SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

TV Land premiered the second season of sophomore sitcom Retired at 35 three weeks ago (June 26), but on Tuesday nights instead of the normal Wednesday original night. As a result, the sitcom has not done well in the ratings for its first three episodes of the season. In its defense, the series has been airing on an island surrounded by repeats. It makes it look like a burn-off, as the series was also delayed a few times in premiering its second season. TV Land will give it a better chance starting this week. It will not air tonight (Tuesday at 10), but instead will move to Wednesdays following new episodes of The Soul Man and The Exes. Now because of that move, Retired at 35 is no longer in primetime, since it will be airing Wednesdays at 11pm.
The new season brought a new cast member as Marissa Jaret Winokur joined the show. In Retired at 35, after 37 years of marriage, Alan Robbins (George Segal) and his wife Elaine (Jessica Walter, Arrested Development) are expected to cruise into retirement and live out their days happily ever after. However, they get an unexpected surprise when their uptight and overworked son David (Johnathan McClain), sick of the NYC rat race, decides to move in with them in their active-adult community. David finds himself dealing with his overzealous parents as well as his sister Amy (Marissa Jaret Winokur), who, while successful in business, has made less than impressive choices in her love life. Among the guest stars this season include Robin Givens (Head of the Class), John Ross Bowie (The Big Bang Theory), Melissa Peterman (Baby Daddy) and Daneel Ackles.
After these three very low rated airings (all at a series low 0.1 adults 18-49 rating), perhaps a third season is not in the cards unless it does pretty well on Wednesdays at 11. That might be a tough task as The Soul Man and The Exes slipped in week two: The Soul Man from a 0.6 to a 0.3 adults 18-49 rating and The Exes from a 0.4 to a 0.2 adults 18-49 rating. However, there was a week off in between for the 4th of July, but TV Land should have premiered both sitcoms a week or two earlier when they had repeats on June 13 and June 20.

In related news, Nick at Nite has pulled the airings of All That and Kenan & Kel after only three weeks. They both started airing Mon-Thurs in the 8pm hour on June 25, but Nickelodeon has now replaced them with back-to-back episodes of the original series VICTORiOUS as of last night. There will be no other schedule changes on Nick at Nite, which means VICTORiOUS is being brought in to help out struggling Nick at Nite original drama Hollywood Heights, which has only mustered a 0.1 adults 18-49 rating in recent airings in its 9pm time period. The series was ordered for 80 episodes, and they are about only a little over 25% done with that.

We now have some sad news. Todd will report on the passing of TV director and producer William Asher.

Legendary director and producer William Asher, best known for his work on I Love Lucy and Bewitched, has died. Asher died July 16 at a board and care facility in Palm Desert, California, of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Mr. Asher was 90.

Asher's career in television began as a writer and director for a filmed anthology series called Invitation Playhouse. He later started working for CBS Studios. His first directed TV pilot became Our Miss Brooks, which starred Eve Arden and aired on CBS from 1952-1956. In 1952, he was asked by Desi Arnaz to direct a few episodes of the second season of I Love Lucy. Asher went on to direct over 100 episodes of the series, including the classic Job Switching episode where Lucy and Ethel work at a candy factory. In 1955, he was nominated for the DGA award for the Lucy's Mother-in-Law episode. His other early directing credits included Racquet Squad, Big Town, The Danny Thomas Show, General Electic Theater, The Colgate Comedy Hour, December Bride, Sally, The Thin Man, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Twilight Zone, and The Patty Duke Show, which he co-created with writer Sidney Sheldon.

His best known work was as a producer and director of Bewitched. Asher produced the 1964-1972 ABC sitcom, starring his then-wife, Elizabeth Montgomery. He directed over 130 episodes of the series. Asher received four Emmy nominations for his work on the show, winning once in 1966 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy. Some of his other sitcom directing credits included Gidget, The Paul Lynde Show, The New Temperatures Rising, Operation Petticoat, Tabitha, Alice, The Bad News Bears, Private Benjamin, and Harper Valley. He also directed a couple of TV reunion movies - I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later in 1985 and Return to Green Acres in 1990. His film credits as a director and writer included three popular beach-blanket movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello - Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, and Beach Blanket Bingo.

The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive interview with him on March 31 and April 26, 2000. His survivors include his wife, Meredith, daughters Liane Sears and Rebecca Asher, sons Brian, Bill Jr., Robert and John, four step-children, nine grandchildren and eight step-grandchildren. Asher was married to actress Elizabeth Montgomery from 1963-1973. They had three children. He was married to actress Joyce Bulifant from 1976-1993. Mr. Asher was a true pioneer in the industry. He's considered the man who invented the sitcom. He was one of the most proflific directors in the early days of television. We thank him for bringing us sitcom classics like I Love Lucy and Bewitched. He will be deeply missed.

Post your condolences on our Bewitched message board.

Upfront preview week continues today with CBS. Speculation is that CBS will turn the one-hour comedy block on Thursday to two-hours. Will it happen? Not much else is going on with CBS other than that, so let's get right to it.
Here is the SitcomsOnline.com CBS 2012-13 preview:

New Series Already Picked-Up: None.
Already Renewed Returning Series: 2 Broke Girls, The Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, NCIS, NCIS: LA, The Mentalist, Person of Interest, The Good Wife, 60 Minutes, Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, CSI, Hawaii Five-0, Undercover Boss, 48 Hours Mystery, & Survivor.
Likely Returning Series: CSI: NY, Rules of Engagement and Two and a Half Men.
Likely To Be Canceled or Already Canceled: How To Be A Gentleman, NYC 22, Unforgettable, A Gifted Man, Rob, CSI: Miami.
Likely New Series Pick-Ups: Untitled Ralph Lamb Project (drama for fall), Elementary (drama for fall), Oh F****, It's You (sitcom for fall), Super Fun Night (sitcom for fall), Trooper (drama for mid-season), and Partners (sitcom for mid-season).

OUR FALL 2012 PREDICTION:

Mondays
8:00PM How I Met Your Mother
8:30PM Mike & Molly
9:00PM 2 Broke Girls
9:30PM Super Fun Night (NEW!)
10:00PM Hawaii Five-0

Tuesdays
8:00PM NCIS
9:00PM Ralph Lamb (NEW!)
10:00PM NCIS: Los Angeles

Wednesdays
8:00PM Survivor
9:00PM Criminal Minds
10:00PM CSI

Thursdays
8:00PM Two and a Half Men
8:30PM Rules of Engagement
9:00PM The Big Bang Theory
9:30PM Oh F***, It's You (NEW!)
10:00PM Person of Interest

Fridays
8:00PM Undercover Boss
9:00PM Elementary (NEW!)

10:00PM Blue Bloods

Saturdays
8:00PM Crime Repeats
9:00PM Crime Repeats
10:00PM 48 Hours Mystery

Sundays
7:00PM 60 Minutes
8:00PM The Amazing Race
9:00PM The Mentalist
10:00PM The Good Wife

