News

Paramount’s free streaming service, Pluto TV, has revealed its December highlights. The Pluto TV December 2024 lineup includes the “Season’s Greetings” category, which features festive TV and movies all month long on channels like Pluto TV Christmas, Hallmark Movies and More Holiday Favorites.

Special programming, like a Hanukah Menorah and Kwanzaa Kinara on the service’s Crackling Fireplace channel, will also be available. Be sure to check out new channels such as Dinos 24/7 and The Twilight Zone as well.

Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live, linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience. The Emmy Award-winning service curates a diverse lineup of channels in partnership with hundreds of international media companies.

The Most Streamable Time Of The Year

This December, Pluto TV is serving up a sleigh-load of Christmas classics, holiday episodes, movies and more. Don’t miss their “Season’s Greetings” category,...

Alexis Bellino took a break from her Thanksgiving celebration to focus on Shannon Beador again.

This time she showed receipts of how much her man, John Janssen, spent on The Real Housewives of Orange County before their relationship ended.

That figure is a whopping $455,000, according to spreadsheets posted by Alexis on social media.

This follows John’s latest interview, in which he slammed claims that Shannon funded his lifestyle during their romance.

The 62-year-old noted that he didn’t need or want Shannon’s money because he had his own, having founded several successful businesses over the years.

John did the sit-down interview without his fiance Alexis Bellino by his side, but she has now included herself in the mix.

Did John Janssen spend $455,000 on Rhoc star Shannon Beador?

Rhoc viewers are less than thrilled that John is still talking about Shannon given that the season is over.

However, Alexis...

The 10 Best TV Show Theme Songs of All Time Ranked - Main Image

Throughout the history of television, we've watched and listened to some of the best TV show theme songs of all time whether it's from a sitcom, an hour-long drama, an animated series, or a children's show.

Here is our ranking of the 10 best TV show theme songs of all time:

10. Family Guy

Family Guy has been running for 23 seasons, and its iconic theme song remains an integral part of the series. Fans have also been humming it non-stop because of its catchy tune and memorable lyrics.

It's a wonderful way to start every episode of the series as it sets up a certain expectation of the fun and excitement that you will get when you watch an episode of the long-running adult animated series.

9. The Brady Bunch

The Brady Bunch is considered to be one of the...

The best kind of Thanksgiving leftovers are the ones from the past five decades of television. Our favorite TV shows have provided the sort of memories that last long beyond the turkey and stuffing that will be gone by the weekend after. Take our photo gallery tour with the greatest Thanksgiving episodes in TV history. Click through and enjoy reliving the following special holiday programs.

Our gallery is ranked worst to best, but we’ll give you a heads-up on what is in the #1 position: the classic CBS comedy “The Bob Newhart Show” and the episode “Over the River and Through the Woods.” When his wife Emily decides to visit her family across country, Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) invites over his neighbor Howard (Bill Daily), co-worker Jerry (Peter Bonerz), and psychology patient Mr. Carlin (Jack Riley). The foursome watches football games and progressively gets drunker throughout the day.

See‘The...

Shirley Jones and Florence Henderson both played beloved moms on 1970s sitcoms. Jones portrayed Shirley Partridge on The Partridge Family, while Henderson starred as Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch. So perhaps it’s no surprise that fans sometimes confused the two actors for each other, as Jones once revealed in an interview.

Shirley Jones was compared to Florence Henderson Robert Reed and Florence Henderson in ‘The Brady Bunch’ | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

While Jones won an Oscar and starred in Broadway musicals, to many people, she’s best known for her work on The Partridge Family, which aired from 1970 to 1974 on ABC. She reflected on her long career in a conversation with the Television Academy Foundation.

The Partridge Family’s run overlapped with that of The Brady Bunch, which starred Henderson as mom of six Carol Brady and aired from 1969 to 1974. When asked...

Christopher Knight doesn’t sound that enthusiastic about being a child actor, even though he benefited from the “wholesome environment” on the Brady Bunch set, he said this week on the I Choose Me with Jennie Garth podcast. It’s not that being gainfully employed as Peter Brady was so bad, but “isn’t that your parents’ job to work, not you?”

