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ABC Orders Put Pilot From Morgan Murphy & Tim Story

October 10, 2016

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ABC Orders Put Pilot From Morgan Murphy & Tim Story

Family having to return/leave home is the basis for an entire sub genre of sitcoms. While that theme is endlessly relatable, tackling it now from an intriguing, original, and engaging angle is a very formidable challenge.

That being said, we hope that ABC and Tim Story will let the hysterical Morgan Murphy push for a whip-smart sitcom that doesn’t pull any punches in this put pilot.

Take note that some of the best and darkest jokes on Two Broke Girls are penned by Murphy and if you’ve ever seen her stand-up, you’ll know that there is potential for her to make something really worth watching.

ABC Reviving ‘The Gong Show’ for 10 Episodes with Will Arnett Attached as Producer

October 3, 2016

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ABC Reviving ‘The Gong Show’ for 10 Episodes with Will Arnett Attached as Producer

One can only hope that one of the episodes features Arnett as G.O.B. Bluth doing his magic act.

40 years ago, America’s Got Talent wasn’t a thing along with the multitude of other reality competition shows that delve into the weird talents from all around the country. Back then, The Gong Show, which almost explicitly explored some of the weirdest acts they could find only to revel in hitting a gong to cut them short, was that weird talent showcase TV series.

Seems like a show that’s cut out for 2016, right?

ABC thinks so with a 10 episode order and none other than Will Arnett on board as an EP. There is no word as to who the host will be, but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Arnett in that role as well.

The Goldbergs, Speechless, Modern Family, and Black-ish All Return/Premiere Tonight on ABC

September 21, 2016

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The Goldbergs (Season 4 Premiere) 8PM
Speechless (Series Premiere) 8:30PM
Modern Family (Season 8 Premiere) 9PM
Black-ish (Season 3) 9:30PM

Looks like ABC has their own version of NBC’s old comedy block Must See TV and it looks pretty formidable.

It looks especially more stout for all the positive reception that Speechless has been receiving.

Hulu Shifting Its Free TV Offerings to New Yahoo View | Hollywood Reporter

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Hulu Shifting Its Free TV Offerings to New Yahoo View | Hollywood Reporter

If you’ve been enjoying a free ride of the five latest episodes of Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Last Man on Earth a few days after they air or were looking forward to streaming new network comedies like The Good Place, Making History, or Speechless, know that you’re going to probably have to make sure to do so at Yahoo View, the new TV and Hulu distribution partner site from Yahoo.

This is all now happening because Hulu is going to be a full subscription service.

Jimmy Kimmel Gets 3 Year Extension at ABC

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We have a feeling that the Jimmys of late night will be battling well beyond 2019.

As part of ABC’s Upfronts presentation, the network announced Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Kimmel Live will remain at ABC through Fall of 2019. The other Jimmy in late night, Fallon, has his contract currently extended through 2021. However Kimmel and Fallon are the current top ratings winners and that, for now, should keep them going in the late night arena for quite some time.

The Peabody Awards Will Honor Jon Stewart and David Letterman and Have Announced Finalists

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Hopefully, this means that Stewart and Letterman will be making a TV appearance several weeks from now.

The new and improved Peabody Awards are setting to honor retired late night luminaries Jon Stewart and David Letterman. In addition to that, the following comedy series have been just announced as Peabody finalists:

Black-ish
Catastrophe
Fresh Off The Boat
Master of None
Transparent
VEEP

You’ll have to wait to find out who ends up going home with a revered Peabody Award as the actual ceremony doesn’t happen until May 21st.

Jimmy Kimmel to Return as Host for The Emmys

abc, jimmy kimmel, the emmys

Now, we’ll just have to see if The Emmys will get any sort of controversy like The Oscars did and how Kimmel might handle it.

This September, Jimmy Kimmel will host The Primetime Emmy Awards for the second time and also “keep it in the family” at ABC is the current home of both Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Emmys.

Given the amount of awards given out at The Emmys and the growing amount of diversity on TV, an #EmmysSoWhite seems unlikely. However, six months leaves plenty of room for controversy, from any angle, to arise and potentially make for a very intriguing challenge for someone like Kimmel.