Comments: CBS is pretty steady and saw a nice increase, thanks to syndication, for The Big Bang Theory this past season. With the increase, CBS now has a chance to grow the comedy block on Thursday even more and expand to two-hours. This will make them younger on the night for sure. On CBS Mondays, How I Met Your Mother will continue to lead off the night but at 8:30pm possibly Mike & Molly could be moved there. I think 2 Broke Girls is possibly ready to anchor Monday nights, so I think they will move it to 9pm! As a result, Two and a Half Men is on the move and it will another night, but more on that below. 2 Broke Girls could lead into something new like Super Fun Night which seems like a good fit at 9:30pm. At 10pm, Hawaii Five-0 will return in this hour.
As for Tuesday, veteran NCIS will of course remain at 8. However, I think the 9pm hour will be different this time, with NCIS: LA moving to 10pm, so the new drama Untitled Ralph Lamb Project could be sandwiched in between at 9pm. Dennis Quaid stars in a nice all-star cast that also features James Russo, Michael Chiklis, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Unforgettable is too low in 18-49 to come back. For Wednesdays, CBS will likely remain with Survivor leading into Criminal Minds at 9pm. At 10pm, CSI has done solid, so I think it will remain here. Wednesdays is probably the only night CBS remains exactly the same. It's not great ratings, but consistent and good.
CBS Thursdays I think will now have Two and a Half Men leading off, at a new night and time! At 8:30pm, Rules of Engagement will likely be for fall because I don't think the series has any more mid-season options. So I think they will bring it back one final time. A new comedy like Partners will be ready to take over by January. CBS will likely expand its comedies into the 9pm hour, as The Big Bang Theory will anchor the night at 9pm. A new comedy would be ideal at 9:30pm, with either Partners or Oh F****, It's You the best options. I think they go with the latter. The Mentalist is probably on the move to another night, so I think Person of Interest will move from 9 to 10pm. Mid-season sitcom Rob has about no chance of returning.
Fridays will probably start off with Undercover Boss at 8pm, as it has done solid this season in this slot. At 9pm, CSI: NY should be benched for mid-season so they can try a new drama. Perhaps the Sherlock Holmes drama Elementary? Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu star. Blue Bloods should remain at 10pm.
Saturdays would still have crime repeats and 48 Hours Mystery at 10pm. No surprises here I think. I don't think they try new episodes of comedies at 8pm again, as it never planned out last season. And as for Sundays, CBS reality series Amazing Race at 8pm should remain out of 60 Minutes. Perhaps at 9pm they can move The Mentalist to this night to try and jump start The Good Wife, which will be needed to move to 10pm. CSI: Miami will likely not return I think, as it's not really needed nor does it do too well now. No chance NYC 22 returns.
CBS should have new comedies at 9:30pm on Mondays and Thursdays for sure.  Thursdays at 8:30pm is another option, but I think they will wait until January for that time period. They should go with their three best multi-camera pilots in these slots. Whatever works best out of Men, Bang and Broke. The dramas look a bit more unique than usual for CBS in Ralph Lamb's project and Elementary. Will they skew young though? One of the CSI spin-offs will be dead, so another drama in mid-season could help, like Trooper. Anyway, last season at this time we were all glued in the Charlie Sheen saga, so it is not as active for CBS this year. Maybe their Thursday two-hour comedy block announcement will change that. I think they do it.

Remember, next Wednesday (May 16) is the actual date when we will find out CBS's plans for the 2012-13 season. So, come on back next Wednesday and we will let you know the details and you can see how much we were right (or wrong). Stay tuned tomorrow for our last preview, a preview on The CW's upfront.
Discuss your thoughts on our prediction and feel free to make suggestions of your own!

For the first time since the launch of the network 16 years ago in 1996, TV Land has unveiled a new and re-imagined logo plus re-designed on-air packaging and graphics. Gone is the logo with a classic TV screen and retro style. Instead, as of yesterday (Wednesday, May 9), viewers are seeing a fresh mark with a nod to the channel's roots, a change that reflects the evolution of the network itself. No longer a channel made up of shows strictly from yesteryear, TV Land is now finding success using a combination of programming including new original series, sitcoms of the recent past and, of course, classic TV.
And as we announced many times, in another network first, TV Land is adding a second night of original sitcoms to the schedule. This summer, the network will air three original comedies beginning Wednesday, June 20. In the channel's regular Wednesday night originals block from 10-11pm ET/PT, The Soul Man, starring Cedric The Entertainer and Niecy Nash, will debut the first of its 12 episode run, followed by the second season premiere of The Exes, starring Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche, Kelly Stables and Kristen Johnston, which will also air for 12 episodes. Then, beginning Tuesday, June 26, TV Land will begin the 10-episode second season of Retired at 35, starring George Segal, Jessica Walter, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Johnathan McClain and Josh McDermitt at 10pm ET/PT alongside a repeat of hit series Hot in Cleveland starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White.

TV Land has changed the name of the upcoming Hot in Cleveland spin-off series starring Cedric the Entertainer. The sitcom was titled Have Faith, but now TV Land has changed it to The Soul Man. Like the Have Faith title, this is not to be confused with another sitcom (Soul Man, 1997-98 on ABC).
The Soul Man is TV Land's newest original sitcom, created by Cedric "The Entertainer" and Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin. The show revolves around Cedric's character, Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine, an R&B superstar-turned-minister who takes over as preacher of his father's church. Niecy Nash (Reno 911, Dancing with the Stars) also stars as the reverend's wife, Lolli. The character of Reverend Boyce originated on a second season episode of Hot in Cleveland in which Cedric guest starred.



The Soul Man is slated to premiere on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 10:00pm and will have a 12-episode order. The series will be paired with the second season of The Exes, which also returns on June 13 at 10:30pm, as previously announced for June. TV Land's current Wednesdays at 10:00pm & 10:30pm line-up is Hot in Cleveland season three and Happily Divorced season two and both will conclude their seasons on Wednesday, June 6 -- a week before the premieres of The Soul Man and The Exes. We also have another scoop for you. TV Land has finally scheduled another date for the second season of Retired at 35. It will now premiere on Tuesday, June 26 at 10:00pm, as previously it was going to air Wednesdays in March then later changed to Wednesdays in June. So TV Land is starting a second night of original comedy with Tuesdays being added. As of now, nothing will be paired with Retired. If you forgot, Retired at 35 follows a successful businessman (Johnathan McClain) who decides to chuck the New York City rat race... and retires to Florida, three decades ahead of time! He ends up moving into his parents’ Florida condominium, joining his pop (George Segal) in a brand new world of sunshine and fun, from slow-moving softball games to really early dinners. Mom (Jessica Walter) and a cast of characters look on skeptically as father and son bond again, new-found buddies enjoying the glories of total irresponsibility!
We will have more info on all of TV Land's original comedies when official announcements come in, so stay tuned!



I think everyone has heard about the comments that Kirk Cameron has made, so I won't get into that into detail (if you don't read the link below). Our buddy Eric from Just My Show invited a former Growing Pains actor and previous Just My Show guest to share his thoughts on the situation. Actor and comedian Bill Kirchenbauer played the recurring role of Coach Graham Lubbock, Mike Seaver's teacher and occasional mentor, before starring in the Growing Pains spin-off Just the Ten of Us.
"When I first started working on the show, Kirk was a very nice well mannered young man who seemed to have his ego in check. Some time after he turned religious, he then started doing things like getting Julie McCoullough fired because he thought her to be an immoral young girl because of her appearance in Playboy. Not very Christian like..." That's just a bit of what Bill had to say about Kirk Cameron on Just My Show. Read the full statement and read about this Kirk Cameron story on Just My Show.

Fox has officially announced the Tuesday night sitcom spring schedule that they planned back at upfront. The full-night of sitcoms on Fox Tuesday will begin Tuesday, March 6. First up, second year comedy Raising Hope will move to a new time of 8:00pm for five weeks. Then at 8:30pm will be the return of multi-camera sitcom I Hate My Teenage Daughter for five weeks. For Raising Hope, two episodes will remain to air after these five weeks, so Fox could use them on another night when needed. For I Hate My Teenage Daughter, only four episodes have aired and after these five air, nine of the thirteen would have aired. Fox could also air the remaining four episodes of this season if needed on another night. The two comedies will replace Glee, which will go on a seven week break after its Feb. 21 airing. A special American Idol will air on the last Tuesday of February sweep on Feb. 28. Glee will return to the Fox line-up on Tuesday, April 10 until the end of the season for its final seven episodes of the season.
At 9pm, Fox will keep its comedy anchor New Girl at 9pm but it will now lead-in to the second season of Breaking In. Fox has ordered 13 episodes for the second season and it will likely air 10 episodes through May 8. Not sure when the others would air, unless they use them on another night or something. The second year sitcom will have new cast member Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) shaking up the Contra Security team. Odette Annable will be a recurring star now as she is now on Fox's House.
Stay with us for any further updates on when the remaining episodes of these comedies will end up airing. As the Breaking In theme goes, "we got your back!"



