SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels Poppa's House; Final Season 50 Hosts for Saturday Night Live Set

  Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're learning of the cancelation of a CBS sitcom, finding out who'll be hosting the last few episodes of Saturday Night Live this season, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

• CBS has canceled Poppa's House. (Variety)
• We're learning more about the final episodes of season 50 of Saturday Night Live. (Deadline)
• You've probably seen the (fake) Golden Girls reboot poster that has been going around on social media, and now Tina Fey is responding to it... and worried about those who believe it. (Entertainment Weekly)
• Get ready for Animation Domination... Thursday... this summer, on Fox. (Deadline)
• The proposed spinoff of The Neighborhood at CBS is not going forward, but the other spinoff with Tracy Morgan on Paramount+ is still on. (TVLine)
• Apple TV+ has announced a new comedy, Prodigies. (SitcomsOnline)

WEEKLY PLANNER (APRIL 26 - MAY 2)

• Tomorrow's binge on Catchy Comedy is All in the Family.
• Antenna TV has a Sunday Special this week of Silver Spoons.
• New seasons of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! Masters arrive Wednesday on ABC.

Remembering Bob Uecker of Mr. Belvedere, Punky Brewster Creator David W. Duclon, and Others We Recently Lost

Hall of Fame broadcaster, professional baseball catcher, and actor Bob Uecker, who starred as George Owens in Mr. Belvedere, has died. He died in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, on January 16. He was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer in 2023. Mr. Uecker was 90.

Uecker starred as sportswriter George Owens in the 1985-1990 ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere. The series is based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, which was later adapted into the 1948 film Sitting Pretty. The series follows posh English butler Lynn Belvedere (Christopher Hewett) as he struggles to adapt to the Owens household in suburban Pittsburgh. It also starred Ilene Graff, Rob Stone, Tracy Wells, and Brice Beckham.

He appeared as himself in episodes of Who's the Boss? in 1986, D.C. Follies in 1987, and LateLine in 1998. In 2002, he was the voice of the "head of Bob Uecker" in the Futurama episode "A Leela of Her Own". He voiced a parody of himself named Bob Yucker in an episode of the 2021 Disney+ series Monsters at Work.

Uecker hosted two syndicated television shows, Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports and Bob Uecker's War of the Stars. He hosted Saturday Night Live during its 10th season on October 13, 1984. He was a ring announcer for Wrestlemania III (1987) and the ringside announcer, commentator, and interviewer at WrestleMania IV (1988).

He became a regular fixture on late night talk shows in the 1970s and 1980s, facetiously dubbed "Mr. Baseball" by TV talk show host Johnny Carson. He made more than 60 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Uecker appeared in a series of Miller Lite commercials starting in the 1980s. In one commercial from that decade, Uecker was seen preparing to watch a baseball game when an usher informs him he is in the wrong seat. Uecker pompously remarks, "I must be in the front row", which became another of his catchphrases.

He starred as play-by-play announcer Harry Doyle in the film Major League (1989) and its two sequels, Major League II (1994) and Major League: Back to the Minors (1998). He coined the popular sports catchphrase "Juuust a bit outside", to downplay an extremely wild pitch from Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn (played by Charlie Sheen).

Uecker played backup catcher for the Milwaukee Braves (1962-1963), St. Louis Cardinals (1964-1965), Philadelphia Phillies (1966-1967), and Atlanta Braves (1967) for six seasons from 1962 to 1967. He won a World Series with the Cardinals in 1964.

He served as the primary broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) for 54 seasons from 1971 to 2024. He called games for ABC in the 1970s and early 1980s and NBC in the 1990s. He was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with its 2003 Ford C. Frick Award in recognition of his broadcasting career.

Mr. Uecker was a national treasure. He was a comedic genius with his self-deprecating wit and deadpan delivery. We thank him for the many laughs and entertainment that he brought us during his legendary career. Mr. Baseball will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Mr. Belvedere message board. View photos in our galleries.

Television writer and producer David W. Duclon, who created Punky Brewster, has died. He died in Franklin, Illinois, on January 15, after a long illness. Mr. Duclon was 74.

Duclon created the 1984-1986 NBC and 1987-1988 first-run syndicated sitcom Punky Brewster. The series is about a young girl (Soleil Moon Frye) being raised by a foster parent (George Gaynes) in Chicago. The cast included Cherie Johnson, Susie Garrett, Ami Foster, Casey Ellison (seasons 1-2, guest star season 3), Eddie Deezen (season 1), Dody Goodman (season 1), and T.K. Carter (season 2). He was the maternal uncle of Cherie Johnson.

He served as an executive producer for the 1984-1988 series and the 2021 Peacock revival. He directed four episodes of the original series in 1987. He provided the voice of Spirit Voice in a 1988 episode.

Duclon developed the 1979 CBS sitcom Working Stiffs, which starred James Belushi and Michael Keaton. He developed the 1982-1986 NBC and 1986-1987 first-run syndicated sitcom Silver Spoons with Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye. Duclon, Robert Illes, and James R. Stein created the 1984-1985 NBC sitcom Double Trouble. He and Gary Menteer creted the 1987-1988 Fox sitcom Second Chance (later retitled Boys Will Be Boys), which starred Matthew Perry. He created the 1994-1995 ABC sicom On Our Own.