A Bunch of Shows Got Renewed Today Including Fresh Off The Boat, Black-Ish, The Goldbergs, The Middle, Modern Family, and Teachers

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(via Variety/@teachersseries)

ABC seems pretty happy with their comedy slate.

Save for The Muppets, Dr. Ken, Galavant, and Last Man Standing, ABC has announced the renewal of the rest entire comedy line-up today. That includes Modern Family for its 8th season, The Middle, also for its 8th season, Fresh Off the Boat for its 3rd season, Black-ish, also for its 3rd season, and The Goldbergs for its 4th season.

Considering how quick the ax is brought down on series at other networks these days, this is a pretty big milestone for the broadcast network.

Also, TV Land’s freshman series Teachers will live to see a sophomore season.

Maybe this is a sign of the tides of cancelling new comedy series is changing? We certainly hope so.

Andy Richter to Host Jimmy Kimmel-Produced Game Show “Big Fan”

February 9, 2016

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Maybe Andy Richter will shine like Steve Harvey does as a game show host on Family Feud?

The idea stemmed from a game that Jimmy Kimmel plays on Jimmy Kimmel Live where a celebrity is challenged to a trivia match against one of their own super fans. Kimmel has now gotten it to be its own series, not unlike Fallon has done with Lip Sync Battle, at ABC.

It’s a weekly game show, so we’re going to assume Richter will retain his role as Conan’s sidekick.

New Showrunner Kristin Newman Calling Audible for Tonight’s Midseason Return of “The Muppets”

February 3, 2016

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(via The Hollywood Reporter)

Largely, it seems like they’re bringing the series back the original spirit of The Muppets.

In an attempt to make a Muppets TV show that would both please adult and younger audiences in 2016, ABC made a cross between The Muppets, Studio 60, and The Office that erred more on the adult side of things. That sounds like it should be a home run these days, but that has not been the case.

Low ratings brought the network to let go of the initial showrunner Bob Kushell in favor of new blood, Kristin Newman from Galavant. In this Hollywood Reporter interview, Newman has opted to have less in fighting between The Muppets, re-center Kermit and Miss Piggy’s relationship, and focus on joyful moments.

It sounds like a good move and we’ll all get to see how effective Newman’s new plan is tonight on ABC at 8:30PM.

“Happy Endings” May Not Be Getting Revived, But The Entire Series Is on Hulu

January 3, 2016

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This is another step in Hulu amassing an archive of all the series you miss/missed out on.

Until now, the short lived series Happy Endings on ABC was only available over at VH1.

Now, you can enjoy Jane, Alex, Dave, Max, Brad, and Penny all you want at one of the streaming service giants, Hulu.

ABC Developing Ex-Convict Comedy From Elizabeth Laime, Casey Wilson, and June Diane Raphael

November 9, 2015

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Not only is it a sitcom following an ex-convict, but one that ends up being an in-home health aide.

The great comedic forces of Elizabeth Laime, Casey Wilson, and June Diane Raphael are coming together for an intriguing addition to ABC’s comedy development slate. Laime is writing what is called Crystal and Wilson and Raphael are attached as producers, which serves as good cause to keep a close eye on this project.

Hopefully, we won’t be getting our hopes in vain like we did when ABC had a pilot with June Diane Raphael, Kristen Schaal, and Jenny Slate.

ABC Developing a Single Camera Comedy Pilot Written Jen Kirkman and Dan Bucatinsky

November 5, 2015

abc, dan bucatinsky, jen kirkman, pilot season, single camera

Jen Kirkman co-writing an “…untitled comedy revolves around four women friends rattled by a fortysomething feeling of irrelevance who embark on a mission to turn their invisibility into invincibility.” is all good by us.

ABC’s comedy development slate for this pilot season just got a whole lot more interesting with the addition of this project following women like Kirkman making their way through the world on their terms despite all the societal forces working against them. Familiarize yourself with Jen’s stand-up, books, and podcast if you’re not already familiar.

Jen is writing it with Dan Bucatinsky who you’ve probably seen work on- and behind-the-scenes of the comeback of The Comeback.

It has a put pilot commitment, so let’s cross our fingers even more that it tips the scales of being picked up to series.

