Hallmark Channel and WE TV Acquire The Golden Girls; George Lopez Marathon Scores for Nick at Nite

The Hallmark Channel and WE tv have acquired the cable rights to The Golden Girls starting in March 2009 in a shared cable deal. This means the durable sitcom will leave its home of Lifetime Television of 12 years at the end of February 2009. The show has been on the Lifetime since March 1, 1997 (it was renewed a few times) and was one of its highest rated series in the history of the network.
We mentioned a few months back that The Hallmark Channel also has gotten rights to sitcoms Cheers (Fall 2008) and I Love Lucy (January 2009), so they are slowly building towards a sitcom line-up, after having just dramas for many years. It is not certain yet if Cheers and I Love Lucy will also air on TV Land still when Hallmark starts them, but both show's current contracts expire when Hallmark starts airing them.
As for Golden Girls, Lifetime said this in a statement regarding the sitcom moving to Hallmark Channel and WE tv :
"The 'classic' series will depart our schedule after a 12-year run to make room for our next generation of off-net comedies such as the very popular Reba, Still Standing and Will & Grace, as well as numerous original comedies in development, along with the return of the smash hit Army Wives. We wish Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia all the best of luck in their new homes."
We don't have full details yet on WE tv, but it will likely also start when The Golden Girls comes to Hallmark. WE tv currently airs sitcoms in the daytime. Sitcoms that air are Hope & Faith, Kate & Allie and Dharma & Greg. That's a lot of ampersands! They need to get Laverne & Shirley just for the ampersand! Anyway, we will let you know what WE tv says when we find out.
For now discuss the news of Golden Girls leaving Lifetime and coming to Hallmark/WE tv in March 2009 by clicking HERE! Thank you for bein' a friend!

Last week Nick at Nite had its seven night George Lopez "Luck o' the Lopez Marathon" and the marathon helped Nick at Nite all the way to 3rd in cable ratings for all of cable. The marathon aired March 17-23 from 9pm-6am on Sun-Thurs and 10pm-6am on Fri-Sat, so the marathon was all that Nick at Nite aired that week. Nick at Nite had its best week ever as it averaged 2.17 million viewers for the week (approx. 64% higher than the same week last year) and a 1.7 HH rating. The only cable networks that were higher that week were USA Network at a 2.2 HH rating and The Disney Channel at a 1.9 HH rating. Nick at Nite was #1 for the week on cable in the following demos: Teens 12 to 17 and adults 25 to 54; adults 18 to 34 and 18 to 49; and women 18 to 34, 18 to 49 and 25 to 54. George Lopez was all that Nick at Nite aired last week, so it was all George that did this! "I Got This!" In fact, as many as five episodes in the marathon had well over 3 million viewers, which is unheard of for Nick at Nite. Woooopah, as George would say! The previous two weeks, Nick at Nite finished 6th in cable network ratings. The show regularly airs every night at 10:00pm & 10:30pm ET/PT with an encore later in the evening. People are watching, so if you haven't watched yet...check it out because it is actually very funny.

Day 24: WGA's Strike; Hallmark Channel Acquires 7th Heaven, Cheers, I Love Lucy; Animated Dennis the Menace to DVD!

It is day 24 now of the writers' strike. It is still early in the day, but no news yet on an agreement. We do have some news. Talk show host Carson Daly has crossed the picket line. Which means his show, NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, will soon be back with new episodes. The half-hour talk show airs on NBC late nights at 1:35am. Unlike other talk show hosts like Kimmel, Letterman and Leno, Daly is not a member of the WGA, so it was easier for him to cross. The WGA is however disappointed. No word yet when we will see new episodes, but I'm betting starting next week.

