SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

In a network first, TBS is debuting a full-season binge of the highly anticipated new comedy series Tarantula via the TBS app and TBS.com available as of Monday, December 4. The animated half-hour comedy is written and executive produced by Carson Mell (Silicon Valley) alongside executive producers Danny McBride (Vice Principals, Eastbound & Down), Jody Hill (Vice Principals, Eastbound & Down), Brandon James and David Gordon Green for Rough House Pictures, Claudia Katz and Gregg Vanzo for Rough Draft Animation.

Set at the Tierra Chula Resident Hotel, aka The Tarantula, the series centers on Echo Johnson (Mell), a respected but uncertified tattoo artist who delivers absurd yet introspective monologues. Echo's poetic ramblings tell tales of misadventures with the other residents including Lucas (Dan Bakkedahl) the sci-fi writer and bread truck driver, Booty (Mell) the sensitive lead singer, and Bess (Lauren Weedman) a lady whose toughness was forged in the local honky-tonks. They partake in party crashing, dumpster diving, and other socially dubious acts of mischief. Riki Lindhome, Jacob Vargas, Steve Jones and Tati Gabrielle also lend their voice talents to the series.

This digital release is the latest innovative binge offering that TBS has provided fans since its rebrand, following season one of Angie Tribeca - which premiered in a 25-hour marathon - and Search Party - which aired its entire first season over Thanksgiving week. Tarantula is also be available to watch on TBS Mondays at 10pm ET/PT as of Monday, Dec. 4. Two new episodes will air each week following new episodes of Family Guy.

Bravo Media's Emmy Award-winning Inside the Actors Studio, hosted by James Lipton welcomes Kristen Wiig on Thursday, December 21 at 8pm ET/PT. In anticipation of her upcoming film Downsizing, Wiig discusses her Hollywood beginning at The Groundlings improv troupe which led to her breakout role as series regular on Saturday Night Live, where she earned five Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. From the small screen to the big screen, Wiig expanded her repertoire to include both comedic and dramatic roles in films such as Mother!, The Martian, Skeleton Twins, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Despicable Me 2, Welcome To Me, Ghostbusters, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and the upcoming Where'd You Go, Bernadette. In the episode, Wiig recounts her journey to writing, producing and starring in the Oscar nominated film, Bridesmaids, and how she created many of her iconic characters in Saturday Night Live including the 'Aunt Linda' and 'Sue the Surprise Lady.'

Oh just sit right back, because more classic sitcoms are now on Logo! Logo added Gilligan's Island this past weekend and it will add the '80s sitcom Silver Spoons today! Gilligan is being shared with sister network TV Land, who has aired the series up until recently, but Silver Spoons is totally new to the Viacom family networks. Logo has started somewhat of a regular schedule, and Silver Spoons will air weekday afternoons at approx. 1:30-3:30pm following The Facts of Life two-hour block. Gilligan is before Facts, from 9:30-11:30am. I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched kick it off in the early morning hours. After Silver Spoons, depending on the day, it is a two-hour block of Roseanne or Will & Grace. The rest of the schedule has All in the Family, Three's Company, movies and more, but there is no set timings, from 6pm-6am. The Friday primetime line-up features three-hours sitcom tours, with All in the Family from 6-9pm, Three's Company from 9pm-12am, Gilligan's Island from 12am-3am, and more All in the Family from 3-6am.

On weekends, it is more sitcom fun! Marathons blocks of Roseanne, All in the Family, Three's Company, and Gilligan's Island air from 6am-10pm on Saturdays leading into the newly added Silver Spoons from 10pm-2am. It will lead into the late night block of All in the Family from 2-6am. Sundays has more blocks, with Roseanne leading it off into Three's Company, All in the Family and Will & Grace usually through 7pm. Then movies and other programming usually air after that, with some more Will & Grace mixed in. Lots of sitcoms indeed, but it looks like some sitcoms like The Golden Girls, Soap and What's Happening!! are off the schedule for now. But they could be back. Enjoy Silver Spoons and Gilligan's Island!

TBS's stable of original comedies is about to expand. The top-rated Turner network has greenlit two new series and ordered another to pilot. Getting straight-to-series orders are The Guest Book, a scripted single-camera comedy created by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia (My Name is Earl, Raising Hope), and produced by CBS Television Studios, and Tarantula, from creator Carson Mell (Silicon Valley) and Rough House Pictures, the network's first original primetime animated series under the new TBS brand. Both series are slated to launch in 2017. TBS has also ordered a pilot for World's End, a scripted comedy from Electus, writer/executive producer Jonathan Ames (Bored to Death) and executive producer Ben Silverman (Jane the Virgin), with Hamish Linklater (The Big Short) and Wanda Sykes (black-ish) set to star.

In other programming news, TBS has set Halloween night, Monday, Oct. 31, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), for the premiere of its other-worldly ensemble comedy People of Earth, starring Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show). TBS also has a unique launch plan in store for the new series Search Party. In order to capitalize on the Thanksgiving week with a captive young audience, TBS will air the entire first season of Search Party during the holiday (Nov. 21-25), with two episodes each night from 11 p.m. to midnight (ET/PT). To build interest even further, TBS will encore the first season during the weeks of Christmas and New Year's, while also making all 10 episodes available on demand the night of premiere to encourage binge viewing. The announcements mark the latest phase in TBS's programming and brand evolution, which began in January with the unique launch premiere of Angie Tribeca and continued with the debuts of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee in February, The Detour in April and Wrecked in June. As a result, TBS now claims four of cable's Top 10 new comedies for the year-to-date, with Wrecked and The Detour topping the list.