SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Welcome to SitcomsOnline Digest! We have a bit of a slow news week this week since it was only a three (if not two) day work week for many out there. But nonetheless, we're here with our weekly feature, with an update on the network development season, plans for The Late Late Show post-Craig Ferguson, and more. Let's get going!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SITCOMSONLINE.COM AND AROUND THE WEB

HOME MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

• Sony's release of Maude - The Complete First Season is now out-of-print, but for those who still want it, Mill Creek will be re-releasing it on February 3 (it isn't available to pre-order just yet).

DECEMBER 2 HOME MEDIA RELEASES 

• Happy Days - The Sixth Season (DVD, $39.98): Richie, The Fonz, and the rest of the gang return for this release of the classic show on DVD.
• The Simpsons - The Complete Seventeenth Season (DVD, $49.98; Blu-ray, $59.99): Sideshow Bob graces the cover of the latest release of The Simpsons on home media, which brings fans the 2005-2006 season along with plenty of special features.

Who to Follow: Erin Murphy (Twitter) "Actress/ Television Host/ Writer/ Wife/ Mother of 6/ Autism Advocate/ Alpaca Rancher but BEST known for playing Tabitha on Bewitched!"

Claim to Fame: Murphy's own description of herself on Twitter is very apt, as she has done a lot of things in her life... but to most of us, she was Tabitha on Bewitched. Along with her twin sister Diane, she shared the role on the series almost from the time she was born, but it wasn't long before Erin took on the role by herself. Since that time, she has appeared in TV commercials (not as much lately), game shows, reality shows, become an advocate for causes such as autism and the NOH8 campaign, and become a mom to six children. But most of all, as one of the youngest cast members on Bewitched (which also means that she is one of only a few cast members of the series still alive), she is the one person who will allow the legacy of Bewitched to be "immortal" and continue to live on for decades to come and also has a great friendship with other child (and sometimes older) stars of TV series of the past... and is even hoping to be part of an potential future sitcom!

Pick of the Tweets: "Here's a photo from @TVGuide with the other babies who played #Tabitha before I took over! #Bewitched @MeTV @tvland " (October 29, 2014)

ABC's canceled comedy hour of Selfie and Manhattan Love Story will burn off its remaining episodes online on Hulu. Remaining episodes of Selfie are now available weekly as of Tuesday, Nov. 25 on Hulu with a Plus Subscription and also on ABC.com every Tuesday. Six episodes remain to air. Instafamous Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillan) has 263,000 followers who hang on to her every post, tweet and selfie. But one lonely day, she has a revelation: being friended is not the same as having actual friends. She asks marketing guru Henry (John Cho) to rebrand her self-obsessed reputation and teach her how to connect with people in the real world.

Remaining episodes of Manhattan Love Story will also be available weekly starting next week, Tuesday, Dec. 2 on Hulu with a Plus Subscription and also on ABC.com every Tuesday. Nine episodes remain to air. Have you ever wondered what your date was thinking? This romantic comedy exposes the differences between men and women through the unfiltered thoughts, and often contradictory actions, of a new couple (Analeigh Tipton/Jake McDorman) who have just begun dating. Now you can watch both series every Tuesday, but online instead.


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 Dec. 1-5, 2014, 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!


Sunday, November 30, 2014

• Eric Roberts (Less Than Perfect) - Eric will be featured on Oprah: Where Are They Now? at 9pm ET/PT on OWN.

Monday, December 1, 2014

• Martin Short (Mulaney/The Martin Short Show) - Watch Martin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Don Rickles (C.P.O. Sharkey/Daddy Dearest) - Mr. Warmth appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback/Friends) - Lisa visits The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Tom Papa (Come to Papa) - Tom is a guest on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Chris Rock (Everybody Hates Chris) - Chris talks about Top Five on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am. He will also be on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Nick Jonas (Jonas L.A.) - Nick appears on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Bob Saget (Full House/How I Met Your Mother) - Bob is a guest on The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Eliza Coupe (Benched/Happy Endings) - Eliza drops by The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy/American Dad!/The Cleveland Show) - Seth will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
• Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/For Your Love) - Holly co-hosts Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Tori Spelling (Mystery Girls) - Tori makes homemade snow globes on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
• Oscar Nunez (Benched/The Office) - Oscar talks about Benched on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Jennifer is a guest on The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 2am on BET.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

• Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show) - Catch Jennifer on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Henry Winkler (Happy Days/Arrested Development/Monty) - Henry is a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Tone Bell (Bad Judge) - Tone appears on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
• John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun/Twenty Good Years) - John chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy/American Dad!/The Cleveland Show) - Seth chats and performs a holiday song on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael, so check your listings.
• Tori Spelling (Mystery Girls) - Tori is a guest on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Kristin Chenoweth (Kristin) - Kristin gives a huge surprise to one of her super fans on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

• Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Nick on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/The Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - Sofia is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Don Cheadle (The Golden Palace) - Don visits The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Mary McCormack (Welcome to the Family) - Mary appears on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun) - Joseph drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Cedric the Entertainer (The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric talks about Top Five on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Kristin Chenoweth (Kristin) - Kristin appears on The Meredith Vieira Show, so check your local listings.
• Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) - Cristela will be on Access Hollywood Live, so check your local listings.
• Kendall Schmidt (Big Time Rush) - Kendall performs a new holiday single on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• Alyssa Milano (Who's the Boss/Romantically Challenged) - Alyssa is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• NeNe Leakes (The New Normal) - NeNe guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

• Chris Rock (Everybody Hates Chris) - Catch Chris on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Steve Carell (The Office) - Steve stops by The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Max Greenfield (New Girl/Modern Men) - Max visits The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) - Jack appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Chris D'Elia (Undateable/Whitney) - Chris is a guest on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Brent Morin (Undateable) - Brent is a guest on @midnight on Comedy Central at midnight.
• Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Tune in to see Jennifer on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
• Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke talks about her new book (There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother & Me) on The Wendy Williams Show at 12am on BET or on your local stations.
• Cedric the Entertainer (The Soul Man/The Steve Harvey Show) - Cedric talks about Top Five on NBC's Today in the 9am hour. He will also be on SI Now at 1pm.
• Jamie Foxx (The Jamie Foxx Show) - Jamie and the cast of Annie will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
• Joel McHale (Community) - Joel will be on The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.

Friday, December 5, 2014

• Jenny Slate (Married/Parks and Recreation) - Watch Jenny on a repeat of The Late Show with David Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS.
• Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
• Jennifer Aniston (Friends) - Jennifer is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Ken Jeong (Community) - Ken is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
• Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show) - Drew visits The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson at 12:37am on CBS.
• Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory/Blossom) - Mayim is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
• Chris Rock (Everybody Hates Chris) - Chris chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• J.B. Smoove (The Millers/'Til Death/Curb Your Enthusiasm) - J.B. talks about Top Five on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Bella Thorne (Shake It Up) - Bella guest co-hosts The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
• Dan Bucatinsky (Marry Me/The Comeback) - Dan appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
• Candace Cameron Bure (Full House) - Candace makes adorable holiday snacks…including Santa brownies and reindeer pops on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
• Christopher Gorham (Out of Practice) - Christopher talks about the challenges of playing a blind character on Covert Affairs on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
• David Walton (About a Boy/Bent/Perfect Couples) - David is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
• Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) - Kunal appears on a repeat of The Queen Latifah Show on your local station or at 2am on BET.

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!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! We thank you for visiting us on this special day and every other day, all-year. We also are very thankful that you all will continue to visit every single day and making this blog a continued huge success. We get thousands of visitors every day (even on weekends). So, we thank you for the growth each year! It is simply amazing and I can't believe it has been over 9 years now of posting on this blog every single day no matter what! No days off!
Before we let you all go back to your families (or special friends), we want to let you know the marathons on TV you and your family might want to watch during the day and after Thanksgiving dinner. We love TV marathons and you all come here on each holiday to see what marathons are airing, so as always we will do that today, too, of course!

We have told you about some of the sitcom related marathons already in our regular news stories. Our pick of the weekend is the Dennis the Menace 27-hour marathon today (Thanksgiving Day) that started at 12am ET on Antenna TV! Last night on Thanksgiving Eve they aired classic sitcom Thanksgiving episodes including WKRP in Cincinnati's "Turkey's Away" and other sitcoms like Diff'rent Strokes and Too Close for Comfort. TV Land has a Laugh More-a-thon Weekend with many classics and modern classics including I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch and more. TBS will once again present a Friends marathon today, Thanksgiving Day, from 10am-5pm with all of the series' Thanksgiving episodes. WE tv will have all the Thanksgiving episodes of Roseanne and Will & Grace airing from 12pm-4pm today in a marathon block. And New York City is lucky to have a marathon of The Honeymooners for the third straight year on Thanksgiving, today on WPIX from 11am-3pm, sandwiched in between two airings of the movie March of the Wooden Soldiers! Also in New York, we get the second straight year of Taxi on the Day After Thanksgiving, Friday from 9am-9pm on WLNY TV 55/10. So yeah we told you about all these already either recently or many moons ago. Now let's get to some we haven't had a chance to mention!

