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NBC has announced a lot of changes for spring. First up, Smash will be moving to Saturdays at 9PM beginning April 6 through May 18. Smash's last Tuesday at 10pm airing will be on April 2, so there are three Tuesday airings left before it is delegated to Saturdays for its remaining seven episodes. NBC will be finishing up its Tuesday comedies in April as scheduled, but with The New Normal actually getting a two-episode finale from 9-10pm on April 2. It could be the last two episodes ever for this comedy. Meanwhile, Go On will air its final two episodes of the season on a special night and time on Thursdays, April 4 and 11, 2013 at 9:30pm, leading into new drama Hannibal at 10. NBC has not yet announced what will air at 9:30pm beginning April 18, but since it is only four weeks, NBC will likely air reruns of The Office. Don't forget the one-hour series finale of The Office is Thursday, May 16 at 9pm. Go On has two more Tuesdays at 9 airings left (March 19 and 26) before its two-week Thursday run. One more Thursday note, NBC will burn-off the remaining episodes of 1600 Penn quickly on March 21 and March 28 at a special time of 8:30pm and also its normal time of 9:30pm. Like The New Normal & Smash, this series has little chance of returning next season, but Go On has a 50/50 chance.

Replacing Smash essentially on Tuesdays will be new reality series Ready for Love, which will now air Tuesdays 9-11pm ET/PT beginning Tuesday, April 9 through Tuesday, May 28. The series was originally supposed to get a preview on Tuesday, March 26 and premiere on its normal night Sunday, March 31 from 8-10pm, but neither will now happen. Ready for Love will follow The Voice on Tuesdays, as that series will air in the Tuesdays at 8pm time period from March 26-June 11. The Voice also airs 8-10pm on Mondays from March 25-June 17. Onto Sundays, on March 31 and April 7 only, NBC will encore the previous week's Monday/Tuesday episodes of The Voice from 7-9pm ET/PT and 9-10pm ET/PT respectively into one-hour episodes of Celebrity Apprentice at 10. However, that series will now go back to two-hour episodes from April 14-May 19 from 9-11pm ET/PT following encores of The Voice from 7-9pm ET/PT. And onto Wednesdays, Whitney will now end a week earlier on Wednesday, March 27 with a two-episode season finale from 8-9pm. It was originally supposed to end its season on April 3, but now NBC will air Dateline in the hour beginning April 3 and not the planned move of Betty White's Off Their Rockers, as previously announced.

View a complete list of NBC spring changes in a list form. And stay with us for continued updates.



On the next...Parks & Recreation:
By: Skees

NBC's Thursday night comedy starring Amy Poehler airs Thursday nights at 8:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (March 14). In the episode airing tonight, "Bailout," Leslie (Amy Poehler) tries to help a local video store stay in business after the owner (guest star Jason Schwartzman) is hit by the bad economy. Chris (Rob Lowe) tries to give Tom (Aziz Ansari) some fatherly advice in dealing with a difficult employee (guest star Jenny Slate), while Ann (Rashida Jones) blackmails April (Aubrey Plaza) into being her friend.

In "Bailout," Pawnee's only independent video store is about to go the way of Blockbuster… gone. Leslie is determined to use her power on the city council to save this treasure at any cost, and in a battle against the Pawnee libertarians (who consider her actions to be a "bailout"), successfully manages to get the store declared a Pawnee landmark. Unfortunately, Leslie's hopes and dreams for the landmark are a bit crushed when she finds out that the store would rather use landmark status to become a porn video store (in opposition of her hopes that they'd rent films like Finding Nemo). Meanwhile, Jean-Ralphio's sister (guest star Jenny Slate) has come to take a job at Rent-a-Swag, but she is really making Tom's life absolutely miserable. And that isn't all: Ann is using every means possible to blackmail April into being her friend.


This is another great episode of the NBC Thursday night sitcom, which has slowly become my favorite sitcom on TV. This is the series at its best: Leslie trying to do good for the city (even if it really isn't a huge thing) and facing opposition from Ron Swanson and other libertarians… and as often happens, it doesn't work out so well for Leslie, even if she does like to look at the positive side. One of the best scenes happens to be during the city council meeting… if you follow sitcom star views on politics at all, you'll notice that one of those speaking in opposition of the landmark status says something that is almost identical to a statement made by Craig T. Nelson. The subplot of the episode about Tom dealing with Mona Lisa (Slate) was a little lacking in the sense that there wasn't a whole lot of development, but I really did like the Mona Lisa character and her relationship with Tom, and hope that we get to see more of her in future episode. A-

As we announced on Friday on Twitter, NBC has announced that Betty White's Off Their Rockers will move to Wednesdays at 8:00pm & 8:30pm beginning April 10. The hijinks comedy is currently airing Tuesdays at 8:00pm & 8:30pm, but once The Voice returns Tuesday. March 26, the comedy will have to move. Its Tuesday finale is March 19 before it returns April 10 and will air new episode at 8 and repeats at 8:30pm. The hour will be replacing Whitney, which will have its season finale the week prior on Wednesday, April 3 at 8pm. The sitcom has a 16 episode order and will be done with it by April 3. Whitney will be doubled up with repeats at 8:30pm beginning next Tuesday (March 6), as freshman sitcom Guys with Kids is having its season finale this Wednesday at 8:30pm (with guest star Keshia Knight Pulliam for a mini-Cosby Show reunion!). That sitcom has a 17 episode order and will already be finished with it by this week. Both Whitney and Guys with Kids are struggling heavily in the ratings, so these could be their final episodes ever but we won't know that for sure until this May during upfronts. Possibly one (Whitney) could return (a very slight chance), but there is no chance really both are returning.

Moving on to Fox, they also announced a few special sitcom airing plans. First up on Thursday, April 7, Tuesday comedies New Girl and The Mindy Project will both receive a special Thursday airing following American Idol at 9:00pm & 9:30pm. In the all-new "Date Night" episode of New Girl, Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick (Jake Johnson), who are caught between friendship and something more, try to break out of relationship limbo by going on a "first" date. Once Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Winston (Lamorne Morris) realize a full-on Jess/Nick romance might be happening, they swoop in to try to sabotage the date. And in the all-new "Mindy's Birthday" episode of The Mindy Project, Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) throws Mindy (Mindy Kaling) a surprise birthday party, but when her two worlds collide - personal and professional - it's nothing to celebrate. Meanwhile, Jeremy (Ed Weeks) and Danny (Chris Messina) fight over the same girl (guest star Kelen Coleman, Newsroom). Both comedies have 24-episode orders and New Girl is airing episode 18 this coming Tuesday (so six episodes will remain from March-May) and The Mindy Project is airing episode 16 this Tuesday (so eight episodes will remain from March-May). Now one less episode will air on a Tuesday with this special Thursday airing on April 7.
Elsewhere on Fox, The Cleveland Show will be doubling up for a few weeks. It is all-new next Sunday (March 3) at 7:30pm and 8:30pm, all-new on March 10 at 8:30pm and March 17 all-new at both 7:30 and 8:30, and on April 7 it will be all-new at 9:30pm. Yes, a little confusing, but the comedy was preempted a lot this fall during the NFL season. The Cleveland Show regularly airs Sundays at 7:30pm, while Bob's Burgers airs at 8:30pm but Bob's Burgers is preempted March 3, 10 and 17 at 8:30pm but it will air at 9:30pm on all of those nights. It will air in place of American Dad! those three weeks. Confused? Don't be yet, because American Dad will air at a special time with a new episode on March 10 at 7:30pm, before returning to 9:30pm on March 24. Yeah, now we're confused, too.

