WGN America's Halloween Freak Week; IFC Acquires Arrested Development

We broke the news a few weeks back that WGN America is planning Halloween marathons for The Munsters and The Addams Family, but now we have more of their Halloween plans!
This Halloween you'll scream with delight as WGN America presents "Halloween Freak Week," a monstrous mash of movies and marathons--including the first families of fright, The Munsters and The Addams Family. "Halloween Freak Week" on WGN America begins on Monday, October 26 and will have you howling with laughter through Halloween night--Saturday, October 31.
Airing during "Halloween Freak Week" are three back-to-back Halloween-themed episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos on Monday, October 26 starting at 7pm ET/4pm PT until 10 pm ET/7 pm PT. Then on Tuesday, October 27 at 8pm ET/5pm PT it is the movie The Rage: Carrie 2. On Wednesday, October 28, as part of WGN America's retro movie night "Way Back Wednesday with Winslow," they have the classic film Gremlins at 8pm ET/5pm PT. On Thursday, October 28 some regularly scheduled sitcoms get the Halloween treatment! Bewitched & Cheers will air Halloween-themed episodes in their normal timeslots beginning at 4pm ET/1pm PT. On Friday, October 30, The Beverly Hillbillies gets to air a Halloween themed episode in its regular timeslot of 2:30 pm ET/11:30am PT. On Friday, October 30, I Dream of Jeannie also gets to air a Halloween themed episode at 3:30 pm ET/12:30pm PT, leading into the "The Monstrous Munster Mash Marathon." 16 back-to-back classic episodes of The Munsters, hosted by legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper. The eight-hour marathon features the odd occupants of 1313 Mockingbird Lane as the iconic Alice Cooper, who was named the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer" by Rolling Stone, will be hosting the opens and interstitials for all 16 episodes of The Munsters. WGN America will also air the broadcast debut of Alice Cooper's new video "Keepin' Halloween Alive" immediately following the marathon, which we told you previously will run from 4pm ET/1pm PT until 12am ET/9pm PT. And finally on Halloween itself, Saturday, October 31, "The Addams Family Fright Fest" will air with 18 back-to-back episodes of The Addams Family on Halloween. The 9-hour marathon will feature the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Addams Family, which we told you previously will run from 3pm ET/12pm PT until to 12am ET/9pm PT. Following the marathon get scared on Halloween night with the horror movie Pet Semetary 2 at 12am ET/9pm PT.
The fun all starts next week! But if you can't wait for Halloween to get your Herman fix, then WGN American has something already for you! Do you have the brains to make ghouls drool? Put your Munsters knowledge to work with Alice Cooper's Monstrous Munster Mash Game on WGNAmerica.com. Correctly answer trivia and Alice will spare your army of Munster-like zombies a horrible fate. The Monstrous Munster Mash Game is "alive" through November.

Three years ago we told you that cable network G4 has acquired the short-lived sitcom Arrested Development for a three-year term, but now that term is up. So IFC (Independent Film Channel) has now acquired the cable rights to the series starting this Sunday (Oct. 25). IFC will air Arrested Development Sundays at 10:00pm and 10:30pm and Tuesdays at 9:00pm and 9:30pm. This is the second major acquisition for IFC in October. The network picked up the complete series of Monty Python's Flying Circus earlier, to go along with its six-hour documentary about the legendary British comedy troupe.
The Emmy-winning Arrested Development, created by Mitch Hurwitz, never drew a large crowd in its three-season run on Fox but has endured as a cult fave. There's also been endless chatter about a possible feature adaptation of the laffer, which starred Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Will Arnett and Jeffrey Tambor.
In addition to G4, Arrested Development previously aired on HDnet and was offered online via MSN.com.

TV Land and Hallmark Make Changes Starting Sept. 14; Chris Does Well for Nick at Nite; John Ritter Anniversary

TV Land and Hallmark Channel have both made some last minute schedule changes to its schedule starting this Monday (Sept. 14). TV Land's change is very minor, as it will add a third Sanford & Son in the morning at 10:30am replacing a Good Times airing. Good Times will remain 9am-10:30am, as Sanford & Son is now 10:30am-12pm. The previous changes that were set to happen on Sept. 14 for TV Land that we announced, will still happen.
Meanwhile, it wouldn't be a week without a Hallmark Channel schedule change. It seems like every week we have a schedule change now. This schedule change is a bit more drastic than the usual changes. The changes start this Monday (Sept. 14) with Paid Programming replacing The Golden Girls in the 8am hour. Not to worry is that The Golden Girls will retain that hour by airing at 12pm replacing the start of a movie. Golden Girls will now air between 9am-1pm every weekday morning. Murder, She Wrote returns to the line-up airing at 1pm (replacing the continuation of the afternoon movie) and 2pm (replacing a Little House airing). Little House has been cut to 3-5pm. The final change is in the late night, with another hour of The Golden Girls replacing an hour of Cheers. So, Golden Girls late night is now 11pm-2am, while Cheers is cut to 2-3am. Looks like Hallmark Channel thanks you for being a friend!

Nick at Nite's latest prime-time addition to its family-programming lineup, Everybody Hates Chris (Monday, Sept. 7, 10 p.m. ET/PT), scored 1.8 million total viewers in its Labor Day premiere. The series also drew double-digit gains with adults 18-49 (+25%) and women 18-49 (+20%) and ranked as the most-watched live action premiere for the net with adults 18-49 since the debut of Home Improvement (September 2007).
The premiere scored 1.8 million total viewers (+8 %) and double-digit gains over last year's like time period with adults 18-49 (+25%) and women 18-49 (+20%), averaging a 0.5 A18-49 rating and 592,000 viewers A18-49 and a 0.6 W18-49 rating and 372,000 viewers W18-49.
Chris has of course George Lopez as its lead-in, which is the #1 program on the network averaging well over 2 million viewers an airing.

And finally, today is September 11...we of course remember the lives of all the victims of the 9/11 attack in 2001, but we also remember the tragic passing of John Ritter on this date in 2003. I cannot believe it has been 6 years to this day that we lost such a great actor and more importantly a wonderful human being. The best way you can remember John today is by of course watching his great work on TV or DVD, or by saying something nice and funny to someone, but also by donating to the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health. I've made my annual donation today, and I think we should all do the same. We miss you John!

BET Fall 2009 Schedule; Lucy Removed on Hallmark; Glenn Martin Doing Big for Nick at Nite

This September on BET they will add a new series and also have a stay in school initiative. All of the Viacom networks are having a "Stay in School" initiative and will air a special across the Viacom networks on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 8pm ET/PT called Get Schooled. It is a 30-minute special that will describe the education crisis in the US and introduce solutions on how to turn things around. The President of the United States Barack Obama, pop superstar Kelly Clarkson and 2009 NBA MVP LeBron James will be featured in Get Schooled: You Have the Right.
The program will air simultaneously on BET, BET J, CMT, CMT Pure Country, COMEDY CENTRAL, Logo, MTV, MTV Jams, MTV Hits, MTV Tr3s, MTV2, mtvU, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, Nicktoons Network, Palladia, Spike TV, The N/TeenNick, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic and VH1 Soul.
Anyway, back to BET September. They will air back to school programming in honor of this initiative. The Game will kick it off on Labor Day weekend from Saturday, Sept. 5 through and including Monday, Sept. 7. The marathon will air 9am-12am on Saturday, 1pm-6pm on Sunday, and 9am-11pm on Monday. Season one episodes will air Saturday and Sunday and season two episodes on Monday.
Next up in this week-long initiative is the launch of Everybody Hates Chris to BET. It will air Tuesday, Sept. 8 from 9am-6pm. It technically launches Sunday, Sept. 6 in the 12-1pm hour, though. Airing Wednesday-Friday that week are One on One on Wednesday, Smart Guy on Thursday, and Sister Sister on Friday...all from 9am-6pm. And finally on Saturday (Sept. 12), the week-long event concludes with The Proud Family from 9am-10:30am and The Steve Harvey Show from 10:30am-4:30pm, as this series airs for the first time on BET in a while. BET will also have a special called Bring Your "A" Game premiering Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9pm ET and encores Sunday, Sept. 13 at 12:30pm ET.
As for the regular schedule, it will start Monday, Sept. 14, but the regular schedule (as of now) isn't changing. Morning hours of Smart Guy, One on One, Sister Sister and The Game will air from 9am-1pm. A movie follows at 1pm, then more sitcoms starting at 3pm with One on One, Sister Sister and The Game. The 12:30pm & 5:30pm episodes of The Game will be season three episodes for the first time on BET. The Game will air on some nights in the 10pm hour as well. As of now, Everybody Hates Chris will just air on weekends. We mentioned Sundays in the 12-1pm hour starting Sept. 6. Saturdays will be added starting Sept. 19 airing Saturdays 3-4pm. One on One and The Game will be its lead-in on Saturdays. Everybody Hates Chris will be also airing on sister network Nick at Nite every night at 10pm and 2am ET/PT starting Sept. 7, as we mentioned.
Stay tuned if we have any further updates on this schedule. Could Chris also come to weekday afternoons? Stay with us.

