SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! There has been a lot of Netflix news this week, including one cancellation (an unsurprising one), one renewal, and one premiere date set for a series. Also, we're getting a preview of Tracy Morgan's new TBS sitcom. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! As expected, we have a sort of slow news week this week due to the holiday, and much of what we have isn't great news with numerous deaths and more fallout from the sexual harassment scandals. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Who to Follow: Katie Cassidy (Twitter), "Actor, Writer & Creative Director of @tomboykc"

Claim to Fame: Most people know David Cassidy, who died this week, from his fame on The Partridge Family. What some people may not realize is that he has a daughter who is an uprising actress in her own right, Katie Cassidy. Katie Cassidy first came to fame at age 15 from doing a cover of her father's song "I Think I Love You," but that was her first and last experience in the music industry. But acting has been good for her, as she has been cast in three series that didn't make it past one season, but finally struck gold with her role in the series Arrow.
Pick of the Tweets: "Words cant express the solace our family’s received from all the love & support during this trying time. My father’s last words were “So much wasted time”. This will be a daily reminder for me to share my gratitude with those I love as to never waste another minute....thank you." (November 24, 2017)

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been a very busy news week (which we imagine will be offset with a very slow news week next week due to Thanksgiving), with news of a new series being proposed with Vicki Lawrence and David Alan Grier, more TV series fallout from sexual harassment scandals, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Who to Follow: Kat Dennings (Twitter), "I'm a man with conversation skills and I'm a man with hundred dollar bills"

Claim to Fame: Kat Denning got her start in an episode of Sex and the City before moving on to star as the daughter of Bob Saget's character on the WB series Raising Dad, which aired for a full season in the early 2000s. She had a few other guest roles after that, but her big claim to fame came in the CBS series 2 Broke Girls. With that series cancelled, we aren't sure where we'll see her next, but we're sure that we'll see her reappear somewhere soon. However, you can find her voice appearing in some episodes of the Netflix adult animated series Big Mouth right now.
Pick of the Tweets: "And yes I am in @bigmouth! I pop up often as Nick's older sister, Leah!" (September 29, 2017)

Let's binge bbs! Comedy Central is celebrating the upcoming return of Broad City with an epic, all-day, full series Labor Day marathon! Cook up some cashew stir fry, bump up the Lil Wayne, grab your Bingo Bronson and have NOMO FOMO! Broad City: Labor Day Replay will air every episode, in order, from all three past seasons on Labor Day (September 4) beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central. Fans can follow along using #BroadCityReplay and watch exclusive videos featuring Abbi and Ilana talking about some of their personal favorite episodes. Season four of Broad City debuts Wednesday, September 13 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT following the season 21 premiere of South Park. Fans can also catch up on all three seasons of Broad City on the Comedy Central App and on cc.com for six days beginning September 7.

Amazon Studios announced it has greenlit a fifth season of Jill Soloway's Golden Globe Award and multi-Emmy Award winning series Transparent. The fifth season will begin production next year and is anticipated to premiere on Amazon Prime Video in 2018 exclusively for Prime Members. The entire Pfefferman family will be back including Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), Judith Light (Who's the Boss?), Gaby Hoffmann (Girls), Jay Duplass (Togetherness) and Amy Landecker (Louie). Andrea Sperling (Spivak) will continue as executive producer as well as Soloway. Transparent is a comedic, half hour novelistic series that explores identity, love, sex, God and boundaries through the lives of a complicated American family. Tambor is Maura Pfefferman, whose reintroduction to her family as a woman sets their journey in motion. Her ex-wife Shelly (played by Light), and their children - Ali (played by Hoffmann), Josh (played by Duplass), and Sarah (played by Landecker) - explore the uneven terrain of their own lives with poignant and meaningful results.

The first two seasons of Amazon Studios' Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning comedy series Transparent will premiere on SundanceTV starting Wednesday, August 9 at 10:00PM ET/9:00 PM C. Multiple back-to-back episodes will air weekly during this limited network television event. Created by Jill Soloway, Transparent revolves around the dysfunctional Pfefferman family and their lives following the discovery that the family patriarch, Mort, is transgender, and transforms into Maura. The first season follows Maura Pfferman's (Jeffery Tambor) journey to being her true self. When she reintroduces herself to her family, everyone else's secrets finally came out. This includes her ex-wife Shelly (Judith Light), and their adult children - meandering Ali (Gaby Hoffmann), record producer Josh (Jay Duplass), and sexually conflicted Sarah (Amy Landecker). Each family member is spun into different directions as they figure out who they aren't.