Hallmark Channel has just completed a major deal to acquire several award- winning series, including the critically acclaimed 7th Heaven, the ever popular Cheers and classic baby boomer favorite, I Love Lucy, along with additional episodes of Matlock and Touched By An Angel from CBS Television Distribution. The deal also includes rights to 12 off-net holiday movies, including Finding John Christmas, Town Without a Christmas and When Angels Come to Town.
7th Heaven is the first show that will be ready to launch on Hallmark Channel as early as January of 2008 with Cheers having the next window later in 2008 and I Love Lucy in January of 2009. Matlock has been renewed through 2011, with a similar extension for Touched By an Angel.
Now what does this mean for ABC Family still airing 7th Heaven? That fate will be revealed on tomorrow's blog as we announce ABC Family January. Come on back for that...it will include a new show for ABC Family!
As for Cheers and I Love Lucy, Hallmark says it is not an exclusive cable deal, so TV Land could still run it, but Cheers is expiring from TV Land in September 2008 and I Love Lucy expires on TV Land in December 2008, which makes me think TV Land will not renew both series and Hallmark will just air it. That is still awhile away, so we will find out more details soon. I bet Cheers will launch next fall on Hallmark. Anyway, stay tuned for further details! We hope to have the January line-up soon. For now click HERE to view the press release and to discuss this big news!

Finally, a personal favorite of mine, the '80s animated series Dennis the Menace is finally coming to DVD this March! Dennis The Menace: Trouble, Trouble Everywhere debuts on DVD March 18, 2008 from Fox Home Entertainment.
In Dennis The Menace: Trouble, Trouble Everywhere entire nations can't run and hide. If they did, they surely would when lovable troublemaker Dennis Mitchell pays a visit! Like most families, the Mitchells love taking vacations, but wherever they go, young Dennis seems to wind up in the center of numerous hilarious catastrophes. Whether he’s chasing crooks in Venice or kangaroos in Sydney, outrunning Mayans in South America, or bulls in Spain – or even proving that erupting volcanoes in Hawaii wreak less havoc than he does, Dennis is always drawn to find trouble, wherever it is!
I wish it was a full set with full episodes and not just a best of set. I hope this sells well so we can get all of them on DVD in the full form. Episodes on this set are: "Dennis in Venice," "Mayan Mayhem," "The Big Candied Apple," "A Royal Pain," "Dennis and the Kangaroo Cavalry," "Dennis Plasters Pamplona," and "Black and Blue Hawaii."
To read more about this and to discuss this, click HERE!

Day 12: WGA's Strike; KTLA in LA Celebrates 60 Years On-Air with Classic Marathon

We are now in day 12 of the writers' strike. Still nothing new to report at all. According to Jim continues to be the only sitcom still in production. They probably had the scripts done since they didn't start taping until like early October. So they probably will run out soon...it is believe the show has an 18 episode order, so maybe 10 episodes will be done.
Picketing today: elected officials will pick up picket signs and march with film and TV writers on Day Twelve of the Writers Guild of America strike fight for a fair and just contract at CBS Television City. Following his public statement of solidarity with the Writers Guild of America last week, U.S. Senator John Edwards will join striking writers on the picket line today to support the WGA in its ongoing fight to secure a fair and reasonable deal in front of the NBC sign in Burbank.

KTLA in Los Angeles is celebrating 60 years on air and they will celebrate with a 60-hour Retro Marathon to celebrate their 60th anniversary year. The shows they will air will be some of the greatest shows that they have aired in the last 60 years! The marathon begins on Friday, November 23 at 10pm and runs all-day Saturday, all-day Sunday, and lasts until Monday, November 26 at 10am. KTLA will have an awesome variety of shows representing what KTLA has aired in reruns over the past 60 years - The Jack Benny Program, The Honeymooners, Kung Fu, Rawhide, The Big Valley, Hopalong Cassidy, Bonanza, Little House On The Prairie, Lassie, Uncle Waldo's Cartoons, Underdog, Popeye & Friends, Little Rascals, Gidget, Charles In Charge, Doogie Howser, M.D., Dr. Kildare, Emergency!, Highway Patrol, C.H.i.P.s., Dragnet, 21 Jump Street, Wonder Woman, Peter Gunn, I Spy, Hunter, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, McHale's Navy, F Troop, Mayberry R.F.D., The Andy Griffith Show, The Munsters, The Three Stooges, The Monkees, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Family Matters, What's Happening!!, Cheers, Friends, Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Please Don't Eat The Daisies, The Partridge Family, Father Knows Best, The Brady Bunch, Leave It To Beaver, The Twilight Zone, Lost In Space, Star Trek, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, Tarzan, Gilligan's Island, and Time For Beany! Even KTLA's newscasts will participate by bringing you current and then retro news stories that they've covered during the past 60 years!
Wow! So many classics! Sounds like a great weekend! Lucky people in Los Angeles! To see the schedule grid, head on over to their website!