The Hallmark Channel continues with the little changes basically every week it seems. Starting next week (Monday, Aug. 31), Cheers replaces I Love Lucy in late nights at 2:30am ET/PT. So this means I Love Lucy is off the schedule totally now, while Cheers now gets a two-hour block from 1am-3am. It's been good news for Cheers, as it will also air weekday afternoons now on WGN America this fall, in addition to its Sunday airings. As for I Love Lucy, it will be no where to be found nationally now. Hopefully Hallmark Channel brings it back very soon.

Nick at Nite's new stop-motion animated original series Glenn Martin, DDS reached a total 11 million viewers (8/17/09-8/20/09) and averaged 2.6 million viewers per telecast in its premiere week (Monday-Thursday, Aug. 17-20, 8 p.m.–8:30 p.m. [all times ET/PT]), according to Nielsen. The first television series from Michael Eisner's Tornante Animation starring Kevin Nealon, Catherine O'Hara and Judy Greer, also ranked as ad-supported cable's number-one co-viewed entertainment series in prime time for the week with 40% of Adults 18-49 watching with at least one kid per household.
The premiere episodes that week held 89% of its lead-in ratings (new episodes of The Penguins of Madagascar) with kids 2-11 (3.9 K2-11 rating/1.4 million K2-11 viewers); 83% with Adults 18-49 (0.5 18-49 rating/581,000 viewers 18-49); and 91% with total viewers (2.6 million).
The week of premieres also propelled Nick at Nite's prime-time growth. Year to date, the network posted gains of 50% with total viewers during prime time and quarter to date, it grew 39%.
The series airs new episodes every Monday at 8pm after that premiere week...however a new episode of Glenn Martin was added for this past Tuesday (Aug. 25) at 8pm (with an encore at 1am). Encore episodes were also added for this Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm & 1am, along with Friday (Aug. 28) 9-10pm and Saturday and Sunday night at 1am for this week. Wow! More encores to come I'm sure. It looks like Nick at Nite has an original hit.

WGN America Fall 2009 Schedule; Notes from Around the TV Horn

There will be lots of changes this fall to WGN America, but it will take a few weeks each in September to finally get there. First up, effective September 8 Cheers will now also air on the weekday schedule! Cheers will air weekdays at 5:00pm & 5:30pm ET (2 & 2:30pm PT) replacing one of the Scrubs hours (Scrubs remains at 11pm ET). During late nights, Corner Gas will now leave the line-up starting Sept. 7, replaced by Homicide: Life on the Street for this week only from Mon-Wed at 4am ET (1am PT). Funniest Pets & People will take the 5am half-hour Mon-Wed this week as well. Corner Gas was airing Mon-Tues from 4am-5:30am ET. Finally for this week, The Cosby Show moves to the 7pm ET (4pm PT) hour on the Outta Sight Retro Night on Sunday nights, as WKRP in Cincinnati leaves.
Moving on to the week of September 14, South Park will join the late night line-up airing weeknights at 12:00am & 12:30am ET (9 & 9:30pm PT), replacing Bob & Tom Show, which will move to 2am ET (11pm PT) replacing Steve Wilkos Show...which is now gone. And as I was saying, the late night 4am-5:30am block for week of Sept. 7 was temporary. Effective Sept. 14, Reno 911! will air Mon-Wed at 4am ET, South Park on Thursdays from 4-5am ET, and Chappelle's Show on Fridays from 4-5am ET. The Cosby Show will air Mondays and Tuesdays at 4:30am ET, while Reno 911! airs for the full 4am hour on Wednesdays. And Funniest Pets & People will expand to all five days at 5am ET (2am PT), but for this week only.
Next up is the week of September 21, we now get two hours of In the Heat of the Night, as Nash Bridges is off the schedule at 12pm ET. The Beverly Hillbillies will return to WGN America and at a better time now! It will air weekdays in the 2pm ET (11am PT) hour replacing Bewitched, which moves to the 4pm ET (1pm PT) hour replacing The Cosby Show. The Cosby Show will only air now Monday nights at 4:30am and in the Sunday night block in the 7pm hour. Joining the weeknight schedule now will also be Punk'd airing weekdays at 5am ET (2am PT) replacing Funniest Pets & People, which will leave the line-up. Punk'd will also air Tuesdays at 4:30am ET. Joining the Sunday schedule will be new first-run syndicated series Smash Cuts airing for a full-hour on Sundays at 4pm for its first week only & will regularly air at 4am ET on Sunday nights. South Park will air Sundays in the 3am ET hour, while Nash Bridges will air in the 2am ET. Boston Legal will air weekends at 1pm ET after baseball season is over (starting Oct. 10).
Finally by September 28, we are all set basically for the fall. Just a few more changes are happening. Punk'd will get a decent addition airing Thursdays at 9pm ET replacing American Gladiators, which is leaving. It will also air Sundays at 11am ET after baseball season. Joining the weekend schedule will be Bones on Saturdays at 6pm and 7pm ET and Law & Order: Criminal Intent on Saturday nights at 4:30am ET and Sunday nights at 2am ET for its first week ONLY before settling into Saturday afternoons at 2pm and 3pm ET after baseball season is over.
Boy that's a lot of new additions! Let's recap: South Park, Punk'd, Smash Cuts, Bones, Law & Order: Criminal Intent are all new. Beverly Hillbillies returns. Corner Gas, Funniest Pets & People, Homicide: Life on the Street, Steve Wilkos, American Gladiators, Bullwinkle, WKRP in Cincinnati, Coach are leaving. Coach is not scheduled, but they will likely air it at some point (enjoy the marathon on Sept. 6).
View the FULL WGN America Fall 2009 schedule, so you get the full taste of the line-up that will essentially happen by Sept. 28.
As for highlights, we already noted the marathons including the Cosby Show 25th anniversary marathon on Sunday, Sept. 20. We now get word the marathon is even longer now! 1pm-5:30pm ET has been added, in addition to the 5:30pm-7pm ET & 11pm-4am ET. The 25th anniversary half-hour special is airing at 1pm and 6:30pm ET. Classic NBC line-up on that date from 7pm-10pm ET is of course airing with The Cosby Show pilot at 7pm ET, Family Ties at 7:30pm ET, a full-hour of Cheers at 8pm ET and Hill Street Blues at 9pm ET. All episodes that exactly aired on NBC from that night. View more marathon info for Honeymooners and Coach.

Moving on to some TV tidbits...Senator Ted Kennedy has passed away at age 77 yesterday. In honor of his memory we have some specials. Bio TV will air Biography Remembers: Ted Kennedy on Thursdays at 9pm ET and Saturday at 12pm & 4am ET. Biography: John F. Kennedy and Biography: Barack Obama will air before and after Kennedy's episode on Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon. Biography: John F. Kennedy Jr. will air at 11pm Thursday and 10am Saturday.
On the broadcast networks, ABC will air ABC News Special: Remembering Ted Kennedy at 10pm ET, preempting Primetime: Crime. Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer will anchor this special. CBS will air Ted Kennedy: The Last Brother at 8pm ET preempting comedy repeats. Katie Couric will report. NBC will expand NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams to one-hour, but nothing will air in primetime. CNN will air the documentary Teddy: In His Own Words from 7-9pm ET.
Finally, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has sold Bravo's unscripted series The Real Housewives as a one-hour syndicated strip for fall 2010 to NBC and Hearst television station groups, B&C reports. The series has taken place in Southern California's Orange County, New York City, New Jersey and Atlanta. It will reach 100 episodes this fall on Bravo.

Gospel Music Channel Fall 2009; WGN America's Huge 25th Anniversary Bash for Cosby Show

Today we will give you the September schedule for The Gospel Music Channel. First, the Monday comedy line-up will change a bit starting Monday, August 24. Sister, Sister will remain in the 8pm hour. At 9pm Good News will be removed, and will be be replaced by another Amen so Amen will air for the full hour at 9pm. Sister, Sister will encore in the 10pm and 12am hours, while Amen will encore in the 11pm and 1am hours. Sister, Sister will also air on Fridays in the 10pm hour. Amen and Sister, Sister will also get Saturday morning airings starting Aug. 29! Amen will air Saturdays 8-10am and Sister, Sister Saturdays 10am-12pm.
Starting Monday, August 31, Promised Land will now air also on weekdays. It'll air weekdays at 1pm and will also continue to air in primetime on Wednesdays from 8pm-11pm (encore from 11pm-2am). Meanwhile, Dr. Quinn goes from weekdays 5-7pm to 6-8pm, while Doc moves from 7pm to 5pm.
Starting Monday, September 14, Gospel Music Channel has acquired another new series. This time Sue Thomas F.B.Eye. Sue Thomas F.B.Eye will air weekdays at 4pm replacing Christy, which will leave the line-up.
Everything else remains the same basically, with series like Clash of the Choirs airing Sundays at 10pm and weekday afternoon movies at 2pm such as The Dreamer of Oz starring John Ritter (Sept. 23 at 2pm). That is a very rarely seen movie and it will come out on DVD on Sept. 29 part of the Oz The 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition from Warner Home Video.

