SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

We're nearing the end of summer and we will be back with our normal weekly ratings report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did for the rest of the summer! Here are our summer ratings: 

Happy (early) Labor Day, and to SitcomsOnline Digest! The three day weekend signals the unofficial end of summer, which means that fall (and the new fall season) is just around the corner... but we're not there quite yet! In the meantime, we're here with news of premiere dates for all of the new season of (just about) everything, a new Hulu commercial-free option, and some rumors and speculations about a Family Guy DVD release planned for September 15 that has seemingly vanished into thin air. And, to top it all off, it looks like a reboot that seemed to be a sure thing has now been killed... at least when it comes to NBC airing it. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

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• Sometimes, DVD releases tend to fall off of the schedule for unexplained reasons, and we've recently discovered one that may possibly be raising some questions, particularly since it was perhaps THE series to first demonstrate the (now fading) power and dominance of TV-on-DVD (in fact, it weren't for the popularity of the DVDs, the series probably would have ended when it was canceled in 2002): Family Guy - Season Thirteen. It was scheduled for release on September 15, and pre-orders were being taken at one point in time on amazon.com, but they no longer are. While we don't know exactly what happened here, it appears that the date may have been moved to December 8, if we are to believe a pre-order listing from Target (which appears to be the only website currently accepting pre-orders). We aren't completely sure what is going on here, but our best guess is that Fox wanted something to replace the void being left with the lack of Simpsons releases (which invariable came out every December). We'll update when we know more!
• Olive Films promised fans of King of the Hill that they would complete the series by the end of this year, and they weren't kidding. The studio now has King of the Hill - The Complete 13th Season scheduled for October 20, but that isn't all, they will also be releasing it on Blu-ray.
• VEI announced several big releases earlier this year, and they seem to be diving head first into complete series (and attempting to get them all out by the end of this year). This week, they gave some details on their complete series release of Barnaby Jones, due to arrive in November.
• Hotel - The Complete Series will also be arriving from VEI on October 20.

Who to Follow: Loretta Devine (Twitter), "actress,singer,poet,creator ,lover,step mom.just Me"

Claim to Fame: Loretta Devine's first claim to fame was in a Broadway musical in 1978, which was literally called A Broadway Musical, which was such a flop that it ended after only one performance. It was a bad way to start a career, for sure, but in all fairness, Jackée Harry also got her start in that very same musical. She had some minor movie roles after that, and she also appeared on A Different World and even starred in her own sitcom for a brief period of time. In the late 90s, she found movie success in a pair of major Whitney Houston blockbuster films, Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher's Wife. But she returned to TV, where she finally found more success, in 2000 in her role as Marla Hendricks, a very unstable (but caring and effective) teacher on Boston Public. In fact, she was one of the few cast members to actually appear in the entire series. Currently, she appears in the NBC series The Carmichael Show, which will air the last two episodes of the season (and perhaps the series, since we don't know the fate of the series yet) on Wednesday.

Starz announced orders for a third season of the critically-acclaimed STARZ Original comedy series Survivor's Remorse from executive producers Tom Werner, Maverick Carter, LeBron James, Mike O'Malley, Paul Wachter and Vic Levin. O'Malley has signed on again to serve as executive producer and showrunner. After achieving series-high weekend viewership with its second season premiere on Saturday, August 22, the second episode of season two continued the Survivor's Remorse winning streak, as the Live+SD weekend viewership grew 18% week over week to establish another series-high benchmark (1.34 million vs. 1.13 million Live+SD viewing). Survivor's Remorse made its sophomore season debut during the new STARZ Comedy Block on August 22 following the new half-hour scripted comedy series Blunt Talk starring Patrick Stewart.

Survivor's Remorse follows the life of Cam Calloway (played by Jessie T. Usher), a hard-working, young basketball star who is thrust into the limelight after signing a huge contract with a pro basketball team in Atlanta. In the second season, we see Cam and his cousin and confidant, Reggie Vaughn (played by Ronreaco Lee), continue trying to navigate Cam's meteoric rise. From business deals to relationships and friendship, the two confront the challenges of balancing the needs of family with the rewards and responsibilities generated by their newfound wealth and fame. Cam, Reggie, and the unforgettable group of characters that is the Calloway clan, wrestle with the rewards and pitfalls of stardom, love and loyalty. The cast also includes Mike Epps, Tichina Arnold, Teyonah Parris and Erica Ash.