Character actor Lou Myers, best known as the ornery Vernon Gaines in A Different World, has died. He died on February 19 at the Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia after battling pneumonia for several months. Mr. Myers was 77.

Myers played the feisty Vernon Gaines, who ran the campus eatery and hangout, The Pit, in A Different World. He joined the cast in the second season and appeared in 65 episodes of the series. In 1987, he guest starred as Mr. Davis in 2 episodes of The Cosby Show, which was the parent series of A Different World. He appeared in 6 episodes of The WB sitcom All About the Andersons in 2003. He had a recurring role as T.C. in the NBC sitcom My Parents, My Sister & Me in 2009-2010. His other sitcom guest appearances included Bagdad Cafe, Thea, The Sinbad Show, Living Single, The Jamie Foxx Show, Malcolm & Eddie, Eve and Lucky Louie. Some of his other television credits included The Sentinel, JAG, ER and NYPD Blue. Myers' film credits included Cobb, Tin Cup, Volcano, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Wedding Planner and The Fighting Temptations.

Survivors include his mother, Dorothy Jeffries, 95, a son, Melvin Myers, and two grandsons, Brayden and Christian. We loved his Mr. Gaines character on A Different World. He always gave sound advice. We thank him for bringing us many laughs. He will be greatly missed.

A Different World can currently be seen on TV One. Share your memories of Mr. Myers on our message board. View photos in our galleries.

NBC announced that its second-year comedy series Whitney will return to its primetime lineup on Wednesday, November 14 at 8:00pm ET/PT replacing Animal Practice, which is now canceled. However, as of now, three more airings will air in the next three weeks (Oct. 24, 31 and Nov. 7). The ratings have been pretty bad as this past Wednesday's episode did only a 1.1 adults 18-49 rating. 13 episodes were ordered, but its not known how many they have taped. We know it is at least 8.

On Whitney, Whitney Cummings stars in the title role in the multi-camera series which is a look at modern-day love and relationships which centers around Whitney (Cummings, Chelsea Lately) and Alex (Chris D'Elia), a happily - newly "married" couple. Surrounded by a quirky group of friends, Zoe Lister-Jones, Rhea Seehorn, Dan O'Brien (How I Met Your Mother), and Tone Bell (new to the second season of the show). The series is produced by Universal Television and Stuber Television. The executive producers are Scott Stuber, Quan Phung, Wil Calhoun and Barry Katz. Andy Ackerman (Seinfeld) is the director and an EP.

It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of October 22-26, 2012, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, October 22, 2012

• Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Watch Tom on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS. Cloud Atlas opens in theaters on October 26.
• Kevin James (The King of Queens) - Kevin appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) - Bryan drops by The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) - D.L. visits Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
• Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) - Aziz is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Chuck Lorre (Creator of The Big Bang Theory/Two and a Half Men/Dharma & Greg) - Tune in to see Chuck on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Elisha Cuthbert (Happy Endings) - Elisha stops by ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am. She will also be on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings. Happy Endings returns Tuesday, October 23 at 9:00/8:00c on ABC.
• Victoria Justice (Victorious/Zoey 101) - Victoria appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls) - Beth chats on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) - Jenny is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Valerie talks about her weight loss and how she kept it off on The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.
• Bob Saget (How I Met Your Mother/Full House) - Bob visits Current TV's Joy Behar: Say Anything! at 6pm.
• Penny Marshall (Laverne & Shirley) - Penny appears on Current TV's (Joy Behar: Say Anything! at 6pm.
• Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) - Yvette guest co-hosts Anderson Live, so check your local listings.
• Scott Baio (See Dad Run/Charles in Charge/Happy Days) - Scott is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

• Will Arnett (Up All Night/Arrested Development) - Catch Will on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom continues to make the rounds on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Victoria Justice (Victorious/Zoey 101) - Victoria appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Harry Shearer (The Simpsons) - Harry is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Krysten visits LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings. Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 returns Tuesday, October 23 at 9:30/8:30c on ABC.
• Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development/Better Off Ted) - Portia appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Jerry O'Connell (Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Jerry drops by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Anthony Anderson (Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) - Yvette stops by The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

• Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory) - Watch Ana on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12am on ABC.
• Chris D'Elia (Whitney) - Chris appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Helen Hunt (Mad About You) - Helen is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings. She will also be on Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
• Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Ted Danson (Cheers/Becker) - Ted appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) - Jack stops by LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Jamie Lynn Sigler (Guys with Kids - Jamie Lynn chats on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Dreama Walker, Krysten Ritter and James Van Der Beek - The cast of Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 appears on ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

• Katey Sagal (Married with Children/8 Simple Rules) - Katey chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Kaitlin visits Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Rosie O'Donnell (Gimme a Break) - Rosie gives her first interview since the heart attack she never saw coming on The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.
• Kevin Nealon (Weeds/Hiller and Diller/Champs) - Kevin plays the banjo on Marie on Hallmark Channel at 12pm ET/PT.
• Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) - Yvette continues to make the rounds on Current TV's Joy Behar: Say Anything at 6pm.
• Dreama Walker (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Dreama is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.

Friday, October 26, 2012

• Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Watch Krysten on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Sarah drops by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC.
• James Van Der Beek (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - James visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Amanda Peet (Bent) - Tune in to see Amanda on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• John Cho (Go On/Kitchen Confidential) - John appears on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) - Miley is a guest on a repeat of Chelsea Lately on E! at 11pm.
• Geena Davis (Buffalo Bill/The Geena Davis Show) - Geena celebrates the 20th anniversary of her beloved film A League of Their Own on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Scott Baio (See Dad Run/Charles in Charge/Happy Days) - Scott stops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

Despite struggling in the ratings for their first two airings, Fox has picked up six additional episodes of Ben and Kate and nine additional episodes of The Mindy Project, bringing both new Tuesday night comedies to full-season orders or close to it, after just two airings. Ben and Kate will get 19 total episodes, while The Mindy Project gets the full 22 episodes. Ben and Kate posted only 3.22 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating for its second episode last Tuesday, down more than 30% from its 2.1 18-49 rating premiere, which wasn't that great. Meanwhile, The Mindy Project posted just 3.68 million and a 1.9 18-49 for its second episode last Tuesday and that was down more than 25% from its 2.4 18-49 rating premiere, which was disappointing.

While this is surprising indeed, it is good to see networks give comedies a chance. NBC gave Go On and The New Normal full season pick-ups last week, and they haven't been that great in the ratings either, especially The New Normal. As for other new sitcoms, things look very bleak for NBC's Animal Practice, while Guys with Kids could go either way depending on how it does in the next few weeks (and if it continues to build solidly out of its lead-in). ABC's The Neighbors has aired twice so far and ABC is mulling ordering three more scripts, so that could be a good sign for more episodes...depending on how it does the next few weeks. New sitcom Malibu Country starring Reba McEntire will premiere on ABC in a few weeks. CBS has struggled with Partners on Monday nights, but in reality it is doing better than what Fox just picked-up, though CBS has a higher standard, especially on a better performing comedy block. I still don't think Partners will get more episodes ordered.

The Mindy Project is a new single-camera comedy from Emmy Award-nominated writer/producer and New York Times best-selling author Mindy Kaling (The Office) that follows a woman who, despite having a successful career, desperately needs to break bad habits in her personal life. A new episode airs tonight at 9:30/8:30c on Fox. Ben and Kate is a new single-camera young ensemble comedy that follows odd-couple siblings as they push each other out of their comfort zones and into real life. A new episode airs tonight at 8:30/7:30c on Fox.

