SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

TNT Begins Castle Reruns In June 2012; Mother's Day With Brothers & Sisters On SOAPnet

SOAPnet Acquires Veronica Mars; Recent Television Writer and Actor Deaths

The CW Mid-Season 2012 Schedule; SOAPnet Schedules Brothers & Sisters Thanksgiving Marathon

ReelzChannel TV Fall 2011 Schedule Has Coach, Spin City; SOAPnet Obtains Brothers and Sisters

Nick at Nite June 2010 - Family Matters Back in Prime; SOAPnet To End in 2012

Nick at Nite June 2010 starts next week and they have just made a schedule change! Effective Tuesday, June 1, 2010, Family Matters returns to primetime! The Winslow family will air Mon-Thurs in the 8pm hour, replacing Malcolm in the Middle. Not to worry fans of Malcolm, because the Wilkerson family will move into the 11pm hour every night replacing The Nanny! And fans of Fran and the Sheffield's also need not worry, because The Nanny will continue to air in the 12am hour every night and will also now air overnights from 2-4am replacing an hour each of Everybody Hates Chris and Family Matters. On weekends, The Nanny will air from 12-2am still. From 4-6am every night will now be two full hours of The Cosby Show, as the 4am hour is replacing Family Matters.
That is all that will be changing, so the rest of the line-up will remain intact as it is now. The Nanny is slated to air on sister network TV Land starting in August, so we're not sure yet if it will move totally to TV Land or also air on Nick at Nite. Currently, The Cosby Show is airing on both networks, so The Nanny could also. Stay with us.
Highlights for Nick at Nite June 2010 is a bit of a blur right now, but we do have SOME info. There will be a week-long George Lopez Marathon from Monday, June 21 through Friday, June 25 airing all night from 10pm-6am. We'll have details shortly. Nick at Nite will also air a few Sunday movies in June, with the network premiere of the film Look Who's Talking on Sunday, June 13 from 8-10pm. On Father's Day (June 20), Nick at Nite will present a rebroadcast of the original movie Mr. Troop Mom starring George Lopez from 9-11pm. And finally, original series Glenn Martin, DDS continues to air Fridays at 10:30pm.
For now, view the complete details of Nick at Nite June 2010, including the full schedule. If there is anything more added, we'll let you know.

Starting in 2012, Disney-owned SOAPnet will shut its doors for good...but the network will turn into a cable network for pre-schoolers. Disney/ABC Television Group will launch Disney Junior, a new multiplatform brand and 24-hour basic cable/satellite channel and online site devoted to preschool-age children. Scheduled to debut in the U.S. in 2012, Disney Junior will invite mom and dad to join their child in the Disney experience of magical, musical and heartfelt stories and characters, both classic and new, while incorporating specific learning and development themes designed for kids age 2-7.
The 24-hour Disney Junior schedule will include 200 new episodes annually of both new series, including Jake and the Never Land Pirates, and current hits, including Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, Imagination Movers and Jungle Junction. Disney's vast array of classic and contemporary movies, including among others 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin and Little Mermaid, will be showcased.
In the U.S., the new Disney Junior channel will take the place of the SOAPnet channel, currently available in 75 million homes. Prior to the launch of the 24-hour channel, the Disney Junior brand will be introduced on Disney Channel's daily programming block for preschoolers (currently branded Playhouse Disney). The decision to ultimately transition SOAPnet to accomplish this was not arrived at lightly. SOAPnet was created in 2000 to give daytime viewers the ability to watch time-shifted soaps, before multiplatform viewing and DVRs were part of our vocabulary. But today, as technology and our businesses evolve, it makes more sense to align this distribution with a preschool channel that builds on the core strengths of our company, Disney says.
While I don't mind this change, since SOAPnet's original goal has changed due to technology, I wish Disney-ABC would also create a network for adults. Something like USA Network or TNT, where they can repurpose some of ABC's dramas, develop new series, and air off-network programming from the Disney archive. Just my opinion. Some of the off-network properties of SOAPnet like Beverly Hills 90210 or One Tree Hill could even air there. But since that isn't happening it seems, looks like they will need new cable homes come 2012. This is good news for families with young kids as they get another sure-to-be-a success in Disney Junior.

