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TBS has given the greenlight to Your Family or Mine, a new domestic comedy with a twist starring Kyle Howard (Royal Pains, My Boys), Kat Foster ('Til Death, Royal Pains), Richard Dreyfuss (The Goodbye Girl, The American President) and JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist, Dexter). Based on an enormously popular Israeli comedy from Keshet International, the series is being executive produced by Greg Malins (Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Will & Grace); Jamie Tarses (Happy Endings, Franklin & Bash); Keshet's Rubi Duanias, Yaniv Polishuk, Avi Nir and Ran Telem; and Teddy Productions' Tamira Yardeni. Your Family or Mine comes to TBS by Sony Pictures Television, Jamie Tarses' Fanfare Productions, Keshet International and Teddy Productions. TBS has ordered 10 episodes of Your Family or Mine, which is slated to premiere in 2015. Originally created by Rubi Duanias and Yaniv Polishuk, the comedy centers on Oliver (Howard) and Kelli (Foster), a young couple with two daughters. Oliver and Kelli are living proof of the adage, "When you marry someone, you don't just marry them, you marry their whole family." Putting a unique spin on domestic comedies, each episode of Your Family or Mine will focus on a different side of the family, one week with Kelli's family, the next with Oliver's.

TBS has also greenlit the workplace comedy Buzzy's, the latest series from David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, the Emmy(R)-winning creators of Will & Grace. Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical), Mike Castle (Family Trap), Lauren Lapkus (Orange Is the New Black), Ryan Pinkston (Tower Prep), Matt Cook (True Blood) and six-time Emmy(R) nominee George Wendt (Cheers) star in the ensemble comedy, which comes to TBS from KoMut Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television. Kohan and Mutchnick serve as executive producers on the series and penned the pilot, which was directed by James Widdoes (Two and a Half Men). TBS has also ordered 10 episodes of Buzzy's, with plans to launch the show in 2015. Set in Charlestown, Mass., the multi-camera comedy centers on a group of coworkers who all went to high school together but ran in very different crowds.

Moving on, Fox is getting closer to its upfront presentation and 2014-15 plans. They have given three pinkslips to freshman comedies and one freshman drama. The multi-camera sitcom Dads and the single-camera comedies Enlisted and Surviving Jack have all been canceled. Another freshman series, the drama Rake has also been canceled. None of these are surprising since they all struggled in the Nielsen ratings. The only one that had a shot of returning was Dads, which launched in the fall. The other series all were mid-season series. In other Fox upfront news, American Idol will return next season for its 14th cycle, which is no surprise. Even with its declining Nielsen ratings, it was a shoo-in to return. Keep it right here for continued upfront updates.

Well, it's actually called a "NewFront" for Hulu and Crackle, but both had their annual presentations yesterday. For Hulu, among the new series is The Hotwives of Orlando, a Hulu Original Series, that will premiere on Tuesday, July 15. From Paramount Digital Entertainment, Hotwives is produced by Emmy© award-winning producer Jonathan Stern and Emmy© nominated producer Paul Scheer. Paramount Digital Entertainment is the studio behind the outrageous Emmy© nominated comedy Burning Love. All episodes will be available on Hulu Plus on July 15; the first two episodes will be available on Hulu.com, with a new episode releasing each week after that. The series is a laugh-out-loud parody of the phenomenon that is reality housewives shows. With an all-star cast that includes the Hotwives Casey Wilson as The Trophy Wife (Happy Endings), Angela Kinsey as The Religious Zealot (The Office), Kristen Schaal as The Drug Addled Former Child Star (Flight of the Conchords), Tymberlee Hill as The Entrepreneur (Drunk History), Danielle Schneider as The Bankrupt Overspender (Upright Citizens Brigade) and Andrea Savage as The Cougar (Step Brothers). With special guest stars including Kate Walsh, Weird Al Yankovic, Joey McIntyre, Stephen Tobolowsky, Paul Scheer and Paul Scheer (The League) who plays the Enthusiastic TV producer Matty Green.