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 September 7-11, 2015, we have many current sitcom stars and past sitcom stars on TV talk shows! All times listed are Eastern. So get your DVRs (or whatever you use) ready! Ready? Here is all what you need to know for the coming week!


Monday, September 7, 2015

• Tina Fey (30 Rock) and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Tina and Amy on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Roseanne Barr (Roseanne) - Roseanne appears on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi is a panelist and musical guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Thomas Sadoski (Life in Pieces) - Thomas chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Vivica A. Fox (True Jackson, VP/Out All Night) - Vivica appears on a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Alec Mapa (Half & Half/Some of My Best Friends) - Alec will be on a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) - Kunal talks about his book Yes, My Accent Is Real: And Some Other Things I Haven't Told You on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Mario Cantone (Sex and the City) - Mario appears on a repeat of The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Danny DeVito (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/Taxi) - Danny is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Swoosie Kurtz (Mike & Molly/Love & Money) - Swoosie drops by Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Jonathan Sadowski (Young & Hungry/S#*! My Dad Says) - Jonathan will be on People Chatter.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

• George Clooney (E/R /The Facts of Life/Roseanne) - Catch George on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Nick Jonas (Jonas L.A.) - Nick is a panelist and musical guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Jake McDorman (Manhattan Love Story/Are You There, Chelsea?/Quintuplets) - Jake drops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:44am on CBS.
• Paul F. Tompkins (DAG) - Paul is a guest on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Andrea Savage (Episodes/The Hotwives/Significant Others) - Andrea will be on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show) - Jennifer appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Jason Sudeikis (The Last Man on Earth) and Alison Brie (Community) - Jason and Alison talk about their new film Sleeping with Other People on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am, on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo. Jason will also be on the AOL Build Show.
• Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank stops by LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Vivica A. Fox (True Jackson, VP/Out All Night) - Vivica appears on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show) - Steve gives a super fan the surprise of their life on The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Tyler James Williams (Go On/Everybody Hates Chris) - Tyler will be on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
• Sanaa Lathan (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show/LateLine) - Sanaa talks about The Perfect Guy on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
• Kathryn Hahn (Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn talks about The Visit on NBC's Today in the 9am hour and on the AOL Build Show.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

• Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen/The Ellen Show) - Watch Ellen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC. She will also be on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
• Craig Ferguson (The Drew Carey Show) - Craig visits Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He chats about the comedy special Just Being Honest on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Gabourey Sidibe (Difficult People/The Big C) - Gabourey appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Jason Sudeikis (The Last Man on Earth) - Jason is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Matt Braunger (Up All Night) - Matt will be on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Kelly Ripa (Hope & Faith) - Kelly appears on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• David Walton (About a Boy/Bent/Perfect Couples) - David is a guest on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show, so check your local listings.
• Amber Stevens West (The Carmichael Show) - Amber talks about The Carmichael Show on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly) - Billy appears on the AOL Build Show.
• Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/Welcome to New York) - Jim visits NBC's Today in the 9am hour. He will also be on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
• David Alan Grier, Jerrod Carmichael and Loretta Devine (The Carmichael Show) - The cast of The Carmichael Show chat with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Lake Bell (Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp/How to Make It in America) - Lake will be on Morning Joe on MSNBC sometime between 6-9am.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

• Kathryn Hahn (Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Catch Kathryn on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Andy appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Stark Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Alison Brie (Community) - Alison is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
• Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) - Jon visits Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
• Steve Rannazzisi (The League/Big Day), Paul Scheer (The League/Fresh Off the Boat/The Hotwives) and Jon Lajoie (The League) - Steve, Paul and Jon are guests on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Craig Ferguson (The Drew Carey Show) - Craig is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo. He also talks about Celebrity Name Game on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
• Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback/Friends) - Lisa will be on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show, so check your local listings.
• Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) and Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Girlfriends) - Anthony and Tracee are guests on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
• Jessica St. Clair (Playing House/Best Friends Forever/In the Motherhood) and Lennon Parham (Playing House/Best Friends Forever/Accidentally on Purpose) - Jessica and Lennon discuss Playing House on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• NeNe Leakes (The New Normal) - NeNe appears on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Sanaa Lathan (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show/LateLine) - Sanaa chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She will also be on the AOL Build Show.