One reason Knight had to work in the first place was because his actor dad was having trouble landing roles, he explained. With theater jobs in scarce supply, Knight’s father found an agent for Christopher and his older brother, Garth. To everyone’s surprise (because Garth was the outgoing one), Christopher was the one who booked work, including his role on Brady Bunch.

It was a good thing that young Knight delivered a regular paycheck since his home life was “chaotic and not abundant.” How bad was it?...

On HGTV’s 2019 series A Very Brady Renovation, the Studio City mid-century ranch home that served as the establishing shot of the Brady Bunch house was gutted and remodeled to look like the interiors from the beloved sitcom. Then in 2023, socialite (and super Brady fan) Tina Trahan bought the property for $3.2 million and has been obsessively filling it with every prop and decorative item ever captured on the series — 300 “Easter eggs” in all. I toured the house and can attest it is one of the trippiest experiences I’ve ever encountered. Salt and pepper shakers, handwritten birthday cards, night table reading: it’s all exactly as it appeared on the show (as are the rooms).

Now Trahan is mulling what to do with her creation. She’s enlisted Brady Bunch cast members Barry “Greg” Williams and Christopher “Peter” Knight (himself in the decor space — his Christopher Knight Home collection chairs...

The Paramount+ Holiday Collection ‘Tis The Season for Streaming returns to the service today with hundreds of seasonal movies and beloved specials for the whole household to enjoy, including the debut of the streaming service’s first original holiday film, Dear Santa.

The Farrelly Brothers holiday comedy Dear Santa stars Jack Black, Robert Timothy Smith, Keegan-Michael Key, Brianne Howey, Hayes MacArthur, and Post Malone in a story of a young boy who mails his Christmas wish list to Santa with one crucial spelling error, resulting in a devilish Jack Black’s arrival to wreak havoc on the holidays. The film premieres on November 25 exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and the following day in the UK and Australia.

Dear Santa

This year’s Paramount+ Holiday Collection will also include the debut of SpongeBob SquarePants – “SpongeBob & Sandy’s Country Christmas,” an all-new half-hour special where one of Sandy’s experiments...

For many years, fans of "Gilligan's Island" heard the rumors that actress Tina Louise, who played the glamorous movie star Ginger on the series, openly hated the show. These rumors were founded mostly on the fact that Louise, after "Gilligan's Island" went off the air in 1967, refused to reunite with her old co-stars for any of the follow-up TV movies or animated spinoffs. Everyone else returned for those projects, but Louise stayed far away. 

Additionally, stories from the set detailed a strained working relationship between Louise and star Bob Denver. Some might know the story about how Louise signed a contract allowing her to be listed last in the credits, forcing the writers of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song to refer to the Professor and Mary Ann as "and the rest!" It wouldn't be until Bob Denver pulled rank and theatened to put his own starring credit last that Louise...

Paramount’s free streaming service Pluto TV has revealed its November highlights. The Pluto TV November 2024 lineup serves up a delicious selection of TV shows, movies, and new channels, including the return of their Season’s Greetings category and a cornucopia of fresh options.

For those inspired to trace their roots, check out PBS Genealogy to explore the fascinating and emotional histories of the famous and not-so-famous. And if the dinner conversation turns competitive (as it often does), settle it with the new Family Feud channel, hosted by Steve Harvey.

As a special holiday gift to you, Pluto TV is bringing back Pluto TV 007! Dive into 20 official James Bond films, including Daniel Craig in No Time to Die, now streaming for free. Whether you’re a longtime James Bond fan or just discovering the legend, enjoy the 007 experience on Pluto TV.

Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service,...

Susan Olsen, known for her role as Cindy Brady on The Brady Bunch, recently revealed on the WalkAway Campaign podcast that a planned revival of the iconic sitcom was scrapped because of her support for Donald Trump and her controversial political views.

Now 63, Olsen detailed that the reboot was in the works at CBS Studios, featuring her and her fellow cast members as adults, with Olsen portraying a libertarian podcaster. She expressed excitement about the show’s treatment, likening it to the successful reboot of Roseanne.