Crackle, the multi-platform digital entertainment network, released an exciting line-up of new original programming and returning series yesterday at the Digital Content NewFronts in New York City. Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle, Breaking Bad), Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage), and sportscaster Dan Patrick were all on hand alongside Sony Pictures Television executives for Crackle's second year at the annual NewFronts presentations. The new line-up features more than 100 episodes of original programming including exciting new productions and returning hits across a variety of genres such as sports, comedy, thrillers, and music involving some of Hollywood's most sought-after talent including Jerry Seinfeld, Robert Downey Jr. Bryan Cranston, Jeremy Renner and Dan Patrick. New series includes a comedy titled Tightrope. Emmy(R)-Award winner Bryan Cranston returns to his comedic roots to executive produce this series that will replace a character from a classic detective series with a modern-day actor. The show juxtaposes the modern character, with irreverent comic sensibilities and also with older characters from another era to reshape the stories into contemporary comedy. A new drama Sequestered was also announced for a 12 episode run scheduled to premiere on Crackle in August. A sophisticated, intense thriller, starring Jesse Bradford, Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagemen), and Bruce Davison about a jury sequestered in a hotel while deliberating a court case with massive implications. Series is produced by Lifeboat Productions and created by Aaron Tracy.




On the next...Surviving Jack (Fox, Thursday 9:30pm):
By: Vincent

Fox's new comedy starring Christopher Meloni airs Thursdays at 9:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (May 1). In the episode airing tonight, "She Drives Me Crazy," Jack (Christopher Meloni) gets Rachel (Claudia Lee) a spot on the wrestling team, much to the chagrin of the wrestling coach (guest star Neil Flynn, The Middle, Scrubs). Meanwhile, Joanne (Rachael Harris) realizes that Frankie (Connor Buckley) is now too embarrassed to be seen with her during their annual mother-son trip.

When I watch Surviving Jack, the best word I can come up with is "competent." This is a show that knows what it's doing and does it pretty well. It's a nostalgia-based family sitcom (although the '90s references are increasingly becoming less prevalent) that wants to get some decent laughs out of you while getting you invested in some fairly well drawn, if slightly stereotypical, characters. It wants to make you think of your own childhood or adolescence with a smile, and it wants you to go "aww" at its sweet message of family togetherness it brings through at the end. And it does all of this quite well! In fact, unlike many family sitcoms, the "aww" moments feel genuinely earned here, because the characters feel like more than just archetypes. It's good, solid family sitcom stuff.



The problem is that we've had many "good, solid family sitcoms" over the years, and there's not much that makes Surviving Jack stand out in the crowd. The show is funny enough, but there are far funnier shows on television. The characters are pretty well-drawn, but they're not unique in the way that, say, the Heck kids (from The Middle) are unique. The shows' genuine sweetness is perhaps its best selling point, but it's not groundbreaking enough to really make Surviving Jack worth going out of your way for. This is probably why the show has sort of failed to gather traction – as good as everything here is, it's just good, and there isn't much of an effort to be anything more than "just good." There are elements here that could eventually make a genuinely great family sitcom, but the show may be taking too long to properly utilize them. Surviving Jack is not a bad way to spend a half hour, but with so many great comedies on TV, "not a bad way to spend a half hour" just isn't enough. B-