Friday, September 11, 2015

• Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Watch Mindy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) - Andy stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly) - Billy visits LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• NeNe Leakes (The New Normal) - NeNe sounds off on everything from Donald Trump to why she left the Housewives franchise on The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Martin Lawrence (Partners/Martin) - Martin appears on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show, so check your local listings.
• Craig Ferguson (The Drew Carey Show) - Craig joins the Chew Crew on ABC's The Chew at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
• Sanaa Lathan (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show/LateLine) - Sanaa joins the Chew Crew on ABC's The Chew at 1pm ET/12pm PT/CT.
• Betty White (Hot in Cleveland/The Golden Girls/Mary Tyler Moore) - Betty is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Gregory Harrison (The Family Man) - Gregory discusses his new Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original movie Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Truth Be Told on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.

All listings are subject to change. Visit our blog and main site for daily updated listings. 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!

As we hinted over a month ago, a new addition is joining the ABC Family schedule for fall 2015. And that show is... Last Man Standing! The Tim Allen sitcom will join the line-up on Monday, September 28 and will air weekdays from 12-2pm. The 12pm hour will replace Gilmore Girls, while the 1pm hour replaces an hour of Boy Meets World. One other change will be made to the line-up, at 11am Boy Meets World will air back-to-back replacing Gilmore Girls, which is now off the schedule totally. That answers your question about if ABC Family will continue airing the series when UP launches it this fall. We will have more on the UP TV Fall 2015 schedule soon. Back to ABC Family, as a recap their weekday schedule looks like this: Buffy at 7, Dawson's Creek at 8, an episode of The Middle at 9, before 700 Club programming 'til 11. Boy Meets World at 11, Last Man Standing from 12-2pm, The Middle from 2-4pm, Reba from 4-6pm and movies/originals from 6pm-2am. Last Man Standing stars Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, Nancy Travis as Vanessa Baxter, Molly Ephraim as Mandy Baxter, Kaitlyn Dever as Eve Baxter, Amanda Fuller as Kristin Baxter, Jordan Masterson as Ryan Vogelson, Christoph Sanders as Kyle Anderson, Flynn Morrison as Boyd Baxter, Jonathan Adams as Chuck Larabee and Hector Elizondo as Ed Alzate.

Furthering its commitment to kids and families, Disney Channel will present a special episode of the family comedy series Girl Meets World that delivers both entertainment and information for kids and parents about Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. Three experts consulted on the episode to help deliver an authentic storyline that can spark conversation among kids and their families. They are: Elizabeth Laugeson, Psy.D, The Help Group; child development consultant Arthur Pober, Ed.D.; and Shiela Wagner, M.Ed., retired, Emory Autism Center. In the story, "Girl Meets Farkle," Riley, Maya and Lucas emphasize the beauty of being unique as they rally around their friend Farkle Minkus, who may be on the autism spectrum. Meanwhile, his friendship with another student, Smackle, grows fonder. The episode premieres Friday, September 11 at 8:30pm ET/PT on Disney Channel. Guest starring are Cecilia Balagot ("Isadora Smackle"), Cyrina Fiallo ("Ms. Oben") and Lee Norris ("Stuart Minkus") and Kristanna Loken ("Jennifer Bassett Minkus"), who return to their Boy Meets World roles, now as Farkle's parents.