Cougar Town Special Marathon on SOAPnet, ION Television November 2009; TV Land Makes Changes to Yesterday's Changes

SOAPnet announced that it will air a four-episode marathon of ABC's hit comedy Cougar Town on Saturday, November 14 from 5:00PM to 7:00PM. The critically acclaimed series airs Wednesdays at 9:30PM ET/PT on ABC. They are doing this to attract even more new viewers to the program. The show has done very well in the ratings, especially in the 18-49 demo. The Cougar Town marathon will include four previous episodes ("Pilot," "Into the Great Wide Open," "Don't Do Me Like That," and "I Won't Back Down") previously broadcast on ABC earlier this season.
Courteney Cox stars as Jules, a recently divorced single mother exploring the honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture. While most women in their twenties go through life experiencing the challenges and often humorous pitfalls of meeting men, Jules took on the responsibilities of marriage and raising a son. Now in her forties, she embarks on a journey to self-discovery whilst surrounded by fellow divorcees and singletons eager to live or re-live a time gone by.
Along for the journey are her friends and family: Laurie (Busy Philipps), the younger, feisty co-worker who encourages her to get out there and have some fun; Ellie (Christa Miller), the sarcastic, unapologetic confidante content with her life and marriage to her average, but loveable husband, Andy (Ian Gomez); ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt), a classic under-achiever who'll test her patience as they attempt to raise their teenage son, Travis (Dan Byrd); and newly divorced neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins), who proves to be a catalyst of sorts for Jules.

This November on ION Television, we don't have any schedules changes, as of now, but we have a lot of movie premieres. ION airs movies Fridays in primetime and all-day on Saturday & Sundays (3pm-11pm). Movie premieres for the month are On Deadly Ground, Breach, Heist, Miami Vice, Out for Justice, Waterworld, Demolition Man, and The Rookie. Encore airings include Hunt for Red October, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Last Boy Scout, Batman Forever, Sphere, Pale Rider, Magnum Force, and The Enforcer.
So the regular weekday schedule will remain the same as it is now, with Reba at 4, Family Feud from 5-7p, Ghost Whisperer at 7, and in primetime Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by various nights and times of NCIS, Criminal Minds, and Durham County.
See the full ION Television November 2009 schedule.

Yesterday we announced some TV Land schedule changes that starts today...and now they have made changes to those changes. Bonanza will still replace Gunsmoke at 3pm, leaving Gunsmoke only at 2pm on weekdays, but now Bonanza will remain in its 4pm and 5pm hours. That means All in the Family (originally scheduled to air 4pm) will now air back-to-back in the 6pm hour replacing Little House on the Prairie, which leaves the weekday schedule now. It will remain Sunday nights (early Monday mornings) from 4-6am. Sanford & Son (originally scheduled to air 5pm) will now get the 7pm hour, replacing Andy Griffith, Hogan's Heroes and Brady Bunch hours. Andy Griffith Show will still be replacing series from 8-10pm weekdays (Fridays it is 8-9pm), as we announced yesterday. However, Cosby Show will replace Andy's Monday block from 10pm-12am. Other little changes include two-hour episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on weekends from 8-10am, Gunsmoke & Bonanza on Sundays are now 10am-3pm, and Andy Griffith is now 3pm-9pm on Sundays. M*A*S*H follows on Sundays from 9pm-11pm, as Roseanne gets an additional hour now on Sundays airing 11pm-2am. Also a personal bummer for me, the Three's Company marathon slated for this Saturday (Oct. 31) from 12:30pm-8pm, will be replaced by Sanford & Son and it gets two more hours, too, airing from 12:30pm-10pm.
See the full changes and the full TV Land schedule now.

ION Television April 2009; Nick at Nite Changes Mind; SOAPnet Gets Gilmore Girls

This April on ION will see a schedule change! The 6pm hour on weekdays is changing starting Monday, March 30. The Steve Harvey Show and Family Feud is being cut from the line-up and being replaced by M*A*S*H, which returns to weekdays after only airing weekends the last few months. M*A*S*H will also air sometimes in the 7pm hour on Thursdays, if the Thursday movie doesn't start earlier than 8pm. As for movies, ION is really showing us more big screen movies and seems to be preempting the RHI movies more in April. The big screen premieres for April are Jurassic Park III, Malice, Keeping the Faith, Deep Blue Sea, The American President, You've Got Mail, and The Negotiator. And the premieres of most of these are on Thursday, but there are a few that will be on a special Wednesday or Sunday airing as well. Some of these movies will run until 10:30pm only, so a filler episode of M*A*S*H will air...and in one case the movie ends at 10pm, so there is a 48 Hours Mystery sighting (April 23)!
RHI movies include movies from the Jane Doe, Mystery Woman, and McBride movie franchises, and movies such as Shapeshifter, In the Beginning and Bloodknot.
View the full ION Television April 2009 highlights with everything you need to know!

