It may seem silly to think that Access Hollywood actually has a season premiere date. It may also seem contradictory to say that there are some all-new reruns coming this fall, but the fall TV schedule does have an impact on the Monday through Friday syndication strips as well. A few of those changes are worth noting, or perhaps avoiding.
Not Enough Access Hollywood?
In a TV experiment which already reeks of the new Coke disaster, Access Hollywood will be giving birth to a new spin-off called Access Hollywood Live. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new show “will feature in-studio guests, a cast of regular contributors and female-friendly segments.” Does this mean that women were just having way too much trouble relating to regular Access Hollywood?
The show is debuting September 13th with a limited syndication run. Only 13 stations in the US, along with City TV Toronto, are lucky enough to be a part of this NBC/Universal guinea pig experiment. Look for it weekdays at 5PM on City, check local listings elsewhere. The Hollywood Reporter also states that they plan go national in the US eventually. They’re probably also planning on not bombing.
Speaking of Canada, when the regular version of Access returns for its 15th season on September 6th, it won’t be on CTV as it will be replaced by The Big Bang Theory. Access will be seen on CTV’s sister networks A and Star as well as on US local stations.
The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Other New Reruns Every Weeknight
Fans of the popular geek sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, which pokes fun of nerd culture, or pays homage to it, depending on your perspective, will be on Monday through Friday this fall. This means that fans can now follow the entire series again from the very first episode. Look for it on TBS and on local stations across the US. In Canada, the series will air most nights at 7:30 PM/10 Central on CTV.
Other new syndication strips include HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage which will air on a daily basis on regular non-cable TV. It will be interesting to see the editing hack job they will have to pull off to please the censors.
To be fair, Curb has already been in reruns since June on The TV Guide Network, where the show was edited for profanity and other inappropriate content but not for time. But now that the show will be on local network affiliates in June, the editing will surely only get worse. Both shows will air on various stations including those owned by Tribune, such as WPIX, KTLA, WGN Chicago and WGN America.
To End Things Off: Conan O’Brien
Finally, assuming we include cable TV as part of the definition of syndication, funny man Conan O’Brien will finally be back on TV following the much publicized debacle over NBC’s late night programming gaffe. His new show, starting in November, will air Monday through Thursday at 11 PM on TBS and a little later at 1:05 AM on CTV in Canada.
These are just some of the non-prime-time changes coming and while they might not have much of an overall impact on viewing habits, it is interesting to be informed about them nonetheless. At the very least, it may help those who dislike talk shows and reruns to avoid them. By the way, the start dates of these shows may vary from one market to another. After all, this is syndication.
Steve Hatton - Steve Hatton is a Montreal-based freelance writer and journalist who covers the television industry, including TV show reviews and media ...
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