However, Olsen stated that CBS raised concerns after learning of a 2016 incident in which she reportedly sent anti-gay remarks to actor Leon Acord-Whiting following his appearance on her political radio show, LA Talk Radio’s Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics.

This incident led to her termination from the radio station, which issued a statement emphasizing its intolerance for hateful speech.

Misrepresented Details Surrounding Olsen’s Firing

Despite the backlash,...

Susan Olsen, better known to America as “The Youngest One in Curls,” or Cindy from the beloved sitcom The Brady Bunch, revealed that a potential revival of the beloved television show was called off due to her controversial political views.

The sitcom aired in color from 1969 to 1974.

Olsen, 63, shared in an episode of the Walk Away Campaign podcast that the revival would have seen the Brady siblings functioning as adults in the modern world, with Cindy a libertarian podcaster.

window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-mid', container: 'taboola-mid-article-thumbnails', placement: 'Mid Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix' });

Olsen has a long history of controversial political opinions regarding vaccines and particularly on topics of the LGBTQ community. In 2016, Olsen was fired from the radio show Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics after she went on a homophobic rant and gay actor Leon Acord-Whiting forward shared a series of offensive messages she had sent him.

The blended family from The Brady Bunch were not as popular during their original run on ABC as they are today. The ’70s sitcom became a favorite among children and teenagers, who loved to see the sibling dynamics between the three brothers and three sisters. However, they apparently shared more than sibling love off-screen.

A still poster of The Brady Bunch | Credits: Paramount Television

The Brady Bunch saw Robert Reed’s Mike Brady and Florence Henderson’s Carol Martin marry each other, both having been married earlier with kids. Mike has three sons—Greg, Peter, and Bobby—and Carol has three daughters—Marcia, Jan, and Cindy. The couple adopts each other’s children and the sitcom explores this unconventional big family.

The Cast Of The Brady Bunch: What Are They Doing Now? The cast of The Brady Bunch | Credits: Paramount Television

The Brady Bunch ran for five seasons and a total of 117 episodes.

It sounds like we have Susan Olsen and her long history of unhinged rants to thank for stopping a terrible Brady Bunch reboot in its tracks.

Yep, apparently another reset of the 1970s sitcom was in the works. It wouldn’t have been the first (or second or third). There was The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, a supremely odd showcase for Robert Reed’s nonexistent song-and-dance skills; The Brady Brides, featuring Marcia and Jan buying a house to share with their new husbands (kinky!); The Bradys, an hourlong dramedy that aspired to be the Thirtysomething of blended families; and A Very Brady Renovation, featuring the six kids reuniting for a reality show about renovating the original sitcom’s house.

The relative success of A Very Brady Renovation led to conversations about yet another Brady remake. According to Olsen, who played lisping Cindy on the original show, the reboot would have...

“The Brady Bunch” star Susan Olsen was among the Og actors included in a reboot of the beloved sitcom, though it failed to get off the ground due to her controversial comments and hate speech.

The revival series, which was in early development at CBS Studios, would’ve seen the “Brady Bunch” siblings all the grown up, and provided updates on where each one was at in life, with families of their own. Olsen’s character Cindy (the youngest “Brady Brunch” sibling) was on track to be portrayed as a libertarian podcaster, until Olsen’s real-life views thwarted the series, Olsen revealed on the #WalkAway Campaign podcast.

After a homophobic and inflammatory private message — which resulted in her firing from L.A. Talk Radio — was discovered by the studio, Olsen said the studio conducted a web search into her past controversial comments, which eventually turned into a 50 page document that...

Cindy Brady actor Susan Olsen recently claimed on the “Walk Away Campaign” podcast (via Vanity Fair) that CBS killed a revival of “The Brady Bunch” due to her support of Donald Trump and her controversial stances on hot button issues like Covid vaccines and the LGBTQ+ community — but that’s not the whole story, insiders note. For one thing, the show was set up at CBS Studios and hadn’t even been pitched to networks or streamers yet. More importantly, sources note that it was scrapped due to hate speech by Olsen, including homophobic slurs that had previously gotten her fired from a radio gig.