Early last week we broke the news about WGN America honoring The Cosby Show with a very special 25th anniversary marathon. Now we have the FULL details on it!
Sunday, September 20, 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of The Cosby Show and to celebrate the milestone (to the day) WGN America will be airing a series of tributes to The Cosby Show including the replication of the original NBC Thursday night lineup as it aired on Thursday, September 20, 1984 (the day The Cosby Show premiered) with interviews by Lilly Tartikoff, a Cosby Show Viewer's Choice Marathon, an online contest and an online game.
Following the WGN America broadcast of the Chicago Cubs baseball game at 5:30pm ET, WGN America will be committing the prime and overnight schedule to The Cosby Show and the NBC Thursday night line-up that dominated the 80's. At 5:30pm and 6:00pm ET will see two best-of episodes and at 6:30pm ET WGN America will air a 25th Anniversary Special. Then from 7-10pm ET WGN America will re-air the original Brandon Tartikoff NBC Thursday night line-up EXACTLY AS IT AIRED IN 1984: The Cosby Show: "Pilot Presentation," Family Ties: "The Gambler," Cheers: "I'll Be Seeing You, Parts 1 and 2," and Hill Street Blues: "Eva's Braun."
Additionally, WGN America has interviewed philanthropist Lilly Tartikoff who shares her thoughts on the iconic programs of 1984 and memories of her husband, programming visionary Brandon Tartikoff. Lilly's interviews will air as interstitials in primetime from 7-10pm ET during the WGN America recreation of the 1984 lineup. Also, from 7-10pm ET WGN America will adopt the NBC theme "Let's All Be There" (circa 1984) using original promotional elements (A special thank you to NBC for sharing their archive materials).
In the overnight (11pm-4am ET), WGN America will air a viewer's choice marathon of the top ten Cosby episodes voted by viewers at WGNAmerica.com. Voting for The Cosby Show Viewer's Choice Marathon begins today and runs through Monday, September 14.
The Cosby Show Viewer's Choice Marathon will also have a contest component, all viewers who submit their favorite episode to WGNAmerica.com will be entered to win a complete DVD set of all eight seasons of The Cosby Show autographed by Bill Cosby plus a Cosby Show Prize Pack. Four runners up will receive a complete DVD set.
View the complete press release.

WGN America Fall 2009 Marathons; Fox Schedules King of the Hill Finale; Three's Co Bio Tonight on Bio TV

Today on the fall schedules barrage on the blog we will dish out cool marathons on WGN America! Their full fall schedule will come at a later date, but we just couldn't wait to give you details on their fall marathons! First up on Sunday, Aug. 30 we have a marathon of The Honeymooners! Following baseball, the classic sitcom will air from 5:30pm-10pm ET (2:30pm-7pm PT) and continue after the news from 11pm-2am ET (8pm-11pm PT)! The marathon will preempt the regularly scheduled Outta Sight Retro Night programming. Marathon episodes for The Honeymooners are a mix of lost and classic 39 episodes: "Game Called on Account...," "Ralph's Sweet Tooth," "Principle of the Thing," "A Dog's Life," "Here Comes the Bride," "Loudspeaker," "On Stage," "Bensonhurst Bomber," "The Safety Award," "Mind Your Own Business," "Alice and the Blonde," "Love Letter," "The Adoption," "Norton Moves In/Dinner Guest," and "Catch a Star." No word yet if The Honeymooners will return to the regular WGN America line-up.
Next up on Sunday, Sept. 6 from 4-10pm ET (1pm-7pm PT), are you ready for some football? Celebrate the return of football with a marathon of the sitcom Coach! What better way to celebrate than to air Coach? The Jerry Lewis MDA telethon will air after the news starting at 11pm ET (8pm PT). We don't have episode info yet for Coach's marathon.
Then remember the series I kept saying that will be celebrating an anniversary this fall on WGN America? Well that series is The Cosby Show! WGN America will go all out for The Cosby Show's 25th anniversary with a marathon and more! First up on Wednesday, Sept. 16 from 8-10pm ET (5-7pm PT) catch the 2002 reunion special The Cosby Show: A Look Back for the first time on WGN America. Then on Sunday, Sept. 20 we get a marathon and yet more! From 5:30pm-8pm ET (2:30pm-5pm PT) catch classic Cosby Show episodes with an all-new half-hour special at 7pm ET (4pm PT) titled The Cosby Show: 25th Anniversary Special. Thursday, Sept. 20, 1984 was the EXACT day The Cosby Show premiered on NBC, so WGN America will also air three other series that aired on NBC that night! From 8-10pm ET (5-7pm PT) catch an episode each of Family Ties, Cheers, and Hill Street Blues! What a nice and creative idea to celebrate this anniversary! We don't have episode info for this day yet, but wouldn't it be cool if the exact same episodes from that night aired? Now Cheers already airs regularly on Sunday nights, but will Family Ties and Hill Street Blues also join? You'll have to stay tuned! But wait, we're still not done with The Cosby Show! More classic episodes will air after the news from 11pm-2am ET (8pm-11pm PT). What a night!
We will certainly have the WGN America Fall 2009 schedule very soon, so stay with us! One hint: Wednesday nights in primetime will be '80s night with some nights having movies and some nights having TV series. Movies include Police Academy, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Octopussy!

After 13 seasons of beer, barbecue, bickering and bonding, the Hill family delivers a Southern-style send-off in a one-hour series finale episode of King of the Hill airing Sunday, Sept. 13 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT on Fox. The King of the Hill finale will air after Fox NFL Sunday, so the lead-in will be big.
On the back-to-back series finale episodes, "The Boy Can't Help It"/"The Honeymooners," Bobby becomes quite the ladies' man when several girls in his class consider him a potential date for the Homecoming dance. When he realizes the girls are just playing with his emotions and are not really that interested, he asks his pal Connie to the dance. Also in the episode, Hank is shocked when his mother announces she is marrying a man she has only known for a few weeks. Soon after, the newlyweds celebrate by purchasing an RV and heading to Hank's. When Hank's mom and new stepfather have a heated argument, she takes off with the RV and Hank is left to rescue his mother once again.

Just a reminder tonight Bio TV premieres Biography: Three's Company tonight at 10pm ET with an encore at 2am ET. I just got an advanced copy and watched it. It is about the behind the scenes of the show--the sex, how it was developed, casting, history, and the cast after the show. I liked how they used clips of the unaired pilots, but that isn't anything new anymore. Interviewed were Matt Rousch (TV Guide), Robert Thompson (Professor, Syracuse University), Charlton McLivain (Professor, NYU), Fred Silverman, Larry Gelbart (Pilot #1 writer), Dom Taffner, Nancy Ritter, Richard Kline, George Burditt (producer), David Graham (casting director), George Sunga (producer), Carol Summers (script supervisor), and Priscilla Barnes.
It was nice to hear Larry Gelbart talk in detail on camera about this. I don't think he has done any of the other specials on the show. David Graham was also new to these specials and it was interesting on his casting take. This special said John Ritter wanted to stop the show after eight seasons. Everything else was pretty much the same from what we have known. Still worth watching and recording!

AmericanLife TV September 2009; Hallmark Channel Cuts Heaven, Murder; Summer 2009 TCA Tour: Cable Day 3

We continue with our fall schedule barrage with AmericanLife TV Network! AmericanLife TV will make minor changes this September, so we are not 100% sure yet if this is their actual fall schedule. They could be waiting for October. But let's not go there until we know for sure. For September, they are returning Lost in Space to the schedule! Lost in Space will Fridays at 7pm and 10pm starting Friday, Sept. 4. Fridays will now be all sci-fi, as ALN will air the ALN Sci-Fi Movie from 8pm-10pm in between Lost in Space. Previously, these four hours were two movies of the ALN Classic Movie.
The other change is on Saturdays from 7-9pm as Combat! is replaced by another ALN Classic Movie. Everything else is pretty much the same as the schedule that started in June. ALN starts their weekday schedule at 5pm with a block of Bob Newhart Show and Newhart from 5-7pm, followed by L.A. Law, Hill Street Blues, and St. Elsewhere from 7pm-10pm and again from 10pm-1am, Mon-Thurs. Mission: Impossible and The Color Honeymoners round out the schedule from 1-3am. On Fridays, two extra episodes of Mission: Impossible airs at 11pm and 12am, just like on Saturdays and Sundays. Weekends starts off with Chicken Soup for the Soul at 6pm, ALN Classic Movies from 7-11pm, Mission: Impossible from 11pm-2am, and The Color Honeymooners 2-4am.
View the full AmericanLife TV Network September 2009 schedule. Let's hope more series return soon since Lost in Space is returning!
Stay tuned on Monday for the next fall schedule blog post, as I'm headed for a taping of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire! We will still have news as always, so do come back anyway!