TV Land has picked up its hit original sitcom, The Exes, for a second season. The Exes, written by Frasier scribe Mark Reisman, stars critically-acclaimed actors Donald Faison (Scrubs), Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Hot in Cleveland), David Alan Basche, Kelly Stables (Two and a Half Men) and Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock From The Sun). Season two is set to premiere in June of this year along with the network's new original sitcom, Have Faith (working title), starring Cedric "The Entertainer" and Niecy Nash. To date, The Exes has averaged an audience of 1.5 million total viewers, earning a 0.65 Adults 25-54 rating and a 0.81 among Women 25-54 (Source: Nielsen, 11/30/11-1/25/12, Wed 10:30p-11p, most current data). Guest stars this season have included Judith Light (Who's The Boss?), Diedrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show), Janina Gavankar (True Blood), Ken Marino (Party Down) and NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire. The season one finale aired last Wednesday (Feb. 1) at 10:30pm.
So what does this mean for the June launches? As of now it was supposed to be Hot in Cleveland season 3B and Have Faith on Wednesday nights starting June 6, but now it looks like it will be The Exes season two and Have Faith? Or will TV Land open a second night of comedy this summer? We know that Happily Divorced season two moved up and will launch on March 7 at 10:30pm, following repeats of Hot in Cleveland. So perhaps TV Land will air the second half of the third season of Hot in Cleveland now starting March 7 at 10pm after just a two week break (the first half ends on Feb. 15)? We're not sure yet, but we'll let you know. We also await the season two premiere of Retired at 35, as that was originally penciled in for June, but is now delayed. If they open a second night of comedy in June, they could premiere that in June as planned.

Baby, if you've ever wondered that if WKRP in Cincinnati would be back on TV, now no need to wonder if that will happen! Why? Because digital simulcast network Antenna TV has announced at the annual National Association of Television Program Executive (NATPE) conference that the hit '70s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati is coming in April 2012! The sitcom is about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. Among the stars on the series are Gary Sandy, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson, Jan Smithers and Tim Reid. The series last aired regularly on television on Tribune's WGN America in 2008-09, but that was on cable and Antenna TV is a digital broadcast network. Prior to WGN America airing, it was on AmericanLife TV in 2007. When WGN America aired it, all of the music seemed to be intact and I think that will be the case on Tribune's Antenna TV as well.
Antenna TV will air all 90 episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati starting in April and will air it on Sunday nights during a two-hour block following NewsRadio to create a three-hour dysfunctional radio block in primetime! WKRP in Cincinnati will be replacing Married...with Children, which will be resting for a bit. Following WKRP in Cincinnati will still be the addicting '70s sitcom Soap, so WKRP in Cincinnati and Soap air back-to-back as well. Loni Anderson and Diana Canova back-to-back! We'll have exact timings coming soon, but expect this order starting in primetime.
We will have more on Antenna TV's new spring schedule that will start in April in the coming weeks, But we're not expecting any series to be removed from the schedule except Married...with Children, which is just resting anyway. Will more shows come to Antenna TV in the spring and will we see some timeslot changes for some shows? (I'm hoping the underrated Too Close for Comfort finally goes to weekdays) We will let you know as soon as we can announce that. But for now let's remember, "I'm at WKRP in Cincinnati..."

Keep it right here for news from NATPE, which is from Jan. 23-25. And stay with is in the coming days and we will give you a list of the shows being offered for fall 2012 syndication, like we do every year, including the off-network sitcoms.


TV Land announced that the second season of the network's hit original sitcom, Happily Divorced (which began production on January 17, 2012 at CBS Radford Studios) will now premiere at 10:30pm on March 7, rather than 10:00pm. The twelve new episodes of Happily Divorced will premiere on Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, so this means the second season of Retired at 35 will not premiere until later in the year. There is no word on when because TV Land also has the Hot in Cleveland spin-off series Have Faith premieres June 6. Encores of Hot in Cleveland will air at 10:00pm leading into Happily Divorced starting March 7, as Cleveland's mid-season finale is on Feb. 15 before it returns June 6 at 10pm with its second half.
Retired at 35 follows a successful businessman (Jonathan McClain) who decides to chuck the New York City rat race... and retires to Florida, three decades ahead of time and moves into his parents' (played by George Segal and Jessica Walter) Florida condo in a brand new world of sunshine and fun, from slow-moving softball games to really early dinners. And of course, Happily Divorced is based on Fran Drescher's real life as Los Angeles florist Fran (Drescher) as she deals with dating after finding out her realtor husband of 18 years (John Michael Higgins) is gay. The show focuses on how she juggles her new relationships and her ex-husband post-divorce while still living under the same roof.
Stay with us for more information and also stay with us soon for some schedule changes at TV Land.

We were pretty busy yesterday with our scoop on Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers reuniting, so we couldn't bring you the TCA Winter 2012 Press Tour news for cable that was held this past weekend. The biggest news for us came from TV Land. TV Land has picked up its fifth original sitcom, Have Faith, starring Cedric "The Entertainer. This sitcom is not to be confused by the late '80s ABC short-lived sitcom that was produced by John Ritter. The network has ordered 12 episodes for the first season, which is tentatively set to premiere on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 10:30pm following the second half of the third season of Hot in Cleveland. The sitcom, which was created by Cedric and Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin, revolves around Cedric's character, Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine, an R&B superstar-turned-minister who takes over as preacher of his father's church. Niecy Nash (Dancing with the Stars, Reno 911) also stars as the reverend's wife, Lolli. The pilot also features John Beasley as his father, Wesley Jonathan (What I Like About You) as his younger brother, and Jazz Raycole (My Wife and Kids) as his daughter. The character of Reverend Boyce originated on a second season episode of Hot in Cleveland in which Cedric guest-starred, making this a spin-off series.



Meanwhile, Hot in Cleveland, TV Land's first original sitcom starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White, has also been greenlit by the network for a 24-episode fourth season. A syndication deal was recently reached for"Hot in Cleveland, giving CBS Television Distribution the domestic distribution rights for the series. This season pickup would bring "Hot in Cleveland" to 80 total episodes. The series, which is currently in its third season, averages 2.5 million total viewers per episode. The winter finale will be on Wednesday, Feb. 15, before the series returns for the second half of the season on June 6.

In other TV Land news, TV Land announced that the second season of the hit original sitcom Happily Divorced will begin production today (January 17, 2012) at CBS Radford Studios and will be filmed in front of a live studio audience. The twelve new episodes of Happily Divorced will now premiere on Wednesday, March 7 at 10:00 pm ET/PT. Previously it was set to return on June 6 at 10:30pm, but TV Land has changed their minds and will now test the waters by having this sitcom lead an hour. The sitcom, which stars Fran Drescher (The Nanny) is also inspired by her real-life story, and revolves around Fran, a Los Angeles florist, who finds out after 18-years of marriage that her husband is gay. Having to live under the same roof as her ex-husband and start over in the dating world is complicated but Fran jumps head first as only Fran can with laughter ensuing.
Last season, Drescher was reunited with her Nanny cast mates, Renee Taylor and Charles Shaughnessy. According to Nielsen, the first season of Happily Divorced averaged 2.2 million viewers and was a ratings success for TV Land. TV Land will air the second season of Retired at 35 as planned starting Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30pm for ten all-new episodes. TV Land has not given any updates yet on The Exes, which premiered on Nov. 30. If it gets another season we will let you know, but you can watch that show every Wednesday at 10:30pm through Feb. 1.

Elsewhere on cable, we will have even more Niecy Nash. TLC has ordered a docu-sitcom titled Leave it to Niecy. Blending together production and storytelling elements from both the traditional sitcom genre and the world of non-scripted reality shows, Leave it to Niecy offers a new balance of real-life humor through the lens of the beloved comedy format. The eight-episode half-hour series will premiere Wednesday, March 28 at 10/9c. The docu-sitcom takes viewers into Niecy and her husband Jay Tucker's home, which includes her three kids, and her opinionated mother. Together, they balance work, life, and love to create a modern blended family. Also, CMT is joining forces with Ryan Seacrest Productions on a new reality series. The eight-episode series, Melissa and Tye: A New Reality (working title), starring television personality Melissa Rycroft (Dancing With the Stars, The Bachelor) will premiere on CMT in April. Melissa, a SitcomsOnline favorite, the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and America's favorite bachelorette definitely has gotten the last laugh after being dumped on national TV. She found the ultimate redemption by becoming a hugely popular contestant on Dancing with the Stars, which ignited a television hosting career on series and specials such as Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, Bachelor Pad, The Insider, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. But her greatest success came when she re-connected with the "real" man of her dreams, home town boyfriend, Tye Strickland. Now married with an eleven-month old daughter, Melissa is about to embark on her biggest journey yet - moving to Los Angeles from Texas to pursue her Hollywood dreams. The series will follow the couple as they navigate the trials and tribulations of being new parents, making a long-distance relationship work and making their dreams become a reality.
Finally, the world knows Shannen Doherty (Charmed, Beverly Hills 90210) as an icon, but she's also a devoted daughter and friend and now a newlywed. In the brand-new original series, Shannen Says, premiering Tuesday, April 3 at 9pm ET/PT, WE tv reveals a woman with substance and a sense of humor as she takes viewers on the hilariously bumpy ride of planning her wedding. Eight hour-long episodes of Shannen Says follow Shannen and her groom-to-be, famed photographer Kurt Iswarienko - two busy career-focused individuals with strong and often conflicting viewpoints - as they plan for their special day. Wedding preparations are sure to be stressful enough, but they've added to the pressure by allotting only seven weeks to get it all done! Pre-wedding jitters, a career-distracted groom, family turmoil and wardrobe malfunctions should be enough to make them pull the plug - but maybe love will conquer all in Shannen Says. After being engaged for over a year, Shannen and Kurt finally set a wedding date and did we already mention it's only seven weeks away? Shannen and Kurt are new to actual wedding planning and being from very different backgrounds with loyal sets of opinionated friends and family, they have quite an undertaking ahead of them. Among the highlights on this series, Shannen's Dancing with the Stars partner Louis Van Amstel is set to help the couple with their first dance.