The updated Brady project was considered two years ago, but it’s unclear whether even a script had been written. The project never got past those early stages when Olsen’s behavior stopped it from moving forward. The series would have picked up with the Brady Bunch children as adults.

Susan Olsen, best known for playing Cindy Brady in The Brady Bunch, claims that CBS Studios canceled a sitcom revival due to her political views.

In a new interview, Olsen says a sequel show being developed at CBS Studios was scrapped due to her support of Donald Trump, her views on Covid vaccines, and her stance on the LGBTQ+ community.

“I am what I was going to portray, so what kind of show would this be if I can’t say anything controversial?” Olsen said on the Walk Away Campaign podcast.

In the updated Brady Bunch series, Olsen would have reprised her role of Cindy Brady and play a Libertarian podcaster.

“I did have a phone call with my [TV] siblings and my agent. Everybody was saying, ‘We’re sorry, but they just won’t budge. They just will not have you in this.’ I was like wow, I’ve been canceled,...

Prior to "Gilligan's Island," Natalie Schafer had a professional acting career that lasted for decades. When she was still in her 20s, Schafer began appearing in numerous Broadway productions, often in smaller roles, and rarely in a play that ran for a very long time. She was an expert in playing a certain kind of high-society bourgeoisie biddy, and tended to play comedically clueless archetypes. Beginning in the 1940s, Schafer started to appear in films as well, appearing in multiple features a year. In the 1950s, she stretched into television, and was soon playing guest characters on many of the hottest anthology shows of the day.

At some point along the way, Shafer began telling people that she was 12 years younger than she actually was, likely hoping to avoid a stubborn, unjust stigma in Hollywood against older women. She had a stipulation in her contract that she receive no extreme closeups,...

There are some sitcoms that simply don't work if you're down so much as a single cast member. Could you imagine an episode of "Cheers" without Sam, Carla, Cliff and Norm? The series' producers and writers couldn't, which is why they never missed an episode. The same was true on a much larger scale for "The Brady Bunch," where every single member of the family (and their live-in housekeeper Alice) reported for duty on all 117 episodes.

This kind of consistency was evidently key to a successful Sherwood Schwartz sitcom. The writer/producer who created "The Brady Bunch" was also the mastermind behind "Gilligan's Island," the CBS joker about seven castaways who wash up on the shore of an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The key to the show's success was its shamelessness: from the pilot to the series finale (which arrived a little sooner than expected thanks to...

Considering that so many sitcom contemporaries of Gilligan’s Island — The Brady Bunch, Bewitched, Beverly Hillbillies, Get Smart, The Addams Family — were made into feature films, it’s kinda weird that the show’s exotic locales and inherent live-or-die stakes didn’t get the same treatment. As it turns out, it wasn’t for lack of trying.

There have been multiple attempts to bring Gilligan and pals to the big screen, but like the S.S. Minnow, every one of them crashed into the rocks. For example, when the show’s creator, Sherwood Schwartz, was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 2008, he announced that he and his son Lloyd had just inked a deal for a Gilligan’s Island feature film. The agreement “just happened in the last 48 hours,” Schwartz told TV Guide. “I can’t take this much excitement at my age.”

Maybe because the elder...

Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" was a pop-cultural powerhouse, attracting a mass audience larger than any of the CBS executives expected. While many critics and audience members criticized the show for being silly, unrealistic, and simplistic, it nonetheless lasted for three hit seasons, and was put into eternal syndication, staying alive in reruns for decades. What's more, the series warranted numerous TV movie sequels and spinoffs, including a 1981 TV movie wherein Gilligan (Bob Denver) and the other castaways met the Harlem Globetrotters -- called, helpfully, "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" -- and an animated series wherein the castaways became stranded on a distant planet (!). Yes, "Gilligan's Planet" is a thing.

The spinoffs retained all the original cast members, with the exception of Tina Louise, whose character, Ginger, was played by various other actors. Curiously, the Globetrotters movie was the last time an original "Gilligan's Island" project graced the screen.