Nick at Nite has changed their mind! And it hasn't been even a week yet! The new schedule that was originally was supposed to be for a week (week of Feb. 23), was extended to March 2 and beyond...but now after just two weeks, the schedule prior to the Feb. 23 change returns! So, Home Improvement is back at 9pm and George Lopez's second airing is back at 10:30pm. This schedule returned last night and we only knew about it hours in advance, so we couldn't post it on the blog yesterday. So no more George Lopez at 9pm and a third Family Matters at 10:30pm. George is back to two episodes in the same hour, 10-11pm and Family Mattters is back to two episodes only from 11pm-12am, while Home Improvement gets it second airing back as it was only airing at 9:30pm, now it is 9-10pm again.

SOAPnet has also acquired all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. This acquisition is shared with sister network ABC Family, which has been airing the show for a few years now. Gilmore Girls will begin airing on Saturday, April 4, at 9PM and 10PM. The series will also air on Sundays from 6-8PM. Gilmore Girls revolves around single mother Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her daughter, and best friend in the world, "Rory" (Alexis Bledel). Set in a storybook Connecticut town populated with an eclectic mix of everyday folks and lovable lunatics, Gilmore Girls is a humorous multigenerational series about friendship, family and the ties that bind. The series was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino. There will be some changes to weekends as a result, The O.C. moves to 8am (Sat & Sun). One Tree Hill moves to 9 & 10am (Sat). Beverly Hills, 90210 moves to 11am-3pm (Sat) and 9am-1pm (Sun). And the General Hospital Marathon moves to 1-6pm (Sun). There will be no changes to weekdays.
Meanwhile, SOAPnet has also acquired more movies and is producing original series. The theatrical titles the network has acquired from Twentieth Television are How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Brokedown Palace, Object of My Affection and The Fabulous Baker Boys. The titles from Disney ABC Domestic Television include While You Were Sleeping, Tuck Everlasting, Bounce, Three Men and a Baby, Three Men and a Little Lady, Miami Rhapsody and Adventures in Babysitting. The movies will begin airing in March.
As for originals, Holidate is a reality special that takes two women who are looking for love but having no luck with the suitors in their individual cities and transports them into each other’s lives. The women will temporarily trade homes, spend time in each other's cities and date the men in each other's lives. They'll be able to communicate with each other throughout the journey. Holidate begins production in March and will premiere this Fall. In addition to Holidate, the other reality series in development from ABC Media Productions is Mother/Daughter Project (working title). In the series, celebrity mother-daughter pairs with huge relationship issues are brought together to work out their problems under the guidance of a renowned therapist. The format is from Outline Television and will be produced in association with ABC Media Productions.
The scripted series in development are Julia's Tango and Santa Monica. Julia's Tango is a one hour scripted series set in Buenos Aires. Despite her great job and devoted boyfriend, Julia feels stifled by a life of endless routine. On an impromptu trip to her hometown of Buenos Aires, she abandons it all to turn her family home into a bed & breakfast. With the help of her girlfriends, Julia embarks on an unpredictable detour she didn't know she needed. The format of the series is from Endemol. SOAPnet will produce the series in conjunction with Endemol. Santa Monica is a one-hour dramedy about four twenty-something best friends living together and embarking on adulthood. The series follows their journeys as they cope with obstacles in love lives, family lives and careers. Whether they're dealing with a broken heart or a career setback, they take comfort in the fact that they always have each other.

