SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Canadian actor, composer, and game and talk show host Alan Thicke, who was best known for his role as Jason Seaver in Growing Pains, has died. He collapsed while playing hockey with his son Carter on December 13, 2016. He subsequently died of type-A aortic dissection at the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. Mr. Thicke was 69.

Thicke played Dr. Jason Seaver, a psychiatrist and father, in the ABC sitcom Growing Pains. The popular series ran for seven seasons and 166 episodes from 1985 to 1992. It starred Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller, Ashley Johnson (1990-1992) and Leonardo DiCaprio (1991-1992). Thicke received a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1988 for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical. The cast reunited for The Growing Pains Movie in 2000, followed by Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers in 2004.

He starred as Dennis Dupree in the 1995-1996 NBC sitcom Hope & Gloria. He played the vain, egocentric host of the local Pittsburgh The Dennis Dupree Show. The series starred Cynthia Stevenson, Jessica Lundy, Robert Garrova, Enrico Colantoni and Taylor Negron.

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included The Love Boat, Married with Children, Arli$$, My Wife and Kids, Yes, Dear, Half & Half, Joey, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, About a Girl, 'Til Death, I'm in the Band, How I Met Your Mother, Grandfathered and Fuller House.

He also worked as a TV theme composer. Thicke collaborated with his first wife Gloria Loring on the themes to Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life. He also wrote many game show themes, including The Wizard of Odds, The Joker's Wild, Celebrity Sweepstakes, The Diamond Head Game, Animal Crack-Ups (which he also hosted), Blank Check, Stumpers!, Whew! and the original theme to Wheel of Fortune.

Thicke worked early in his career as a talk show host. He hosted the Canadian daytime talk show The Alan Thicke Show from 1980-1982. He later hosted the American syndicated late night talk show Thicke of the Night, which aired for one season from 1983-1984.

He hosted the Canadian game show First Impressions in the 1970s. He hosted Animal Crack-Ups on ABC for three seasons from 1987-1990. In 1997, he hosted the syndicated Pictionary. He hosted the All New 3's a Crowd on the Game Show Network in the early 2000s. Thicke hosted two other series focusing on animals with Animals Are People, Too in 1999 and Miracle Pets from 2000-2005 on PAX

Thicke had recently been starring in the Pop mockumentary/reality-sitcom hybrid series Unusually Thicke. It presented a fictionalized portrayal of his family life. The cast included his wife Tanya Callau and son Carter, with some appearances by his sons Brennan and Robin.

Survivors include his wife Tanya Callau and sons Brennan, Carter and singer Robin.

Mr. Thicke was a man of many talents. Jason Seaver was one of the best TV dads of the 1980s. He was perfect in the role. We thank him for the entertainment and laughter he brought us. Thanks to him for showing us his smile. He will be greatly missed.

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

IFC announced that horror-comedy series Stan Against Evil has been picked up for a second season slated to air in 2017. Created by Dana Gould (The Simpsons, Parks and Recreation) and starring John C. McGinley (Scrubs) and Janet Varney (You're The Worst), Stan Against Evil debuted Halloween week to strong numbers and critical acclaim. Season 1 concluded in November with Sheriff Evie Barret (Varney) stranded in the past and about to be burned at the stake, accused of being a witch. Stan Against Evil is one of IFC's most successful original series launches to date. The show demonstrated steady weekly audience growth across its first season and also saw significant time-shifted viewing, with total viewers and adults 18-49 more than doubling within seven days of each new episode premiere, notable for a new series.

Stan Against Evil follows Stan Miller (McGinley), a perpetually disgruntled former sheriff of a small New England town who was forced into retirement. Stan has trouble relinquishing his authority to Evie Barret (Varney), the tough and beautiful new sheriff in town, but they form an unlikely alliance when both begin to realize things are not quite right in their quaint New England town. Together, they valiantly fight a plague of unleashed demons that have been haunting the town, which just happens to be built on the site of a massive 17th century witch burning.