Comedic legend Martin Lawrence and hip-hop artist B.o.B will round out The Soul Man guest cast for the LIVE season premiere TONIGHT (Wednesday, March 26) at 10:30pm ET/PT. Previously announced guest stars include singer/actress Brandy Norwood (Moesha) and Betty White, who will cross over to The Soul Man following the live episode of Hot in Cleveland. The LIVE season three premiere will simulcast on TV Land, BET and CENTRIC, as we mentioned. Martin Lawrence (Martin) will appear in the LIVE episode as Rudy, Boyce's (Cedric "The Entertainer") scatterbrained drummer pal who helps to bring Boyce's band back together. At the end of the night, GRAMMY-nominated artist B.o.B hits the stage live to close out the show with a performance that will include The Soul Man himself, Cedric "The Entertainer." In the LIVE season premiere episode, Brandy Norwood will play Rita, one of Boyce's old back-up dancers who's hiding an obvious secret; Betty White appears as Elka Ostrovsky, her Hot in Cleveland character whom Boyce counted as a former parishioner; and Kellee Stewart, returns as Lolli's (Niecy Nash) sister, Kim, who takes her relationship with Stamps (Wesley Jonathan) to the next level. Tune in LIVE for the The Soul Man premiere and also for the Hot in Cleveland LIVE episode, all starting at 10|9c on TV Land!

Fox is making some schedule changes on Thursday and Fridays. The competition heats up when Chef Gordon Ramsay returns with Season 12 of Hell's Kitchen, debuting Thursday, March 13 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, followed by the American Idol XIII results show at 9:00PM ET live/PT tape-delayed, which moves to its new time period. As a result, Rake moves to Fridays, beginning March 14 at 8:00PM ET/PT, followed by all-new episodes of Enlisted and Raising Hope still from 9-10PM ET/PT. With Rake moving to Fridays, Kitchen Nightmares, which was scheduled to premiere in the timeslot, will now premiere later in the season. Back to Thursdays, once the American Idol XIII results shows shift to half-hour episodes on Thursday, March 27 from 9:00-9:30 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed, Surviving Jack, the new comedy starring Emmy Award nominee Chris Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as a man becoming a dad, while his son is becoming a man, will air from 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT.

A That '70s Show mini-reunion is coming soon on Two and a Half Men. Actress Mila Kunis is set to guest star in an upcoming episode of Two and a Half Men opposite her former '70s co-star Ashton Kutcher. Jackie and Kelso together again. The series is broadcast on Thursdays at 9:00PM, ET/PT on the CBS Television Network. She will play Vivian, a young, beautiful, free-spirited world traveler who shows up on Walden's (Kutcher) doorstep. Walden feels an instant connection with her, convinced she's "the one." The problem is, Walden was about to propose to someone else. In real-life, both Kunis and Kutcher recently got engaged.

Kunis is best known for her roles on That '70s Show and the animated series Family Guy. In 2010, Kunis starred in the critically acclaimed Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominated feature film Black Swan. Kunis's other film credits include Oz, The Great And Powerful, Ted, Friends With Benefits, Date Night, The Book Of Eli, Extract, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Max Payne. She can next be seen in Jupiter Ascending, opposite Channing Tatum, and Third Person, which will be released in June.

The Hallmark Channel has made a schedule change. The biggest news is that The Good Wife has been reduced by two hours and will now air 8-10pm rather than for four hours from 6-10pm. Moving to the 6-8pm block will be four episodes of Home Improvement, as that show was airing 4-6pm. More power! Airing in the 4-6pm block will be The Brady Bunch, which will move over from 8-10am in a major timeslot upgrade. Groovy! In other schedule news, The Waltons is returning to the line-up and will air weekdays 2-4pm, replacing two-hours of The Golden Girls, which will move back to 8-10am. All of these changes are effective immediately and have already started. Why the change? Likely The Good Wife did not perform as they would have liked in its first week on the schedule. The network will add repeats of The Middle this March, which should be a much better fit. Stay with us for continued updates.


It's that time again, the winter portion of the TCA press tour. The TCA Winter 2014 press tour actually began last Thursday with cable leading it off at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California. The cable networks that went were: Discovery, IFC, TV One, Lifetime/A&E, HBO, Sportsman Channel, Viacom, Starz, Turner, Ovation, National Geographic Channel, AMC/Sundance, Weather Channel, Pivot, ESPN, BBC America, UP, Hallmark Channel, WGN America, Al Jazeera America, Revolt, and the upcoming El Rey Network. We will cover the major news only that deal with TV/sitcoms.