Sticking with network comedy news, NBC has (thankfully) delayed the launch of new seasons of Whitney and Community (a match made in hell). Both comedies were set to move to Fridays starting October 19, airing back-to-back in the 8pm hour. Like we mentioned on our story above, new NBC comedy Animal Practice has struggled on Wednesdays at 8, so NBC might be waiting to see how it does in the next week or two. And if it continues to do poorly, you might see Whitney paired with new fellow multi-camera sitcom Guys with Kids on Wednesday nights. As for Community, it could move back to Thursdays replacing second year comedy Up All Night at 8:30pm, which has done awful so far this season. All of this is premature, but we do know that Whitney and Community will not be launching their new seasons on Friday, Oct. 19. Here is NBC's statement to the press:

Given the success we've had for the past four weeks – including winning the first week of the season in A18-49 – we've decided to continue to concentrate our promotional strength on our new NBC shows that are scheduled Monday through Wednesday and have therefore decided to hold Community and Whitney from their previously announced premieres of October 19. Without having to launch these comedies on Friday at this time, we can keep our promotion focused on earlier in the week -- plus we will have both comedies in our back pocket if we need to make any schedule changes on those nights. When we have a better idea of viewing patterns in the next few weeks, we will announce new season premieres of Whitney and Community.

As of now, NBC will stick with repeats on Fridays at 8pm. The Voice aired last week (Oct. 5) and Grimm is scheduled this Friday (Oct. 12). If NBC does pull Animal Practice and Up All Night from their current spot, perhaps those two comedies will be Friday bound instead of just being pulled? Still too early to speculate, but that could be an option. Or they will just be pulled without being re-scheduled. All we can is, stay with us...

NBC announced the premieres and sneak peeks of its new Fall 2012 primetime schedule that capitalize on the launch and promotional platforms provided by the network's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, the finale of America's Got Talent and the return of The Voice and Sunday Night Football. Most of the new fall shows will premiere in advance of the start of the season.
The rollout of NBC's Fall 2012 season begins with commercial-free sneak previews of the new comedies Go On (Wednesday, August 8) after the evening's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and Animal Practice on Sunday, August 12, following the Closing Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. One day after the conclusion of the Olympics, NBC will debut the new competitive series Stars Earn Stripes with a special two-hour episode on Monday, August 13 (8-10 p.m. ET), followed on the same night with the advance season premiere of Grimm (10-11 p.m. ET). Stars Earn Stripes will only run though September 3, because...continuing NBC's launch strategy, The Voice returns on September 10 (8-10 p.m.), handing-off to encore sneak peeks of the premieres of Animal Practice (10-10:30 p.m. ET) and Go On (10:30-11 p.m. ET).
The NFL Kick-Off Special 2012 and first NFL game of the season is on Wednesday, September 5, followed by Football Night in America (7:00-8:15 p.m.) and Sunday Night Football's (8:15-11 p.m.) return in their regular timeslots on September 9 kick off a launch week that includes the September 11 time-period premiere of Go On (9-9:30 p.m.) followed by the series premiere of The New Normal (9:30-10 p.m.), a sneak peek of Guys With Kids on September 12 (10-10:30 p.m.) after the next to last episode of America's Got Talent, and the season premiere of Parenthood on September 11 (10-11 p.m.). To provide additional sampling, the new comedy The New Normal will re-broadcast its first episode on Thursday, September 13 (10-10:30 p.m. ET), following the season finale of America's Got Talent.
Among other new NBC series for fall, the drama Revolution premieres on Monday, September 17 (10-11 p.m. ET); and the drama Chicago Fire debuts on Wednesday, October 10 (10-11 p.m. ET), due to a Presidential Debate on October 3. Animal Practice will start in its regular day and time on Wednesday, September 26 (8-8:30 p.m. ET) followed by the time period premiere of Guys with Kids (8:30-9 p.m. ET). As for returning series not yet mentioned, Up All Night, The Office and Parks and Recreation return on Thursday, Sept. 20 from 8:30-10, as 30 Rock will not launch until Oct. 4. Law & Order: SVU will launch with a two-hour season premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 26 from 9-11pm, as the following week is a debate, as mentioned. Grimm has its regular night premiere on Friday, Sept. 14. And finally, Whitney and Community will not return until Friday, October 19 from 8-9pm.
View the FULL day-by-day schedule for NBC After the Olympics.


It's Friday, so it is time for "Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows" for the coming week. This is where we list what sitcom stars are appearing on talk shows for the coming week, the stars are both current and past sitcom stars, so this is for all sitcom fans of all eras!
For the week of June 18-22, 2012, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVR's (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!

Monday, June 18, 2012

• Steve Carell (The Office) - Watch Steve on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35pm on NBC. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World opens in theaters on June 22.
• Denis Leary (The Job) - Denis appears on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Niecy Nash (The Soul Man/The Cleveland Show/Reno 911!) - Niecy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Suzanne Somers (Three's Company/Step by Step/She's the Sheriff) - Suzanne joins The Revolution on ABC at 2pm ET/1pm PT/CT.
• Cedric the Entertainer (The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric visits ABC's Good Morning America between 7-9am.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

• Steve Carell (The Office) - Catch Steve on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Cedric the Entertainer (The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric visits Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC. He will also be on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on you local stations.
• Mark Feuerstein (Good Morning, Miami) - Mark is a guest on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Michael Strahan (Brothers) - Michael appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Kate Flannery (The Office) - Kate appears on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Mila Kunis (That '70s Show) - Mila stops by Jimmy Kimmel Live!: Game Night at 8pm on ABC.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

• Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) - Watch Alec on The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Denis Leary (The Job) - Denis drops by Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Seinfeld) - Julia visits LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) - D.L. guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Steve Carell (The Office) - Steve appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Jerry O'Connell (Carpoolers/My Secret Identiy) - Jerry is a guest on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Tahj Mowry (Baby Daddy/Smart Guy) - Tahj stops by The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

• Courteney Cox (Cougar Town/Friends) - Courteney chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She will also be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Steve Carell (The Office) - Steve continues to make the rounds on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11pm.
• Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls) - Beth appears on LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Tracey Gold (Growing Pains) - Tracey discusses anorexia on Anderson, so check your local listings.

Friday, June 22, 2012

• Denis Leary (The Job) - Watch Denis on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at 12:37am on NBC.
• Patricia Heaton (The Middle/Back to You/Everybody Loves Raymond) - Patricia chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Michael Strahan (Brothers) - Michael guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly, so check your listings.
• Kevin Nealon (Weeds) - Kevin appears on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check listings.
• Noureen DeWulf (Anger Management) - Noureen dishes on her new FX sitcom, Anger Management, and reveals what it's like working with Charlie Sheen on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.

Leave us comments on our message board or Tweet/Facebook us to let us know what you think of this Friday feature! We do listen!