If we have more news, we will come back later today. Enjoy your weekend.

TV One December Highlights; TV Land Minor Change in November; Daisies Gets Full Season

December has been officially christened the most "TV One-derful Time of the Year," as TV One presents a whole lineup of exciting holiday programming throughout the month, including premiere specials, beloved movies, and holiday-themed episodes of our favorite sitcoms. Starting Monday, December 17, in fact, TV One's primetime programming hours from 7pm until 11pm each night through Tuesday, December 25 will be largely turned over to non-stop Christmas programming, in addition to holiday programming all-day long on December 24 and December 25. Week of Dec. 17 follows:
Monday: Holiday episodes of Parent'Hood, Good News and All Of Us run from 7pm until 10pm
Tuesday: Holiday episodes of Cedric the Entertainer Presents, The PJs, and Good Times from 7-10pm lead into Ray Charles Celebrates A Gospel Christmas at 10pm.
Wednesday: Holiday episodes of Wanda At Large and For Your Love from 7-8pm lead into an airing of the classic movie Soul Food at 8pm and holiday cooking from Chef G. Garvin and comedienne Mo’nique on a special hour episode of Turn Up the Heat at 10pm
Thursday: Holiday episodes of Eve and Martin from 7-10pm lead into a rebroadcast of the special Get Together with John Legend at 10pm.
Friday: Holiday episodes of 227 and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper air from 7-10pm.
Before all that we have on Saturdays December 8, December 15 and December 22, each week beginning at 12 Noon and lasting until 8pm, TV One celebrates holiday humor with all-day marathons of classic Christmas sitcom episodes. On December 8, the lineup features Martin, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Eve, Wanda at Large, Cedric the Entertainer Presents. On December 15, the lineup focuses on family, with holiday stories from 227, Good Times, All Of Us, Roc, The PJs. And on December 22, it's an encore of all the best holiday episodes.
On Saturday, December 15 at 12 midnight, TV One offers a special Saturday Midnight Movie with a presentation of Bill Cosby: Himself, a comedy concert movie featuring some of the routines that ultimately formed the basis for the legendary The Cosby Show.
On New Year's Day Tuesday January 1 beginning at 10am, TV One presents an all-day marathon event of the Eddie Murphy claymation series The PJs including two never before seen on television episodes that air at 8pm and 8:30pm and again at 11pm and 11:30pm.

TV Land has made a minor schedule change to its Tues-Fri 4pm hour. Cheers and All in the Family will be replaced by an hour of Sanford & Son starting Tuesday, November 6. No other changes will be made and morning airings of those two sitcoms will still remain.

ABC has reportedly picked up a full season of the wonderful and unique new show Pushing Daisies. The show wins its timeslot each week in viewers 18-49 and is a strong second in viewers in its Wednesday 8pm time slot. If you haven't tuned in yet, it is not too late! If you like what you see, catch up with previous episodes on abc.com.

Tonight it is a sitcom hour on ABC starting at 8/7 central with Cavemen followed by an the hilarious Carpoolers. Don't miss the laughs on both shows! Don't make sitcoms extinct! Speaking of Carpoolers, ABC has ordered three extra scripts of the sitcom. Could additional episodes or a full season be next? We'll let you know!