Alan Thicke and his family blur the lines of reality television and sitcom on season two of Unusually Thicke returning on Pop Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. Between his fiery, much younger Latina wife Tanya and his three sons - teenaged Carter, pop star Robin and marijuana dispensary owner Brennan - Alan has his work cut out for him as a father, husband and Hollywood actor, writer and icon. Pop will air back-to-back half-hour episodes of Unusually Thicke every week for the show's 14-episode season. Buzzworthy storylines are peppered with cameo appearances by an eclectic group of Alan's celebrity friends, ranging from Russell Peters and Cedric the Entertainer to Lance Bass, Kato Kaelin, Jon Dore, Alex Trebek, Cat Cora, Lou Ferrigno, Gilbert Gottfried, Dave Foley, Wayne Brady and Alan's son, Robin Thicke. If you didn't know, the series is a reality sitcom starring the real life modern family - Alan Thicke (Growing Pains), along with his sassy wife Tanya and fun-loving teenage son Carter - will return on Pop on Sept. 21.

After announcing a script deal in March, TV Land has greenlit the pilot for Heathers, based on the 1988 cult classic film of the same name. Leslye Headland (Sleeping with Other People, Bachelorette) will direct the pitch-black comedy. Reimagined as an anthology, Heathers will be set in the present day, as our heroine deals with a very different but equally vicious group of Heathers. The script is written by Jason Micallef (Butter), and Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi will executive produce for Lakeshore Entertainment. Dating a murderous psychopath and figuring out what to wear to your best friend's suicide are typical teen problems for Veronica Sawyer.

TVGN announced that it will rebrand as Pop across its distribution of 80 million homes on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. The CBS/Lionsgate joint venture, currently known as TVGN, will embrace a new on-air look and creative design to accompany its new brand promise - celebrating the fun of being a fan, as we previously announced. Among the original series will be The Story Behind, airing Wednesdays at 8:30pm. The Story Behind features new episodes that go behind-the-scenes of TV's greatest hits and most iconic shows, and how they got their start. The series reveals stories straight from the set with exclusive on-camera interviews with all the insider players from cast members to producers to television executives. The one-hour episodes will highlight some of TV's most treasured classics, including Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Improvement, Beverly Hills 90210, Will & Grace, Full House, Friends and ER. The Story Behind will be a Pop Media Group production and will begin with The Story Behind: Everybody Loves Raymond on Jan. 14.

Also, docu-sitcom Unusually Thicke returns for a second season this spring 2015 starring Alan Thicke. Not even seven seasons as Dr. Jason Seaver on Growing Pains could prepare Alan Thicke to be the patriarch of his own modern family. Between his fiery, much younger Latina wife, Tanya, and his three sons - teenaged know-it-all Carter, pop star Robin and marijuana dispensary owner Brennan - Alan Thicke has his work cut out for him as a father, a husband and a Hollywood actor, writer and icon. Unusually Thicke follows the hilarious, action-packed and dramatic daily lives of Alan's real-life family. Dozens of celebrity appearances have been featured in the series, including David Hasselhoff, Bob Saget, Magic Johnson, Wayne Gretzky, John Stamos, Bill Maher and Tom Green, with many more to come. Unusually Thicke is an original series that blends reality television with situation comedy, and is produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment.