In the second season the bubble wrap is off - it's time for the whole family to transition. The Pfeffermans realize they must give up their disguises, unspoken arrangements and secrets. By exploring their shared history and legacy, they come to understand that you can't go forward without knowing where you come from. Ultimately, everyone will open their hearts, advertise their desires, and test those notoriously wobbly boundaries as each Pfefferman tries their hardest to come out - as themselves.

Marvel Television, Freeform and ABC Signature Studios have completed casting for Marvel's New Warriors, their previously announced new comedic live-action adaptation of the popular Marvel comic featuring young adult heroes. Marvel's New Warriors marks Marvel's first foray into comedy for a live-action television series slated to debut in 2018 on Freeform, Disney's young adult television and streaming network. Not quite super, not yet heroes, Marvel's New Warriors features six young people learning to cope with their abilities in a world where bad guys can be as terrifying as bad dates.

Casting includes: Derek Theler (Baby Daddy) as Craig Hollis a.k.a Mister Immortal. Craig can't die ... or so he says. Although Craig's superpower seems amazing, he hasn't made use of it at all - he figures if he has all the time in the world to learn how to do anything heroic, what's the rush? Milana Vayntrub (This Is Us, Silicon Valley) as Doreen Green a.k.a Squirrel Girl. Jeremy Tardy (Dear White People, Ten Days in the Valley) as Dwayne Taylor a.k.a Night Thrasher. Calum Worthy (Austin & Ally, Cassandra French's Finishing School) as Robbie Baldwin a.k.a Speedball. Matthew Moy (2 Broke Girls, Steven Universe) as Zack Smith a.k.a. Microbe. Kate Comer (Hello My Name is Doris, The Comeback) as Deborah Fields a.k.a. Debrii.

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! It's been a busy news week this week, but we've got highlights, including an order for additional episodes of the upcoming Will & Grace revival, more Diff'rent Strokes DVDs, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

Who to Follow: Jenna Elfman (Twitter), "People watcher. Human lover. Big fan of the absurd. Golden Rule enthusiast."

Claim to Fame: Jenna Elfman is best known as an actress, particularly in her role as Dharma in the ABC series Dharma & Greg. All around that, though, she has been in a string of sitcoms that haven't quite succeeded, such as Townies (before Dharma & Greg), and series such as Courting Alex, 1600 Penn and Growing Up Fischer. Currently, she can be seen on the ABC series Imaginary Mary.

This Father's Day, Antenna TV, Tribune's multicast broadcast network, is celebrating with Fred Sanford. Airing on Sunday, June 19, "The Sanford and Son Father's Day Marathon" will feature 34 episodes filled with "big ones", "dummies", and "old fools". Enjoy 17 hours of laugh-out-loud humor from Sanford and Son's 6-season run, beginning at 5am ET. Antenna TV, which now airs in 128 TV markets across the U.S. reaching 86% of TV households, will air the following Sanford and Sons episodes:

5am Happy Birthday, Pop
5:30am We Were Robbed
6am Coffins for Sale
6:30am TV or Not TV
7am The Suitcase
7:30am The Piano Movers
8am Whiplash
8:30am The Dowry
9am This Card Sharps
9:30am The Puerto Ricans are Coming
10am The Shootout
10:30a Blood is Thicker Than Junk
11am Watts Side Story
11:30a Home Sweet Home for the Aged
12noon Fred, the Reluctant Fingerman
12:30pm This Little TV Went to the Market
1pm Superflyer
1:30pm The Blind Mellow Jelly Collection
2pm A House is Not a Pool Room
2:30pm Surprise Party
3:30pm Ol' Brown Eyes
4pm There Be Some Changes Made
4:30pm Divorce, Sanford Style
5pm Bank on This
5:30pm The Sanford Arms
6pm My Fair Esther
6:30pm Sanford and Son Rising
7pm The Director
7:30pm Fred Meets Redd
8pm Sanford and Gong
8:30pm Fred Sings the Blues
9pm The Reverend Sanford
9:30pm School Daze

All times Eastern.