Antenna TV has announced its fall 2015 schedule and it will begin on Monday, September 14, 2015. The newest addition to the weekday line-up will be the '80s sitcom Family Ties. The Michael J. Fox comedy will air weeknights at 10pm & 10:30pm and weekends at 8pm & 8:30pm. Also joining the schedule will be two short-lived comedies airing on the weekend: My Mother the Car Saturdays from 1-2pm and It's About Time Saturdays from 2-3pm. If you are not familiar with the latter series, it's a caveman series that aired from 1966-67 and is from creator Sherwood Schwartz, and used sets, props and incidental music from Schwartz's other television series in production at the time, Gilligan's Island. Leaving the schedule for now will be Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Flipper, Gidget, Here Come the Brides, McHale's Navy, The Monkees, and The Patty Duke Show. As always with Antenna TV on new schedules, there will be a lot of time changes to existing shows... Too Close for Comfort returns to weekdays, airing 5-6pm. View the full Antenna TV Fall 2015 schedule and discuss these changes.

NBC has decided it is not moving forwards in its revival of Coach. The network gave the updated sitcom a 13-episode straight-to-series order last spring and mentioned it during the upfront. The series was slated to premiere midseason 2016. NBC was not happy with the creative decisions being made by Universal Television with the series. The premiere episode was already taped. With this news, Coach may still live on. Universal Television is reportedly shopping it to other networks (perhaps original network ABC?) and streaming services (i.e. Netflix). In this new revival, NBC described it as Craig T. Nelson reprising the iconic role that earned him an Emmy in this follow-up to the beloved series that ran for nine seasons. With original creator Barry Kemp at the helm, Hayden Fox's story picks up 18 years later when the retired coach gets back in the game to assist his son, who was just hired as head coach at an Ivy League university in Pennsylvania... where they know nothing about sports. Between dealing with the eggheads on campus and his hostile daughter-in-law at home, Coach will soon learn that he's not in Minnesota anymore. Talk about a Hail Mary!

TV Land has given second season orders to its popular new comedy series The Jim Gaffigan Show and Impastor. Performing strongly in their first seasons, an average of 4.0 million viewers tuned into Gaffigan on premiere nights on TV Land and Nick at Nite, while Impastor attracted a weekly average of 2.8 million viewers.* In addition, both series saw impressive gains over channel prime average, with Gaffigan up +100% and Impastor up +29% among Adults 25-54.** The Jim Gaffigan Show and Impastor air on Wednesdays on TV Land at 10pm and 10:30pm ET/PT, respectively. TV Land will be showing a catch-up marathon of Impastor on Sunday night, September 6 at 1am ET/PT, featuring the first eight episodes, airing completely uncensored.

The Jim Gaffigan Show and Impastor are just two of the many existing series and additional projects in development for TV Land as part of the network's rebrand. The hit buzzy series Younger returns in January, along with the launch of Teachers from Chicago-based improv group The Katydids. TV Land recently announced a series pick-up order for Lopez, starring comedian and actor George Lopez, and greenlit pilot production of I Shudder starring Hamish Linklater and Megan Hilty. Other projects in development include an untitled John Wells/John Riggi/Warner Horizon Television project inspired by the life of Kyle Richards (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) and a script with executive producers Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone.

*Source: Nielsen, 3 telecasts per week, average P2+ Premiere night reach, 1 minute Qualifier, Most Current.
** Source: Nielsen, TVL Premieres Only vs Channel 8-11p Prime, 6/29 – 8/23/15, Most Current.

The Miss America Organization, Dick Clark Productions and ABC announced that actress, New York Times bestselling author, mathematician and education advocate Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years, Dancing with the Stars) will be a judge on the 2016 Miss America Competition. She joins previously announced celebrity judges including country star Brett Eldredge, author and wife of the late U.S. Navy SEAL "American Sniper" Chris Kyle, Taya Kyle, entrepreneur and businessman of ABC's Shark Tank, Kevin O'Leary, 2014 Paralympic snowboarding bronze medalist, Amy Purdy and television and recording star, Zendaya (K.C. Undercover). TV personality Chris Harrison (ABC's The Bachelor) will host alongside actress and entrepreneur Brooke Burke-Charvet (Dancing with the Stars), who returns as co-host. Nick Jonas will serve as the official music curator of the evening.The 2016 Miss America Competition returns to Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on Sunday, September 13 from 9:00–11:00pm/ET on the ABC Television Network. The evening will be filled with glitz and glam as 52 women compete for the coveted crown and scholarship.