Some of his other sitcom writing credits included The Odd Couple (4 episodes), Happy Days (2 episodes), Busting Loose (4 episodes), Laverne & Shirley (4 episodes), Makin' It, Working Stiffs (9 episodes), The Jeffersons (8 episodes), Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, Built to Last (2 episodes), Family Matters (27 episodes), Malcolm & Eddie (4 episodes, also 1 episode as a director), Yes, Dear (2002), and Eve (5 episodes).

Some of his sitcom producing credits included The Ted Knight Show, Makin' It, Working Stiffs, Laverne & Shirley, The Jeffersons, Silver Spoons, Second Chance/Boys Will Be Boys, On Our Own (1994-1995), Family Matters, Guys Like Us, Malcolm & Eddie, and Eve.

As an actor, he appeared in three episodes of The Odd Couple and a 1976 episode of Laverne & Shirley.

Mr. Duclon was a prolific sitcom writer and producer from the 1970s to 1990s. We thank him for his work creating, writing, directing and producing many sitcoms. He will be missed.

We also remember filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor David Lynch. He co-created Twin Peaks and the short-lived 1992 ABC sitcom On the Air. He died at his daughter's home in Los Angeles on January 16. His death certificate, publicly reported in February 2025, concluded that the immediate cause of death was cardiac arrest, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cited as the underlying cause. Dehydration was also mentioned as a significant contributor. Mr. Lynch was 78.

Lynch and Mark Frost created the 1990-91 ABC surrealist mystery-horror drama Twin Peaks. He was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. He co-wrote and directed its film prequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), and a third season on Showtime in 2017. He directed six episodes of the original series and all 18 episodes the reivival series. He also portrayed FBI agent Gordon Cole in both series.

Lynch and Frost created the short-lived 1992 ABC sitcom On the Air. The series follows the staff of a fictional 1950s television network, Zoblotnick Broadcasting Company (ZBC), as they produce a live variety program called The Lester Guy Show—often with disastrous results. Lynch directed the pilot episode. ABC aired only three of the seven episodes filmed, but the first and only season was broadcast in its entirety in the United Kingdom and several other European countries. The series starred Ian Buchanan, Nancye Ferguson, Miguel Ferrer, Gary Grossman, Mel Johnson Jr., Marvin Kaplan, David L. Lander, Kim McGuire, Marla Rubinoff, and Tracey Walter.

He provided the voice of Gus the Bartender in 23 episodes of the Fox animated sitcom The Cleveland Show from 2010 to 2013. He voiced Gus in a 2010 episode of Family Guy and himself in a 2016 episode. In 2012, he appeared as Jack Dahl in the three-part "Late Show" arc on FX's comedy-drama Louie.

Some of his film directing credits included Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Dune (1984), Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), Lost Highway (1997), The Straight Story (1999), Mulholland Drive (2001), and Inland Empire (2006).

Mr. Lynch was awarded numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2006 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2019. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be sorely missed.

Actress Leslie Charleson was best known for her role as Monica Quartermaine in the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital. She died in Los Angeles on January 12. She had experienced several falls, which caused problems with her mobility, and had been hospitalized from one of them the week before her death. Her death certificate, publicly reported in February 2025, concluded that the immediate cause of death was sequelae of blunt head trauma, which was the result of a previous head injury. Ms. Charleson was 79.

Charleson's career began on the short-lived ABC daytime soap opera A Flame in the Wind in 1964. In 1966, she joined the cast of As the World Turns as Alice Whipple. She starred as Iris Donnelly Garrison in the CBS daytime soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing from 1967 to 1970.

She joined the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital in 1977. She was a series regular from 1977 to 2010 before becoming a recurring cast member from 2010 to 2023. For her role, she received four Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nominations: in 1980, 1982, 1983 and 1995. She appeared as Monica Quartermaine in 27 episodes of Port Charles from 1997 to 2001.

Charleson guest starred as Mrs. Dorothy Kimber in the 1975 episode of Happy Days titled "Get a Job". She played Katherine in a 2001 episode of Dharma & Greg. She appeared as herself in a 2004 episode of Friends.

Some of her other television guest appearances included N.Y.P.D., The Wild Wild West, Mannix, Adam-12, O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1972), Search, The Rookies, Emergency!, Medical Center, Ironside, The F.B.I., Marcus Welby, M.D. (2 episodes), Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (2 episodes), Kung Fu, Medical Story, Cannon (3 episodes), Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco (2 episodes), McMillan & Wife, The Rockford Files (2 episodes), and Diagnosis: Murder.

Ms. Charleson was the longest-serving cast member of General Hospital. We thank her for her work on television. She will be deeply missed.

Actor Robert Machray had a recurring role as Captain Dobbins in Cheers. He died of complications from dementia and two strokes at his home in North Hollywood, California, on January 12. Mr. Machray was 79.

Machray appeared as Captain Dobbins in four episodes of the NBC sitcom Cheers from 1990 to 1993. Captain Dobbins is a fire marshal who is often the victim of pranks at Cheers. He appeared in several "Bar Wars" episodes, in which the Cheers gang thought he was an agent of Gary's Olde Town Tavern, only to be proved wrong.

He had a recurring role as Magistrate in three episodes of the short-lived 1999 CBS sitcom Thanks. Some of his other sitcom credits included Operation Petticoat, Three's Company, Down Home, Roseanne, Love & War, Sister, Sister (1995), Maybe This Time, Suddenly Susan, Townies, The Drew Carey Show, Titus, That's My Bush!, Girlfriends, Kitchen Confidenial, and Parks and Recreation.

Mr. Machray was a familiar face in many sitcoms. We thank for his work on television. He will be missed.