We broke the news on the internet on late Friday that ABC has pulled new sitcom Work It off the schedule after just two episodes. The series premiered to a 2.0 18-49 rating, which was weak but doable. However, by the second episode the series dropped to a 1.5 18-49 rating and ABC has since then pulled the series. Repeats of Last Man Standing will air at 8:30pm starting tonight for at least the next three weeks. The Tim Allen comedy will also air in its normal 8:00pm slot.
ABC has not yet announced what will air Tuesdays at 8:30pm starting Feb. 7. One option of course is to air the unscheduled third season of Cougar Town. ABC had planned to start airing the comedy in March, but it could be called on earlier than planned. The sitcom has a 15 episode order for this season. Series creator Bill Lawrence has heard that today could be the day we get an announcement on a Cougar Town premiere date, so stay with us if any info comes out. As for Work It, eleven episodes will remain to be aired. Perhaps ABC will burn them off in the summer or just put them on abc.com like they did with the remaining five episodes of Man Up ("Camping," "Fear," "Up All Night," "Letting Go," and "Be Who You're Not."). Or not air them at all ever. We'll let you know if they do end up airing them somewhere whether it be on TV or online.

This February on TV Land, they will have themed programming for the Super Bowl, Valentine's and President's Day! OK and Groundhog Day, too. There are no schedule changes, as of now, to the regular schedule. So you can expect new acquisition Murder, She Wrote and other series to stay put. February 2012 will all be about stunts. Want counter programming vs. The Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 5? You got it! TV Land presents its second annual marathon of Home Improvement during the big game from 6pm-9pm! Tim Allen beats the Super Bowl any day! More power! For Valentine's Day, TV Land will not have any stunts on the actual day itself, but they will premiere the movie Miss Congeniality on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 5pm. The movie will also air the next day on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1pm. The 2000 movie stars Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, and Candice Bergen. Moving on, Groundhog Day is on Feb. 2, but TV Land will celebrate it on Sunday, Feb. 19 with the 1993 Bill Murray & Andie MacDowell movie Groundhog Day at 3:30pm. The film will re-air the next morning on Monday, Feb. 20 at 8am. The last stunt is an Andy Griffith Show marathon on President's Day - Monday, Feb. 20 from 10:30am-4pm. Who needs Washington and Lincoln when you have Andy Griffith!
Other notable items for TV Land February 2012 has a Monday morning movie airing of the 1981 classic Stripes starring Bill Murray on Feb. 6, in addition to the movies we mentioned already. That one is a President's Day themed. And TV Land Wednesday nights original sitcoms Hot in Cleveland and The Exes will have their finales in February. The Exes will have its season finale on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Missed the first 9 episodes? TV Land will air a marathon on Saturday, Jan. 28 from 5pm-9:30pm in anticipation of the season finale. As for Hot in Cleveland, it will be the midseason finale on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The series will return for its second half of the season June 6 alongside the second season of Happily Divorced starring Fran Drescher. Anyway, catch up with Hot in Cleveland with a marathon on Saturday, Feb. 11 from 5-10pm. Stay with us for any further developments on TV Land February, if any. Coming in March: season two of original sitcom Retired at 35 with ten new episodes. Stay tuned...



The Big Bang Theory got the New Year off with a real bang last week with its biggest numbers ever on TBS. The show scored a whopping 4.3 million viewers Tuesday night (Dec. 27) at 9:30 p.m., making it basic cable's #1 comedy telecast for the week. Overall, The Big Bang Theory on TBS accounted for all 20 of the week's top sitcom telecasts on basic cable with viewers, adults 18-34 and adults 18-49, with 15 of them drawing 3 million or more viewers. With The Big Bang Theory firing on all cylinders, TBS ranked as basic cable's #1 entertainment network in primetime among adults 18-34 and adults 18-49. The Big Bang Theory airs in primetime on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays on TBS. The series joined the TBS line-up in September.
In other Turner network ratings news, on truTV on Friday night (Dec. 30) at 10 p.m., Wipeout scored 1.5 million viewers, its biggest audience since joining the truTV lineup. The show ranked among ad-supported cable's Top 5 programs in the timeslot with key adult and male demos, which also scored the best deliveries for the series on truTV. The series airs in syndication on Fridays on truTV since early September.

TeenNick has brought back Full House from its hiatus as of Tuesday (Nov. 8). The series returned last minute and is airing every morning for two-hours from 5-7am ET and is airing in order from the very first episode.
You wanted it back on the line-up? You got it dude! Full House is replacing an hour each of Malcolm in the Middle and The Amanda Show. Those series are still on the line-up at other times, with Malcolm in the Middle weekdays in the 11pm hour and The Amanda Show now has been expanded in the afternoons, airings weekdays from 2-4pm. TeenNick has also scheduled an Amanda Show marathon this coming weekend (Nov. 11-12) on Saturday from 4-7pm and on Sunday from 1-5pm. There are no other changes to the line-up, so you can still watch "The '90s Are All That Block" on TeenNick every night starting at 12 midnight.

The hit Emmy® award-nominated sitcom The King of Queens will get the royal treatment when TV Land airs a marathon to honor the show joining its line-up. The series joined the line-up on Monday, Oct. 24, as we told you, but it never got a launch marathon. So, the kick-off marathon will air on Sunday, November 13 from 9:00pm to 2:00am ET/PT, which we also hinted about back on Oct. 24. The sitcom has settled in nicely in its regular timeslot starting at 11:00pm ET/PT. Set in the working class suburb of Queens, The King of Queens follows amiable delivery man Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) and his wife Carrie (Leah Remini), a spitfire legal secretary, as they explore the everyday challenges of love, life, family and marriage. Doug and Carrie also have to deal with a third, high-maintenance member of the Heffernan household – Carrie's twice-widowed father, Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller), who resides in their basement. With Arthur's constant presence and often bizarre behavior, Doug finds refuge in the little alone time he has with Carrie, best friend and co-worker Deacon (Victor Williams), buddy Spence (Patton Oswalt) and his cousin Danny (Gary Valentine).

Meanwhile, TV Land announced that Tony® award-winning actress Marissa Jaret Winokur (Broadway's Hairspray) is joining the cast of the network's original comedy series, Retired at 35 for its second season. The sitcom will return to the air with 10 new episodes starting Spring 2012 (tentatively slated to return Wednesday, March 7). Returning to Retired at 35 are Oscar®-nominated actor George Segal, Emmy® award-winning actress Jessica Walter, Johnathan McClain (24), and Josh McDermitt (Last Comic Standing). Marissa Jaret Winokur will play Amy, the clever, but romantically challenged daughter of Alan (Segal) and Elaine (Walter) and sister of David (McClain). Debuting in 2011 along with Fran Drescher's Happily Divorced and the second season of Hot in Cleveland, Retired at 35 has resonated with viewers in the U.S. and around the globe. Outside of the U.S., Retired at 35 is set to air in over 90 territories worldwide including The Netherlands, Canada, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Slovenia and Africa.
In Retired at 35, after 37 years of marriage, Alan Robbins and his wife Elaine are expected to cruise into retirement and live out their days happily ever after. However, they get an unexpected surprise when their uptight and overworked son David, sick of the NYC rat race, decides to move in with them in their active-adult community. David finds himself dealing with his overzealous parents as well as his sister Amy, who, while successful in business, has made less than impressive choices in her love life. Season two is a hilarious and bumpy ride as the Robbins family learns the consequences of being "Retired at 35." Stay with us for further updates as we get closer to the spring, but for now et's mark down March 7 for the tentative return!