ME-TV Chicago Fall Schedule; Dancing with the Stars: The Announcement

ME-TV this fall will bring on new shows, return some favorites, and some shows unfortunately will have to be dropped as a result. The new schedule starts Sept. 17. Among the new shows is the classic sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show which will air everyday. Weekdays 7-8pm and 10:30pm and weekends 10-11pm. ME-TV is very happy they have acquired it and hope fans in Chicago will be pleased. The Cosby Show (6-7pm) and Cheers (8-9pm) will also join the Chicago local's weekday line-up. And Bonanza will join the weekday line-up at 1pm. Taxi will join the line-up on October 1 taking the 7:30pm weeknight slot. Shows leaving weekdays are Webster, Gimme a Break, All in the Family, Charlie's Angels, Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. All of those will still air weekends but Webster, Gimme a Break, All in the Family and Charlie's Angels...so those shows are gone. Weekends will have a lot of new shows! Coming Saturdays are TJ Hooker and 21 Jump Street, while shows like Phil Silvers, Batman and Starsky & Hutch will be off the weekend line-up and the line-up completely. Peter Gunn will move from weekends to weeknights! On Sundays, we get some sitcoms that are returning like Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, One Day at a Time, Patty Duke Show, The Flying Nun, and Mary Tyler Moore. Sitcoms like The Partridge Family, Monkees, Gidget, and My Three Sons will be leaving the line-up, as will The Rockford Files.
For the full COMPLETE schedule, I urge you to click HERE! You people in Chicago-land are lucky!!

Dancing with the Stars' fifth competition will start Sept. 24 on ABC and today they announced who will be in it! We had rumors of stars like Aaron Carter, Tori Spelling and Lou Ferigno coming on, but they didn't make it. Looks like some of TMZ's rumors were false. Rumors also swirled on stars like Mark Cuban, Wayne Newton and Jennie Garth, and those came true! Here is the announcement:
In a Dancing with the Stars first, twelve celebrities – six men and six women -- attempt to outshine one another on a fifth season of the hit series, which returns MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (8:00-9:30 p.m., ET) on ABC. This marks the largest cast assembled to date. It includes an Emmy Award-winning actress, a Vegas icon, an Indy 500 champion, a Spice Girl, a daytime soap star, a Cheetah Girl and a former resident of 90210. As an added twist, viewers get a chance to size up the male vs. the female stars, as each gender hits the dance floor on separate nights during the first week of competition. The women will strut their stuff on Monday night, while the men show off their moves TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 (8:00-9:30 p.m., ET). One couple's fate will be determined the following night, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on Dancing with the Stars the Results Show. Can the women outperform the men, or will the men dance circles around the women?
As announced today on Good Morning America, the twelve stars making their ballroom dancing debut are:
MELANIE BROWN – "Mel B.," a.k.a. "Scary Spice," is best known as a member of the Spice Girls, the hit British music group that put "girl power" on the map and took the world by storm in 1996. She is partnered with MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY, who returns for his fourth season.
SABRINA BRYAN – Actress and recording artist Sabrina Bryan starred as a member of an all-girl singing group in Disney Channel's original movie, The Cheetah Girls. She has also starred in The Bold and the Beautiful. Bryan is partnered with newcomer MARK BALLAS.
HELIO CASTRONEVES – The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion began the celebratory tradition of climbing the racetrack fence in 2001, racing for Team Penske. Castroneves teams with reigning champ JULIANNE HOUGH, who returns for her sophomore season.
MARK CUBAN – Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team. He is the highly successful entrepreneur who founded HDNet, Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions. He is partnered with KYM JOHNSON, who returns for her third season.
JENNIE GARTH – Garth rose to stardom in the popular television series Beverly Hills: 90210. She since starred in the sitcom What I Like About You for four seasons. Garth's partner is newcomer DEREK HOUGH, brother of Season Four winner Julianne Hough.
JOSIE MARAN – Model/actress Josie Maran has graced the pages of some of the biggest magazines, including multiple covers for Glamour and appearances in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. Maran is paired with Season One winner ALEC MAZO, who makes his third appearance.
CAMERON MATHISON – Mathison joined the cast of All My Children in January 1989 as Ryan Lavery. His television credits also include The Drew Cary Show, CSI, JAG, What I Like About You, F/X: The Series. Mathison's partner is EDYTA SLIWINSKA, the only professional dancer to appear in all five seasons.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER -- "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather is a six-time world champion in five different weight classes and the current RING and World Boxing Council Welterweight Champion of the World, with an astounding undefeated record of 38-0, with 24 knockouts. Mayweather teams with KARINA SMIRNOFF, who returns for her third season.
WAYNE NEWTON – The Legend, Mr. Las Vegas, is enjoying a career that few dare even dream about, having performed more live shows than any other single performer in Las Vegas history, with no signs of slowing down. He is partnered with two-time champ CHERYL BURKE.
MARIE OSMOND – Osmond won the hearts of fans as co-host of the popular variety program, The Donny & Marie Show. Osmond will be led by JONATHAN ROBERTS, who returns for his fourth season.
ALBERT REED – Model Albert Reed has been featured in national ad campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch, Diesel Clothing, Arrow Clothing, Rayban and Reebok, to name a few. He teams up with ANNA TREBUNSKAYA, who returns for her second season.
JANE SEYMOUR - Actress/artist/author/activist/designer and Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning British born Jane Seymour is a star of motion pictures and television, including her six-season Western drama, Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman. She recently made steamy appearances on the ABC sitcom In Case of Emergency. Seymour is paired with TONY DOVOLANI, who returns for his fourth season.