Character actress Gwen Van Dam guest starred in many sitcoms. She died in West Los Angeles on December 19, 2024. Ms. Van Dam was 96.

She played Mrs. Watson in the 1971 episode of The Brady Bunch titled "Her Sister's Shadow". Some of her other sitcom credits included Maude, House Calls, Who's the Boss?, 227, Doogie Howser, M.D. (1991), 227, Bakersfield P.D., Malibu, CA (1999), Joey, Wilfred, The League, New Girl, Angie Tribeca, Modern Family, Workaholics, Insecure, and Grace and Frankie. Her final appearances were two episodes as Hazel Carrey in the 2024 Hulu action comedy Interior Chinatown.

Ms. Van Dam was a veteran character actress for 70 years. She had 140 television and film credits during her career. We thank her for work on television. She will be deeply missed.

Antenna TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule; Rewind TV 2023 Holiday Marathons Schedule

Cozy up with Antenna TV this holiday season for comfort and nostalgia from the shows you know and love. Antenna TV will air specialty programming on Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve. In 2024, Antenna TV welcomes four classic sitcoms to its lineup (all from sister network Rewind). Avoid the shopping hustle and bustle on Black Friday and watch TV how it was meant to be – in glorious black and white – with Antenna TV's "Black-and-White Friday Marathon." It's a full day of your favorite classic shows in magnificent monochrome, from The Burns and Allen Show to Bewitched starting at 5am Eastern on Friday, November 24. On Christmas Eve, Antenna TV presents its "Classic Christmas Collection," holiday-themed episodes curated from Antenna TV's catalog of classic sitcoms starting Sunday, December 24 at 5am Eastern. Rise early Christmas morning, Monday, December 25, to Antenna TV and the annual tradition of The Original Yule Log, from 5am to 10am Eastern. After you’ve warmed up with the glow of the fire, celebrate "Christmas Through The Years," a showcase of Christmas episodes from nearly 30 years of television, from Father Knows Best to Silver Spoons beginning at 10am Eastern.

Come New Year's Eve, you're invited to Antenna TV's "Party with The Partridge Family Marathon." You can't help but get happy as we say goodbye to one year and hello to the next. The party starts at 7pm Eastern on Sunday, December 31, and continues into the wee hours of New Year's Day. In 2024, Antenna TV starts the new year with four new classic shows added to its programming schedule, including Dear John, Mork and Mindy, The Facts of Life, and The Drew Carey Show -- all from sister network Rewind TV. More on the January schedule soon! View the full Antenna TV Holiday Programming Guide.

Rewind TV plays back your favorite shows from the 80s and 90s this holiday season. Highlights include Thanksgiving's "Food, Fun and Family Ties Marathon," "Christmas Through The Years" on Christmas Day, and "Drew Carey's Rockin' New Year's Eve" to close out the year. This Thanksgiving, invite the Keaton family into your home with Rewind TV's "Food, Fun and Family Ties Marathon" on Thursday, November 23, starting at 6am Eastern. It's an all-day marathon of Family Ties including a Thanksgiving episode from the series, "No Nukes is Good Nukes," airing at 8pm.

On Christmas Eve, Rewind TV will present its regular programming lineup but will showcase holiday-themed episodes starting at 6am Eastern on Sunday, December 24. It continues into Christmas Day with Rewind TV's "Christmas Through The Years," a full day of holiday television memories on Monday, December 25, starting at 6am Eastern. The best New Year's Eve party is inside the comfort of your home and comes to you straight from Cleveland! Join in with Drew Carey and Rewind TV for "Drew Carey's New Year’s Rockin' Eve" on Monday, December 31, beginning at 8pm Eastern. View the full Rewind TV Holiday Programming Guide.

Antenna TV's Sunday Specials of Benson, Silver Spoons; Dave Season 3 Finale Free on YouTube

Antenna TV is bringing everyone two Sunday Specials this summer! The first is on Sunday, July 9, 2023 from 8am-8pm and it will be a Sunday Special of Benson. Then on Sunday, August 6, 2023 from 8am-8pm, Antenna TV presents a Sunday Special of Silver Spoons.

Benson regularly airs on Antenna TV Mon-Fri 3am ET | 12am PT and Sun 3pm ET | 12pm PT. Robert Guillaume stars as Benson DuBois, in this spinoff of the hit series Soap. Benson is head of the household at the Governor’s mansion and uses his sharp wit and quick thinking to help the Governor on several issues, bailing him out of some tight spots. With aspirations of his own, Benson works his way up the ladder to run for office and earn his own political career. In 1985, Robert Guillaume won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Benson.

Silver Spoons regularly airs on Antenna TV Saturdays 5pm ET | 2pm PT. Edward Stratton owns a toy company and is essentially an overgrown child living in a mansion full of toys, arcade games and a train that runs right through the living room. Edward didn’t know he was a father until his young son Ricky, from a previous marriage, shows up at his home, ready to move in. As these two get to know each other, Edward works on being more mature while Ricky leans to lighten up and have more fun while he’s still young. Silver Spoons starred Ricky Schroder, Joel Higgins and Erin Gray.

The season three finale of FX's Dave has been released in its entirety on YouTube since Friday (June 23) at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT. It aired on TV last month on FX and the buzz is still going! The unforgettable episode of the comedy starring rapper and comedian Dave Burd features the surprise guest stars Rachel McAdams, Drake and another very special guest star in the finale of a season that The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg called "episode for episode, the show's third season was as good as any series on TV this spring... . " The full episode can be viewed here.