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

When a sitcom lasts 12 seasons, there's a good chance it'll undergo some nips and tucks over the years to keep it looking and feeling fresh. "Will they or won't they" tension will eventually have to get paid off. Characters may date, get married, even divorced (see "Rhoda"); basically, unless you're dealing with an animated sitcom like "The Simpsons" (where the characters have been the same age for 36 seasons), you've got to switch things up on occasion – and this doesn't mean resorting to something cheap like casting a new family member a la Cousin Oliver on "The Brady Bunch."

In other words, it's vital to not paint yourself into a corner with a main character if you're looking to keep a series going for a particularly long haul, which, no matter what you think of his myriad hit series, Chuck Lorre...

Sam Strangis, an Emmy-nominated CSI and CSI: Miami producer and Paramount exec and whose career dates back to classic 1960s and ’70s TV shows including Batman, The Brady Bunch and Happy Days, has died. He was 95.

His family told Deadline that Strangis died July 23 of kidney failure at Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, CA, but the news had not been reported.

Strangis’ TV career spanned six decades, from directing NBC’s 1957-59 antebellum western The Restless Gun through the wildly successful first two seasons of CBS’ Crime Scene Investigation and spinoff CSI: Miami. He racked up dozens of credits along the way, also serving as Paramount’s VP of TV Production in the mid-’70s.

Born on June 19, 1929, in Tacoma, Wa, Strangis began his career as a script supervisor at Revue Studios, leading his directing multiple episodes The Restless Gun. He went on to serve as production...

Sam Strangis, the director, producer and production executive behind shows such as “CSI,” “The Brady Bunch,” and “Happy Days,” died of kidney failure on July 23 at Providence Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance, Calif., a family spokesperson confirmed. He was 95.

Strangis began his career as a script supervisor at Revue Studios before directing several episodes of “The Restless Gun,” which ran from 1957 to 1959. He went on to serve as a production manager for the 1966 film “Batman: The Movie” and later made the transition to head of production at Paramount Studios.

At Paramount, Strangis oversaw television shows such as “The Odd Couple,” “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Love,” “American Style,” and “Mannix.”

Strangis, along with his producing partner, Don Boyle, eventually left Paramount to work on the iconic series “Six Million Dollar Man” for Universal Studios. He then went on to produce a number of television films...

Sam Strangis, the Emmy-nominated producer, director and studio executive who worked on Batman, The Six Million Dollar Man and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation during his five-decade career, has died. He was 95.

Strangis died July 23 of kidney failure at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, California, a family spokesperson announced.

As head of production at Paramount Studios starting in the late 1960s, Strangis guided such memorable series as Mannix, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Brady Bunch, Love, American Style and Mission: Impossible.

With then-producing partner Don Boyle, he exited Paramount in 1974 to produce ABC’s new The Six Million Dollar Man, starring Lee Majors, for Universal Television. He followed by shepherding telefilms before returning to Paramount as vice president of TV production.

He would leave the studio again, this time to launch Ten-Four Productions, an independent production company that made such TV movies as...

Marvel Studios' WandaVision was a triumph in every way imaginable. The first ever Disney Plus show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it launched Phase Four on a high, earning the franchise critical acclaim, fan adoration, and its first ever Emmy nominations (and wins!). It was thrilling, spectacular, and full of surprises along the way - surprises that just never stopped coming, and kept us guessing the whole way throughout.

Yes, WandaVision was full of Easter Eggs, nods, and references - both to events that took place within the MCU, and to wider television in general. There were nods to I Love Lucy, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, and more, all while making subtle hints and references to iconic aspects of the MCU and the wider Marvel Universe (including the Quicksilver red herring).

However, there is one Easter Egg so buried within the subtleties of the show that you might be forgiven for missing it.

The Brady Bunch is one of the most classically wholesome shows on television. But according to actor Barry Williams, there was quite a bit of scandal going on behind the scenes.

In a new interview, the actor who played Greg Brady dove into the love lives of his costars. While they portrayed one big happy family on television, there was a lot of canoodling happening.

Barry Williams Admits He & TV Siblings All Dated Each Other

While filming a television or movie, it’s not at all uncommon for the actors to grow incredibly close. After all, they spend several hours a day in close proximity. Sometimes, romances bloom.