The Hallmark Channel has made very last minute schedule changes that are in effect beginning today! Another hour of The Golden Girls is added to mornings in the 11am hour replacing Touched by an Angel. So Golden Girls now airs 8am-12pm weekday mornings. Touched by an Angel will now air 12-2pm, as the 1pm hour replaces 7th Heaven. Little House on the Prairie gets another hour added to its block, with it now starting at 2pm replacing 7th Heaven. 7th Heaven is now off the Hallmark Channel line-up for now it seems. It can still be seen on WGN America at least. Little House will now air weekdays 2pm-5pm. Remaining the same are M*A*S*H weekdays 5-8pm and Touched by an Angel Mon-Thurs 8-11pm, but The Golden Girls are cut an hour short in late night as they go from weeknights 11pm-2am to 11pm-1am with Cheers taking the 1am hour. So Ted Danson and gang will now air 1am-2:30am with three episodes a night! I Love Lucy remains at 2:30am.
For weekends, nothing will change except Murder, She Wrote is off the schedule again. A movie will replace it on both Saturday and Sunday nights from 1-3am. View these changes in list form if you're confused.

Today is day 3 of the summer 2009 TCA press tour. Up today are Lifetime, E!, style, G4, BET, Planet Green, Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, HBO, and Food Network. Among the notable announcements that would interest you guys were from Lifetime. They announced Models of the Runway, which is Project Runway's exciting new companion series that will air Thursdays at 11pm starting Aug. 20. They also announced Rita Rocks' second season. Nicole Sullivan and Tisha Campbell-Martin, the stars of the hit comedy series, were present to discuss their new second season. The sitcom returns Oct. 5.
BET announced their original talk show The Mo'Nique Show, that launches Oct. 5. It is a new nightly talk/variety show featuring the incomparable actress/ comedienne. TLC is currently in production with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' New York-based production company Milojo on Masters of Reception, which follows the Frungillo family as they run their wedding empire in New Jersey. The series premieres Aug. 18 on TLC.
Larry David returns for the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm on Sept. 20, continuing to feature verite-style footage of David (playing himself) at home and at work as he gets into predicaments with fictional and real-life personalities. New developments this season include appearances by the cast of Seinfeld - Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards. The new season will be a lead-in to Bored to Death, a new half-hour comedy that is the brainchild of the writer Jonathan Ames, who serves as executive producer and writer, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a Brooklyn writer with a drinking problem who pretends to be a private detective on craigslist and starts taking actual cases. The comedy also stars Ted Danson as his boss at a magazine and Zach Galifianakis as his best friend.
Finally, Robin Williams, who first appeared on the network more than 30 years ago, will return to HBO on December 6 for his first solo stand-up comedy special in seven years. Robin Williams: Weapons of Self-Destruction, will be taped in November at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, one of the stops on his current sold-out national tour.
Stay with us tomorrow as Rainbow Networks (We TV and Sundance) and TV One round out the cable portion of the summer 2009 TCA press tour!

New Biography Episodes on Bio TV in August 2009; Hallmark Primetime News

This August on Bio TV we get three all-new Biography episodes related to TV series! First up is Biography: Family Ties on Tuesday, August 4 at 10pm ET. Ronald Reagan's favorite TV show was none other than Family Ties, the 80's comedy about hippies Elyse and Steven Keaton and their Young Republican son, Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox). They explore the show's genesis, the lives of its cast and crew, and the partisan politics of the Keaton's happy and hilarious home.
Next the following Tuesday on Tuesday, August 11 at 10pm ET, we get Biography: Three's Company! What do you get when a bubbly blond, a practical brunette, and a clumsy bachelor all live under one roof? Three's Company -- the sexy sitcom that had audiences laughing (and swooning) throughout the late '70s and early '80s. But for the loveable roommates, the eight-year run wasn't all fun and games. They'll explore Three's Company's ups and downs--from topping the ratings chart to fighting on-set battles over paychecks, and from breaking down cultural boundaries to facing boycott threats from moral watchdogs.
Finally the next Tuesday on Tuesday, August 18 at 10pm ET, we get Biography: Roseanne! She's racked up an Emmy, three ex-husbands (including Tom Arnold), and her own comedy, talk, cooking, reality, and radio shows. Bio TV chronicles the life and times of the loud-mouthed comedienne who can't keep her mouth shut (on or off the screen).
Bio TV also premieres The Andy Griffith Retrospective Special from 1993 on Tuesday, August 25 at 10pm ET. This one-hour special features cast members from The Andy Griffith Show gather to reminisce about the classic 1960s TV series.
Biography encores for August include Kim Fields, Alyssa Milano, Kristy McNichol, Michael J. Fox, Teen Heartthrobs on Aug. 4; Patrick Duffy, Suzanne Somers, John Ritter, Don Knotts on Aug. 11; Ed Asner, Patricia Heaton, Mr. T, Carroll O'Connor on Aug. 18; and Friends, Matthew Perry, Ron Howard, Andy Griffith, Happy Days on Aug. 25. Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals encores for the month are on The Love Boat & M*A*S*H (Aug. 11) and Welcome Back Kotter, The Facts of Life & Roseanne (Aug. 18).

Beginning next Monday (Monday, July 27), the two-week test run is over for Hallmark Channel in primetime...but there will be some reminisce of it! Right now Touched by an Angel is airing 8-10pm, followed by The Golden Girls from 10pm-1am and Cheers 1-2:30am. Now that two-week run will end. Touched by an Angel will be the only show continuing like this and will add an extra hour, airing Mon-Thurs from 8-11pm, while The Golden Girls goes back to 11pm-2am and Cheers sharing the 2am hour with I Love Lucy. Movies will air Fridays from 9-11pm.

Stay with us starting next week as we start our blog fall schedule barrage posts! We will have something different each weekday until we just about get them all! Don't you just love that time of year? The Summer TCA tour also begins next Tuesday, so it's going to be a busy couple of weeks!

Nick at Nite Changes Schedule Starting Tonight; WGN America Acquires Cheers

Nick at Nite has made a last minute schedule change that will be in effect for weekdays starting TONIGHT (Monday, July 20, 2009). George Lopez will now air 2-hours in primetime from 9-11pm now Sun-Thurs, as Family Matters gets replaced in the 10pm hour. George Lopez won't encore now at weeknights at 1-2am as a result of the change (except on Fridays), because the 10-11pm episodes repeat the next night at 9-10pm. Nick at Nite is not yet allowed to air the series for more than 2 episodes in 24-hours on a regular basis, since the series is still only in its second year in syndication. It enters its third season in syndication this fall. Maybe by then they can air more than 2 episodes a night? We'll see.
Family Matters will move to 1-2am Mon-Thurs and weekend late night blocks of Fridays 3-5am, and Sat-Sun 1-3am, while The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air takes over the overnight on Mon-Thurs nights airing 3-6am. The Nanny will air 3-6am now on Sat-Sun nights. So, this means Home Improvement is off the weeknight line-up, as it was airing in the 5am hour. Not to worry, Home Improvement is still on Friday nights in the 5am hour.
View the updated Nick at Nite schedule, and stay tuned soon for the August 2009 highlights!

WGN America has acquired another sitcom for its Outta Sight Retro Night on Sunday nights. Yesterday Barney Miller launched on the network, as we announced, airing Sundays at 9pm ET/6pm PT. Now they have acquired the '80s hit Cheers to air Sunday nights in the 11pm ET/8pm PT hour starting Sunday, August 2, 2009. Cheers will shift Bewitched to 12am ET/9pm PT and I Dream of Jeannie to 1am ET/10pm PT on Sunday nights, so this means The Honeymooners are off the line-up for now.
Yes, Cheers will still remain on The Hallmark Channel as well. Hallmark airs it late nights on weeknights, while WGN America is airing it regularly on Sunday nights. This means the Outta Sight Retro Night looks like this starting at 5pm ET/2pm PT: The Cosby Show, ALF, WKRP, Newhart and Barney Miller. Then a one-hour break for the news and Cheers, Bewitched, and I Dream of Jeannie close the night off, as mentioned above. At times Coach airs in the 4pm hour if there is no baseball game. Coach regularly airs Wednesdays at 8pm ET, and it does well for them.
Stay with us in the coming weeks as we announce the WGN America fall schedule and see what more classics are in store! Stay with us!

TV One August 2009 Highlights; Hallmark Extends Primetime Schedules for 1 More Week; Calling All Runners!