The entire 10-episode third season of Dave is currently streaming on Hulu. In season 3, Dave is headlining his first-ever tour, and looking for love along the way. But as he and the gang crisscross America, they discover firsthand how diverse the cultural landscape of the United States really is - and how often fame puts pressure on love and friendship. Dave stars Dave Burd as "Dave" (also Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Writer); GaTa as "GaTa;" Andrew Santino as "Mike;" Taylor Misiak as "Ally;" Travis Bennett as "Elz" and Christine Ko as "Emma."

Rewind TV Fall 2022 Schedule; Back to School Abbott Elementary Marathon

Yesterday we told you about Antenna TV's Fall 2022 schedule, now today we will let you know about sister network Rewind TV! The new schedule starts on Monday, Sept. 19 as well but with not that many changes. On weekdays, just two-hours are changing with 227 airing weekdays 10-11am, instead of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which moves to 11pm-12am replacing Designing Women. As we mentioned yesterday, Designing Women is moving back to sister network Antenna TV. On Saturdays, the Designing Women two-hour stack from 11am-1pm will be replaced by Becker, as well as the Sundays 3-6pm stack. That is all of the schedule changes that is happening. This means, Becker, Wings and Family Ties are airing both on Antenna TV and Rewind TV this fall. Dear John and It's a Living were airing on both networks, but now is leaving Antenna TV this fall and will remain on Rewind TV. So the only show that is off the line-up completely in the Antenna/Rewind universe is Silver Spoons. See the full Rewind TV fall 2022 schedule below!

As we hinted a few weeks ago, it's time for another Abbott Elementary marathon, airing tonight on ABC! Ahead of this month's season two premiere, ABC is celebrating the end-of-summer and return-to-school rush with another binge-worthy Abbott Elementary marathon, featuring more fan-favorite episodes of the seven-time Emmy(R)-nominated comedy. The marathon is set to air back-to-back episodes tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 7 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC.

Featured episodes include the following:
"Step Class" (8:00-8:30 p.m. EDT) - Janine is thrilled when Ava asks to help her teach the after-school step class, but the two don't see eye to eye on how to run the program. Later, when Barbara, Melissa and Jacob plan an "eat-off" to decide who makes the best pizza in Philadelphia, Gregory is forced to reveal a secret.
"Open House" (8:30-9:00 p.m. EDT) - It's Open House night at Abbott Elementary, and while Janine prepares to meet her struggling student's mother, the rest of the faculty uses the time to relax. Gregory is taken aback when he learns how Ava got the principal job, and later, Barbara's daughter's visit creates a commotion in more ways than one.
"Desking" (9:00-9:31 p.m. EDT) - When the students start participating in a new online trend that causes disruption to the school, the teachers band together to put an end to it. Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson provides comforting life advice to Gregory; and later, the teachers finally meet Jacob's boyfriend, Zach, who joins in to help stop the students "desking."
"Ava vs. Superintendent" (9:31-10:00 p.m. EDT) - With the school board threatening to pull their funds, Janine and Gregory decide to help Ava out with her presentation in front of the superintendent. However, their plan is derailed when a curveball is thrown at Ava. Meanwhile, Barbara offends Melissa when she doesn't agree with her blackmail idea.

Abbott Elementary returns for season two in two weeks on Wednesday, Sept. 21 (9:00-9:31 p.m. EDT), on ABC. And streaming next day on Hulu!

Antenna TV Fall 2022 Schedule; BUZZR Celebrates 50 Years of The Price Is Right

Antenna TV will make schedule changes this fall beginning on Monday, Sept. 19. There will be no changes to the weekday morning and afternoon schedule, but there will be some evening/late night and weekend changes. Welcome Back, Kotter will be removed from the weekday schedule, with Family Ties joining the schedule at 5:00pm & 5:30pm. Barney Miller will shift to 9:00pm & 9:30pm, replacing one of the two hours of The Jeffersons, while Designing Women returns to Antenna TV airing at 11:00pm & 11:30pm. Becker and Wings returns to weeknights, airing 12-1am and 1-2am, as Alice slides to 2-3am and Maude is off the weekday schedule. Archie Bunker's Place is back on weekdays in the overnight airing 4-5am, replacing an encore of I Dream of Jeannie.

The rest of the changes are on weekends, with Saturdays 5am-4pm now exactly the same as the Mon-Fri line-up with classic '50s and '60s sitcoms. The Saturday night block of '50s and '60s sitcoms now will be replaced by '70s sitcoms. Welcome Back, Kotter stack will air 6-8pm, followed by an hour each of Alice, One Day at a Time, Archie Bunker's Place and Maude. After a stack of Benny Hill from 12-2am, more '70s sitcoms will air on Saturday nights with Barney Miller from 2-3am and Soap from 3-5am. On Sundays, the '50s and '60s sitcoms will remain from 5am-2pm, along with One Day at a Time and Benson from 2-4pm. An additional hour of Benson will air 4-5pm, creating a stack from 3-5pm. Beginning at 5pm, Antenna TV will air stacks of sitcoms from 5pm-5am, with two-hour blocks of Soap, Designing Women, Family Ties, Wings, Becker, and more Designing Women.

To recap, Designing Women returns to the line-up, while It's a Living, Dear John and Silver Spoons are off the schedule. Designing Women was airing on sister network Rewind TV. Will the three sitcoms now off the Antenna line-up stay/move over to Rewind TV? Find out tomorrow, when we announce that schedule. For now, view the full Antenna TV Fall 2022 schedule below.

