SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

ABC Fall 2022 Premiere Dates; Remembering Philip Baker Hall, Lt. Bookman on Seinfeld

ABC has set fall premiere dates for its new and returning series for the upcoming 2022-2023 season, including new female-led dramas Alaska Daily (formerly known as Alaska) and The Rookie: Feds as well as the newest primetime game show Celebrity Jeopardy! Return dates have also been set for critically acclaimed comedy breakout Abbott Elementary, and fan favorites Bachelor in Paradise and Grey's Anatomy. ABC's No. 1 comedy last season in Adults 18-49, Quinta Brunson-helmed Abbott Elementary, returns on its new night, Wednesday, Sept. 21 (9:00-9:31 p.m. EDT), joining network comedy staples The Conners (8:00-8:30 p.m. EDT), The Goldbergs (8:30-9:00 p.m. EDT) and Home Economics (9:31-10:00 p.m. EDT) for a laugh-filled evening. Then, Reba McEntire and Jensen Ackles step into the world of Big Sky on its new night, bringing with them a new mystery to unravel as the mercurial matriarch of an established local family and the new sheriff in town, respectively. The first-ever live episode of Shark Tank, featuring all six original Sharks, swims into the weekend Friday, Sept. 21. 23 (8:00-9:01 p.m. EDT). A new season of ABC News' 20/20 (9:01-11:00 p.m. EDT) follows.

Sundays on ABC are synonymous with family fun as Hollywood stars test their knowledge with the ultimate game of trivia on Celebrity Jeopardy! (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), debuting Sept. 25, and followed by the return of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT). The evening culminates with The Rookie (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), and AFV joins the Sunday lineup a week later on Oct. 2 (7:00-8:00 p.m. EDT). Summer may have ended, but romance awaits as Bachelor in Paradise turns up the heat on Tuesday, Sept. 27 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), followed by the debut of The Rookie spinoff series, The Rookie: Feds, starring Niecy Nash-Betts (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT). The search for love continues as BIP begins its two-night weekly run on Monday, Oct. 3 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), preceding the return of hit drama The Good Doctor, which hits 100 episodes this season. And finally, Alaska Daily (10:01-11:00 p.m. EDT), from Oscar®-winning writer Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) and starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, joins Station 19 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) and TV's longest-running primetime medical drama, Grey's Anatomy (9:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on Thursday, Oct. 6. Additional premiere dates for the 2022-2023 season will be announced at a later date.

Character actor Philip Baker Hall, who played Lt. Joe Bookman on Seinfeld, has died. He died of emphysema at his home in Glendale, California, on June 12. Mr. Hall was 90.

Hall's early sitcom guest appearances included Good Times, M*A*S*H, It's a Living, Benson and Bagdad Cafe. He appeared as Dr. Harrison in the 1988 three-part Family Ties episode "Heartstrings," in which Steven Keaton has a heart attack and has to undergo heart surgery.

He played Lt. Joe Bookman, a detective pursuing a long-overdue library book, in the Seinfeld episode "The Library." It aired in the third season on October 16, 1991. Jerry learns he has a library fine from 1971, for the then-controversial book Tropic of Cancer, and that the "case" has been turned over to the library investigations officer, Lt. Bookman. Hall reprised the role in "The Finale," which aired on May 14, 1998.

Hall starred as Russ McDonald on the 2006-2007 Fox sitcom The Loop. The show starred Bret Harrison as Sam Sullivan, a young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of TransAlliance Airways, a major U.S. airline. Russ McDonald is head executive of TransAlliance Airways and one of Sam's bosses. The series also starred Joy Osmanski, Amanda Loncar, Mimi Rogers, Sarah Mason (Sarah Wright) and Eric Christian Olsen.

He appeared as crotchety neighbor Walt Kleezak in three episodes of Modern Family in 2011 and 2012. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Nurses, Cheers, Bob, Empty Nest, The Good Life, Madman of the People, Life's Work, The John Larroquette Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Worst Week (2 episodes), Curb Your Enthusiam (2 episodes as Dr. Morrison), True Jackson, VP (2009), Childrens Hospital and Corporate.

Hall played Ed Meyers in 13 episodes of the ninth and final season (1989-1990) of the CBS prime time soap opera Falcon Crest. He starred as William Vaughn on the 1997-1998 CBS legal drama Michael Hayes. He played George Reese Greeley on the short-lived 2001 Fox prime time soap opera Pasadena. In 2016, he appeared as Old Jimmy Pritchad in five episodes of the Fox science fiction crime drama Second Chance. He had a recurring role as Zelman Katz on the 2020 Netflix thriller Messiah.