We'll start with the upcoming new cable network El Rey. El Rey Network, the new 24-hour English-language cable network founded by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, has licensed the cable rights to three fan-favorite and critically-acclaimed series: Starsky & Hutch, Dark Angel, and The X-Files. Under the agreement, El Rey Network will have access to an extensive library of newly-acquired content which will air as part of an expanded 24-hour schedule beginning Friday, February 14. These three celebrated series are part of an adrenaline-infused lineup featuring rebellious heroes, iconic car chases, epic fight scenes and more, which all speak to the network's desire to provide viewers a visceral storytelling experience. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Starsky & Hutch will airs Monday-Friday from 2PM-4PM ET. Dark Angel will air air Mondays and Thursdays from 4PM-8PM ET. And The X-Files will air Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 4PM-8PM ET and Sundays from 3PM-7PM ET.
The Hallmark Channel has announced many new movies for the new year, with stars like Jessica Szohr, Deidre Hall, Rachel Boston, Stefanie Powers, Lacey Chabert, Warren Christie, Kristy Swanson, Vivica A. Fox, Sarah Lancaster, Marcia Strassman, and Patricia Richardson. Original series wise, Cedar Grove has began production on season two while Signed, Sealed, Delivered premieres this spring starring Eric Mabius with guest star Valerie Harper. Moving on, Lifetime's critically-acclaimed hit series Devious Maids (#DeviousMaids, #DeviousArmy), returns for a second season on Sunday, April 20, at 10PM ET/PT. The series is executive produced by Marc Cherry and Eva Longoria, and stars Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramírez, Roselyn Sánchez, Edy Ganem and Judy Reyes as five maids with ambition and dreams of their own while working for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. Longoria will direct the series' eagerly anticipated season two opener, marking her television directorial debut.

WGN America has made bold moves, ordering straight to series the production of two standout, scripted dramas: Salem, to premiere Sunday, April 20, 2014, and Manhattan, to start production in New Mexico in March for a July 2014 premiere. WGN America has also ordered the 10-part scripted event series Ten Commandments from The Weinstein Company (TWC). Over 10 nights, 10 different visionary filmmakers will take on a single Commandment with their modern interpretation of that Commandment. Five of the 10 filmmakers on board to direct episodes are Gus Van Sant, Lee Daniels, Jim Sheridan, Wes Craven and Michael Cera. Academy Award(R) winning producer Bruce Cohen (American Beauty, Silver Linings Playbook) and Bob Weinstein will produce the series. Finally, for cable, TV One is expanding its NAACP Image Award-winning Unsung franchise with new series Unsung Hollywood, premiering Wednesday, February 26 at 10PM/ET. From revealing portraits of beloved stars of film and television, including feminist film icon Pam Grier and politically charged comic Dick Gregory, to in-depth stories behind the making (and breaking) of influential films and TV series such as Cooley High and What's Happening!!, Unsung Hollywood shines a spotlight on subjects and stories that have rarely or never been told. Preceding Unsung Hollywood's debut in February, flagship series Unsung will return with all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, January 29 at 10PM/ET. The What's Happening!! episode airs Wednesday, March 12 at 10pm!


Fox was up at the TCA Winter 2014 Press Tour yesterday and we have the full scoop! First up, the big news was that Fox is by-passing the pilot season and have already started to pick-up new series with episode orders. We mentioned one of them already was the Rainn Wilson drama. We'll have more info closer to the upfront on these pick-ups. In other news, Fox announced guest stars on their post-Super Bowl shows. Music royalty Prince will make a special guest appearance on New Girl in the episode, "Party Time" airing approx. 10:30-11:00 PM ET/7:30-8:00 PM PT. Dean Winters, Fred Armisen and Joe Thiesmann are among those set to appear on the all-new "Operation: Broken Feather" episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine airing approx. 11:00-11:30 PM ET/8:00-8:30 PM PT.