The Price Is Right is officially 50 years old! In honor of television's longest running game show, BUZZR is celebrating this momentous day in history with a week-long marathon of great episodes from the Bill Cullen years! Please join BUZZR in celebrating the golden anniversary of one of America's most iconic game show. Don't miss out on the fun all week-long starting this week at 4pm ET / 1pm PT where BUZZR will air two hours of Bill Cullen's greatest episodes. This week-long fun will air each day at 4pm ET/1pm PT through Friday, September 9 and will also include new-to-BUZZR episodes!

Who's the Boss? Now on GAC Family; black-ish Farewell Season Starts Jan. 4

In October cable network GAC Family added some Sony Pictures Television classics to its line-up, as we mentioned, now they are adding one more series to the schedule! '80s family sitcom Who's the Boss? now joins the line-up as of today airing weekdays from 11am-2pm, replacing Silver Spoons, which is now off the line-up. The rest of the schedule still consists of Hazel from 6am-8am, Father Knows Best from 8am-11am, I Dream of Jeannie from 2pm-5pm, Bewitched from 5pm-8pm, then movies from 8pm-12am, more I Dream of Jeannie from 12am-3am and more Bewitched from 3am-6am. Stay tuned for any further updates on GAC Family and if Silver Spoons will return anytime soon.

Ahead of its eighth and final season, the cast of the Emmy(R)-winning black-ish revealed the vibrant new key art to celebrate its farewell run. Paying homage to the very first season, the new art shows just how much the Johnsons have grown up in front of their fans for over eight years of beloved television. From its titular origins to the dialogue created from the "Juneteenth" episode and the many hard topics about race, politics and family, black-ish continues its legacy in its momentous final season, premiering Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 9:30PM on ABC, as we mentioned. For over eight years black-ish has taken a fun yet bold look at one man's determination to establish a sense of cultural identity for his family. The series has told stories that shine a light on current events through the lens of the Johnson family and, during the seventh season, they addressed the global pandemic, voting, systemic racism, and the movement for social justice and equality.

The series stars Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson Jr., Miles Brown as Jack Johnson, Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson, Laurence Fishburne as Pops, Jenifer Lewis as Ruby, Peter Mackenzie as Mr. Stevens, Deon Cole as Charlie Telphy, Jeff Meacham as Josh and Katlyn Nichol as Olivia.

GAC Family Acquires Classic Sony Sitcoms; Remembering Betty Lynn from The Andy Griffith Show

As of Sept. 27, cable network Great American Country has rebranded into two networks: GAC Family and GAC Living. Classic Sony Pictures Television sitcoms have joined the lineup on GAC Family! The weekday schedule has blocks of Hazel from 6am-8am, Father Knows Best from 8am-11am, Silver Spoons from 11am-2pm, Bewitched from 2pm-5pm, I Dream of Jeannie from 5-8pm, then a movie double feature from 8pm-12am, with sitcoms returning in late night with more Bewitched from 12am-3am and more I Dream of Jeannie from 3am-6am. Weekends has less sitcoms, but still some airings! Silver Spoons airs 6-10am, Bewitched from 10am-1pm, I Dream of Jeannie from 1-2pm, then movies from 2pm-2am, before closing the night off with Bewitched from 2am-3am and I Dream of Jeannie from 3am-6am.

GAC Family announced the network's first original movies debuting this fall. The star-studded films kick off with An Autumn Romance, starring Chad Michael Murray, Jessica Lowndes, Dennis Andres, Moni Ogunsuyi and Michael Brown, premiering October 23; followed by all-new Christmas movies Much Ado About Christmas, starring Susie Abromeit and Torrance Coombs on October 30; and Christmas Time is Here, starring Dewshane Williams, Rukiya Bernard and Tom Pickett on November 13. A Kindhearted Christmas, starring Cameron Mathison and Jennie Garth premieres Saturday, November 20 at 8pm ET/PT.

Actress Betty Lynn, who was best known for her role as Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show, has died. She died on October 16 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, after a brief illness. Ms. Lynn was 95.

Lynn's first sitcom starring role was as June on the first season of the ABC sitcom Where's Raymond? from 1953 to 1954. June was the wife of Jonathan (Allyn Joslyn) and mother of Ginny (Frances Karath). The series was renamed The Ray Bolger Show for the second season. The Where's Raymond? cast included Ray Bolger, Richard Erdman and Sylvia Lewis.

She played Pearl on the short-lived 1958 ABC sitcom Love That Jill. Pearl was the secretary of Jack Gibson (Robert Sterling). The cast included Anne Jeffreys, James Lydon, Polly Rose, Barbara Nichols, Nancy Hadley and Kay Elhardt.

Lynn appeared in the recurring role as Thelma Lou, Deputy Barney Fife's (Don Knotts) girlfriend, on the CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. She appeared as Barney's sweetheart in 26 episodes from 1961 to 1966. She reprised the role in the 1986 NBC TV reunion movie Return to Mayberry. The Andy Griffith Show cast included Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Francis Bavier, Elinor Donahue (1960-1961), Jim Nabors (1963-1964), George Lindsey (1965-1968), Aneta Corsaut (1964-1968), Howard McNear, Jack Dodson (1966-1968), Hal Smith (1960-1967) and Jack Burns (1965-1966).