SOAPnet September Fall 2008 Schedule; Bernie Mac Tribute on Larry King Live TONIGHT; Slight Nick at Nite Change; Sony's Cross-Country Seinfeld Tour

This September on SOAPnet, two shows will be expiring while we get two marathons. First, the shows expiring are Dallas and Melrose Place. Dallas was airing weeknights at 4:00am, and it will be replaced by I Wanna Be A Soap Star effective September 1. Melrose Place was airing weekdays at 11am and 12 noon, and it will be leaving effective Sept. 15 being replaced by more Beverly Hills 90210. Melrose Place joined the SOAPnet line-up in September 2004, so its four-year term was up and SOAPnet did not renew.
As for other schedule changes...there isn't much. An extra One Tree Hill will be added on Saturday mornings at 7am, so it will air back-to-back from 7-9am on Saturdays now. And on Sundays two more back-to-back episodes will air from 10am-12pm replacing a Movie.
As for September stunts, on Labor Day, SOAPnet will have a 24-hour marathon of Beverly Hills 90210 titled "The BFF's of BH." The marathon starts Sunday, Aug. 31 at 11:59pm and runs until 11:59pm on Monday, Sept. 1! SOAPnet will air the ABC fall preview special a few times as well. The special focuses on ABC's Wednesday night dramas (Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money) and is titled ABC Wednesday Night Starter Kit. We will have more details on that special in our yearly Fall Previews Special post in the coming weeks. Airings on SOAPnet are Saturday, Sept. 13 at 4:30pm and Friday, September 26 at 5:00am.
Finally, SOAPnet will air all 10 first season episodes of the ABC drama Dirty Sexy Money on Saturday, September 27 from 9am-7pm. The marathon is just in time for the second season premiere on ABC on Wednesday, October 1 at 10pm ET/PT. This is a must see series as The Darlings family is today's version of The Carringtons or the Ewings...so if you have not seen an episode yet, this is your chance to catch up since it is only 10 episodes and get ready to watch season two on ABC!
View the full SOAPnet September 2008 fall line-up.

The "Original Kings of Comedy" remember the late Bernie Mac tonight on Larry King Live at 9pm ET on CNN. D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey come together to pay tribute to the comedian only on Larry King Live. It will encore at 12 midnight ET, if you miss it.

Late yesterday afternoon Nick at Nite announced the Mon-Thurs 8:30pm slot would go back to Nickelodeon effective immediately. As a result, Family Matters will not air in that slot anymore, and the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh will air instead. Sorry we couldn't give you notice yesterday, but we did post it on our message boards. Family Matters is doing very well on Nick at Nite and will continue in its other time slots.

Today Sony Pictures Television (SPT) will set out on a 26-city, 10,000 mile "Seinfeld Campus Tour" in a 60-foot long Seinfeld branded, bio-diesel fueled bus experience designed to integrate the show directly into the digital, on-the-move, multi-tasking lifestyle of college students and members of the 70 million plus millennial demographic.
In addition to numerous tailored promotional events during the "The Seinfeld Campus Tour," participants coast-to-coast will have access the fully-equipped tour bus, wherein they can enjoy Seinfeld-inspired snacks and engage in a wide-variety of Seinfeld-themed experiences.
In its current season in syndication, Seinfeld consistently ranks as the #1 off-network comedy across all key men and adult demographics, and still stands as one of the highest rated of any off-net sitcom on television with airings on both broadcast stations and TBS. It airs in 197 markets, covering 99% of the country. Seinfeld has been renewed for a third cycle by its stations and second cycle in cable, keeping the show on the air through 2011.
View more information on this Seinfeld Campus tour!

TV Land Upfront 2007, Original Series Announced, Scrubs and Just Shoot Me Coming in 2008; ABC Pilots for 2007-08 Season; SOAPnet April Line-Up