Moving on to some new series and scheduling news, Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox) and National Geographic Channel (NGC) announced the global series premiere of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, the thrilling new 13-part series from executive producer/writer Ann Druyan and executive producer Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, Ted). The highly anticipated series will premiere in the U.S. on Sunday, March 9 from 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT on Fox, and encore with all-new bonus footage and behind-the-scenes content on the National Geographic Channel (NGC) Monday, March 10 from 10:00-11:00 PM ET/PT. As a result, beginning Sunday, March 9, all-new episodes of Bob's Burgers will move to 7:00PM ET/PT, followed by all-new episodes of American Dad! at 7:30 PM ET/PT. All-new episodes of Family Guy will move to 8:30PM ET/PT to lead-in to Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. And finally, Fox announced premiere dates for event series 24: Live Another Day, and new series Surviving Jack (comedy) and Gang Related (drama). The iconic pulse-pounding clock resets when 24: Live Another Day premieres with a special two-hour television event Monday, May 5 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT, and makes its time period premiere the following week on Monday, May 12 at 9:00 PM ET/PT. 12 hours will air.
New comedy series Surviving Jack will premiere Thursday, March 27 at 8:30PM ET/PT following the American Idol XIII results show at 8. From executive producer and Emmy Award nominee Bill Lawrence (Cougar Town), the series is based on best-selling author Justin Halpern's autobiographical book, "I Suck at Girls." Co-created and written by Halpern and Patrick Schumacker (both of $#*! My Dad Says), the series is set in 1990s Southern California, and stars Emmy Award nominee Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as a man becoming a dad, as his son (Connor Buckley) becomes a man, in a time before "coming of age" was something you could Google. The series also stars Rachael Harris (The Hangover), Claudia Lee, Kevin Hernandez and newcomer Tyler Foden. And finally, gritty new action-drama Gang Related will have its series premiere on Tuesday, May 20 at 9:00PM ET/PT, following Part One of the two-night American Idol XIII Season Finale at 8. Created and written by Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast Five), the series follows Ryan Lopez (Ramon Rodriguez, The Wire), a rising star in Los Angeles' elite Gang Task Force - led by Sam Chapel (Emmy Award winner Terry O'Quinn, Lost) - who teams up with longtime Task Force member Cassius Green (RZA, Californication) to take on the city's most dangerous gangs, including one that he swore an allegiance to as a boy. And that's about the major highlights from the Fox press tour. If anything else comes up, we'll let you know!

Up today at the TCA Winter 2014 press tour will be cable network FX. Stay tuned for any updates, if anything is of note for us. And Wednesday we will have CBS up at the TCA Winter 2014 press tour, as they will be doing a two-day event with CW and Showtime.

Fox has picked up nine additional episodes of Dads, bringing the series to a 22-episode order. In the next all-new episode, "Foul Play," airing Tuesday, Nov. 5 (8:00PM ET/PT), Eli (Seth Green) and David (Peter Riegert) are forced to sleep at the Ghost Child Games offices when bedbugs overtake the loft. Meanwhile, Camila (Vanessa Lachey) gets the lead in a local theater production, and Crawford (Martin Mull) ends up being uncharacteristically helpful, much to the chagrin of Warner (Giovanni Ribisi). Meanwhile, Fox is announcing premieres dates for new and returning series for winter 2014, including the returns of American Idol and The Following, and the debut of new legal drama Rake. Featuring host Ryan Seacrest, a new judging panel, including Harry Connick, Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson returning as the new in-house mentor, American Idol XIII begins with an exciting two-night, four-hour premiere Wednesday, Jan. 15 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT and Thursday, Jan. 16 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT.