In August 2009 on TV One we get some changes! Beginning on Monday, August 3, the TV One primetime landscape gets a makeover on weeknights starting at 8pm. Mini-marathons of TV One viewer favorites will be showcased and will air as follows: "Martin Mondays showcases episodes of the sitcom Martin on Mondays from 8pm to 11pm; "Good Time Tuesdays showcases episodes of the sitcom Good Times on Tuesdays from 8pm to 11pm; "Wisecrackin' Wednesdays" showcases episodes of the sitcom Living Single on Wednesdays from 8pm to 11pm; "Thrifty Thursdays" showcases episodes of the sitcom Sanford & Son on Thursdays from 8pm to 10pm; and "Family Fridays" showcases episodes of the sitcom The Hughleys on Fridays from 8pm to 10pm. These marathons will preempt the regular 8-11pm primetime of Martin, two Living Single episodes, Half & Half, and back-to-back The Jeffersons. Also, these marathons will have select episodes same night encores from 3-5am, preempting the regular schedules of The Jeffersons, Martin, Half & Half, and another Martin. So this means The Jeffersons is off the regular schedule for now and Half & Half airs Tues-Fri in the 11am hour. These primetime marathons are probably just for August, so The Jeffersons will likely return to the regular schedule in September. Stay tuned.
Elsewhere on TV One August we have some stunts! On Saturday, August 15 beginning at 12pm and lasting through 8pm, the lazy days of summer are in full swing as TV One presents the "Operation: Summer Vacation Sitcom Marathon" featuring storylines of your favorite TV One sitcom characters on extended vacations including episodes from Martin, The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, The Hughleys, and Living Single. Select episodes will also encore late night that night from 2am-6am. At least The Jeffersons will air on this special marathon!
Finally, TV One will close out summer on Saturday, Sept. 5. On Saturday, September 5 beginning at 12pm and lasting through 8pm, summer is ending and it's that time again as TV One gets ready for fall with a "Back to School" marathon consisting of an all-day sitcom marathon featuring school-related storylines including episodes from Good Times, The Parent'hood, Like Family, and All of Us. Select episodes will also encore late night that night from 2am-6am.

The Hallmark Channel is keeping the primetime schedule that aired this week for next week as well. It was scheduled to end last night, but will air tonight as well. So Touched by an Angel will air from 8-10pm, followed by The Golden Girls from 10pm-1am, and Cheers from 1am-2:30am. As of now, this primetime schedule will air through and including Thursday, July 23.
The original primetime schedule was Touched by an Angel at 8pm, a Movie from 9-11pm, Golden Girls from 11pm-2am, and then Cheers/I Love Lucy in the 2am hour. Will that return next Friday? We'll have to wait and see, but for now the primetime schedule that started last week will air next week as well.

Finally, The Fresh Air Fund is still looking for runners and sponsors to join The Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, August 16. This is a great way to participate in NYC's premier summer road race while helping Fresh Air Fund children. Last summer's NYC Half-Marathon was a huge success and the Fresh Air Fund-Racers raised more than $125,000. They are also still in need of Friendly Town hosts for next month. Host families open their hearts and home to a NYC child who would not otherwise have the opportunity to escape the hot, crowded city streets. WABC-7 in NYC will air a one-hour highlight show from 11:30pm through 12:30am on Sunday, Aug. 16 on television.
For more information, visit their website.

Sci Fi Changes to Syfy Today; Jackson Memorial Special Tonight; Hallmark Primetime Changes

We told you back in March that Sci Fi Channel was renaming to Syfy starting July 7, and now that day has come. Syfy also has a tagline saying "Imaging Greater." They will launch original series Warehouse 13 tonight at 9 with a two-hour premiere.
As for the regular schedule, there are no changes. The rest of this week Syfy is airing more movies than usual though, as there is no daytime rotation marathons. The regular schedule will return July 13, that includes Lost at 4pm and 1am weeknights. And speaking of the daytime rotation marathon, in August we will see Early Edition finally air on this network. It was set to join the schedule in March, but it never happened, as we mentioned. Early Edition will air on Tuesday, August 4 from 8am-4pm and Friday, August 21 from 8am-4pm as well. Other daytime rotation notables in July and August include Joan of Arcadia, 7 Days, Friday the 13th: The Series, and The Sentinel.
Ghost Whisperer joins the Syfy schedule this fall. That show was acquired from part of their CBS-Paramount deal. I think everything from that deal has now aired at least one time (if Early Edition ends up airing this time!), except Charmed and I believe The Invaders. We are not sure when those will turn up. We are still hoping for another Mork & Mindy marathon! Anyway, stay tuned in the coming weeks for Syfy's Fall 2009 schedule.
Check out their new website www.syfy.com!

If you don't get a chance to watch the Michael Jackson Memorial live this afternoon (on ABC, CBS, NBC, and many other networks including Hulu on the Internet) from approx. 1pm-3pm ET (10am-12pm PT), then the broadcast networks will all have specials on Michael Jackson tonight. ABC will have s Special Edition of 20/20: Remembering Michael Jackson tonight at 9pm, preempting scheduled Better off Ted and Scrubs repeats. That's not all, ABC will air a special episode of Primetime: Family Secrets focusing on Michael Jackson's children at 10pm, instead of the regular story. So, it's two-hours of Jackson on ABC primetime tonight. CBS will have a special 48 Hours tonight titled 48 Hours - Michael Jackson: The Last Dance at 10pm, preempting regularly scheduled segments. And finally NBC will preempt an encore of Law & Order: SVU at 10pm for a Dateline special on Michael Jackson titled Dateline: A Farewell to Michael Jackson.

Finally, The Hallmark Channel has announced that they will preempt five primetime movies in favor of Touched by an Angel at 9pm and an hour of The Golden Girls at 10pm. The movies will be preempted on Thursday, July 9 and the week of Monday July 13 through Thursday, July 16 from 9-11pm. No reason why, but due to this, Cheers will air also in the 1am hour since Golden Girls is airing at 10pm.
This is not a permanent primetime change, it is just for these five dates...as of now. View this in a list form.

Just Shoot Me Joins Comedy Central; Scrubs Also Airing on Spike TV; JustMyShow.com Goes Wang Chung Tonight

Just Shoot Me!, the hit '90s sitcom, has now joined Comedy Central's line-up airing weekdays at 3:30pm & 4:00pm following episodes of Scrubs at 2:30pm & 3:00pm. Just Shoot Me! was previously on sister station TV Land (also owned by Viacom), but the ratings were not too good. Now it is getting a run on Comedy Central. The show will also air on weekends anytime between 10am-1pm, also paired with Scrubs. Scrubs will also remain in its weeknights 7-8pm slot as well.
Just a note, Just Shoot Me! is also still airing on TBS weekdays from 2-3pm. The series lasted 148 episodes on NBC from 1997-2003.

We have some Spike TV news! They have been airing CSI and CSI: NY all day long (9am-8pm) for a while now, but this July finally the regular schedule will return. But before that happens, another show that was on TV Land will make its way to a sister station. We get more Scrubs! Scrubs will air on Spike TV on Thursday nights to start-off in the 1am hour starting June 18, replacing MANanswers and Beavis & Butt-head. Then a few weeks later it will lose that hour to MANswers, but gain so much more. Scrubs will join the Spike TV weekday line-up starting Monday, July 6 airing in the 11am hour, following the daily return of Married...with Children from 9-11am weekdays. So yes, Scrubs will be on two Viacom networks (Comedy Central and Spike TV) along with WGN America and local syndication. That sure is a whole lot! But with this addition, it seems TV Land will not be airing it again. Married...with Children was airing on Sundays from 9am-10:30am on Spike TV since these CSI and CSI NY marathons have been airing lately and the show also has been airing on sister network TV Land. Lots of cross airings on Viacom networks it seems lately.
The rest of the new Spike TV schedule starting July 6 has Spike's Most Amazing Videos at 12 noon, back-to-back CSI NY from 1-3pm, CSI from 3-5pm, more CSI NY from 5-7pm, and more CSI from 7-9pm. This means Unsolved Mysteries is not on the schedule and won't return for now it seems. Primetime has movies and originals. The late night schedule has CSI, Spike's Most Amazing Videos, Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol, Star Trek: Voyager, MXC, and The Shield, with the latter two just once a week.

Our good buddy Eric from the wonderful JustMyShow.com is back with another new podcast! Hint: Everybody Wang Chung Tonight! He brought you some of the '80s most memorable hits. Now he's here to tell you how it all happened. JMS chats it up with Wang Chung lead singer Jack Hues. And that's not all! There is a special appearance by Emmy-winning writer Ken Levine! There is a bonus clip that will interest us the most probably. The bonus clip has Ken Levine discussing his famous Cheers Wang Chung line, as that sitcom had an episode ("To All the Girls I've Loved Before") that featured Wang Chung. So head on over to JustMyShow and listen to this podcast and the bonus audio!

Hallmark Channel Reduces More Lucy; JustMyShow Interviews Dave Madden

We announced this first on our message board on Friday and didn't get a chance to tell you here on the blog, but Hallmark Channel made a last minute schedule change effective today (Monday, March 9). Weekdays 8-9am will be now another hour of The Golden Girls, which has done well in the ratings for them. The marathon on Sunday, March 1 did decent for them. The 8-9am hour will replace I Love Lucy, as that show has heavily been cut. This change is in addition to all the changes already for Lucy. That's not all though! Starting tonight in the 2am ET/PT hour, Cheers will move up a half-hour to 2am, while Lucy gets shifted back to 2:30am, ouch. That is more bad news for Lucy as Cheers did even worse in the ratings when it first aired. So yes, I Love Lucy is not doing well in the ratings, as you all must have assumed. I think they need more sitcoms in the same vein as Lucy, since Golden Girls and Cheers are '80s series. Hallmark has had no success with sitcoms in recent years besides M*A*S*H (which to me is really a half-hour drama), so looks like Golden Girls will break that curse...but shows like Facts of Life, Family Ties, Cheers, and I Love Lucy all didn't.
So Golden Girls will now air weekdays 8-10am, 4-5pm, and 12am-2am; Saturdays 6-9am; and Sundays 8:30am-10am. And I Love Lucy is just weeknights at 2:30am. Discuss this new change on our message board.