TV One has announced some of its plans for the fall. The line-up will pretty much stay the same, but short-lived sitcom The Tracy Morgan Show is set to return to the line-up. It will get a marathon on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 1pm-8pm. The series will then join the weeknight schedule airing weeknights at 9:00pm & 9:30pm replacing All Of Us. Other changes to the line-up will have two episodes of A Different World replace NY Undercover at 10am, which is now off the schedule. At 3:00pm, an hour of Eve will now air replacing Just Jokes and the short-lived sitcom Between Brothers. The 10:00pm hour will see another hour of Living Single replacing NY Undercover, should there not be any scheduled original series airing. Expect The Jeffersons, Amen, Half & Half to remain weekdays 7-10am, Lincoln Heights at 11am, Sanford & Son, Good Times, A Different World, Living Single from 4pm-8pm, and Martin from 8-9pm & 11pm-12am. Late nights will have an encore of Tracy Morgan at 12am and Good Times and Lincoln Heights will remain from 1am-3am.
On Saturdays, there are some changes to the morning sitcom line-up. That's My Mama will now kick the block off from 6-7am, as Like Family will move to 7-8am, replacing All Of Us, which is now gone on Saturdays, too. In the 8am hour, Half & Half will now air replacing The Flip Wilson Show, which is now gone from the line-up as well. A Different World will air in the 9am hour, since That's My Mama is moving to 6am. And closing the Saturday block off will still be Sanford & Son from 10-11am and Good Times from 11am-12pm.
As of now, that is all we know. Should anything change or if there is a new addition, we will let you know first. As always, keep it right here!

TV Land announced that the network's hit original sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, begins production on its third season this week. The series, which stars veteran sitcom actresses Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and living legend Betty White, was just awarded a Creative Arts Emmy® Award for Outstanding Art Direction For A Multi-Camera Series (Michael Andrew Hynes and Maralee Zediker). Betty White was also recently nominated for an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the sitcom. Hot in Cleveland will have its season three premiere on Wednesday, November 30 at 10pm ET/PT, immediately followed by the series premiere of TV Land's newest original sitcom, The Exes.
Guest stars lined up for the season include Kathie Lee Gifford, Sandra Bernhard (Roseanne), Laura San Giacomo (Just Shoot Me), Gilles Marini (Brothers & Sisters) and many more. Sean Hayes (Will & Grace), who serves as executive producer of the show, will also guest star. Season three will also see the return of some familiar faces in returning guest stars such as Don Rickles as Elka's (White) husband, Bobby, who was long thought to be dead; Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer) as Victoria's (Malick) daughter, Emmy; Joe Jonas as Melanie's (Bertinelli) son, Will; Huey Lewis (Just Shoot Me) as Victoria's aging rock star booty call, Johnny; John Mahoney (Frasier), playing a waiter who gets a little too involved in his customer's personal lives; and Susan Lucci (All My Children), reprising her role as a fictional and more evil version of herself.
SPOILER ALERT: Last we left the ladies, Bobby – Elka's presumed-dead husband – turned up at Elka's wedding right before she was about to say "I do" to Fred (Buck Henry). Meanwhile, Melanie, Victoria and Joy (Leeves) were recovering from a wicked night of drinking at the bachelorette party the previous night, when Melanie competed in a one-woman wet t-shirt contest, and Victoria and Joy took some vows of their own. Season three enters into the aftermath of this perfect recipe for disaster.
Look for other TV Land original series after Hot in Cleveland (13 episodes, Nov. 30-Feb. 15) and The Exes (10 episodes, Nov. 30-Feb. 1), as Retired at 35 returns for season two on March 7, 2012 (tentative date) with ten all-new episodes and season two of Happily Divorced (12 all-new episodes) on June 6, 2012 following the second half of season three episodes (12 more episodes) for Hot in Cleveland. We will have more on all these as we get closer to premiere! Stay tuned.

Today's fall schedule will be for TV Land, but we're not actually sure if it is their fall schedule since there are minor changes only. The schedule is for September 2011 and will feature mostly everything that is airing currently. As of September 1, TV Land's contract with Gunsmoke will expire and it looks like they are not renewing it because it is being replaced by more airings of Bonanza in its weekdays at 12 noon and 1pm timeslots. Bonanza will also air in its 2pm, 3pm & 4pm hours. Another series that is expiring this fall is All in the Family, but that isn't until September 30, so we will have to wait until the October schedule comes out if that will remain on TV Land or not. As of now in September, there is plenty of All in the Family, as the Emmy Award-winning comedy airs weekdays at 8am, 11am, and 7-8pm and also on weekends in the evenings. There are really no other schedule changes except you can watch encores of Happily Divorced and Retired at 35 from the beginning on Wednesdays in the 10pm hour starting Wednesday, Sept. 7, as the new season of Hot in Cleveland and new series The Exes won't start until November 30.
Stunts wise, it's almost Emmy season and Hot In Cleveland is competing with television's best. To celebrate, TV Land is giving both viewers and voters a chance to fall in love all over again with Joy, Melanie and Victoria as TV Land will bring you a 10 hour all-star marathon Sunday, August 7 from 11am-9pm, featuring some of TV's biggest stars (John Schneider, Huey Lewis, Mary Tyler Moore, Jimmy Kimmel, Susan Lucci and Jennifer Love Hewitt, to name a few) who have helped make Hot In Cleveland one of the leading new cable sitcoms. But we told you about that already. Not enough? Come back Sunday, September 18 as TV Land proudly celebrates Betty White's Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress In a Comedy, as TV Land cheers her on leading up to the Emmy presentation with a marathon featuring the best of Elka Ostrovsky from 2pm-8pm!
View the TV Land September 2011 schedule. As of now, there aren't many changes besides Gunsmoke but that could change soon or when we get the October schedule, as that was the case last year. So let's say this is to be continued...

NBC was up yesterday at the TCA Summer 2011 Press Tour. The executive session kicked things off. Among the announcements were that NBC will use television's biggest stage following Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, February 5, 2012 to unveil the second-season premiere of The Voice (10-11 p.m. ET; time approximate) followed the next night with the debut of new musical drama Smash on Monday, February 6 at 10:00 p.m. ET. The Voice also will premiere in its regular day and time on the following night, Monday, February 6 from 8-10 p.m. ET, leading into Smash. There was nothing else much to report, except that new comedies are in development including one produced by Adam Levine and that The Office will have some special comedy special guest stars all this season and that a big name will join the cast, but the name was not given. Then it was on to panels with the cast and producers of upcoming series. Up first was The Playboy Club, which NBC's Entertainment President Bob Greewalt said will not be pulled from any more NBC stations. New comedy Free Agents starring Hank Azaria was the next series on the panel. Then it was off to lunch with a NFL/Super Bowl themed lunch. Comedy continuted after lunch with the panel for the new Whitney Cummings multi-camera sitcom Whitney. Then it was time for Up All Night which has a nice cast including Christina Applegate, Maya Rudolph and Will Arnett. NBC's upcoming late fall drama Grimm was next and it was followed by upcoming Thursday drama Prime Suspect. And the eighth and final session was for The Sing-Off, which will have its first full season this fall, as it has aired in December the last two years.
Up today will be NBC's cable networks including USA Network, Syfy, Bravo and Oxygen. If there is anything noteworthy, we'll bring it to you. If not, stay tuned tomorrow for CBS which will have panels for Unforgettable, Person of Interest, A Gifted Man, 2 Broke Girls and How to Be a Gentleman along with a CBS News session with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley.