Classic TV Comes to Utah, Includes Silver Spoons, Dennis, Facts of Life, Bewitched; New Saturday Feature Starts Tomorrow

KCSG in southern Utah (like St. George, UT) is revamping its afternoon and evening line-up by adding classic TV! What else is better than that? In fact, the network has struck a deal with Sony Pictures Television for the bulk of the programming. The only non-Sony shows that will air in the block are Family Ties & Cheers, which are both from CBS Paramount Television. The block will run from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. (with a break in action in the 5:30 p.m. half-hour for news).
The following is the line-up that will take in effect this coming Monday (June 4):
3:30PM - Dennis the Menace
4:00PM - The Facts of Life
4:30PM - Silver Spoons
5:00PM - Family Ties
5:30PM - News
6:00PM - Party of Five (MWF) Starsky & Hutch (Tu), Charlie's Angels
(Th)
7:00PM - Who's the Boss?
7:30PM - Bewitched
8:00PM - I Dream of Jeanie
8:30PM - Cheers

This classic TV block is officially being called "Family Block Party." Some of these shows such as Silver Spoons have not been airing at all on local or national television for years. Some of SitcomsOnline's favorites are on this line-up, including the aforementioned Silver Spoons, Family Ties and The Facts of Life.
You will notice that the block is all sitcoms except the 6 p.m. hour which will be rotating dramas. That's the way we like it...all sitcoms, especially from the 50s-80s!
Our special thanks to "vcrfan" from our message boards. If not for him, we would have not known probably for awhile (as this schedule is not listed on TV listings yet) and I would have not gone out and researched this wonderful news. Hopefully more stations around the country learn from KCSG!
Discuss this line-up by clicking here. It doesn't matter if you're from southern Utah or not.

We know many of you love our Saturday feature of DVD Mini-Reviews, now we will also have an ADDITIONAL Saturday feature starting tomorrow! One of the most popular members of our message boards is a person named Solomon Davis, or you may know him by his username of TheAnalyzer. Solomon always has his views and opinions on everything. Whether it be sitcoms, TV in general, sports, or anything in the news, Solomon has his own views on the topic. He is known for his ranting. Some find it very entertaining whether you agree with him or not. Most never agree with him, but there are times you wonder and say, hmm that actually makes sense. I myself do not agree with him in certain topics, but am always intrigued that this guy always has something to say.
Well, now he will have something to say each week for us right here on the SitcomsOnline.com News Blog! He will give us his "weekly rant" on topics dealing with TV, sitcoms, sports, or anything in his life. This will certainly be a hit because curiosity always follows this man from Philadelphia. So come on and join us tomorrow for the launch of "Solomon's Weekly Rant," every Saturday following the Mini-DVD Review, right here on the SitcomsOnline.com News Blog! Saturdays just got even bigger here!