ABC Developing Aisha Muharrar Comedy Based on Book About Trying to Diet Like a Celebrity

October 29, 2015

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(via The Hollywood Reporter)

This project is being adapted from Rebecca Harrington’s I’ll Have What’s She’s Having: My Adventures in Celebrity Dining.

Aisha Muharrar will now go having written on Parks and Recreation to potentially running her own show over at ABC. This series would specifically follow people’s foolish attempts at trying to emulate the lives of famous people and inevitably bringing more chaos into their lives.

Having plenty of experience with Tom Haverford, we definitely can see how this would work.

ABC Is Developing a Meta Family Sitcom from Modern Family’s Danny Zuker

October 14, 2015

abc, danny zuker, family show, meta, modern family, put pilot

It’s being touted as a Larry Sanders Show for family sitcoms, which is a welcome change of pace.

Veteran sitcom writer Danny Zuker not only works on Modern Family, one of the most critically and commercially successful comedies on TV right now, but is now developing his own sitcom that shows a TV family and the not-so-rosy underbelly of that same family in real life called Family Show.

While you get to see a bit of that on shows like BoJack Horseman, seeing a high concept like that at ABC, where Modern Family happens to also be, is very intriguing to see.

Luckily, it has a put pilot commitment and we’ll get to see what Zuker is cooking up.

ABC Is Developing a Marvel Universe Based Comedy, “Damage Control”

October 2, 2015

abc, ben karlin, damage control, marvel comics, marvel universe

As ABC already has Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter and NBC has their own DC universe sitcom in development, it only seems inevitable that this would happen.

Damage Control will follow the folks that have to clean-up the mess that always comes with superheroes saving the world from potential annihilation. It’s not unlike NBC’s DC project, Powerless, which follows the employees of an insurance company in the DC universe.

This project comes from veteran producer Ben Karlin who has a career ranging from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to Modern Family.

It will be fascinating if both Powerless and Damage Control go to series, furthering the rivalry between DC and Marvel.

ABC Is Developing a Used Car Dealership Comedy from Annie Mumolo and Damon Jones

October 1, 2015

abc, annie mumolo, damon jones, used cars, wheeler dealer

While there has been The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard and Coogan Auto, there might be a new sitcom that delves into the world of trying to sell used cars.

ABC has brought Wheeler Dealer from Annie Mumolo who has co-written Bridesmaids and Damon Jones who co-created the far too short lived Benched on to their development slate. It’ll follow a pampered Texas widow trying to run a used car dealership.

Hopefully, this will be a single camera comedy and have all the sharpness and wit that Mumolo and Jones have had in their past shows/movies.

Fox and ABC Both Have Sitcoms About the Lives of Rappers Heems and Nicki Minaj in Development

September 29, 2015

abc, das racist, fox, heems, nicki minaj

(via Dead line)

Both were announced this week and would make for an intriguing rivalry if they both went to series.

Fox is developing a series based on the life of Heems, formerly of rap group Das Racist, and how he lives with his folks in Queens, NY that’s cleverly titled Eat Pray Thug. Similarly, ABC is committed to making a pilot for a series based on the life of rap superstar Nicki Minaj and how she came to this country from Trinidad and Tobago.

Given the success of Empire, seeing the life behind the music, especially when it comes to rap and hip hop, is really in right now. Don’t be shocked to see more sitcoms set in this world coming up this pilot season.

Watch THR’s Roundtable Discussion with Showrunners of Transparent, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Black-ish, Silicon Valley, Togetherness, and Modern Family

You can not only get into the headspace of many today’s top comedy showrunners, but what their headspace is like when they’re all in a room together.

Jill Soloway of Transparent, Robert Carlock of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kenya Barris of Black-ish, Alec Berg of Silicon Valley, Jay Duplass of Togetherness, and Steve Levitan of Modern Family all came together to sit and chat at The Hollywood Reporter’s fascinating roundtable discussions about their shows and how they fit into the booming and constantly evolving landscape of television.

As you’ll see, there are plenty of the reasons that each one of these shows with these folks at the helm are successful.

Watch the hour long discussion here.