Sanford and Son airs on Antenna TV weeknights at 6pm ET / 3pm PT

Amazon announced it has greenlit season four of the multi-Golden Globe and multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy series Transparent. Returning cast includes Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) as Maura Pfefferman, Judith Light (Who's the Boss?) as Shelly Pfefferman, Gaby Hoffmann (Girls) as Ali Pfefferman, Amy Landecker (Louie) as Sarah Pfefferman and Jay Duplass (Togetherness) as Josh Pfefferman. Series creator Jill Soloway will continue in her role as Showrunner on Transparent and Andrea Sperling as Executive Producer. The fourth season of Transparent will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in 2017. Transparent is a half hour novelistic series that explores family, identity, sex, and love. The series stars Tambor as Maura. When she reintroduces herself to her family, everyone else's secrets finally start to come out. This includes her ex-wife Shelly (played by Light), and their children--meandering Ali (played by Hoffmann), music producer Josh (played by Duplass), and sexually conflicted Sarah (played by Landecker). Each family member spins in a different direction as they figure out who they won't become. The highly anticipated third season of Transparent is scheduled to premiere this fall on Prime Video in the US, UK, Austria, Germany and Japan.

Antenna TV announced the addition of eleven classic series to the network's lineup for 2015! Antenna TV, which airs in 89 markets across the U.S. reaching 71% of TV households, will add Newhart, The Jeffersons, Mork & Mindy, One Day at a Time, Family Ties, Evening Shade, Leave it to Beaver, Doogie Howser MD, Mr. Belvedere, Dear John, and Small Wonder to its existing lineup in 2015. These series are coming from various studios, such as Sony Pictures Television, 20th Century Fox, CBS Paramount and NBC Universal. And these eleven series might not be all that are on the horizon! Sean Compton, President of Strategic Programming and Acquisitions, Tribune Media says, "We are excited to add these shows to the lineup and plan to announce more programming acquisitions for the network in the coming months." Perhaps series like The Facts of Life, Webster, Silver Spoons and What's Happening/What's Happening Now?

Newhart, The Jeffersons, Mork & Mindy, One Day at a Time, Family Ties, Evening Shade, Leave it to Beaver, Doogie Howser MD, Mr. Belvedere, Dear John and Small Wonder join Antenna TV's lineup of classic favorites: Three's Company, Too Close for Comfort, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best, Bachelor Father, Hazel, The Partridge Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, Diff'rent Strokes, WKRP in Cincinnati, All in the Family, Good Times, The Three Stooges, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Jack Benny Program, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Gidget, The Flying Nun, It Takes a Thief and Antenna TV Theater, a movie block featuring MGM and Sony movies. More info on these eleven series' start dates and the potential other series coming soon will be announced closer to 2015. Stay with us for all things Antenna TV as always!

Amazon announced it will premiere all ten episodes of the highly-anticipated Jill Soloway dark comedy Transparent on Friday, September 26 exclusively on Prime Instant Video in the US and UK. Starring Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), Judith Light (Who's the Boss?), Gaby Hoffmann (Girls), Amy Landecker (Louie) and Jay Duplass (Togetherness), Transparent follows the Pfeffermans--a Los Angeles family forced to deal with their long-held secrets together.

Written, directed and executive produced by Emmy-nominee and 2013 Sundance Best Director winner Soloway, Transparent is a ten episode, half-hour novelistic series that explores family, identity, sex, and love. The series stars Tambor as Maura, who has spent her life as Mort--the Pfefferman family patriarch. When she reintroduces herself to her family, everyone's secrets finally start to come out. This includes her ex-wife Shelly (played by Light), and their children--meandering Ali (played by Hoffmann), record producer Josh (played by Duplass), and sexually conflicted Sarah (played by Landecker). Each family member spins in a different direction as they begin to figure out who they are going to become. Amazon Prime members can watch the first episode of Transparent now via the Prime Instant Video apps for Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, as well as hundreds of other connected devices such as smart TVs--or customers can visit Amazon.com/PIV to watch online. Prime members can add Transparent to their Watchlist and easily access new episodes when they premiere on September 26.

Recurring guest stars in Transparent include Melora Hardin (The Office) as Tammy, Bradley Whitford (Trophy Wife, The West Wing) as Marcy, Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia) as Syd, Kathryn Hahn (Parks and Recreation) as Raquel, Alexandra Billings (Grey's Anatomy) as Maura's friend Davina, and Rob Huebel (Childrens Hospital) as Len. Guest starring roles include Michaela Watkins as Connie, Kiersey Clemons as Bianca, comedian Ian Harvie as Dale, and Cleo Anthony as Derek.