Bolstered by the success of hit original series Hot in Cleveland and Retired at 35 as well as the modern classic acquisition Everybody Loves Raymond, TV Land scored its highest rated quarter in primetime since First Quarter 2006 among its target audience of Adults 25-54, according to The Nielsen Company. TV Land posted double-digit increases in rating and delivery in prime among its target Adults 25-54 demo as well as Women 25-54, Adults 40-54 and total viewers. For the quarter in primetime, TV Land posted a 0.4 rating and 401,000 viewers among its target demo of Adults 25-54, up 27% in rating and 26% in audience over a year ago. Among Women 25-54, TV Land scored a 0.4 rating and 228,000 viewers, with double-digit gains of 34% in rating and 33% in audience over last year. The network attracted 943,000 total viewers in prime, up 35% over 1Q2010 in prime. 2010's #1 cable sitcom, Hot in Cleveland returned for its second season and posted a strong 1.5 rating and delivered 1.6 million A25-54 viewers in prime for 1Q2011, up 400% in rating and 395% in audience over a year ago primetime levels. The second season averaged 3.1 million total viewers, up 346% over last year in the time period. Among W25-54 it scored a 1.9 rating and 1.0 million viewers up 510% in rating and 498% in audience over last year. The network's second original sitcom, Retired at 35 scored a 0.7 rating and 751,000 viewers in prime for its first season run, up 140% in rating and 138% in audience over last year's timeslot. It attracted over 1.6 million total viewers, up 135% over a year ago. Among W25-54 it scored a 0.9 rating and 468,000 viewers, up 184% in rating and up 179% in audience over last year. And finally, Everybody Loves Raymond remains a strong performer for the network, posting a 0.4 rating and 459,000 viewers among A25-54, up 47% in rating and 44% in audience over a year ago. On average, over 1 million viewers tuned in to the comedy, up 46% over last year. Among W25-54, it scored a 0.5 rating and 274,000 viewers, up 63% in rating and 59% in audience over 1Q2010.


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 (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of April 4-8, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, April 4, 2011

• Tracy Morgan (The Tracy Morgan Show/30 Rock) - Watch the funnyman on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• D.L. Hughley (The Hugleys) - D.L. drops by the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Chris Rock (Everybody Loves Chris) - Catch Chris on LIVE! wih Regis & Kelly, so check your listings.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

• Tracy Morgan (The Tracy Morgan Show/30 Rock) - Tracy continues to make the rounds on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show) - Catch Drew on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT and later on Lopez Tonight at 12am on TBS.
• Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie) - Watch Barbara on LIVE! wih Regis & Kelly, so check your listings. She has a new book out called Jeannie Out of the Bottle.
• Sherri Sheppard (Less Than Perfect/Sherri) - Sherri visits The Joy Behar Show at 10pm on HLN.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

• Norm MacDonald (The Norm Show) - Watch Norm on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Elisha Cuthbert (Happy Endings) - Catch the lovely Elisha on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC. Happy Endings premieres on ABC on April 13 at 9:30/8:30c.
• Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down) - Danny visits Conan at 11pm on TBS. Your Highness opens in theaters on April 8.
• Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - The hilarious Emmy winner appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson (The Class/Modern Family) - Jesse visits LIVE! with Regis & Kelly, so check your listings.
• Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie) - Tune in for Barbara on The Joy Behar Show at 10pm on HLN.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

• Helen Hunt (Mad About You) - Helen visits the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS. Soul Surfer opens in theaters on April 8.
• Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly) - Billy appears on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Damon Wayans, Jr. (My Wife and Kids) - Catch Damon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down) - Danny continues to make the rounds on Lopez Tonight at 12am on TBS.
• Jim Belushi (According to Jim) - Jim discusses his Broadway debut in Born Yesterday on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly, so check your listings.
• Bill Cosby (The Bill Cosby Show/Cosby/The Cosby Show) - Bill tours the University of Connecticut on Education Nation on Today on NBC between 7-9am.

Friday, April 8, 2011

• Robin Williams (Mork & Mindy) - Watch Robin on a repeat from March on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Judy Greer (Arrested Development/Miss Guided/Mad Love) - Catch Judy on a repeat from March on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Anthony Anderson (All About the Andersons) - Anthony visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) - Kristin drops by LIVE! with Regis & Kelly so check your listings.
• Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) - Watch Kim on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check 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!

TV Land announced that the network is moving forward with three sitcoms – two new series and a renewal for Retired at 35. These series join Hot in Cleveland which was also upped from a 22 episode order to a 24 episode order for season three. Currently, the sitcom is in the middle of season two, with the final ten episodes of season two airing in the summer. These pick-ups take TV Land from zero to four scripted sitcoms within less than a year's time, along with several additional sitcoms in development.
The two new series joining the network's roster are Happily Divorced marking Fran Drescher's (The Nanny) return to television joined by John Michael Higgins (Best in Show), Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris) and Rita Moreno (West Side Story) as well as The Exes (working title) starring Donald Faison (Scrubs) , Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Hot in Cleveland), David Alan Basche (Law and Order) and Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock from the Sun). Additionally, TV Land has renewed its hit sitcom Retired at 35 starring George Segal, Jessica Walter and Johnathan McClain for a second season. Happily Divorced, The Exes and Retired at 35 are all picked up for 10 episodes each. Happily Divorced is slated to premiere Wednesday, June 15 at 10:30pm airing after new episodes of the final 10 episodes of season two for Hot in Cleveland. No word on premiere dates for The Exes and Retired at 35, but they will premiere next winter (2012).
Happily Divorced is based on Fran Drescher's real life and centers around Los Angeles florist Fran (Drescher) as she deals with dating after finding out her realtor husband of 18 years (John Michael Higgins) is gay. The show focuses on how she juggles her new relationships and her ex-husband post-divorce while still living under the same roof. The cast is rounded out by Fran's best friend Judi (Tichina Arnold), her parents Dori and Glen (Rita Moreno and Robert Walden) and her flower delivery employee Cesar (Valente Rodriguez). Additionally, in the pilot, Fran's love interest, Elliot, is played by D.W. Moffett.
The Exes revolves around three divorced men, ladies man Phil (Donald Faison), homebody Haskell (Wayne Knight) and newly-single and needy Stuart (David Alan Basche). The men live together in an apartment across the hall from their divorce attorney, Holly (Kristen Johnston), who also happens to be their landlord. Holly avoids her own relationship and commitment issues by becoming immersed in the men's affairs as they put their lives back together and return to the dating scene.
As you recall we mentioned TV Land ordered three sitcom pilots, but as of now they have not picked-up the third pilot, Rip City (aka Untitled Terri Minsky Pilot), which stars Christine Taylor, Barry Watson and The View's Sherri Shepherd. If they do pick that up to series, we will let you know but as of now it seems unlikely.

NBC revealed some of its original series programming for Summer 2011 that features the sixth-season premiere of summer's top-rated America's Got Talent on Tuesday, May 31 from 9-11 p.m. ET, the announcement of the new game show It's Worth What? and the second-season debut of The Marriage Ref on Sunday, June 26 at 10 p.m. ET.
In addition, NBC will offer fresh programs such as the musical competition series The Voice (premieres April 26, regular day and time Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET) through the end of June as well as the new game show Still Standing (working title in the U.S.) and reality series Love in the Wild (days and times for both are TBA). Original episodes of the drama Law & Order: Los Angeles on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET also continue through the end of June.
NBC also will present the broadcast network premiere of the final season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent beginning on Monday, May 30 at 9 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the last season of Friday Night Lights on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET also continues into the summer (premieres April 15).
As for timings for America's Got Talent, it will premiere its sixth season on Tuesday, May 31 from 9-11 p.m. ET with a two-hour broadcast. After its debut, the series will resume its run on Tuesdays in the 9 p.m. ET hour from June 7 through June 28. The series then will begin two-hour Tuesday editions from 9-11 p.m. ET starting July 5 until September 6. America's Got Talent will debut its Wednesday broadcasts on June 1 in the 9 p.m. ET hour and will continue on that night through September 7. On Tuesday, September 13, America's Got Talent returns to one hour at 9 p.m. ET for its penultimate episode before returning for its two-hour season finale on the next night - Wednesday, September 14 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Encores of both the Tuesday and Wednesday airings will air on the following Sunday and Monday.
View more about the new original programming for NBC summer 2011. We will let you know the full summer schedule as soon as it is announced, including premiere dates for the three new original series (game shows - It's Worth What and Still Standing and reality series Love in the Wild). For now view the NBC summer line-up without them added in.