ABC To Skew New “Muppets” Towards Grown-Ups

(via EW)

Looks like No, You Shut Up! won’t be the only TV show with puppets intended for older audiences on the block anymore.

ABC is reviving The Muppets, but are giving the franchise a 21st century makeover that will act more like a single camera mockumentary (hopefully appealing to more adults) than the previous versions of the show. This new Muppets will also delve deeper into the lives of The Muppets beyond what Kermit and Ms. Piggy have going on.

We’re not sure how far they’ll go with this “adult” idea, but it’s not completely off base as shown by series like Adventure Time that appeal to a wide range of ages.

While on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, Eric Andre and Jimmy Kimmel Talk About That One Time Jimmy Kimmel Was on “The Eric Andre Show”

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It’s not necessarily a who-live-to-tell-the-tale experience when guests do a segment on The Eric Andre Show, but host Eric Andre certainly makes a point of putting anyone who comes on the show through the ringer to a degree where some folks walk out and never speak of it again.

Jimmy Kimmel, however, knew what he was in for.

Jimmy Kimmel was a recent guest on The Eric Andre Show and revisited his experience, which he was game for, while on his own non-parody of a talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live with Eric Andre himself.

Also, if you wondering, here’s the full clip of Jimmy’s visit to The Eric Andre Show.

Craig Ferguson To Star In ABC Comedy Pilot “King of 7B” and Probably Forego Hosting a Show Soon

February 28, 2015

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(via The Hollywood Reporter)

There has been more than plenty of speculation as to what Craig Ferguson was going to do post Late Late Show at CBS. For awhile, there was talk of him hosting a primetime syndicated talk show, which ended up falling through during negotiations with individual stations. Some have even tossed his hat in the ring for stepping in for Jon Stewart when he leaves The Daily Show.

Well, much of that chatter can now be quieted, for now at least, as Craig will be starring in the the ABC comedy pilot “King of 7B”. It’s a single camera comedy that follows Craig as an agoraphobic who tries to overcome his fear for love, possibly.

It’s only a pilot, so there’s the chance that he might end up doing something else later this year, but you can place a pretty safe bet it won’t be hosting a talk show that airs nightly.

ABC Orders Pilot of “Dr. Ken” From Ken Jeong, Mike O’Connell, and Jared Stern

February 13, 2015

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As far as the multi-cam sitcom pilots that have been ordered this pilot season, Dr. Ken ordered by ABC might be one of the most intriguing ones.

While the premise of a doctor trying to balance work and family seems like pretty safe territory for a sitcom, the team of Ken Jeong, Mike O’Connell, Jared Stern, and Mike Sikowitz might be cooking up something that’s more high concept and out there than you might initially think.

Jeong was a practicing doctor before he got into stand-up and went by a moniker that serves the title of this show, Dr. Ken. Together O’Connell and Jeong made this music video for What’s It Gonna Be before Ken made a name for himself in The Hangover franchise and Community. Also, O’Connell is one hell of a comedian himself as you can see in him performing his song “Little Asian Babies” on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Of course, we don’t know what exactly is being written and shot behind close stage doors here, but we suspect that it won’t be your typical multi-cam.

ABC Orders Pilots For Fortune Feimster and Jermaine Fowler Comedies

February 3, 2015

abc, fortune feimster, jermaine fowler, tina fey

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

The pilot season is ramping up and networks are really trying to figure out their new game plan with comedy, especially after last season’s cancellation bloodbath.

Having them make it out of development, we think ABC is doing well to move forward with the semi-autobiographical sitcoms based on the lives of Fortune Feimster and Jermaine Fowler. Respectively, they’re called Family Fortune and Delores and Jermaine.

They’ll be two in a crowded field of several pilots that are now in contention at ABC. Both pilots are multi-camera projects and we can only hope that they steer clear of what happened to Mulaney.

Cristela Gets a Full Season at ABC

November 26, 2014

Very few sitcoms made it out of this TV season’s primordial ooze and one of them, announced today, is Cristela.

Cristela gets a full season order putting the show at 22 episodes, which sounds incredibly rare these days for a new comedy series.

So, there are still some network top dogs that still like comedy apparently.