Some of her sitcom guest appearances included The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Gale Storm Show (aka Oh, Susanna), The Farmer's Daughter, The Smothers Brothers Show (aka My Brother the Angel), Family Affair (4 episodes as Miss Lee) and My Three Sons (1 episode as Lois Bradley, 6 episodes as Janet/Janice Dawson).

She appeared as Viola Slaughter on eight episodes of the ABC western Texas John Slaughter from 1959 to 1960. Some of her drama guest appearances included M Squad, Lawman, Wagon Train, Bronco, Sugarfoot, Tales of Wells Fargo, National Velvet, Mod Squad, Little House on the Prairie, Police Story, Barnaby Jones and Matlock (4 episodes as Sarah).

Lynn appeared in many films during the 1940s and 1950s. Some of her credits included Sitting Pretty (1948), June Bride (1948), Mother is a Freshman (1949), Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), Payment on Demand (1951) and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956).

Ms. Lynn was wonderful as Thelma Lou. Thelma Lou was a sweet and kind character. It's surprising that she didn't appear in more than 26 episodes of the series. Lynn had lived in Mount Airy, the home town of Andy Griffith, since 2006. She continued to make monthly personal appearances in town at The Andy Griffith Museum, signing autographs and meeting with her fans. She will be deeply missed.

Share your memories on our The Andy Griffith Show message board. View photos in our galleries.

SitcomsOnline Digest: Could a Looming Strike Shut Down TV Production?; GAC Family Acquires Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Silver Spoons, and More

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! This week, we're getting ready for a strike that could have consequences on production of our favorite TV series, we're hearing about a new direction (including some newly acquired classic sitcoms) for a network that used to be a country music channel, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

• Be prepared: we may be on the verge of another strike, this time by writer's assistants, that could slow down or even shutdown production of your favorite TV series. (Variety)
• ESPN will no longer air the Scripps National Spelling Bee after 27 years, as it transitions to ION and Bounce, two networks that are actually owned by Scripps. (Hollywood Reporter)
• The Wendy Williams Show has had difficulty launching the current season due to the health of Williams herself, and now, it seems they'll be starting the new season with a guest host. (Yahoo! News)
• Katey Sagal was hit by a car this week, but don't worry, it seems the injuries aren't too bad and she is already out of the hospital. (People)
• The creator and show runner for B Positive has decided to leave the series. (Deadline)
• Antenna TV and Rewind TV are celebrating Halloween with two different witches. (SitcomsOnline)

WEEKLY PLANNER (OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 22)

• In case you missed it, GAC Family (formerly Great American Country) is no longer a country music channel at all, and is now going head to head with Hallmark and is filling most of their lineup with classic sitcoms, including Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Father Knows Best, Hazel, and Silver Spoons.
• Decades has a binge of Wonder Woman this weekend.

Antenna TV's Dad's Day Out: Silver Spoons Father's Day Marathon; Roseanne Canceled on ABC, Classic Episodes Pulled from Hulu, Laff, TV Land, CMT and Paramount

Antenna TV January 2018 Schedule Includes Gimme a Break! and Coach; Pop Launches Wednesday Comedies in January

Antenna TV to Add 9 Sitcoms for Fall 2017; MeTV and Decades Remembers Martin Landau

Antenna TV Goes Green for Green Acres on St. Patty's Day; Remembering Sitcom Writer and Producer Howard Leeds

Silver Spoons Joins FamilyNet; Pretty Little Liars Concluding on Freeform in 2017

Silver Spoons, Gilligan's Island on Logo; TBS Orders More New Comedies and Schedules More

Hallmark Dumps The Good Wife; Remembering Ben Starr Co-Creator of The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons

Remembering Creator of Silver Spoons, Who's the Boss; Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 24, 2010)

We have some sad news to report. Martin Cohan, the co-creator of classic sitcoms Silver Spoons and Who's the Boss?, has died. Mr. Cohan died on Wednesday, May 19 in Pacific Palisades, CA, of complications from large cell lymphoma.
Mr. Cohan started his career as a stage manager/assistant director at ABC after graduating from Stanford University. He worked under Mike Nicholls on Catch-22. During the 1970's Cohan moved over to sitcoms and wrote for shows such as All in the Family, The Odd Couple, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, The Partridge Family, Flying High, Diff'rent Strokes, Hello Larry, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, for which he won a Writers Guild Award. He also wrote, produced and directed episodes of The Bob Newhart Show.
In the '80s, Mr. Cohan created Tony Danza-Judith Light sitcom Who's the Boss with his partner Blake Hunter in 1984. The show would run for eight seasons on ABC and introduced us to Alyssa Milano. He also composed the theme song for the sitcom. He also created Silver Spoons in the early 80s, which introduced a young Ricky Schroder.
Mr. Cohan will deeply be missed by sitcom fans. Services will be at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 27 at Mt. Sinai's Chapel Tenach in Forest Lawn, go to memorialwebsites.legacy.com/martycohan for more information. You can catch Who's the Boss? on television every weekday afternoon from 1-3pm on The Hallmark Channel. Mr. Cohan was 77.

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 May 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, May 24, 2010

• Rosemarie DeWitt (United States of Tara) - DeWitt stops by Late Night with Jimmy Falon at 12:35am on NBC.
• Damon Wayans (My Wife & Kids) - Damon heads to Chelsea Lately, at 11pm on E!
• T.J. Miller (Carpoolers) - Comedian T.J. Miller stops by E! TV's Chelsea Lately at 11pm.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

• Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) - Krakow stops to chat on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

• None.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

• Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) - Bryan will be on Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC at 1:05am.
• Joey Lawrence (Melissa & Joey/Gimme a Break/Blossom) - Joey stops by NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:05am.
• Patricia Heaton (The Middle/Everybody Loves Raymond) - This is a repeat from October, but catch Patty on The Bonnie Hunt Show, check local listings for showtime!