Our friend Eric of JustMyShow.com has released another interview! He digs into the archives to bring you a never before heard 2007 interview with Reuben Kincaid himself, The Partridge Family's Dave Madden. Dave Madden is known to TV fans everywhere as manager Reuben Kincaid on the '70s ABC series The Partridge Family. His other credits include Laugh-In and Alice as well as extensive theatre and voiceover work. He is the author of the memoir Reuben on Wry.
In bonus material, he talks about where the famous Partridge Family bus is now, where Simone went, on being recognized on the street, and his bowling shoes! But before you listen to the bonus audio, listen to the actual interview at JustMyShow.com!

And finally, tonight on ABC premieres the new drama Castle following the two-hour season premiere of Dancing with the Stars. I already saw the pilot and loved it. Nathan Fillion of Desperate Housewives is the lead and really does a great job here...and is funny! You Moonlighting fans out there will like this, as the sexual tension between the two leads is great. I really think this show will hit big tonight, but before you watch it...read my thoughts of the pilot (and view the first 13 minutes of the pilot)! Tune in tonight a 10pm ET/PT on ABC!

Hallmark Channel March 2009 Schedule Revised; Pushing Daisies and Valentine's Themed Episodes Come to TheWB.com

Early last week we gave you the Hallmark Channel March 2009 schedule, but then later in the week we told you some changes were being made to February with I Love Lucy being reduced a lot. Now as a result, some of those February changes will be in effect or alter March.
So, we won't have I Love Lucy airing weekdays 3-4pm in March, Little House on the Prairie will remain in that slot, but it will still lose its 4pm hour to The Golden Girls starting March 2. Weeknights from 11pm-3am will be altered, too. Murder, She Wrote will remain weekdays at 11pm now and will not leave the schedule, so Golden Girls won't air 11pm-1am, but will air 12am-2am now. Originally I Love Lucy was airing in the 1am hour, but now it will air 2am, cutting the return of Cheers to just 2:30am, when it was originally slated for 2-3am.
Saturdays 6-9am will now be The Golden Girls, as the original plan was Lucy 6-7:30a and Golden Girls 7:30-9a. Then late night on Saturdays from 1-3am will remain Murder, She Wrote and won't be I Love Lucy. In February, the block was Walker, Texas Ranger.
As for Sundays, 8:30am-10am was originally supposed to be I Love Lucy, now it will be The Golden Girls. The Golden Girls was slated for 10am-12pm originally, but now 7th Heaven will air 10am-12pm. Then late night on Sundays from 1-3am will once again remain Murder, She Wrote and won't be I Love Lucy. In February, the block was Walker, Texas Ranger.
Confused? View the full edited Hallmark Channel March 2009 schedule. So originally Murder, She Wrote was leaving, now it will remain and air weeknights at 11pm and Saturday & Sunday nights from 1-3am. But The Waltons is still leaving. As for the sitcom recap, The Golden Girls will air weekdays 9-10am, 4-5pm, and 12-2am, Saturdays 6-9am, and Sundays 8:30am-10am. I Love Lucy is just weekdays now, airing weekdays 8-9am and 2am. Cheers will air weeknights a 2:30am. And of course, M*A*S*H remains weekdays 5-7pm. View the full schedule above link for more!

TheWB.com announced that the destination site will help fans get in the mood for love by featuring Valentine's Day and relationship-themed programming during the week of February 9–17, followed by a "Love Hangover" week from February 18–March 1. TheWB.com is also giving Pushing Daisies fans a reason to rejoice, as it will now feature full episodes of the critically acclaimed romantic comedy created by Bryan Fuller.
Re-live the ups and downs of the romance of Ross and Rachel (David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston) with 10 Friends episodes, including the two-part series finale. Valentine's Day episodes of hit series Smallville, Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Everwood, Veronica Mars and The O.C. will be available from Feb. 9-17. TheWB.com will premiere the first five episodes of acclaimed series Pushing Daisies, starring Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Ellen Greene, with Swoosie Kurtz and Kristin Chenoweth in that time frame as well.
Then Feb. 18-March 1, for those feeling a little ill from all of that saccharine Valentine's Day activity, TheWB.com offers Janice (Maggie Wheeler) from Friends to squash any leftover amorous feelings, with 10 Friends episodes featuring the shrill love interest of Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry). Break-ups and other bumps in the romantic road on special episodes of One Tree Hill, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Gilmore Girls will also be available in that time frame.
This seasonally themed programming and content adds to TheWB.com's already robust collection of new and classic programming available on the site. The month of February also features new episodes of TheWB.com's latest original series, Pushed, a thriller from Jeremy Littman and Morgan Gendel. Additionally, viewers can watch full episodes of acclaimed action/comedy series Chuck, from co-creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz. Schwartz fans can also log on to www.rockvilleca.com to see the trailer for Rockville, CA, his highly anticipated original digital series coming to TheWB.com March 17. The scripted romantic comedy will also feature performances by a number of acclaimed indie music artists, including Kaiser Chiefs, Phantom Planet, Travis, Lykke Li, Anya Marina, The Kooks and many more.
As for Pushing Daisies fans, word is the final three episodes will air on ABC in the summer as they are obligated to air it. The second season DVD should be coming out that time as well from Warner Home Video.

Hallmark Channel March 2009, Timeslots for Golden Girls, Cheers Returns; ER Returns to ION

We were the first to let you know that The Golden Girls was acquired by The Hallmark Channel and WE tv for play starting in March 2009, now we will be the first to let you know the launch date and complete days and times for The Golden Girls on The Hallmark Channel!
Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty star as four South Florida seniors sharing a house, their dreams and a whole lot of cheesecake. Bright, provocative, clueless, and hilarious, these lovely mismatched ladies form the perfect circle of friends. Experience an entire day of laugh-packed episodes from this landmark television series as The Hallmark Channel launches with an all-day marathon on Sunday, March 1 from 8:30am-3:00am ET/PT! Then the show will air Monday-Friday starting March 2 from 9am-10am (replacing The Waltons), 4pm-5pm (moving I Love Lucy to 3-4pm) and 11pm-1am (replacing Murder, She Wrote). The show will air on weekends as well...Saturdays starting March 7 from 7:30am-9am (cutting I Love Lucy's block in half) and Sundays starting March 8 from 10am-12pm (cutting 7th Heaven's block in half). So The Waltons and Murder, She Wrote seem to have left the regular line-up totally. But since those two are leaving and The Golden Girls is coming, one other show will return as well! Cheers returns to the Hallmark Channel line-up airing weeknights 2am-3am replacing an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. Walker's 1am airing will be replaced by a double shot of I Love Lucy as well from 1am-2am weeknights. Don't worry Walker fans, the show will still air weeknights at 7pm and 8pm, but now from 11pm-3am weeknights on Hallmark are all sitcoms (Golden Girls, I Love Lucy, Cheers)! We still don't have WE tv's March schedule, as soon as we do we'll let you know when Golden Girls is airing over there and other changes they might have.
View the full Hallmark Channel March 2009 line-up!

Meanwhile over on ION Television, they also will have a returning series. ER returns to ION next week starting on Monday, Feb. 9 airing Monday nights at 8:00pm ET/PT replacing one airing of NCIS. NCIS will still air Mondays from 9-11pm. ER didn't do so well on ION and was replaced quickly last fall. Now the series is back for another try. NCIS and Boston Legal have done very well for ION and ION hopes ER can do similar numbers. ER will start with the season 12 episode "No Place to Hide" and go in order from there.
In other ION news, NBC's recent miniseries Last Templar (2009) will air on ION on Saturday, Feb. 7 and Sunday, Feb. 15 from 7-11pm on both nights. The two-part mini-series starring Mira Sorvino and Victor Garber did so-so for NBC doing average in viewers but not so good in 18-49.
If you forgot the rest of ION February 2009, head on over to our thread for more details.

Hallmark and TV Land Make Schedule Changes; ABC and Fox January News

Hallmark Channel has made a schedule change that will start this coming Monday (November 10). Cheers will leave the line-up from 4-5pm and be replaced with more Little House on the Prairie. So, this means Cheers only lasted two weeks in its weekday slot with a second Little House returning to the hour. As of now, Cheers is totally off the line-up, because if you all recall when Cheers started on weekdays, its weekend airings were removed.
We will keep you up to date if anything else comes out of this, but as of now, no more Cheers on Hallmark. If I were to guess, it could return in January when they launch I Love Lucy. This network has had trouble launching sitcoms besides M*A*S*H, which is a shame because they have two coming in 2009 (I Love Lucy, Golden Girls).