This is an unusually busy Friday. We have lots of news for you. So much that we will have to hold off on some news until a later date...but we will give you the biggest ones today. Let's start off with TV Land, of course. TV Land had its upfront presentation today. Upfront is where networks showcase their programming plans for the year. Bill Clinton was on hand at Madison Square Garden as the keynote speaker for the TV Land Upfront. The theme of the upfront for TV Land was catering to the baby boomers. Let's start off with the original programming. They detailed some of the major awards for the TV Land Awards. Hosted by Kelly Ripa and premiering April 22 at 9, TV Land will honor Roots, which will feature the reunion of several cast members in honor of the epic's 30th Anniversary; Lucille Ball, whose Legacy of Laughter Award will be accepted by her children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr.; The Brady Bunch, which will be feted with the Pop Culture Award in an on-stage reunion of the cast; and Hee Haw, which will be honored with the Entertainer Award. TV Land Confidential season two will launch on July 11. Each 30-minute episode of this returning TV Land series is filled with anecdotes, interviews and clips, bringing viewers the tales behind their favorite TV shows, musical performers and movies. High School Reunion will premiere on August 8. TV Land reunites more than a dozen alumni from a 1986 high school class. As announced before August is Elvis month and TV Land is developing an original special to go along with the hours of acquired programming for the month. TV Land Myths & Legends: Elvis Presley, thirty years after his death, TV Land takes an in-depth look at some of the most popularly held notions about the "King of Rock and Roll" and dissects them to separate fact from fiction, premieres August 16, 2007. Coming this fall is Back to the Grind, where classic TV stars take on their professions of their classic TV characters. Loni Anderson and Harry Anderson are among the stars participating. Premieres October 10. Entertainment Weekly & TV Land Present: The 50 Greatest TV Icons, a new-two-hour special. TV Land partners with America's premier entertainment magazine to create a comprehensive look at the 50 Greatest TV Icons, all culled from over 50 years of television. As we announced a few days ago Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams will be back in...Penny & Cindy. This scripted buddy comedy reunites actresses and real-life friends Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, who gained fame and prominence on their enduring sitcom, Laverne & Shirley. There are MUCH more originals in development. Click HERE to view them all. Originals were not the only thing announced. Acquired programming includes Just Shoot Me coming in early 2008 and Scrubs in October 2008. TV Land also announced more titles for its Movie Land block on Friday nights. The Blues Brothers Movie; Beetlejuice; Caddyshack; Fletch; National Lampoon's Vacation; Pleasantville; White Men Can't Jump; Working Girl; Young Frankenstein are some of the titles we will see. They announced some other non-programming related material that sounds interesting, but you will just have to read the huge press release they issued for the upfront. Again click HERE. And it is that time of the year again--our 5th annual previewing the pilots in development for ABC! They have 16 sitcoms and 13 dramas for consideration for 2007-08 season. The pilots sound great, especially the dramas. Which will make the cut and which won't? We will find that out in mid-May, but for now you can see who is starring in the pilots, what the pilots are about, and more! 12 of the 16 sitcoms are single camera. I hope we get all four multi-camera sitcoms on the schedule at some point because they are lacking now and most single camera sitcoms have never found an audience. Among the stars in the sitcom pilots are Danny Comden, Faith Ford, Jerry O'Connell, Fred Goss, Jennifer Coolidge, Robert Vaughn, Wendie Mallick, Ricki Lake, Brooke Burns, Rachel Boston, Jay Harrington, Amy Yasbeck, Barry Bostwick, Jane Curtin, Gregory Itzin, Jayma Mays, Christina Applegate, Jean Smart, Kurt Fuller, Oliver Platt, Michael McKean, Michael Boatman, Orlando Jones, Ben Savage, Ashley Williams, and Scott Wolf. For the list of the 16 ABC sitcoms in development, click HERE. As for the dramas, the pilots all sound good. ABC usually has the best drama pilots, especially the last 2-3 seasons. 13 drama pilots are in development, which include the Grey's Anatomy spin-off starring Kate Walsh. The pilot will premiere May 3 and if it works, we might see it as a series this fall, if it makes it. Among the stars in the drama pilots are Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh, Victor Garber, Natasha Henstridge, Eddie Cibrian, Holly Robinson-Peete, Lucy Lawless, Ving Rhames, James Van Der Beek, Gabrielle Union, Kiele Sanchez, Louise Lombard, Jason O'Mara, Chi McBride, Charles Dutton, Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus, Dylan McDermott, Alyssa Milano, Mary Steenburgen, Angie Harmon, Laura Harris, and the all-star cast of the Grey's Anatomy spin-off: Kate Walsh, Paul Adelstein, Taye Diggs, Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman, Merrin Dungey, and Chris Lowell. For the list of the 13 ABC drama pilots in development, click HERE. On those preview posts please also discuss what shows you want to see and what shows you want to see make it on the air! SOAPnet has announced its April 2007 line-up that starts April 9. The O.C. and One Tree Hill are joining the line-up, as we mentioned some time back, but now we have the full line-up. Highlights include One Tree Hill @ 1 & 5p; The O.C. @ 2 & 6p; Dallas moving to 11a & 12p with repeats @ 5a and 6a; 90210 moves to 3p & 4p; Days of Our Lives moves to 7p and 12a; Young & the Restless moves to 11p with repeats @ 4a & next day at 10a; Port Charles (Sat) & Ryan's Hope (Sun) move to the weekends @ 6/6:30a; Melrose Place will just air on Saturday mornings 7p-10a; and Another World is off line-up. Click HERE to view the full line-up.