Friday, May 28, 2010

• Lisa Kudrow (Friends) - Lisa stops by NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:05am.
• Dominic Fumusa (Nurse Jackie) - Dominic stops by The Martha Stewart Show, so check your listings.
• Joel McHale (Community) - This is a repeat from October, but catch Joel on The Bonnie Hunt Show again. Check your listings.

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

TCA Winter 2009 Press Tour: CBS; More Bush Speech Updates; DejaView in Canada Adds More Sitcoms

Today it is CBS's turn at the TCA Winter 2009 press tour. At the executive session, CBS chief Nina Tassler said an additional episode of The Mentalist could be ordered, and they are not going to move the show to Sundays at 10pm, despite it airing there this coming week after the AFC Championship Game. In other news, CBS has officially canceled last summer's Swingtown, which is not a surprise. CBS is moving forward with the NCIS spin-off and plans to do a backdoor pilot within NCIS this spring. CBS is also planning on a variety show or special starring musician John Mayer for this year. Fox is also developing a variety show hosted by the Osbourne family later this year.
After the executive session, panels for upcoming murder mystery drama Harper's Island and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson followed. CBS focused mainly on Showtime and other ventures after that. After the Showtime Executive Session, which we won't cover, Showtime's United States of Tara, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, The L Word, Tracy Ullman's State of the Union, The Tudors, and Nurse Jackie had panels. Wow, a lot...more than CBS itself.
There was also a presentation on TV.com, which is owned by CBS Interactive. CBS Interactive went you on a guided tour of the leading online destination for video and community, including a look at new and future developments for the site. Speaking of TV.com, be sure to check out their great videos! My personal favorite is their interview with CBS's Kaley Cuoco, who is quite frankly wearing something very stunning! They also have Full Episodes of TV series, so check it out!
Stay tuned tomorrow for NBC's portion of the TCA tour and ABC on Friday!

Yesterday we gave you updates on CBS and Fox's plan for Thursday, as President Bush will have his farewell address at 8pm ET for 15 minutes, messing up all the network's plans. ABC will have to preempt Ugly Betty as a result, just like Fox is doing with Bones. After the President's address, ABC will air a repeat of Scrubs at 8:15/7:15c, joined in progress, followed by another repeat of Scrubs at 8:30/7:30c. Both repeats will likely be repeats of last night's episodes. So, Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice will still be all-new and air on time everywhere. I think ABC decided on this so they can have a 15 minute head start on CSI in the east and central, as CBS is delaying programming to those zones by 15 minutes. As for mountain and pacific time, ABC will air two repeats of Scrubs in their entirety. View the ABC schedule for Thursday in all time zones, if you're confused in what I'm saying. In other ABC schedule news, they will preempt Samantha Who? once again this coming Monday (Jan. 19). This is the second week in a row that will happen, as this past Monday (Jan. 12), the sitcom didn't air either. Why? Because The Bachelor is doing very well in its two-hours and is very compatible with new series True Beauty at 10pm. Honestly, I don't think Samantha Who? will return to 9:30pm on Mondays anytime son. I think either it will return when Dancing with the Stars returns in March OR it will be paired with Scrubs on Tuesdays starting next month. We'll keep you up to date. ABC is up at the TCA tour on Friday, and we should find out then maybe, along with ABC's other mid-season sitcom plans (In The Motherhood, The Goode Family, Better Off Ted).
As for NBC's Thursday plans, they will air a repeat of My Name is Earl after Bush's address at 8:15/7:15c, joined in progress. Then at 8:30pm, they will move the new My Name is Earl episode that was scheduled at 8pm ET/PT to 8:30pm, preempting Kath & Kim totally. As for mountain and pacific zones, you all will get the full repeat of Earl then the new one following it.

The Canada cable station DejaView, which features lots of classic TV, has changed their schedule a bit. Their last change was in the fall. They have added North of Sixty (Canadian series), One Day at a Time, Silver Spoons, Mad About You, but have also removed My Secret Identity, Maude, Charles in Charge, Facts of Life, Kate & Allie. The Canadian series North of Sixty airs weekdays at 7am, 10am, and 11pm, all replacing My Secret Identity. It also airs weekends at 6am and 11pm, replacing My Secret Identity. One Day at a Time airs now weekdays at 4pm, 9pm, and 3am, all replacing Good Times, which slides down a half-hour replacing Maude, so Maude is gone totally. The other new series have joined the weekend schedule with Silver Spoons airing back-to-back episodes at 10am and 4am, 10am hour replacing Charles in Charge and 4am hour replacing Facts of Life/Kate & Allie. Mad About You airs on weekends back-to-back at 1pm and 2am.
DejaView's key shows continues to be Three's Company, Cosby Show, All in the Family, Who's the Boss? and Roseanne.
View the full new DejaView winter 2009 schedule.