NBC announced the premieres of the new comedies Bent (March 21) starring Amanda Peet and Best Friends Forever (April 4), as well as the comedic hidden-camera series Betty White's Off Their Rockers (April 4) to its spring lineup. Community also will return to the Thursday schedule starting March 15. Bent will premiere on Wednesday, March 21 at 9:00 PM followed by a second episode at 9:30 PM. The series will continue with original back-to-back one-hour blocks on Wednesday, March 28 and April 4 on both nights, finishing off its six episode order. It is either that bad that NBC wants to finish it off in just three weeks or NBC is trying to capture Modern Family viewers, since it looks like 2 of the 3 weeks that series is in repeats. But in just 3 weeks, what is the point of trying to make something work? Currently airing at 9 is Rock Center with Brian Williams, but that will move to 10:00 PM from March 7 through April 4, as Law & Order: SVU will be on hiatus. Rock Center and Law & Order: SVU will return to their 9:00 and 10:00 PM timeslots on April 11 though May 23.
Following the season finales of Whitney and Are You There, Chelsea on March 28, Betty White's Off Their Rockers premieres the following week on Wednesday, April 4 at 8:00 PM followed by new comedy Best Friends Forever at 8:30 PM. Betty White's Off Their Rockers has a 12 episode order and had a sneak preview on January 16 so eleven episodes will be available to air and NBC will air ten of them as of now. It will air for 6 straight weeks through May 9 then on May 16 & May 23 a full-hour (8-9PM) will air both weeks, giving it ten episodes since its launch on April 4 (so one will be left to air for now). As for Best Friends Forever, NBC has a six episode order for this series, like Bent, and will air it for six straight weeks through May 9, instead of double-pumping it in three weeks.
On to Thursdays, Community returns on Thursday, March 15 at 8:00 PM as NBC re-sets the night with 30 Rock shifting to 8:30 PM followed still by The Office at 9 and Up All Night at 9:30 PM. Parks and Recreation goes on hiatus after the March 8 episode but comes back on Thursday, April 19 at a new time of 9:30 PM for four weeks to finish its season after Up All Night has ended its 24-episode original season run in the time period. The Parks & Recreation season finale is scheduled for May 10 (as The Office is likely having a two-episode finale on May 17). Community has 12 episodes to air and as of now NBC has booked it through May 24, so that's eleven weeks, but possibly it will be two episodes on one week.
View the complete NBC comedy changes for this spring. And stay with us for further information!


Nick at Nite will celebrate the Oscars with a marathon of sitcom episodes the night before the big night. On Saturday, February 25, Nick at Nite will air episodes of their sitcoms featuring award-winning actors. The line-up will air from 10pm-2am with Friends, George Lopez and That '70s Show episodes. Friends will start off the marathon with episodes guest starring Brad Pitt, Billy Crystal, Reese Witherspoon and Alec Baldwin. In fact, as you all know, Billy Crystal is hosting this year's Oscars for the ninth time! Then it is back-to-back episodes of George Lopez featuring Sandra Bullock, who also is a producer on the show. And finally two episodes of That '70s Show will feature the timeless Betty White. All of these stars have been nominated for an Oscar or have won an Oscar except Billy Crystal and Betty White. Crystal has taken home Emmy's though for his hosting of the Oscars and Betty White has won many Emmy's and Golden Globes, so this night is all about award-winning actors.
View more on this Nick at Nite event this Saturday and don't forget to watch the Oscars on Sunday night on ABC starting at 7pm ET/4pm PT.

Just last week we told you that Happy Days and Little House on the Prairie are joining the INSP January 2012 schedule, but now we have the full January line-up! We know that Happy Days will be airing weekdays at 6:00pm & 6:30pm ET starting Jan. 2, bit you'll be glad to hear that The Brady Bunch will now air weekdays at 5:00pm & 5:30pm ET as a lead-in! The schedule will start on Monday, Jan. 2 and the line-up will kick-off at 1pm ET with The Waltons every weekday. Then at 2pm ET, it's Wind At My Back. Then at 3pm ET, The Big Valley remains, but its 4pm ET slot will now be the new addition Little House on the Prairie. As mentioned, the sitcoms will air in the 4pm & 6pm ET hours, so Dr. Quinn will be moved to 7pm ET, as Wind At My Back moves to 2pm ET. In primetime, The Waltons remains at 8pm ET, but the second hour will now be Little House on the Prairie at 9pm ET. Then another hour will follow at 10pm ET, leading into Dr. Quinn at 11pm ET, which will remain. And finally for weeknights, The Big Valley remains at 12 midnight and will also gain the 1am ET hour replacing Our House, which will be removed from the schedule for now.
Moving on to weekends, we mentioned Little House joins the line-up with a New Year's Day marathon on Sunday, Jan. 1, but the following weekend will have some changes. On Saturdays, Little House will be airing at 7pm ET, while Bonanza and The Big Valley remain from 12-2am ET. And finally on Sundays, The Waltons and Little House will air Sundays from 1-3pm ET replacing back-to-back Dr. Quinn. Every other timeslot we have not mentioned is an inspirational, gospel, or other type of series.

NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno offered its all-military audience on last Wednesday's show (November 23) an opportunity to win a guest role on the upcoming new network comedy Are You There, Chelsea? and current comedy Whitney. Each branch of the military were given an audition and the best performance won a cameo role in an upcoming episode of Are You There, Chelsea? and also a guest role on the Whitney Cummings sitcom Whitney. Whitney Cummings, along with Tonight Show correspondent Ross Matthews, served as the judges for the competition. Cummings replaced Chelsea Handler who was originally supposed to be one of the judges, so with Cummings appearing, they added Whitney to the prize.
After the competition, the winner was Marcus McGinnis from the Air Force. Marcus will have a speaking guest role on Whitney on an episode this season and will have a cameo on Are You There, Chelsea. Both sitcoms will air back-to-back on Wednesday nights starting Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 from 8-9pm ET on NBC.

Midseason is on the horizon and today we have the winter portion (Jan-Mar) for CBS and NBC to give you. CBS has announced midseason 2012 premiere dates for the new comedy ¡Rob! and the return of reality series Undercover Boss. Both series will start airing in January, 2012. ¡Rob!, a new comedy starring Rob Schneider as a lifelong bachelor who just married into a tight-knit Mexican-American family, premieres Thursday, Jan. 12 at 8:30PM, ET/PT following The Big Bang Theory on Thursday nights. ¡Rob! also stars Cheech Marin, Claudia Bassols, Diana Maria Riva, Eugenio Derbez and Lupe Ontiveros. The new comedy has an episode order for eight episodes. Veteran comedy Rules of Engagement will return to its Thursday at 8:30 PM, ET/PT time period later this season, but its episode order has been cut from 18 to 13 (it is actually 15 because the sitcom had two leftover episodes from last season). The sitcom will air its fifth episode of the season this Thursday and perhaps another one will air in December before it goes on a hiatus for eight weeks starting Jan. 12. If all goes well, you will see it return sometime in March at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Undercover Boss returns with its third season premiere on Sunday, Jan. 15 at a new earlier time of 8:00 PM, ET/PT. Each week, Undercover Boss follows a different executive as they leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their companies. It is unclear how many weeks the series will run in this timeslot, as The Amazing Race will return in this timeslot at mid-season with a premiere that will be announced at a later date. Other than that, CBS has not announced any other changes. Still to be scheduled is new cop series The 2-2, which is likely for March or later in the spring. CBS also has not announced what will air Wednesdays at 8:00 PM, ET/PT in January before Survivor returns sometime in February, but it will likely be encores. And finally CBS has ordered three additional episodes of struggling Friday drama series A Gifted Man. The series will now air 16 episodes this season. My inclining is that it will be on the bubble for a second season until the day of upfront. Anyway, view and discuss the early changes to CBS midseason 2012.