TV Land has announced its March 2011 schedule and highlights and there are some changes as well. Looks like Boston Legal is just for February, as All in the Family and Sanford & Son morning airings return in the 8am hour from Tues-Fri starting March 1. Legal starts in the hour on Feb. 8, as we mentioned last month. The only other schedule changes are on weekends and it seems Married...with Children is only lasting in January and February on TV Land. Effective Saturday, March 5, the sitcom is once again off of the schedule. The series aired Saturdays from 4pm-9pm and Sundays from 4pm-8pm. Replacing it on Saturdays is another hour of Bewitched, an hour of Hot in Cleveland repeats, an hour of All in the Family at 6, and Sanford & Son from 7-9pm. And replacing it on Sundays is two more extra hours of Bewitched, an hour of All in the Family at 6 and Sanford & Son in the 7pm hour. No other schedule changes will be made to the regular schedule.
Original series Hot in Cleveland and Retired at 35 will continue to air Wednesdays in the 10pm hour. The mid-season finale of Cleveland and the season finale of Retired will air on March 23. Guest starring this month on Cleveland are Jon Lovitz, Isaiah Mustafa, Carl Reiner, Gregory Harrison, Sherri Shepherd and Amy Sedaris. Meanwhile, Retired at 35 welcomes guest star Peter Bonerz in March and Fred Willard returns. Episode info for the month for both series is available on the highlights link below.
To celebrate the upcoming mid-season finale for Hot in Cleveland, TV Land will air a marathon of the previous nine episodes from the season. It's gotten really hot in Cleveland! Elka's trial is only a few days away. Victoria is still broke and scheming. Joy is still trying to figure out a way to avoid deportation. This weekend, find out how the ladies got themselves into this mess when TV Land airs a marathon of season two on Sunday, March 20 starting at 6pm, and then be sure to come back on Wednesday, March 23 to see what fate has in store for Elka, Victoria, Joy and Melanie. The marathon also airs Saturday, March 19 from 4:30pm-9pm.
Join TV Land for a night of laughs on Saturday, April 2 at 8pm as they look back at some of the funniest and most memorable moments from past American Comedy Award shows in The Best of the American Comedy Awards: A Retrospective of Past Award Shows from 1987-2001. For over a decade, the American Comedy Awards celebrated the comedic talent of stars including Mel Brooks, Billy Crystal, Roseanne Barr, Jerry Seinfeld, and everyone's favorite octogenarian- the one and only Betty White. Former Lifetime Achievement Award recipients include comedy geniuses George Carlin and Steve Martin. Be sure to tune in at 8pm on Saturday, April 2 to catch all the fun!
TV Land Monday movie premieres for the month are Die Hard, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Four Weddings and a Funeral, while encore airings will have Naked Gun, Something's Gotta Give and Trading Places.
View the FULL TV Land March 2011 schedule and highlights. Coming in April will be the annual TV Land Awards, so stay tuned for more info on that in the coming weeks!

The 17th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards (SAG) were last night and the winners were announced. Among the big winners were Modern Family, Boardwalk Empire, Betty White, and Alec Baldwin once again.
Here are the main TV winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire, HBO)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, AMC)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men, HBO)
Hugh Laurie (House, Fox)
WINNER: Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire, HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Glenn Close (Damages, FX)
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU, NBC)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, CBS)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, AMC)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT)
WINNER: Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife, CBS)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family, ABC)
Steve Carrell (The Office, NBC)
Chris Colfer (Glee, Fox)
Ed O'Neill (Modern Family, ABC)
WINNER: Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, Showtime)
Tina Fey (30 Rock, NBC)
Jane Lynch (Glee, Fox)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family, ABC)
Betty White (Hot in Cleveland, TV Land)
WINNER: Betty White (Hot in Cleveland, TV Land)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
The Closer (TNT)
Dexter (Showtime)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Mad Men (AMC)
WINNER: Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)
Glee (Fox)
Hot in Cleveland (TV Land)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
WINNER: Modern Family (ABC)

View the complete TV portion winners and to discuss the winners!

Against fierce competition from premieres on the broadcast networks, TV Land's critically-acclaimed hit original sitcom Hot in Cleveland scored decent numbers for its second season premiere on Wednesday, January 19th at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The series was the most-watched show in its 10 p.m. half-hour for all of cable with 2.95 million total viewers as well as the #1 scripted series for the night on cable among Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54. Additionally, the series premiere of TV Land's second original sitcom, Retired at 35, which premiered right after Hot in Cleveland, averaged 2.01 million total viewers and posted impressive triple-digit gains across all key demos versus the channel's primetime average. Hot in Cleveland did a 0.7 A18-49 rating, losing to TBS original sitcom Are We There Yet (which did a 0.8) at 10pm, while Retired at 35 did a 0.5 A18-49 rating, losing to a second original episode of Are We There Yet on TBS, which did a 0.8 18-49 rating. Hot did win in total viewers against the TBS comedy (2.95 to 2.22 million), but Retired did not (2.06 to 2.01 million).
Hot in Cleveland posted a 1.4 A25-54 rating and 1.4 million A25-54 viewers in the network's target Adults 25-54 audience, up a whopping 243% in rating and 239% in viewers over the network's primetime average. TV Land averaged nearly 3 million total viewers, an increase of 199% over primetime. Among Women 25-54, TV Land scored a 1.6 rating and 819,000 viewers, up 244% in rating and viewers over network channel average. Among the channel's core audience of Adults 40-54, the network scored a 1.9 rating and 1.1 million viewers, an increase of 248% in rating and 247% in viewers over TV Land primetime average.
Retired at 35 averaged over 2 million total viewers, up 104% over channel primetime average. The sitcom scored a 0.9 A25-54 rating and 982,000 viewers in that demo, up 135% in rating and 134% in viewers among A25-54 versus TV Land primetime average. Among Women 25-54, it scored a 1.1 rating and 555,000 viewers, up 133% in rating and viewers over channel norm. Among A40-54, the network posted a 1.4 rating and 798,000 viewers, up 157% in rating and viewers over channel average.
It was a decent start, but Hot in Cleveland was down from its first season finale which did 3.4 million and a 0.9 18-49 rating on Aug. 18. However, the season premiere was up from the two episodes prior to that season finale (on Aug. 4 and 11). And while Hot in Cleveland was #1 for the night on basic cable among originals, a rerun of NCIS on USA Network at 8pm was #1 for the night on basic cable primetime with a 2.6 HH rating and 4.18 million total viewers. Hot in Cleveland is now taking a back seat as the highest rated sitcom on basic cable overall, as it is miles behind BET's The Game on Tuesday nights at 10, which continued its high ratings for week two (5.94 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating).


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 (but we won't cover movie stars like Tom Hanks or John Travolta, since they won't be talking about their past sitcoms likely), so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of Jan. 24-28, 2010, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, January 24, 2011

• Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Watch Valerie on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS and also on The Wendy Williams Show with Jane Leeves (Hot in Cleveland/Frasier) and Wendie Mallick (Hot in Cleveland/Just Shoot Me!/Big Day), so check your listings or watch on BET at 12am.
• Ed O'Neill (Modern Family/Married...with Children) - Catch Ed on the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS, so check you listings for time.
• Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) - Watch the lovely star on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your listings.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

• Regina King (227) - The former sitcom star visits CBS's The Talk at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Joel McHale (Community) - Catch Joel on The Ellen DeGeneres Show so check your listings for time and station.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

• Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) - Watch the funny lady on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:06am.
• Betty White (The Golden Girls/Hot in Cleveland/Mary Tyler Moore Show) - Betty visits The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT on CBS then in late night on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS at 12:37am.
• Busy Phillips (Cougar Town) - Watch Busy on Lopez Tonight on on TBS at 12 midnight.
• Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) - Watch Yvette on ABC's The View at 11am ET/10am CT-PT on ABC.
• Jerry O'Connell (Carpoolers) - Watch the funnyman on The Rachel Ray Show, so check your local listings.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

• Matt LeBlanc (Episodes/Friends/Joey) - Watch Matt on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS at 12:37am.
• Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) - Catch Jon on Conan on TBS at 11pm.
• Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Cheers/Back to You/Hank) - Watch Kelsey on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly so check your listings.
• Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show) - Steve visits The TODAY Show on NBC so watch him sometime between 7-11am, probably 10am hour.
• Suzanne Somers (Three's Company/Step by Step/She's the Sheriff) - Watch Suzanne on The Rachel Ray Show, so check listings.