Following the season finale of Sleepy Hollow at a special time on Monday, Jan. 20 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, The Following returns to 9:00 PM ET/PT to begin its 15-week uninterrupted second season. Bold new legal drama Rake debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, Jan. 19 at 10:00PM ET/7:00PM PT, following the NFC Championship Game, and continuing with its time period premiere on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 9:00PM ET/PT. Making his broadcast television series debut, Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Greg Kinnear plays a brilliant and frustratingly charming criminal defense attorney, whose chaotic and self-destructive personal life often gets in the way of his professional one. Glee will return in spring 2014. As previously announced, new Army-set comedy Enlisted debuts Friday, Jan. 10 at 9:30PM ET/PT. Written and created by Kevin Biegel (Cougar Town, Scrubs) and starring Geoff Stults (October Road, The Finder), Chris Lowell (Private Practice, Veronica Mars) and Parker Young (Suburgatory), the series is a single-camera comedy about an older sibling who returns home to reconnect with his two brothers and lead a group of misfits on a small Florida Army post.

This spring, new comedies Surviving Jack and Us & Them will debut on Fox; series premiere dates to be announced. From Emmy Award nominee Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Cougar Town) and set in 1990s Southern California, Surviving Jack stars Emmy Award nominee Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as a man becoming a dad, as his son (Connor Buckley, Deception) becomes a man, in a time before "coming of age" was something you could Google. Surviving Jack is set to air on Thursdays at 8:30PM ET/PT for eight weeks, following American Idol's live results shows now airing for half-hour at 8:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed. New ensemble comedy Us & Them will also join the schedule in the spring, but no night and time has been announce yet. Starring Emmy Award nominee Jason Ritter (Joan of Arcadia, Parenthood) and Alexis Bledel (Mad Men, Gilmore Girls), and based on an award-winning BBC series, the series follows a young couple, whose path to happily-ever-after is complicated by the screwed-up circus of people closest to them.

Actress Marcia Wallace, best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester in The Bob Newhart Show and as the voice of elementary school teacher Edna Krabappel in The Simpsons, has died. She died on October 25 in Los Angeles due to complications from pneumonia. Ms. Wallace was 70.

Wallace played the joke-loving receptionist Carol Kester (later Carol Kester Bondurant) in The Bob Newhart Show. The popular sitcom ran for 142 episodes on CBS from 1972-1978. Her character married travel agent Larry Bondurant (Will Mackenzie) in the fourth season. The series received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1977. In 1991, the cast reunited for the one-hour clip show The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special. Wallace reprised her role as Carol Bondurant in a 1994 episode of Murphy Brown. In the episode Anything But Cured, Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) begs her to leave her job as Murphy's secretary and come back with him to Chicago. Wallace received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 1994 for her role as Secretary #66.

Wallace's early sitcom credits included Bewitched, The Brady Bunch (2 episodes: Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up? and Getting Davy Jones) and Love, American Style. She was a semi-regular on The Merv Griffin Show, with over 75 appearances, before she landed her role on The Bob Newhart Show. Her many other sitcom guest appearances included The Love Boat, Flying High, Taxi, Gimme a Break!, ALF, Night Court, Small Wonder, Charles in Charge, A Different World and Full House. She was a series regular as Maggie Hawley on the Comedy Central sitcom That's My Bush in 2001. In 2009, she played Annie Wilkes in the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. She was also a regular game show panelist for more than thirty years. Her many appearances included The Hollywood Squares, Password Plus, Super Password, Card Sharks, Hot Potato, Body Language, The $25,000 Pyrmaid, Double Talk, Win, Lose or Draw, and Match Game.

Her other main role was the voice of Bart's elementary school teacher in The Simpsons. Edna Krabappel was married to Ned Flanders. Wallace voiced the character in over 100 episodes. In 1992, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for the episode Bart the Lover. The show has announced that her character will be retired. Wallace's other voice credits included Darkwing Duck, Batman, The Addams Family, The Angry Beavers and Monsters University.

Survivors include her son Michael Hawley, sister Sherry and brother Jimmy. She was a very talented and funny woman. She was also an inspiration to many as a long-time breast cancer survivor. We thank her for bringing us many laughs over the years. Ms. Wallace will be deeply missed.

We will keep you posted on any tributes planned for her. Share your memories on our Bob Newhart Show message board. View photos in our photo galleries.