We have another early midseason schedule for you, covering January-March 2012 for NBC! NBC announced its new mid-season 2012 schedule which features the premieres of four new series in Smash (Monday, February 6), The Firm (two-hour premiere Sunday, January 8, time slot premiere Thursday, January 12), Fashion Star (Tuesday, March 13) and Are You There, Chelsea? (Wednesday, January 11). The new lineup also includes the return of The Voice, 30 Rock, The Celebrity Apprentice and Who Do You Think You Are? Newcomer Prime Suspect and third year comedy Community will go on hiatus, but will return later in the season. In addition, there are day and time period changes for Whitney, Up All Night, Rock Center with Brian Williams and Harry's Law.

Let's detail it night-by-night. On Mondays, last spring's hit vocal competition series The Voice returns even louder with an hour-long season debut following Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, February 5 at approx. 10pm ET/7pm PT and then resumes in its regular day and time on Monday, February 6 from 8-10 p.m. ET. Following The Voice is the much-anticipated musical drama Smash which premieres Monday, February 6 at 10 p.m. ET for 15 weeks. On Tuesdays, Fashion Star - the new reality competition series hosted and executive-produced by Elle Macpherson - will premiere with a two-hour episode on Tuesday, March 13 from 9-11 p.m. ET and resume on Tuesday, March 20 airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET. The Biggest Loser will open a new edition on Tuesday, January 3 from 8-10 p.m. ET followed by Parenthood at 10 p.m. ET, but it concludes its season on Tuesday, February 28 with its season finale. On Wednesdays, the freshman comedy Whitney" moves into a new day (Wednesday) and time (8:00 p.m.) beginning Wednesday, January 11 followed by the series debut of the new comedy Are You There, Chelsea? at 8:30 p.m. ET also on Wednesday, January 11. NBC will move Rock Center with Brian Williams to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, starting Wednesday, February 8 as it has its last Monday telecast on Jan. 30. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit remains at 10 p.m. (ET).

For Thursdays, the new drama The Firm moves into the Thursday lineup at 10 p.m. ET beginning Thursday, January 12 following its special two-hour premiere the previous Sunday (January 8) from 9-11 p.m. ET. The first-season comedy Up All Night will also move to Thursday nights at 9:30 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, January 12 which is also the night that multiple Emmy Award-winning 30 Rock returns for its season debut at an earlier time of 8 p.m. ET, with an expected episode order of a full season. Parks and Recreation and The Office remain in the same time periods at 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET. Moving on to Fridays, the returning series Who Do You Think You Are? makes its season debut on Friday, February 3 at 8 p.m. ET, as Chuck will have its two-hour series finale on Friday, January 27 from 8-10 p.m. ET. Newcomer Grimm and Dateline NBC remain in the respective time periods from 9 to 11 p.m. Saturdays will feature encores of Harry's Law, The Firm and Law & Order: SVU. And finally on Sundays, The Celebrity Apprentice returns on Sunday, February 12 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Dateline NBC begins on Sundays from 7-9 p.m. ET, on January 8, but then Harry's Law moves to the 8 p.m. (ET) time period on March 4, so Dateline NBC will be cut just to the 7 p.m. (ET) hour starting on March 4.

That's a whole lotta changes, but more is still to come. Still missing from the mid-season schedule for NBC are new drama Awake, new comedies Bent & BFFs, and practical joke series Betty White's Off the Rockers. As mentioned, Community will return later in the spring to complete its 22 episode order (10 are scheduled to have aired by the end of 2011, so 12 will be ready to go later this season). We urge you to view and discuss the NBC midseason 2012 schedule for Jan-Mar.

Sitcom Recap:
New sitcoms - Are You There, Chelsea? (TBD episodes, NBC Wednesdays at 8:30pm starting Jan. 11) and ¡Rob! (8 episodes, CBS Thursdays at 8:30pm starting Jan. 12)
Returning - 30 Rock (TBD episodes, NBC Thursdays at 8:00pm starting Jan. 12)
Moving - Whitney (NBC Wednesdays at 8:30pm starting Jan. 11) and Up All Night (NBC Thursdays at 9:30pm starting Jan. 12)
Hiatus - Rules of Engagement (CBS) and Community (NBC) - both expected back in Spring

IFC has acquired another sitcom, this time it is the family comedy Malcolm in the Middle starring Frankie Muniz. The sitcom actually started last week (Sept. 26) and it airs weeknights back-to-back starting at 6pm and 11:30pm. The series also is airing Tuesday nights from 7-10pm. The deal is not exclusive as TeenNick has been airing the series weeknights 10-11pm and 4-5am and will continue to do so. The series also was on FX but they removed it a few months ago, as they lost rights. The comedy also stars critically acclaimed actors Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston, who has made it big on Breaking Bad.
Malcolm in the Middle joins other comedies on IFC such as Arrested Development and other series such as Freaks & Geeks, Mr. Show with Bob and David and Undeclared, which is being relegated to a few airings in early mornings. FC has announced the season two renewal of Portlandia, created by and starring Fred Armisen (SNL) and Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney). IFC has ordered 10 episodes of its original series Portlandia, up from season one's six episodes. Production began this summer with the debut scheduled for January 2012. And The Onion News Network returned last night for its second season airing Tuesday nights at 10pm after Malcolm in the Middle.
Created and executive produced by Emmy Award-winning writer Linwood Boomer, Malcolm in the Middle is an inventive half-hour series that is seen through the eyes of Malcolm, a regular kid trying to navigate his way through life despite the various obstacles thrown in his way--a complete misunderstanding of girls, an eclectic group of classmates and the constant burden of masterminding plans to get himself and his brothers either into or out of trouble.

The first cancelation of the new TV season is... NBC's The Playboy Club. After just three weeks, NBC has pulled the struggling drama from its schedule. It was more than likely determined after week two but NBC went ahead and aired episode three anyway and the ratings dropped again. NBC will now air repeats of Prime Suspect instead, which is struggling itself on Thursday nights. Repeats will air for three weeks (Oct. 10-24) in the Monday at 10pm timeslot, then starting Monday, Oct. 31 (which is the first Monday of November sweeps), NBC will launch a new news-magazine titled Rock Center with Brian Williams to be the replacement for at least three months (Oct. 31-Jan. 30). While that might be an improvement to Playboy Club's ratings, does NBC honestly believe it will do that well? Not sure what they are expecting here, but I don't think it will be that much.
Led by Brian Williams, the newsmagazine will feature Harry Smith, Kate Snow and other award-winning correspondents and anchors of NBC News, including Meredith Vieira, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Richard Engel, Matt Lauer and Ann Curry. Broadcast live from the historic Studio 3B in Rockefeller Center, the weekly, hour-long newsmagazine will be built around the week’s most provocative events, compelling coverage, and newsmaker interviews. In this new venue, Williams and NBC's trusted global news division will take viewers deeper into the world's most talked-about stories -- and raise the curtain on stories begging to be told.