Some of his television drama guest appearances included Emergency!, The Waltons, McClain's Law, Quincy, M.E. (2 episodes), Cagney & Lacey, T.J. Hooker, Lottery, Hardcastle and McCormick, Miami Vice, Matlock, Murder, She Wrote (1991), L.A. Law, Equal Justice, Dark Justice, Civil Wars (3 episodes), Roswell, Chicago Hope, The Practice (4 episodes as Judge Joseph Vinocour), Millenium (2 episodes), L.A. Doctors, The Fugitive (2000), Without a Trace, Everwood, Monk, Boston Legal, The West Wing (2 episodes), Psych and Madam Secretary.

Hall starred in the Paul Thomas Anderson films Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999). Some of his other film credits included Secret Honor (1984), Nothing in Common (1986), Midnight Run (1988), Say Anything... (1989), Ghostbusters II (1989), The Rock (1996), The Truman Show (1998), Rush Hour (1998), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Insider (1999), The Contender (2000), Dogville (2003), Bruce Almighty (2003), Duck (2005), Zodiac (2007), 50/50 (2011) and Argo (2012).

Survivors include his wife Holly Wolfle, four children, four grandchildren and a brother.

Mr. Hall was a fantastic character actor. His guest appearance as Lt. Bookman on Seinfeld was one of the funniest and most memorable of the series. It led to many other jobs for him. He didn't start acting until he was 30 years old, but he had over 200 TV and film credits during his long career. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment he brought us. He will be greatly missed.

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

The CW Picks Up New Sitcom, Fox Alters 'Loop' Schedule; Growing Pains Not on The N Next Week; GSN Honors Charles Nelson Reilly

The CW has picked up an additional sitcom for mid-season. The ensemble single-camera sitcom titled Eight Days a Week co-starring Christina Milian and Mario Lopez, centers on four twenty-somethings who work under the top movers and shakers in New York City.
Meanwhile Fox has altered the schedule for The Loop because new reality series On the Lot has been a big dud. On the Lot will now only air once a week from 8-9pm on Tuesdays, thus The Loop will now only air Sundays, but three times a night on June 24 and July 1 at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. ET. That is 6 episodes right there. The other four remaining episodes will be airing Sunday, June 10 and 17 at 8:30 and 9:30. Confusing! Replacing On the Lot's Monday slot will be animated encores. You will see The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad mixed in the 8pm hour.

Growing Pains will not be on The N after this week, as of now. The channel announced that Sabrina, the Teenage Witch will return to its regular 12-1am slot next week and also have a mini-marathon on Monday night from 12-6am and airing 12-3am and 4-5am the rest of the week.

Charles Nelson Reilly, the celebrated stage, screen and television star, will be honored by GSN on Saturday, June 2 for his work as one of the most beloved celebrity game show panelists ever to grace the small screen. In honor of Reilly's work, GSN is devoting its programming from 9AM to 7PM ET on Saturday, June 2 to the best Reilly starring episodes of Match Game.
Immediately following the Match Game marathon, GSN's original documentary The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank airs from 7PM to 8PM ET.
Additionally, on Sunday night (Monday morning) June 3, GSN will air two classic episodes of his early work on What's My Line? from 1964 at 3:00AM ET and I've Got A Secret from 1972 at 3:30 AM ET.

Hallmark Channel June Change, Adds 'Murder, She Wrote', Drops 'Waltons'; Fox Burns off 'The Loop' Episodes in Summer

The Hallmark Channel has made a schedule change. They have acquired Murder, She Wrote and will add it to its line-up, airing it weekdays at 8 & 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. and 12 midnight starting June 4. The morning airings will replace The Waltons, which will now be off the line-up again. The late night airings will be replacing a movie. Hallmark will also air the two-hour editions of Murder on Sunday nights at 7 p.m.
Murder, She Wrote is of course the classic mystery drama starring Angela Lansbury. The show has aired in reruns on A&E and The Biography Channel in recent years. I think it still air on Biography from time to time.
To view these changes and to discuss this new acquisition, click HERE.

Fox will return the second year sitcom The Loop for its final 10 episodes on Tuesday, June 5 now. The show will air at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, June 5 and 12. It will also air Sundays at 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on June 10, June 17, June 24 and July 1. So all 10 will air by July 1. Talk about a burn-off! Only Fox's The Winner was burned off faster earlier this year.