We didn't get a chance to mention ABC Family's The Middle Thanksgiving episodes marathon airing today from 7am-9:30am. FXX will present a marathon of The Simpsons along with an airing of The Simpsons Movie from 4pm-12am. USA Network will present a Modern Family marathon from 10am-12am. CMT will stick with the family sitcom, with a Reba marathon from 1-8pm. Portlandia gets a marathon on IFC from 9am-2:30pm. TVGN will set sail with a marathon of The Love Boat from 9am-3pm. We also have many many Thanksgiving themed episodes airing that are not in marathons like Friends on Nick at Nite, Boy Meets World on MTV2, and sitcoms like Will & Grace and Living Single on Logo.

Non-sitcom wise, INSP has a Waltons Thanksgiving movie marathon from 9am-9pm today and a Walker Texas Ranger Black Friday Marathon from 1pm-2am. WGN America has a marathon of America's Funniest Home Videos from 7pm-1am tonight, but before that a Blue Bloods Thanksgiving marathon will air from 12pm-7pm. Pivot will showcase a marathon for Friday Night Lights from 10am-9pm. TNT will have a marathon of Transporter: The Series from 11am-11pm. Other notables for Thanksgiving Thursday include an Adventure Time marathon on Cartoon Network today from 9am-2pm, a The Millionaire Matchmaker marathon on Bravo from 3-10:30pm, a Jurassic Park movie marathon on AMC from 10am-2am, MTV has a RidicuFEAST Thanksgiving marathon of Ridiculousness, a Cops marathon on Spike starting at 5pm, a Duck Dynasty Thanksgiving marathon on A&E starting at 1pm and a John Wayne movie marathon on Encore Westerns from 6am-1am. We also have many many movies marathons on networks like ABC Family, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movie Channel, Lifetime, Universal HD, and more.

On the networks tonight, there are two original specials: Thank You America! With Robin Roberts on ABC an An All-Star Dog Spectacular on Fox. View our ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas schedule, because that is the place to be as always during the holiday season beginning December 1! Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!

Spend the holidays with your favorite sitcom stars as Antenna TV, Tribune Broadcasting's multicast broadcast network, airs holiday episodes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Antenna TV, which airs in 93 television markets across the U.S. reaching 74% of TV households, will be airing special holiday themed episodes beginning at 5am ET on Wednesday, December 24 and running through 3am ET on Friday, December 26. Programs include holiday episodes of: Father Knows Best, Hazel, Mister Ed, The Patty Duke Show, McHale's Navy, Green Acres, Bewitched, Diff'rent Strokes, Good Times, All in the Family, Maude, WKRP in Cincinnati, Barney Miller, The Burns and Allen Show, Dennis the Menace, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Flying Nun, The Monkees, The Partridge Family, Three's Company, Too Close for Comfort, Sanford and Son, Barney Miller, Married...With Children, and The Nanny. Antenna TV will also air the original Yule Log uninterrupted from 5-9am ET on Christmas morning. We will have more details, such as the full schedule, on the marathon as we get closer to the event! We will also have the new Antenna TV schedule that launches in January, with the new acquisitions. Stay tuned!

ABC has picked-up the back nine episodes for freshman sitcom Cristela. The Friday night sitcom, airings Fridays at 8:30pm, will now produce 22 total episodes this season. This is only the second new comedy to get a full season order, behind only ABC's black-ish. The multi-camera sitcom has done decent in the ratings behind the veteran Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing. In her sixth year of law school, Cristela (Cristela Alonzo) is finally on the brink of landing her first big (unpaid) internship at a prestigious law firm. The only problem is that her pursuit of success is more ambitious than her traditional Mexican-American family thinks is appropriate. She's stuck straddling the old culture she's trying to modernize at home with her working-class family and the modern world she's trying to embrace in her professional career. Breakout comedian Cristela Alonzo stars in this hilarious comedy about laughing your way down the path to the new American dream.