NBC has picked up the new comedies Up All Night and Whitney for the remainder of the 2011-12 season, which means at least 22 episodes, joining Fox's New Girl (which will air 24 episodes actually). Up All Night has aired three episodes so far, with the fourth one airing tonight. Despite the ratings dropping each week, it has performed decently for NBC. As for Whitney, the series has only aired twice and saw a decent size drop in week two, making this early pick-up a bit surprising. Nevertheless, Whitney airs episode three tomorrow night. The jury is still out on new comedy Free Agents, which airs tonight, possibly for the last time ever as it has done poorly from the get go.
On Up all Night, Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) stars as Reagan Brinkley: loving wife, successful career woman, life of the party and, most recently, mom. Determined not to compromise her career or cool reputation to the clichés of motherhood, Reagan adjusts to life with a baby and returns to work with the support of her stay-at-home husband, Chris (Will Arnett, Arrested Development). As Reagan and Chris figure out their new life, self-doubt, sleep deprivation and the pressure of today's parenting protocols rattle their confidence. What's more, the endless needs of Reagan's boss, ambitious but vulnerable talk-show host Ava (Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live), threaten to throw Reagan off balance.
NBC's new multi-camera comedy Whitney is a look at modern-day love, which centers around Whitney (Whitney Cummings, Chelsea Lately) and Alex (Chris D'Elia, Glory Daze), a happily unmarried couple. Together for three years, the duo is in no rush to get hitched, which seems to get a mixed response from their friends.
I expect full season pick-ups in the next week or two for 2 Broke Girls, Revenge, Suburgatory, Ringer, Pan Am, and likely Unforgettable. The CW's Secret Circle and Hart of Dixie are iffy. Fox's Terra Nova is only producing 13 episodes due to cost, so if there is a pick-up, it will be for a second season for next year. And Fox's The X Factor will air through mid-December, as previously announced, so no pick-up is needed, unless it is for next fall. Joining Free Agents on the "got to be nervous list" are A Gifted Man, Charlie's Angels, How To Be A Gentleman, H8R, and Prime Suspect. Will some of these go the same way as Playboy Club? Still yet to premiere are ABC's Last Man Standing, Man Up!, Once Upon a Time, NBC's Grimm and Fox's I Hate My Teenage Daughter. I expect two of those to do somewhat well (Last Man Standing and Once Upon a Time) and the rest, well you can probably tell. Stay tuned!

Suburgatory - Wednesdays 8:30PM ET/PT on ABC
Premieres Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 8:30PM ET/PT

Single father George only wants the best for his 16-year-old daughter, Tessa. So when he finds a box of condoms on her nightstand, he moves them both out of their apartment in New York City to a house in the suburbs. But all Tessa sees is the horror of over-manicured lawns and plastic Franken-moms. Being in the 'burbs can be hell, but it also may just bring Tessa and George closer than they've ever been.

Tessa (Jane Levy) and George (Jeremy Sisto) have been on their own ever since Tessa's mom pulled a "Kramer vs. Kramer" before Tessa was even potty trained. So far George has done a pretty good job of raising Tessa without a maternal figure in their lives, but suddenly he's feeling a little out of his league. So it's goodbye New York City and hello suburbs. At first Tessa is horrified by the big-haired, fake-boobed mothers and their sugar-free, Red Bull-chugging kids. But little by little, she and her dad begin finding a way to survive on the clean streets of the 'burbs. Sure, the neighbors might smother you with love while their kids stare daggers at your back, but underneath all that plastic and caffeine, they're really not half bad. And they do make a tasty pot roast.


Cast Details:

* Jeremy Sisto as George Altman
* Jane Levy as Tessa Altman
* Carly Chaikin as Dalia Royce
* Rex Lee as Mr. Wolfe
* Alan Tudyk as Noah Lerner
* Cheryl Hines as Dallas Royce

Ana Gasteyer guest stars as neighbor Sheila Shay. Jay Mohr appears in the recurring role as Steven Royce, Dallas' (Cheryl Hines) husband.

Jeremy Sisto (Gregory Altman) is probably best known for playing Billy Chenowith on Alan Ball's Six Feet Under for five years, a role which Ball wrote for him. Last year he finished a three year run on Law & Order as Detective Cyrus Lupo. He was also the lead in the short-lived but critically acclaimed Jason Smilovic show, Kidnapped, and played the title role in the two miniseries Jesus and Julius Caesar. Sisto makes his first foray into single-camera comedy Suburgatory. Sisto's film credits are eclectic and date back to the early '90s with titles such as Grand Canyon, Clueless, Hideaway, Moonlight and Valentino, White Squall, Without Limits, Suicide Kings, Thirteen, Wrong Turn and Waitress. He is in two upcoming releases, As Cool As I Am with Claire Danes and James Marsden, and Robot and Frank with Frank Langella and Liv Tyler.

Jane Levy (Tessa Altman) grew up in Northern California. Though the acting bug bit her early on (she starred in community theater productions of Annie and The Wizard of Oz) in high school, she was the captain of the varsity soccer team and on the hip hop dance team. She also excelled in chemistry. After a semester in the liberal arts program at Baltimore's Goucher College, Levy moved to New York to pursue acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory. Two years later she moved to Los Angeles, and in a few weeks booked a five-episode arc as a trampy teen vixen in the John Wells Showtime series, Shameless (with William H. Macy). A round of general meetings with film and television executives led to her being cast as the lead in Suburgatory. Levy also recently appeared in her first feature, Nobody Walks,and she is currently shooting Josh Schwartz's debut feature film, Fun Size, with Victoria Justice and Chelsea Handler.

Carly Chaikin (Dalia Royce) made her big screen debut in The Last Song starring alongside Greg Kinnear, Kelly Preston, Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus. She also appeared in the independent comedies The Consultants and My Uncle Rafael. More recently Chaikin wrapped on the indy horror film Escapee, in which she starred with Dominic Purcell and Faith Ford.

Rex Lee (Mr. Wolfe) plays Lloyd, the engaging and extremely funny assistant to Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), on HBO's Entourage. When Lee landed that role, it was a four-episode arc. His portrayal of Lloyd was so well received that the role was expanded and he was added as a series regular. The hit show returned this summer for its eighth and final season. In addition to receiving three SAG Award cast nominations, Lee's performance won him the 2007 and 2008 Asian Excellence Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in Television and the "KoreAm" Achievement in Entertainment Award in 2007. He has guest starred in a number of TV shows, including Dave's World, Son of the Beach, Lucky and Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and has appeared in numerous commercials.

Allie Grant (Lisa Shay) has wanted to be an actress for as long as she can remember. At the age of 10 she was cast in the role of Isabella Hodes on the Showtime hit Weeds, and shares 2007 and 2009 Screen Actors Guild nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Grant played Elizabeth Perkins' daughter on the show for five seasons. She has also guest starred on Private Practice.

Alan Tudyk (Noah Lerner) recently completed work in Fox's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, playing Stephen A. Douglas, and will be seen in Paramount's feature film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, playing the role of Dutch. Tudyk quickly became a sought-after comedic actor following films like Knocked Up, 28 Days, A Knight's Tale and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Additional film credits include 3:10 to Yuma,"Death at a Funeral, I, Robot, Beautiful Boy, Serenity, Ice Age: The Meltdown and Ice Age 2: The Meltdown. Additional television credits include Firefly and Dollhouse for creator Joss Whedon, V, Arrested Development and Strangers with Candy.

Cheryl Hines (Dallas Royce) is a two-time Emmy nominee for her role as Cheryl David on HBO's Golden Globe Award-winning series, Curb Your Enthusiasm, the brainchild of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David. Hines' most recent television project was as executive producer of the NBC Television Series School Pride, a proactive, alternative series that told the stories of communities coming together to renovate their aging and broken public schools. The cameras followed students, teachers and parents as they rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt their own schools, concluding with the unveiling of a brand new, completely transformed school. Additional television projects included a major story arc on ABC's drama series Brothers & Sisters and a starring role opposite Megan Mullally in ABC's In the Motherhood, a single camera comedy series chronicling the hilarious ups and downs of motherhood.