Friday, January 28, 2011

• Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Cheers/Back to You/Hank) - Catch Kelsey on a REPEAT of Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Jay Mohr (Gary Unmarried) - Watch Jay on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC at 11:35pm.
• Fran Drescher (The Nanny) - Catch Fran on the Oprah show so check your local 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!

TV Land has announced the February 2011 schedule and highlights. TV Land will only make one schedule change in February 2011 to its regular line-up. Returning to the schedule will be Boston Legal on Tuesday, Feb. 8, airing Tues-Fri at 8:00am replacing encores of All in the Family and Sanford & Son. Those two will still be seen weekdays in the 6pm hour and 7-9pm, respectively. Other than that, there are no schedule changes, but as usual we have plenty of stunts and marathons! TV Land's original comedy block continues on Wednesdays at 10pm with season two of Hot in Cleveland and season one of Retired at 35. Guests for the month on Hot in Cleveland include Sherri Shepherd, Carl Reiner, Jack Wagner, Melanie Griffith, Grady Sizemore, Susan Lucci, and Michael E. Knight. Guests for Retired at 35 in February include John O'Hurley and Fred Willard. As a reminder, the series both premiere on Wednesday, Jan. 19, as we previously mentioned. There will be catch-up marathons for both Hot in Cleveland (Sunday, Feb. 20 from 8pm-1am) and Retired at 35 (Saturday, Feb. 26 from 8-11pm) in February, in case you miss any episode!
Elsewhere, who needs the Super Bowl when you have the Connor Bowl! Watch 7 classic episodes of Roseanne against the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011 from 7pm-10:30pm with some encores airing until 12am! TV Land will do some cross-promotion as well with sister network CMT, by airing the pilot episode of CMT's original sitcom Working Class on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 8:30pm following an encore of Hot in Cleveland. TV Land will also air a special Black History Month special titled AfriCobra on Monday, February 7 at 8:30pm leading into the Monday movie.
TV Land movie premieres for February are Trading Places, Something's Gotta Give, and 1941. Encore airings for the month are Ghost and Ghostbusters. That's about it for February, but there are some one-time-only time adjustments such as Bewitched on a few weekends.
View and discuss the full TV Land February 2011 schedule and highlights.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the television and motion picture nominations for the 2011 Producers Guild Awards. The winners in each category will be announced at the Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 22nd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Additionally, the Guild will pay tribute to several special individual honorees during the 22nd Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony including Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television).

The television nominees are:

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
30 Rock (NBC)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Glee (Fox)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Dexter (Showtime)
Lost (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
Murder on the Orient Express (PBS)
Pillars of the Earth (Starz)
Temple Grandin (HBO)
The Pacific (HBO)
You Don’t Know Jack (HBO)

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (Travel Channel)
Deadliest Catch (Discovery Channel)
Intervention (A&E)
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
Undercover Boss (CBS)

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment and Competition Television:
The Amazing Race (CBS)
The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
Project Runway (Lifetime)
Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Top Chef (Bravo)

As we have kept saying, TV Land will return Hot in Cleveland and launch new sitcom Retired at 35 in January 2011, but now we have more information on the entire month! First up for the regular schedule, everything remains the same as December except for one change on weekends: Married...with Children returns to TV Land and will air Saturdays and Sundays starting January 8 replacing The Andy Griffith Show on Saturdays from 4pm-9pm and Sundays from 4pm-8pm. We recently mentioned Married...with Children was on sister network CMT for a special Saturday stunt on Nov. 20 and it will also get a special Christmas episodes marathon on CMT this Saturday (Dec. 11) from 2pm-7pm, but it seems that will be all for CMT and it will move to TV Land in January.
On our December highlights, we mentioned Hot in Cleveland is getting a New Year's Day (Saturday, Jan. 1) marathon starting at 8pm...but now we have stunts for the rest of January. It may be getting colder out, but TV Land is definitely bringing the heat the week of Jan. 17 all leading up to the January 19 premiere of season 2 of the break out hit Hot in Cleveland followed by the series premiere of the highly anticipated Retired At 35! The hotness kicks off on Monday, January 17 when Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick host a special "Best Night In" block of Hot In Cleveland featuring each of their favorite episodes from 10pm-12am. The 'hot-wave' continues Tuesday, January 18 with an encore presentation of the season one finale cliff-hanger that ended with the entire country wanting to 'free Elka' (Betty White) at 10pm. Immediately following this is the Behind The Hotness one-hour special (premieres Dec. 12) that recaps the funniest moments from the first season plus bloopers and gives viewers a preview of clips from season two at 10:30pm. And it all comes to a scorching boiling point on Wednesday, January 19 with the season two premiere of Hot In Cleveland (watch Betty and Mary Tyler Moore reunite onscreen after over 25 years) at 10pm directly followed by the series launch of Retired At 35, TV Land's next original sitcom at 10:30pm. Interstitials with the cast from both shows, footage from Betty's celebrity birthday bash and TV Land's premiere party will pepper primetime the ten days leading up to January 19 premiere night.
So Hot in Cleveland returns Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 10pm. TV Land is excited to welcome the second season of smash hit original sitcom Hot in Cleveland with 20 all-new episodes. 10 episodes will air in the winter with the mid-season finale on March 23, 2011. The remaining 10 episodes will return later in the year. Last season, three fabulous LA women of a certain age (played by Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick) took an unplanned detour and discovered Cleveland -- turning back the clock and taking back the spotlight! They decide to stay, and end up in a house whose feisty caretaker -- played by Betty White -- offers the Midwest perspective. But reinventing yourself doesn't happen overnight! In season two the women continue to rediscover themselves and see that their LA ways don't always play in the real world.
New original sitcom Retired at 35 premieres Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 10:30pm. 10 episodes have been ordered, so the season finale will air on March 23. After 37 years of marriage, Alan and Elaine Robbins expected to cruise into retirement and live out their days happily ever after. However, when their uptight, overworked son David decides to quit the NYC rat race and move into their active-adult community, Elaine has an epiphany of her own and leaves her husband to begin a new life as an artist--- leaving David as his free-wheeling Dad's roommate. The Robbins are in for a hilarious and bumpy ride as they learn the consequences of being 'Retired at 35.'
TV Land movie premieres for January 2011 are Ghost, Terms of Endearment and Postcards from the Edge. The movie The Buddy Holly Story will encore.
View and discuss the full TV Land January 2011 schedule and highlights, which includes an encore schedule and episodes information for Hot in Cleveland and Retired at 35.

Netflix, Inc. and Disney-ABC Television Group today announced a new licensing agreement between the two companies that will allow Netflix to stream hundreds of episodes from the ABC Television Network, Disney Channel and – for the first time – ABC Family over the Internet.
The agreement, brokered by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, will add significantly to the growing selection of movies and TV episodes that can be streamed from Netflix. Once made available to Netflix from Disney-ABC – which, for relevant programming, will be no earlier than 15 days after initial telecast – episodes can be streamed instantly with Netflix memberships starting at $7.99 a month.
Prior season episodes of current ABC hit series like Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and for the first time on Netflix, Brothers & Sisters, all of which are among the network's most successful and popular TV franchises in recent years. Also, every episode of recent ABC favorites such as LOST and Ugly Betty, the latter making its streaming debut at Netflix. Each season of several hit series from ABC Studios, including Scrubs and Reaper, which are both new additions to Netflix. A host of content from the Disney Channel, including the hits Phineas and Ferb and Good Luck Charlie, which are also new to Netflix; updated and expanded offerings of The Suite Life on Deck and Wizards of Waverly Place; and library offerings from the smash hits Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. And finally, a wide range of content from ABC Family, marking the introduction of ABC Family content streaming from Netflix. Included are the hit series Greek, Make It or Break It, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and sitcom Melissa & Joey. In addition to the hundreds of TV episodes included in the agreement, Disney Channel and ABC Family movies such as High School Musical, High School Musical 2, Camp Rock, and Beauty & the Briefcase, as well as new releases Avalon High, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam and Revenge of the Bridesmaids, will also be available to watch at Netflix.
Head on over to Netflix.com to see what is available from Disney-ABC! As of this writing, the Disney-ABC content are not available yet. So keep checking back and if there is anything really rare from the past, we'll let you know.