite Party of Five from the original creators, Amy Lippman and Chris Keyser. 10 episodes have been ordered. From Sony Pictures Television, the one-hour drama will follow the five Acosta children (fka Buendia) as they navigate daily life struggles to survive as a family unit after their parents are suddenly deported to Mexico. The series stars Brandon Larracuente as Emilio, Emily Tosta as Lucia, Niko Guardado as Beto and Elle Paris Legaspi as Valentina. The pilot was co-written by Lippman, Keyser and newcomer Michal Zebede. The series is created by Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman, who also serve as executive producers and writers. Rodrigo Garcia also serves as executive producer and directed the pilot. Michal Zebede serves as co-executive producer and writer.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: According to Jim, Freeform, LAFF, Party of Five

SitcomsOnline Digest: Geoffrey Owens Lands Role on Tyler Perry Series Following Trader Joe's Shaming; Remembering the TV Career of the Late Burt Reynolds

• Geoffrey Owens made news this week when he was spotted by a photographer for The Daily Mail bagging groceries at Trader Joe's, and he says part of the reason why he needs to work harder is due to the loss of royalties from The Cosby Show as it has not been as prominent in syndication following the Bill Cosby conviction. (People)
• Meanwhile, the publicity from the Geoffrey Owens incident hasn't been all bad for the actor, as the attention has landed him a recurring role in Tyler Perry's The Haves and Have Nots. (Entertainment Weekly)
• Burt Reynolds died this week, and while he was mostly known as a star of the big screen, many tributes have neglected his television career, including Evening Shade, Gunsmoke, and countless guest appearances on various series. (NY Post)  
• A Party of Five reboot is one step closer to reality at Freeform. (Deadline)
• A new mystery series featuring the Nancy Drew character is in the works at The CW. (Deadline)
• Bill Daily, who was known for his roles on I Dream of Jeannie, The Bob Newhart Show, and ALF (among many other guest starring roles), has died at age 91. (Variety)
• Mork & Mindy has a 40th anniversary coming up, and of course, Antenna TV will celebrate that. (SitcomsOnline)

• The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Eleventh Season (DVD, $44.98; Blu-ray, $49.99): Just before the premiere of the upcoming twelfth season, which will be the last, this release brings the eleventh season of the popular series to DVD and Blu-ray.
• The Middle - The Complete Ninth Season (DVD, $29.98): It was a little bittersweet to see the Heck family end their journey at the end of the past season, and now, the final season of that series arrives on DVD from Warner Archive.
• Modern Family - The Complete Ninth Season (DVD, $29.99): Although we do not yet know for certain that the tenth season of this will be the last, this season brings all of the episodes of the ninth season to DVD.

• Fox will make their first debut of a sitcom for the upcoming season on Sunday night with a sneak preview of Rel. 
• The new season of Shameless kicks off on Sunday night on Showtime.
• A third hour of Good Morning America, GMA Day, will be airing every weekday starting Monday on ABC.
• Decades has an entire weekend of The Beverly Hillbillies this weekend.

Posted by Skees -- SitcomsOnline.com at 2:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Cosby Show, Modern Family, Party of Five, SitcomsOnline Digest, The Big Bang Theory, The Middle

grown-ish Gets 2nd Season, While Party of Five Reboot Gets Pilot; Netflix Gets Joel McHale Talk Show

At the inaugural Freeform Summit, during kickoff panel conversation featuring Kenya Barris and Yara Shahidi, among others, grown-ish executive producer alongside executive vice president, programming & development, Karey Burke, surprised series lead, Shahidi, with the news that the network has ordered a second season of the critically-acclaimed breakout comedy. The premiere, which boasted Freeform's highest debut for a comedy in nearly six years, also earned critical praise from Deadline, which called the series "straight up good, no -ish required," and BuzzFeed declared, "glows from the inside out." Freeform's grown-ish, a half-hour comedy tackling current social issues and complexities facing both students and administrators, follows Zoey (Yara Shahidi), Dre (Anthony Anderson) and Rainbow's (Tracee Ellis Ross) popular, entitled, stylish and socially active 17-year-old daughter from ABC's Emmy(R)-nominated comedy black-ish, as she heads into her freshman year of college at Cal U.

The series is produced by ABC Signature Studios and is executive produced by Kenya Barris, Helen Sugland, E. Brian Dobbins, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne and Julie Bean. grown-ish airs Wednesday nights at 8/7c on Freeform and black-ish airs Tuesday nights at 9/8c on ABC. Freeform also announced a put pilot commitment for a reboot of the fan-favorite Party of Five series with original creators Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman. From Sony Pictures Television, the reboot will follow the five Buendias children as they navigate daily life struggles to survive as a family unit after their parents are suddenly deported back to Mexico. In other Freeform news, Marvel's Cloak & Dagger will premiere Thursday, June 7 (8:00 - 10:00 p.m. EDT/PDT), following the conclusion of new series Siren, which premieres Thursday, March 29 from 8-10pm. The Bold Type returns Tuesday, June 12 at 8pm and Famous in Love starring Bella Thorne returns Wednesday, April 4 with a two-hour premiere from 8-10pm.