'Tis the season! On Friday, November 28 COZI TV kicks off COZI Holidozi, a month-long celebration featuring an array of holiday-themed episodes of COZI TV's iconic shows such as Hart to Hart, Starsky & Hutch, Knight Rider, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Avengers. Programming will also include heartwarming holiday films like Scrooge (1935), Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn (1942) starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire and A Christmas Wish (1950) featuring Jimmy Durante. For an extra holiday treat, COZI TV is bringing viewers a special Fantasy and Fairy Dust line-up of programming leading up to NBC's Peter Pan Live! special on Thursday, December 4. Starting on Monday, December 1, COZI TV will broadcast a three-night mini-marathon of Fantasy Island from 8 to 11 PM ET. Viewers should check their local listings for air dates and times.

Netflix, the world's leading Internet TV network, has picked up two seasons and will be the exclusive home to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the new comedy series from Universal Television from co-creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. The series stars Ellie Kemper (The Office) as a woman who escapes from a doomsday cult and starts life over in New York. The 13-episode first season was originally slated to premiere on NBC and instead will now launch exclusively across all Netflix territories in March 2015. After living in a cult for fifteen years, Kimmy decides to reclaim her life and start over in New York City. Armed with just a backpack, light-up sneakers, and a couple of way-past-due library books, she's ready to take on a world she didn't even think existed anymore. Wide-eyed but resilient, nothing is going to stand in her way. She quickly finds a new job (working for 30 Rock's Jane Krakowski), a new roommate (Tituss Burgess, 30 Rock), and a new beginning. The cast also includes Lauren Adams, Sara Chase, Sol Miranda and Emmy winner Carol Kane (Taxi, The Princess Bride).

The series was created by Tina Fey (30 Rock) and Robert Carlock (30 Rock), who serve as executive producers with Jeff Richmond (30 Rock), Jack Burditt (30 Rock, The Mindy Project) and David Miner (30 Rock, Brooklyn Nine-Nine).

FX and FXX will ring in 2015 this January in a big way with the season premieres of Justified, The Americans and Archer on FX, along with the season premiere of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and the series premiere of Man Seeking Woman on FXX. Rounding out the January schedule will be the final three episodes of FX's critically acclaimed, smash hit American Horror Story: Freak Show. First up is the Season 6 premiere of the hit animated comedy series Archer, airing on FX on Thursdays at 10 PM e/p, beginning January 8. The explosive 6th and final season of Justified will air Tuesdays at 10 PM e/p, beginning January 20. The award-winning drama series The Americans will air on Wednesdays at 10 PM e/p, beginning January 28. The hit miniseries American Horror Story: Freak Show returns to FX on January 7 for the first of its final three episodes, culminating in the season finale on January 21.

Moving on to FXX premieres, Season 10 of the award-winning comedy series It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia will air on FXX on Wednesdays at 10 PM e/p, beginning January 14. FXX's newest comedy series, Man Seeking Woman, will air on FXX on Wednesdays at 10:30 PM e/p, starting January 14. It's a month of season and series premieres on both FX and FXX!

Last Wednesday, the cast and crew of TBS's Cougar Town celebrated the 100th episode of the hit show at Culver City Studios in Culver City, CA. Co-creator and executive producer Bill Lawrence led a toast with cast members, including Courteney Cox, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Christa Miller, Josh Hopkins and Ian Gomez. Cougar Town returns for its sixth and final season on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at 10:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez and Josh Hopkins star in this comedy, which centers on the Cul de Sac Crew, a tight-knit group of friends who keep things funny while supporting each other through the challenges and pitfalls of life - with a little dysfunction and a whole lot of wine.

Cox plays Jules Cobb, a meddling mom who is utterly devoted to her husband, Grayson (Hopkins), and her adult son, Travis (Byrd). Their tight-knit circle of friends includes Ellie (Miller), Jules' incessantly sarcastic next-door neighbor and confidante; Andy (Gomez), Ellie's doting husband and the mayor of Gulfhaven; and Laurie (Philipps), Jules' protégé who also happens to be pregnant with Travis' baby. Also included in the mix are Jules' endearingly dimwitted ex-husband, Bobby (guest star Brian Van Holt), and her widowed neighbor Dr. Tom (guest star Robert Clendenin), who's had a longtime crush on Jules. The 100th episode will air in March, a few episodes before the series finale.

2014-15 Week 9 TV Ratings (first four nights, Mon-Thu):