Pilot Plot:

#1 "Pilot" (Airs September 28, 2011)
When single dad George moves 16-year-old daughter Tessa out of their NYC apartment to a house in the suburbs, it's because he wants a better place for her to spend her teen years. Tessa and George have been on their own ever since Tessa's mom pulled a "Kramer vs. Kramer." So far George has done a pretty good job of raising Tessa, but lately he's feeling a little out of his league, especially after he finds a pack of condoms in her room. So it's goodbye New York City and hello suburbs. At first Tessa is horrified by the big-haired, fake-boobed mothers and their sugar-free, Red Bull-chugging kids. But she and her dad slowly begin to find ways to survive, and while being in the 'burbs certainly can be hell, it also may just bring Tessa and George closer than they've ever been.

Guest starring are Ana Gasteyer as Sheila Shay, Maestro Harrell as Malik, Arden Myrin as Jocelyn and Ryan Shay as Parker Young.
"Pilot" was written by Emily Kapnek and directed by Michael Fresco.


Analysis:

The difference between the suburbs and Manhattan are the moms. And man are these suburb moms wild. This comedy takes a hilarious look at the differences between the city and suburbs. We see a father and daughter move from Manhattan to the suburbs in Connecticut, after finding a box of unopened condoms in his teenage daughter's room. But of course they weren't hers. They move to the suburbs anyway. We are shown right away that the daughter, Tessa, is having trouble adapting to the change. She notices the plastic smiles, the use of sugar-free Red Bull, plenty of nose-jobs, and stay at home mom's who drive their kids places. The father makes friends with Dallas Royce, who is the mother of Dalia Royce, a typical suburban teenager. Dalia was appointed as Tessa's "buddy" by the school guidance counselor, Mr. Wolfe, but Tessa hates Dalia. There is one girl in the school that seems like Tessa, but she avoids Tessa at first and calls her a "lesbian" like everyone else. Later they become friends and Tessa finds out who her mom is. Won't give away who. There is also a "diversity student" named Malik and that short scene will make you laugh out loud!

Jane Levy, who plays Tessa Harper, works well with every single character. I couldn't stop laughing when Tessa turned into a "mall skank" when her father's friend, Noah, comes over for dinner. Her facial expressions are priceless! It will be interesting to see the dynamic between the Royce family and Altman family. Will Tessa realize maybe these people are all not that bad? Tessa also realizes that her father is also "stuck" in "suburgatory," too. How will he survive all these moms drooling over him? You'll have to watch yourself! Jeremy Sisto does a great job as Tessa's dad and so does Cheryl Hines as Dallas Royce. The cast is great and it is refreshing that a newcomer is leading the pack so well.


Conclusion:

This is a strong pilot. It is hilarious and it sets up the series very well. Jane Levy is a star in the making and she is really good in this as Tessa Harper. It is the best comedy pilot of the fall, with the highest review rating so far that we have given this season. It has funny and witty lines throughout and Jane Levy is hilarious in every scene. She reminds me of Amy Davidson, who played Kerry on 8 Simple Rules. They both are great actors and they look alike, too. I am hoping we see Amy guest star this season.

The series is perfectly placed in between The Middle and Modern Family and has a good chance of doing well in the ratings. Why? Because it has the same style as those shows and the clever writing, too. Just how Brick and Sue broke out on The Middle, Tessa on this show is a character to watch. I can't wait for more episodes of this series. Turn on your automatic sprinklers and be prepared to file restraining orders, because you are headed into suburgatory! You'll never know what to expect, but one thing is for sure...you'll laugh!


Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

-- Reviewed by Pavan on 09/27/11

Discuss the show after you watch it on Wednesday, September 28 on our message board.

Related Links:

ABC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Suburgatory Photo Gallery

Preview:

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NBC will partner with Yahoo! to offer exclusive original episodes of its new comedies -- Up All Night (Wednesdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET) and Whitney (Thursdays, 9:30-10 p.m. ET) -- that will be streamed and promoted on the site prior to the regular network broadcast beginning this morning (Tuesday, September 27). The exclusive first look at this Wednesday's (September 28) episode of Up All Night features guest stars Will Forte and Jorma Taccone, both from Saturday Night Live. As Chris (Will Arnett) tries to get Reagan (Christina Applegate) to bring the sexy back into their relationship with some advice from his new friend Reed (Forte). Meanwhile, when Ava (Maya Rudolph) finds out her ex-boyfriend, B-Ro (Taccone), is getting married, she blames Reagan for the advice she gave her that caused them to break up.
Viewers streaming Whitney will get an advance look this Thursday's (September 29) which features happily unmarried couple Whitney (Whitney Cummings) and Alex (Chris D'Elia) also finding new ways to keep it sexy. When Whitney realizes that she and Alex have never gone on an official first date she comes up with an unusual idea to recreate the past. Taking this role-play very seriously -- as only Whitney can -- she insists that they both follow the "rules" of a first date, including pretending that they don't know each other. Thus the two awkwardly go to dinner and cap off the night by sleeping in separate apartments. Continuing the charade into the next day the two turn to their friends to plot their next moves.
In addition to the exclusive premieres, users can access previously broadcast episodes of Up All Night (so far the first 2 episodes) and Whitney (so far the pilot episode) on Yahoo! If your TV schedule is busy on Wednesday and Thursday, you might want to watch these premieres on Yahoo!, as you can watch at anytime your want.

Whitney - Thursdays 9:30PM ET/PT on NBC
Premieres Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 9:30PM ET/PT

Whitney is a hilarious look at modern-day love, which centers around Whitney (Whitney Cummings, Chelsea Lately) and Alex (Chris D'Elia, Glory Daze), a happily unmarried couple. Together for three years, the duo is in no rush to get hitched, which seems to get a mixed response from their friends.

Whitney's close circle of opinionated girlfriends include Lily (Zoe Lister-Jones) who is sweet, upbeat, and ready to get married, and Roxanne (Rhea Seehorn, The Starter Wife) a divorcee who is not afraid to speak her mind, but has not given up on love completely. When they get together, they often discuss their varying relationships and how to deal with everyday life and seemingly have fun at the same time.

Completing their close-knit group is Neal (Maulik Pancholy, 30 Rock) a real contemporary renaissance man—sensitive, cool, and knows a little bit about everything – and happens to be dating Lily. On the other end of the spectrum is Whitney and Alex's next-door neighbor Mark (Dan O'Brien, How I Met Your Mother), a police officer and total bachelor who claims to be the ultimate player but likes to talk a good game.

At the end of the day, Whitney and Alex realize that while their relationship might not be perfect on paper, they really do love each other – and that works for them.


Cast Details:

• Whitney Cummings as Whitney Cummings
• Chris D'Elia as Alex Miller
• Maulik Pancholy as Neal
• Rhea Seehorn as Roxanne
• Zoe Lister-Jones as Lilly
• Daniel G. O'Brien as Mark
• Jane Kaczmarek as Patti Morris, Whitney's mother (recurring guest star)


Whitney Cummings (Whitney) is the title star and executive producer of Whitney. A Los Angeles-based comedian, actor, writer and producer, Cummings also co-created and co-wrote, along with Michael Patrick King, the comedy Two Broke Girls, starring Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs. Last year, Cummings' hour-long Comedy Central stand-up special, Money Shot, was nominated for an American Comedy Award. As a comedian, Cummings appears regularly on E!'s Chelsea Lately and Comedy Central's Comedy Central Roasts. She got her start starring on MTV's Punk'd.