As for TV Land, we already told you about the late afternoon change that started this past Monday (Nov. 3) with Hogan's Heroes at 4pm and Leave it to Beaver at 5pm, now more changes are happening next week. Originally we stated, Scrubs was set to move Nov. 10 from 9-10pm to 10-11pm, but it seems that is not happening. Now on that week, we will get a week-long Cosby Show marathon! The Cosby Show Marathon airs Monday, November 10 through Thursday, November 13 form 8pm-2am and Friday, November 14 from 8pm-10pm and 12am-4am (it is preempted Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 10p-10:30p for Myths & Legends).
A few changes are also coming starting that week for at least the rest of November. In the 7am hour, back-to-back episodes of Scrubs will replace two episodes of M*A*S*H. So, Scrubs is out of primetime. In the weekdays at 1pm hour, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will replace Beverly Hillbillies for the rest of the month at least. And in late nights, for the week of November 10 from 2-3am will be Sanford & Son replacing Extreme Makeover: Home Edition encore (weeks of Nov. 17 and 24 it will be more Cosby Show in the hour). Finally, Three's Company is back regularly starting Nov. 10, at least for the rest of November, airing weeknights from 3-4am ET/PT!
So what will happen to TV Land PRIME after Cosby Show's marathon week? Cosby Show will now air 8-10pm from Mon-Sat for at least through the end of November, with 3rd Rock from the Sun now staying in its 10-11pm Mon-Thurs slot. Replacing Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at 11pm will be ... CSI, from sister station Spike TV (which airs it at 3pm and 8pm weekdays)! CSI will also air at 12 midnight, replacing M*A*S*H. This is for at least the rest of November (weeks of Nov. 17 and 24), we do not know yet if CSI will still be airing in December. For the final two weeks in November at least, this is how TV Land PRIME looks: 9PM Cosby Show, 10PM 3rd Rock from the Sun, 11PM CSI. With more Cosby Show leading in at 8PM and more CSI leading out at 12AM, as Scrubs and Home Edition are relegated to daytime...again for at least the end of the month.
So it seems M*A*S*H is not airing AT ALL the final two weeks of November and Beverly Hillbillies has been reduced to weekend blocks and in the Thanksgiving marathon. I don't expect CSI to air beyond these two weeks, but we'll see. Will these changes be in effect in December? We shall soon find out!
For now, view the full updated TV Land November 2008 schedule, so you don't get confused.

ABC has released part of their January plans. They have released Mondays. Originally it was supposed to be True Beauty (new Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks produced reality show) from 8pm-9:30pm followed by The Bachelor from 9:30-11pm. Now it will be The Bachelor from 8-9:30pm, followed by sitcom Samantha Who? staying put at 9:30pm despite no Dancing and True Beauty in the 10pm hour. This new night will launch Monday, January 5. On that date The Bachelor will have a two-hour premiere leading into the premiere of True Beauty. So, Samantha Who? will air in between those two starting Jan. 12. No other ABC January details are in yet, but we could expect Lost, as last night we saw promos saying "two-hour premiere in January." If I were to guess, Lost will air on Wednesdays. Also, last night promos for unscripted docudrama series Border Security USA started playing, and we could expect that in January as well, perhaps with Lost. ABC premiere of Scrubs and animated comedy The Goode Family are among the other items that could launch in January on ABC, with on the bubble shows like Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies perhaps benched. I want to clarify, that Scrubs is not coming Dec. 2 as I mentioned earlier in the week, the original plan of According to Jim remains starting Dec. 2.
As for Fox, they have announced they will launch 24 with its usual two-night/four-hour event on Sunday, January 11 and Monday, January 12 from 8-10pm. Then starting January 19, it will air in its 9-10pm slot. No word on what will air at 8pm, it could be new series Dollhouse though. American Idol obviously will return in January as well, perhaps Tuesday, Jan. 20. We will keep you up to date.

Ron Howard Reprises His Opie and Richie Roles for Obama; Minor Changes for Hallmark, ION and CBS Monday

Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham are both back! Ron Howard has reprised both of his classic TV roles for an ad supporting Barack Obama! It is a hilarious salute to those characters and shows, but also supports Obama and he urges Americans out there to vote and to change America. Ron is not the only one in the video either. Ron has reunited with Andy Griffith for his Opie/Andy segment and Henry Winkler for his Richie/Fonzie segment. These characters haven't been done in decades, so it is fun to see them reprise their roles! The Andy Griffith Show segment was even in black and white with Opie in his green/yellow striped t-shirt and fishing rod! The Happy Days segment had Henry Winkler's Fonzie in his trademark leather coat and Richie with his blue sweater outside of Arnold's. Ahyyyay!!! You even see Ron shave off his beard and trim his nose air for this video! He really does want Americans to vote and change this country. See the four-minute video for yourself! It's worth watching...whether you be a Democrat or Republican. Ron Howard has certainly found his "thrill on blueberry hill!"

Effective this weekend (Oct. 25-26), Cheers will not air on weekends anymore on The Hallmark Channel. It was airing Saturday nights 1-3am, Sunday mornings 10am-12pm, and Sunday nights from 1-3am. Cheers will only air weekdays from 4-5pm starting next week (Oct. 27).
Next week on ION Television, we will still not see any ER. ER's Mon-Wed at 10pm airings have been replaced for next week (Oct. 27-31) as well, on Monday we will see an extra NCIS and Tuesday & Wednesday we will see more Boston Legal. Did you know ER has not been seen since its Monday, Oct. 6 airing? ION's November schedule is still not out yet, and I'm sure they are trying to find a permanent replacement for the lower rated ER. As soon as their November schedule is in, I'll let you know. Right now only Nov. 1 and 2 is available, and that's a weekend. Speaking of ION, looks like the Warner Bros. movies are doing well, because they are having another movie marathon tonight from 4pm-11pm.
CBS has made a minor change for this coming Monday only. Wednesday sitcom Gary Unmarried (Pilot Repeat) will air Monday, October 27, 2008 at 9:30pm ET/PT replacing a repeat of Worst Week. The rest of the CBS comedies are also repeats the entire night on Oct. 27.

Hallmark Channel November 2008 Sees More Cheers; Network Notes

Hallmark Channel has announced its November 2008 schedule and Cheers will be getting more timeslots! Currently Cheers airs on weekends, Saturday and Sunday nights from 1-3am ET and Sunday mornings from 10am-12pm ET. However, starting Monday, October 27, Cheers will also air weekdays! Cheers will air back-to-back at 4:00pm & 4:30pm ET replacing an airing of Little House on the Prairie, which will still air weekdays 10am, 11am and 3pm. There will be no other schedule changes for November. Cheers will lead into another classic sitcom in M*A*S*H from 6-8pm. For fans wondering, the weekday rotation will start from episode one and will be different from the current weekend airings.
Among the other highlights in November are holiday movies starting Saturday, November 22 everyday. Movies include Angel in the Family, The Christmas Card, A Season for Miracles, An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, and The Note. On Thanksgiving Day you can enjoy family movies with your family like Mighty Joe Young, The Rookie, and Iron Will. The day after Thanksgiving will see more holiday movies.

The premiere date for NBC's upcoming reality dating series Momma's Boys has been moved back two weeks to Wednesday, November 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. The previously announced premiere date was Wednesday, October 29 from 9-10 p.m. ET/PT. The show will air for 6 weeks through December 17. Deal or No Deal will air in the timeslot on October 22, 29 and November 5.
At ABC, on Wednesday, November 5, 2008, a special Dancing With The Stars: The Results will air from 8:00-9:02 PM ET/PT because it will be preempted on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 due to ABCNews' Presidential Election Coverage from 7PM-2AM ET on that night. So, Private Practice will air off the clock from 9:02-10:02 PM ET/PT and Dirty Sexy Money will also air off the clock from 10:02-11:00 PM ET/PT on this date (Nov. 5) only. Pushing Daisies will be preempted on that night.
Also, the back-door pilot episode for the Supernanny spin-off series, Super-manny will air in the Supernanny timeslot on Friday, November 14 at 9:00PM.
We are still waiting for CBS to pick up the new drama The Mentalist for a full season. CBS has ordered six additional scripts, though. So the back-nine should be next.

Three new shows launch tonight. Sitcom Kath & Kim at 8:30PM on NBC, and two new dramas battle at 10PM on ABC and CBS with Life On Mars and The Eleventh Hour. Both will get good sampling, but Life On Mars is getting the better reviews. I've also seen an advanced preview of the pilot and it is great. Check out abc.com for a 1973 look in honor of the premiere of Life On Mars tonight!

Hallmark Channel Adds More Cheers; ION Changes for This Week Only; More Cable Deals

We reported back over a month ago the timeslots for Cheers on The Hallmark Channel. Originally it was slated to air Sundays 10am-12pm starting Sunday, October 5. Now Hallmark will add more slots to that! Sunday nights from 1am-3am ET will also be added that night, replacing the Diagnosis Murder movie. It will also be added to Saturday nights as well the following week, starting October 11, from 1am-3am as well, replacing two hours of Walker Texas Ranger. So weekend nights from 1am-3am and Sunday mornings from 10am-12pm. More timeslots for Cheers is certainly good news. Now all it needs is to air on weekdays, so everybody does know its name and they're glad they came to Hallmark!