TidalTV.com Adds Classic Sony TV Series Episodes; ION Confirms RHI Series on Fridays

TidalTV, Inc. (www.tidaltv.com), a new online service which offers free access to programming from television and the web, announced today the addition of Sony Pictures Television's popular television series to the TidalTV channel lineup.
Over 500 full-length episodes from the series that defined American television, including Married... with Children, Party of Five, Bewitched, The Facts of Life and more, are now playing on TidalTV. See George Clooney on The Facts of Life, Alyssa Milano on Who's the Boss?, Christina Applegate on Married... with Children all over again!
TidalTV also features "The Minisode Network," which offers the Sony shows you love -- only shorter! These pint-sized programming portions are the perfect snack during your lunch hour at the office or while relaxing at home.
Coming up in July, viewers can catch TidalTV's famous guest stars programming block with appearances from Mr. T, Ben Stiller, Jason Bateman, Milla Jovovich and more on shows including Who's the Boss?, Diff'rent Strokes and Silver Spoons. In addition, TidalTV will air its "Battle of the Blondes" programming special featuring action-packed episodes of Charlie's Angels, V.I.P. and T.J. Hooker.
Currently you can see full episodes of Battledome, Dilbert, Jack Chan Adventures, One Day at a Time, Party of Five, T.J. Hooker, The Facts of Life, plus the Minisode Network featuring more Sony classics!
That's www.tidaltv.com, please check it out and visit it everyday for your favorite classic Sony TV shows!

About two weeks ago we gave you ION Television's August 2008 highlights & line-up and we mentioned Flash Gordon and The 10th Kingdom coming to Fridays. Now ION has confirmed that. Two of RHI Entertainment's most popular productions will be seen on the ION Television Network's RHI Movie Weekend beginning Friday, August 1 (7/6c). Flash Gordon, a 22-hour adventure series, and The 10th Kingdom, a 10-hour fantasy saga, will be featured weekly in a two-hour Friday evening programming block. The special broadcasts begin August 1 with Episodes 1 and 2 of Flash Gordon. Starting August 8, ION Television will pair one hour of Flash Gordon with one hour of The 10th Kingdom each week from 7-9pm ET/PT.
Flash Gordon scored with viewers when it originally aired on Sci Fi Channel in the summer of 2007, delivering the network's best series premiere telecast for 2007. Flash Gordon is produced by Reunion Pictures. The producers are Matthew O’Connor and Tom Rowe.
John Larroquette, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Ann Margret, Rutger Hauer, Camryn Manheim, Ed O'Neil, and Dianne Wiest are among the Emmy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning talent headlining an all-star cast in The 10th Kingdom, a 10-hour miniseries that premiered on NBC in February 2000. The upcoming broadcast on ION Television marks the first time the series has ever been seen in one-hour segments in the U.S.

Strike Update; ME-TV Coming to Milwaukee, Chicago to Launch ME-Too; RTN Coming to Illinois

Well we all know the strike is just about over. Yesterday I mentioned that they had a press conference. So what happened in it? They announced a vote will be held on Tuesday. A yes vote means they are voting to end the strike immediately; a no vote means they are voting to continue the strike during the ratification process.
So the strike has unofficially ended, but it won't be official until after this vote. It is widely expected that the WGA members will indeed vote yes on the new deal and the writers would return to work Wednesday.
So today is technically still day 99 of the strike. And tomorrow is day 100, the last day technically of the strike. How cool is it that this will all end officially on day 100. We will have more on the vote and more details this week.

You all know about ME-TV in Chicago. The local Chicago station (WWME-23) that airs classic TV, well now the same people will bring ME-TV in Milwaukee! ME-TV will launch in Milwaukee March 1 with a lineup that will include programs such as I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Lost in Space.
ME-TV in Milwaukee will be on a new digital subchannel on Channel 58.3 (WDJT). In addition to being available over the air at 58.3, it will have a spot on the Time Warner and Charter digital lineups. For the record, Channel 58's less-than-full power sister channel, WMLW-TV - Channel 41 over the air and Channel 7 on Time Warner Cable - airs at 58.2.
Stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for this new ME-TV station in Milwaukee! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.

Sticking with ME-TV, ME-TV in Chicago is still going strong. It just launched its new Chill with Me winter line-up and added shows such as Gilligan's Island and My Favorite Martian. Now, WWME (ME-TV Chicago) has announced it intends to add classic reruns to WFBT-Ch. 48 and rename it WMEU-TV beginning March 1. WWME-23 has called itself ME-TV. WFBT-48 will call itself ME-Too.
Besides being broadcast and carried by some area cable providers, the channels also will be available on digital sub-channels belonging to sister station WCIU-Ch. 26, WCIU-DT 26.2 and 26.3 respectively.
Between ME-TV and ME-Too, more than 100 different series will be aired! Having ME-Too will allow development of targeted blocks of programming for different demographics. It also will create a classic program stream when sports preempts regularly scheduled shows.
Among the shows we will see will be a Saturday night "pajama party" lineup will feature sitcoms Square Pegs, Silver Spoons, Facts of Life, The Monkees, The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. Also we can expect a Sunday "Noir at Night" block of Route 66, Naked City, 77 Sunset Strip and Boris Karloff's Thriller.
Let's hope ME-TV and ME-Too expand to more cities. It would be nice to have at least a ME-TV in most markets...Chicago and Milwaukee are very lucky! I hope we get one in New York!
As we said about ME-TV Milwaukee's launch schedule, stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for Chicago's ME-Too! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, something similar to ME-TV is of course Retro Television Network. RTN is now well over in 50 different markets and growing each day! Retro Television Network announced that it will partner with GOCOM Media of Illinois to bring RTN programming to Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, IL. The network will launch early next year on one of the digital streams of WRSP/WBUI.