He's back! Comedian and actor Joel McHale is coming to Netflix with the weekly, topical series The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale starting Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale is a new, weekly half-hour topical series that takes a sharp, absurdist look at pop culture and news from across the globe. It's a fast and funny distillation of everything people are talking about that week. Featuring celebrity guests, comedy sketches, and insane video clips from the worldwide realms of TV, sports, politics, celebrity culture, and every corner of the internet, The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale is destination viewing for comedy lovers, or people who just really, really like green screens. The Joel McHale Show launches globally February 18, 2018. Filmed on location at Sunset Bronson Studios in Los Angeles, the show is produced by Pygmy Wolf Productions, Free Period Productions, and Feigco Entertainment in association with Lionsgate Television. Season 1 # of episodes: 13 episodes x 30 mins. with a weekly rollout. Tapes Thursdays (Sunset Bronson) and debuts following Sunday.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: ABC, black-ish, Freeform, grown-ish, Netflix, Party of Five, The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale

SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Television Distribution Acquires Digital Rights to The Carol Burnett Show; Party of Five Set for Reboot

• CBS Television Distribution has acquired digital rights to every episode of The Carol Burnett Show, including many that haven't been seen in decades, which will give fans something more to see than the usual syndicated Carol Burnett and Friends. (CBS Press Express)
• Here we go again with another reboot: it looks as if Freeform is looking to reboot Party of Five. (ABC News) 
• The Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish has been renewed for a sophomore season. (Hollywood Reporter)
• ABC has ordered a comedy pilot about an Irish Catholic family in the 70s from sitcom veteran Tim Doyle. (Variety)
• The Paramount Network debuted this week, as a rebranding of Spike TV, and now they've released a trailer for their upcoming series Heathers, which they're hoping will be their first big scripted hit. (Variety)
• We warned you last week that a certain word that was in the news last week might be on the verge of becoming more acceptable on television, and Saturday Night Live took it all the way last week with plenty of uncensored s-holes and even an f-bomb, although both were bleeped out on the west coast feed that airs in primetime. (Deadline) 
• WKRP in Cincinnati creator Hugh Wilson has died this week at age 74. (NPR)
• Fans were definitely eager to see the return of The Office to cable this week, as ratings for the Comedy Central debut of the series demonstrated.  (SitcomsOnline)

• The Paper Chase - The Final Season (DVD, $24.99): The final season of this 80s series arrives on DVD with this release, years after the third season was released.

• The Netflix reboot of One Day at a Time returns for a second season on Friday.
• Over on Comedy Central, Drunk History and Another Period will both return for new seasons on Tuesday.
• A third season of The Detour debuts on TBS on Tuesday.
• Yet another cable series with a season debut on Tuesday night is Baskets on FX.
• This weekend, Decades has a Weekend Binge of The Millionaire.

Posted by Skees -- SitcomsOnline.com at 1:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Carol Burnett Show, grown-ish, Paramount Network, Party of Five, SitcomsOnline Digest

SitcomsOnline Digest: Yahoo! Screen Shuts Down, Effectively Cancelling Community (Again); NBC Announces New Pilots

• Community has managed to survive six seasons (though no movie... yet), but it can't seem to catch a break. After being on the verge of cancellation just about every season on NBC, it finally was cancelled and moved to Yahoo! Screen for the sixth season, except now, Yahoo! Screen has been shut down, effectively cancelling the series... again. (/FILM)
• NBC may be falling short in the comedy realm lately, but they're not giving up, as they've picked up four new pilots from producers with a track record of success. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Hulu has announced a new deal with Sony that will bring Dawson's Creek, Party of Five, and more to the service, though so far, the only sitcom announced is Happy Endings (which has actually already debuted on the service). (Hollywood Reporter) 
• TBS, which has been sort of redefining itself lately, has ordered a comedy pilot starring Wyatt Cenac, with Conan O'Brien and Greg Daniels producing. (Variety)
• We still have another month before Fuller House debuts on Netflix, but everybody is excited over new photos from the series that have surfaced online. (Entertainment Weekly)
• ABC is eager to make primetime a game show destination again (at least for the summer), as they've renewed Celebrity Family Feud and plan to introduce a Michael Strahan hosted version of $100,000 Pyramid. (Deadline) 
• Pat Harrington, Jr., best known for his role of Schneider on One Day at a Time, has died, and Antenna TV is airing a marathon of the series today. (SitcomsOnline) 

TUESDAY (JANUARY 12) HOME MEDIA RELEASES

• Hill Street Blues - The Final Season (DVD, $34.93): The final season of the classic police drama arrives on DVD for those who skipped on the complete series release.
• The Wonder Years - Season Four (DVD, $39.98): Time Life continues the series on DVD with this release, for those who did not pick up the previously released complete series set.

Posted by Skees -- SitcomsOnline.com at 3:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Community, Dawson's Creek, Last Man Standing, Party of Five, SitcomsOnline Digest, Yahoo