Comedian Chris D'Elia, (Alex Miller) East Coast-born and West Coast-raised, found himself in Los Angeles, performing every night of the week and quickly becoming a regular at all the Hollywood clubs. His silly, physical humor is what sets him apart from other comedians. D'Elia was recently a series regular in the TBS hour-long series Glory Daze, where he played a college frat-boy burnout. He also has been featured on Lopez Tonight and Showtime's Live Nude Comedy. In addition, D'Elia can be seen in the 2011 half-hour comedy showcase, Comedy Central Presents.

Zoe Lister-Jones (Lily) is a Brooklyn-born actor, writer and producer. Her film Breaking Upwards, which she co-wrote, produced and starred in with director Daryl Wein, was released theatrically by IFC in 2010. For television, Lister-Jones reprised her role as Kim on the live-action Adult Swim series Delocated for Seasons 1 and 2 and guest starred on HBO's Bored to Death and The Good Wife. On Broadway, Lister-Jones received excellent reviews for The Little Dog Laughed.

Maulik Pancholy (Neal) has established himself as one of Hollywood's most distinctive, versatile and impressive performers. Pancholy is best known for his recurring role on the critically acclaimed, Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning NBC comedy "30 Rock." Pancholy stars as Jonathan, the loyal assistant to Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin). In 2009, Pancholy shared the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. He also shared the SAG Award nomination with the cast for this same category in 2008 and in 2011.

Daniel G. O'Brien (Mark) has worked extensively in theater in New York City with The Atlantic Theater Company, MCC, The Present Company, The Flea Theater and The Vineyard Theater, among others. In the UK, O'Brien has performed at the Camden People's Theater in London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, garnering a Scotsman Fringe First Award for his work. With his wife and playwright-in-residence, Julie Shavers, he has directed and produced four plays, most recently Silver Bullet Trailer, which was developed with the Royal Court Theater and Present Company and performed at The Ohio Theater in New York.

Rhea Seehorn (Roxanne) grew up in Virginia and graduated from college with a degree in drama and visual arts. Theatrically trained, she further developed her craft in Washington D.C., performing on many stages including Arena Stage and the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company, where she is a member of the acting company. Seehorn then moved to Manhattan, performing with Playwrights Horizons. She made her Broadway debut as an understudy in Neil Simon's 45 Seconds from Broadway. Shortly thereafter, she was cast as a series regular on I'm with Her opposite Teri Polo, David Sutcliffe and Danny Comden. Since relocating to Los Angeles, she has had series regular and recurring roles in The Starter Wife, Head Cases, Trust Me, The Dollhouse, Burn Notice and a supporting role in the Disney feature Shaggy Dog opposite Tim Allen.


Pilot Plot:

"Pilot" - When Whitney and Alex, a happily unmarried couple, attend one of their friends' weddings, Whitney realizes that she and Alex are dangerously close to relationship boredom after three years together. Determined not to let that happen, Whitney consults her close circle of opinionated girlfriends Lily and Roxanne. Snapping into action she tries to seduce Alex in a sexy costume, but someone winds up in the emergency room.

Written by Whitney Cummings
Directed by Andy Ackerman


Analysis:

Whitney is a multi-camera sitcom, one of the few to debut in recent years. Television seems to be moving more toward single-camera comedy, and while many of them are funny, it's nice to see an old-fashioned multi-camera one. The show is co-produced and created by star Whitney Cummings, who gained fame as a regular on Punk'd and a frequent panelist on Chelsea Lately. As the host of that show, Chelsea Handler, often chose comedians that shared her type of comedy, a lot of parallels can be drawn between her and Whitney Cummings. Cummings' brash comedy tends to focus on relationships, sex, and the differences between men and women.

Romance, relationships, and sex are the main topics of the show, with women in all sorts of different relationships depicted. Whitney and her boyfriend Alex are not married, and happy to be in that situation. Whitney's friend Lily is desperate to get married, and her other friend Roxanne is recently divorced but not giving up yet. Her mother, Patti, has been divorced three times and has completely given up on men. The plot of the pilot episode is believable, though the wedding scene seemed to do nothing for the plot except introduce all of the characters. Cummings humor is quite brash at times, and while some may find that a turn-off, I honestly found it quite funny. She knows how to do sex jokes without them being distasteful. Whitney and Alex are the main subjects of the show as they deal with the crazy relationships around them.

In the pilot, after attending a friend's wedding (and making a fool of herself by eating wedding cupcakes before the bride and groom "cut" the cupcake-cake), she decides her relationship with Alex is growing stale. So after enlisting advice from her friends, she ends up at a sex shop, and buys a nurse outfit to surprise Alex on their third anniversary. Things go horribly wrong, and Alex ends up hitting his head on the kitchen counter, giving himself a concussion... making Whitney realize how much she really does love him. I liked the plot and thought it had definite funny moments, but the cast somehow feels a bit too large. I realize that they're trying to show relationships from all angles, but I found myself having a hard time keeping up with who's who. The mother character played by the always-hilarious Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle) was only in one scene, and I felt like she should have been used more in the pilot. I understand her role was originally played by Beverly D'Angelo, and all her scenes were reshot.


Conclusion:

Whitney Cummings is a funny comedian, and her take on relationships and sex is quite funny. There aren't a lot of shows on the air right now that have women in such brash, leading roles. Whitney is placed in the middle of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, but I'm not sure that is exactly the right place for it. While it is a very funny show, I'm not sure it's "Must-See TV," and I'm not sure how well it will fit in with the other shows that are (and three single-camera series). Hopefully, being scheduled after The Office will help in the ratings. For now, the show will be reaired the following night at 8:30PM for a few weeks, so maybe that will bring in some extra eyes as well.

I still feel like the cast is too large and it's hard to keep up with the characters. Ladies' man Mark isn't a very likeable character, but perhaps that's what they are going for, and I feel like Jane Kaczmarek should be given more of a starring role in the show. Nonetheless, I hope the show does well, and I hope people like the over-the-top strong comedy of Whitney Cummings.

Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):

Watchability: 4/5
Funniness: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

-- Reviewed by Greg Brobeck on 09/21/11

Discuss the show after you watch it on Thursday, September 21 on our message board.

Related Links:

NBC.com Official Site

TV.com

epguides.com

Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Whitney Photo Gallery


Preview:

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More sitcoms are coming to the TV Guide Network this Fall! We can call this TV Guide Fall 2011 schedule part two! We already told you that Ned & Stacey, Veronica's Closet and Samantha Who? have joined the network, but now three more sitcoms are being added -- and these are more long-running series! Effective Monday, October 3, 2011, Designing Women, Cybill and Dharma & Greg will join the weekday line-up. Designing Women will air weekdays at 1:00pm & 1:30pm, followed by Cybill at 2:00pm & 2:30pm. Ugly Betty will move again, this time to 3pm & 4pm, leading into an hour of Dharma & Greg at 5pm. The 6-8pm line-up of shorter-lived sitcoms we mentioned already, will remain on the schedule. However, the 11am-1pm encores will no longer be airing, as TV Guide Network has acquired the cable rights to new first-run syndicated talk show Last Shot with Judge Gunn and will be airing weekdays in the 12 noon hour. The encores of Samantha Who, Ned & Stacey and Veronica's Closet (in this order) will now air 12am-2am.
Like the shorter-lived sitcoms, these comedies also star women such as Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Cybill Shepherd, and Jenna Elfman. Designing Women will get a two-hour block on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 3-5pm to kick things off, with the first four episodes airing, so tune in for that! Georgia on my mind!
Discuss these new additions to the TV Guide Network Fall 2011 schedule.