Pop will also have its own sitcom, Schitt's Creek, premiering Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT. Starring the incomparable Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara, the character-driven comedy series (created by and starring Eugene Levy and his son Daniel) will become the first original scripted project in the history of the network. Thirteen half-hour episodes will star Emmy winners(R) Eugene Levy (American Pie, Best In Show, SCTV) and Catherine O'Hara (Home Alone, Best In Show, SCTV) and Chris Elliott (How I Met Your Mother, Late Show With David Letterman, There's Something About Mary) alongside Daniel Levy (Admission) and Annie Murphy (Blue Mountain State). The series centers on filthy rich video store magnate Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy), his soap star wife Moira (Catherine O'Hara), and their two kids, über-hipster son David (Daniel Levy) and socialite daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy), after they suddenly find themselves broke. They are forced to live in Schitt's Creek, a depressing small town they once bought as a joke. And finally, what about the network's reruns like Family Ties, The Love Boat and more? No word yet on the full weekday schedule, but the #Throwback programming lineup will continue. The new 90210 will begin airing Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 at 4:00 PM, ET/PT with the original two-hour pilot, and beginning Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, the series will air at its regularly scheduled time slot of Monday through Friday at 5:00 PM, ET/PT. The original Beverly Hills, 90210 will continue to air marathons Tuesdays at 12:00 PM, ET/PT. But that's not all! The original Melrose Place will join the line-up and air weekly beginning Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015 at 12:00 PM, ET/PT. Stay with us for continued updates on the #Throwback block as we get closer to January.92

The fifth season of Mike & Molly, starring Billy Gardell and Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Melissa McCarthy, will premiere Monday, Dec. 8 at 8:30PM ET/PT on CBS. One week earlier, on Monday, Dec. 1, four encore episodes of the series will air from 8:00-10:00PM, followed by a rebroadcast of Scorpion at a special time of 10:00PM ET/PT. Mike & Molly replaces canceled sitcom The Millers on the schedule. Mike & Molly will air right after 2 Broke Girls and will lead into new episodes of new drama Scorpion at 9. Mike & Molly of course stars Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy, Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi, Swoosie Kurtz, Louis Mustillo, Cleo King, Rondi Reed and David Higgins. Chuck Lorre and Al Higgins are the executive producers for Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. and Warner Bros. Television. The comedy is about a working-class Chicago couple who had almost given up on love...and then found each other.

Television icon, talk show host and comedic bestselling author Alan Thicke (Growing Pains), one of Hollywood's most famous dads on- and off-screen, will star in Unusually Thicke, a 14-episode original reality sitcom for TVGN premiering on Wednesday, April 16 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT. Unusually Thicke puts the spotlight on a real-life modern family - Alan, his beautiful, spicy and much younger wife Tanya, and his dry-witted, often opinionated 16-year-old son Carter - in a series that follows the fun and humor that happens in their everyday lives. Dozens of special appearances from Alan's friends and family are featured throughout the season, including: his son and Grammy Award-winning recording artist Robin Thicke, television star David Hasselhoff (Knight Rider, Baywatch), television star and comedian Bob Saget (Full House), NBA basketball legend Magic Johnson, NHL all-star Wayne Gretzky, TV star and former teen idol John Stamos (Full House), talk show host and political commentator/comedian Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect), actor/writer/producer and talk show host Tom Green (The Tom Green Show), and many more. Unusually Thicke is an original series that blends reality television with situation comedy. The series is produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment.

Actress Cynthia Lynn, best known for her role as Colonel Klink's secretary Fraulein Helga in Hogan's Heroes, has died. She died on March 10 in Los Angeles, California, from multiple organ failure after being stricken with hepatitis. Ms. Lynn was 76.

Lynn appeared as Colonel Klink's secretary Fraulein Helga during the first season of Hogan's Heroes in 1965-1966. She returned in an uncredited part in the 1968 episode Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?. She played Eva in the 1971 episode Easy Come, Easy Go. In 1998, she was interviewed in the E! True Hollywood Story on Bob Crane.

Her sitcom guest appearances included The Farmer's Daughter, Mr. Terrific, The Odd Couple and Love, American Style. Other television shows on which she appeared included Surfside 6, The Eleventh Hour, Dr. Kildare, Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man and Harry O. She appeared in the 1964 film Bedtime Story. In 2000, she released Escape to Freedom: An Autobiography of Cynthia Lynn.

Me-TV remembered Cynthia Lynn on March 12 by airing the Hogan's Heroes episode Movies Are Your Best Escape. The series airs Monday-Thursday at 9pm ET/PT.

She is survived by her daughter, Lisa Brando, whose father was Marlon Brando. Ms. Lynn was a Latvian-born beauty. She will be deeply missed.