ION Television has made some changes for this Wednesday and Friday only. On Wednesday, October 1, they have scheduled an extra Boston Legal at 10PM, replacing ER on this night. This is the week Boston Legal expands on ION from just Mondays at 8 to Mon-Thurs at 8 and Wednesdays at 9. So, this Wednesday it will air for the full primetime from 8-11PM. So far the show has done decent and much better than ER. This Friday (October 3), ION will have a Warner Bros. movie marathon from 4PM-10:30PM preempting their regular schedule, including the RHI primetime movies on this night. Movies airing are Above the Law, Unbreakable, and City of Angels, with an episode of Warner Bros. sitcom Drew Carey Show at 10:30pm.
Warner Bros. Thursday movie titles for the month are now in and you'll see Unbreakable, Grumpier Old Men, Matchstick Men, City of Angels and Above the Law each Thursday night in October.
See our ION Television October 2008 blog story for the details we previously relayed.

Bravo has acquired the exclusive cable rights for the original thirteen-episode run of the critically-acclaimed but low rated drama series Swingtown, from CBS. The cable network premiere of the series is scheduled for later this fall. Bravo says it doesn't plan on making original episodes. CBS was said to have been shopping the show to cable for future seasons as they have no plans for additional seasons. So will Bravo be the choice? Swingtown traces two generations of friends and neighbors as they forge intimate connections and explore new freedoms during the culturally transformative decade of the 1970s. The series stars Jack Davenport, Grant Show, Josh Hopkins, Molly Parker, Lana Parrilla, Miriam Shor, Shanna Collins, Aaron Howles and Britt Robertson.
Meanwhile, Oxygen has acquired the exclusive cable rights to the groundbreaking reality competition series America's Next Top Model. The network will bring viewers all the Top Model fashion challenges, photo shoots and model mayhem as the full library of the hit series joins Oxygen in January, 2009. In an agreement with CBS Television Distribution, Oxygen will retain exclusive cable rights to all episodes including the 11th cycle currently airing on the CW, the show's 12th cycle now in production and repeat airings of any future cycles beyond. The Top Model genre of programming and the show's personalities have already proven successful on Oxygen, with The Tyra Banks Show encores airing daily on the network after its run in first-run syndication and former Top Model judge Janice Dickinson's series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency now in its fourth season on Oxygen.

TV Land September 2008 Schedule...Again; BET Schedule Updates

OK so we gave you TV Land September details two other times already. The latest one was exactly a week ago and the first one was last month, with a few updates in between those. Now a third major update is done! Could three be the charm?
TV Land has not touched its weekday line-up starting Sept. 2. It will remain the same as it was previously, with Scrubs joining weeknights at 9 & 9:30pm. However, TV Land has touched the Saturday and Sunday line-up a bit starting Sept. 6. For Saturdays, the biggest changes are Andy Griffith in the 9am hour, Scrubs airing 9-10pm and 12-1am, The Cosby Show 10-11pm, with M*A*S*H 1-2am and various marathons from 2-6am. As for Sundays, they will have a two-hour block of M*A*S*H, Andy Griffith Show, I Love Lucy, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Little House on the Prairie from 8pm-6am. So the regular overnight (1-6am) will now only be weeknights.
In that schedule we announced last month, we stated that there would be changes to the morning line-up starting Sept. 15 with Cheers removed, that will not be the case now. The Sept. 2 schedule will last through Sept. 19. Then on Saturday, Sept. 20, there will be a minor change as The Munsters and The Addams Family are expiring, as we knew already. Then on Monday, Sept. 22 more changes are happening to weekdays. The weekday morning block will be altered a bit. M*A*S*H comes into the weekday 7am hour replacing Night Court/Mad About You. Night Court will shift to 8am, replacing Designing Women followed by Cheers at 8:30am, which is still on (for now)! Now TV Land's October schedule starts the following week on Sept. 29, so Cheers will not be on that as the contract is expiring and the show is moving to The Hallmark Channel on Sundays as we stated yesterday. Back to Sept. 22, an extra Sanford & Son will replace All in the Family at 9am, so Designing Women, Mad About You and All in the Family are gone. They join the previously booted Just Shoot Me! and Murphy Brown, which will leave the line-up in late August.
I really urge you to view the entire line-up for the TV Land September 2008 schedule, so you do not get confused. So is this the Fall schedule? Not quite, as two more series will join the daily line-up in October...3rd Rock from the Sun (as we exclusively announced) and daily plays of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. So we will have the TV Land Fall 2008 line-up (October) in the coming days!
Come back tomorrow for our Canada cable networks fall 2008 line-ups--DejaView, TV Land Canada, CTS, and more!

Now let's move on to BET. We don't have their Fall line-up yet, but before the fall starts they will be doing some notable things. First, just to remind you that this Sunday (Sunday, August 17) from 3pm-7pm ET they will have a farewell marathon for the short-lived sitcom Sanford (1980, starring Redd Foxx). All the Sony Pictures sitcoms they have are all expiring at the end of August and they will not be renewing them, unfortunately. So you will not see Diff'rent Strokes, Thea, Sanford, and Malcolm & Eddie in September. Yes, The Steve Harvey Show is from Sony but that is not part of that package and thus Harvey is not expiring.
Diff'rent Strokes (weekdays 9-11am) will have a missing episode finally aired on BET. The episode "Bulimia" has never aired on BET because the tape they had was damaged...but now BET has gotten a new one and will air it on Thursday, Aug. 21 at 9:30am, so get those VCRs/DVRs ready! Speaking of Diff'rent Strokes, it will have a five-episode block in primetime on Saturday, August 23 from 8pm-10:30pm, followed by a five-episode block of A Different World from 10:30pm-1am. The episodes will be multiple-part storylines. View the episode info for this stunt.
That's not all for Diff'rent Strokes! On its last day of airing, BET will give it a proper send-off with an all-day marathon on Friday, August 29 from 9am-6pm. We don't have episode info yet for that stunt, but should by next week, so keep checking our Diff'rent Strokes message board.
Fans of A Different World will be pleased that all week of August 25, the show will air at 11pm and 11:30pm, as BET has a movie stunt all week at midnight.
As for early September, replacing Diff'rent Strokes starting Sept. 1 from 9-11am will be the sitcom Girlfriends, and Hell Date will air weekdays 3-4pm full time and not share it with any other original.
As for the fall, all we know is new syndicated series Judge Karen is coming to BET on Sept. 22 along with court favorite Judge Hatchett. Judge Karen will actually launch in syndication on Sept. 8, check local listings or JudgeKarenTV.com. Hopefully another sitcom or two come as well, we will let you know.

Hallmark Channel Fall 2008 Schedule With Cheers; Comcast Launches MGM's Impact Action onDemand

We continue the fall 2008 schedules for cable and today we take a look at The Hallmark Channel's Fall 2008 schedule. Now, their fall schedule schedule will start in October and they really have no changes at all! I believe their weekday line-up of dramas (Little House, Murder She Wrote, etc) and comedic drama M*A*S*H are doing well that they don't want to change anything yet. Now we already announced that Cheers is coming this fall previously, and now we have when it will air. Since we just said weekdays will have no changes at all, that will leave Cheers to just weekends, and they will air four episodes a week on Sundays from 10am-12pm starting Saturday, October 5. Hopefully it can do well there and then they can transition it to weekdays possibly?
Also joining the Hallmark schedule is the first-run syndicated series NASCAR Angels (it will also remain on your locals weekly as well) airing Sunday mornings at 8am, replacing one of the M*A*S*H airings, so M*A*S*H Sunday airings will now be 8:30am-10am.
Original movies for the month are Ladies of the House on Oct. 18 and Generation Gap on Oct. 25 both from 9-11pm.
We're sorry that there are not many changes or that Cheers is not on any other day, but we just report what we get and see! Anyway, view the Hallmark Channel Fall 2008 Schedule.
Stay tuned for Canada cable schedules, ION Television, WE tv, Nick at Nite, BET, and NYC local channels fall line-ups in the coming days.

Comcast Corporation and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) today announced a partnership to launch Impact, the first video-on-demand (VOD) channel dedicated exclusively to action programming. The new channel, available first to Comcast customers this week, features a host of exciting and popular action films and television shows, many available in high-definition (HD), that will captivate adventure seekers and fans of action, one of the fastest growing movie categories at the box office.
Within the first year, Impact will premiere many of the most successful films in action history, including movies from the James Bond series, Rocky, Terminator, Magnificent Seven and RoboCop. Impact will also kick-off its programming with some of its most popular action stars from the MGM library such as Chuck Norris, Sylvester Stallone and Charles Bronson. As an ongoing part of this VOD channel, there will be special programming themes created around the popular action genres including thrillers, crime, espionage, westerns, war films and martial arts.
It looks like this onDemand service will primarily be movies, though. We will try to get a list of MGM action TV series coming to Impact soon.

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!