But on the set of The Brady Bunch, it seems that all the child actors were romantically connected at one point or another.

“We all hooked up with each other at some point,” former child star Barry Williams shared with Us Weekly.

Kids of the 1990s know Jonathan Taylor Thomas quite well. The actor began his professional career at age eight, playing the title puppy in the animated series "The Adventures of Spot." He first appeared on-screen playing Kevin Brady in a failed "Brady Bunch" spinoff called "The Bradys" in 1990. The following year, he was cast as the ultra-cool and super-precocious Randy on the hit sitcom "Home Improvement." That series was a massive success, and made Thomas a household name. Thomas appeared in 178 of the show's 204 episodes, and he became a teenybopper icon, regularly gracing the cover of oversaturated tweener mags like Bop and Tiger Beat. 

During his time on "Home Improvement," Thomas also stepped away to appear in multiple high-profile feature films, perhaps most notably playing the voice of the young Simba in 1994's "The Lion King." He was a take-charge youth in "Man of the House," and also played Tom...

“Dancing with the Stars” premieres tonight, September 17, with 13 celebs entering the ballroom to compete for the Len Goodman Mirror Ball Trophy. But who will exit the ballroom first? “DWTS” indicated via press release that there will be no elimination until the second week of the season: “Live viewer votes from the first two weeks of competition will be combined with the judges’ scores from both weeks to determine which couples may be in jeopardy of elimination after two weeks of dancing.” But it’s not too early to speculate.

See‘Dancing with the Stars’ winner odds: Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik is the early favorite for Mirror Ball Trophy

Trying to make predictions before the premiere is the most difficult challenge of the season, of course, because we’re trying to judge the celebs before we’ve had a chance to watch them dance, and you can’t always tell who will...

Some sitcom actors only ever get one really great role, but Jim Backus had several. The actor, who played wealthy Wall Street regular Thurston Howell III on the popular castaway series "Gilligan's Island," had already made a name for himself by the show's premiere in 1964. He'd appeared regularly on the radio before TV was the dominant media of the time, and voiced the nearly blind cartoon character Mr. Magoo beginning in 1949. Backus also played a key role in Nicholas Ray's 1955 teen movie "Rebel Without A Cause," portraying the father who falls short when James Dean's angsty antihero Jim Stark needs him.

A few years before "Gilligan's Island," Backus even got his own show, aptly named "The Jim Backus Show" in the style of the time. In the Backus-led series, which was also called "Hot Off the Wire," the actor played a man named Mike O'Toole, who was attempting...

The NBC hit sitcom Friends had a separate fan base of its own and popularity that many found almost impossible to compete with. But while the show was incredibly popular, just like the rest, it wasn’t immune to certain generalizations. Something that actress Courteney Cox, who played Monica on the sitcom, had been quite vocal about.

Courteney Cox in Friends || Credits: NBC

In a past interview, the actress expressed her criticism of the Generation X label and added how this tag had not only misrepresented the entire cast but also categorized them as aimless.

Courteney Cox Expressed Her Displeasure With the Generation X Label

When Friends hit the NBC screens in 1994, the media as well as the public were quick to attach the quintessential Generation X tag to it. While it was then, today, almost three decades after its premiere, the sitcom is mostly discussed from the camera lens of millennials,...

The theme song for "Gilligan's Island" was written by executive producer and show creator Sherwood Schwartz and songwriter George Wyle. It remains, without contest, one of the best TV theme songs of all time, efficiently communicating the show's premise and all seven of its characters, wrapped in one of the most insidious earworms ever recorded. Only the theme to "The Brady Bunch" can rival its cultural power. Only Jack Marshall's theme to "The Munsters" and Danny Elfman's theme to "Tales from the Crypt" can surpass it musically. 

It may be shocking to learn, then, that the sea shanty version we all known and love was the second theme attempted. The original theme song had a calypso beat and different lyrics. Incidentally, the original was penned by music legend John Williams. Schwartz himself sang the theme song, although one would be forgiven for thinking it was voice luminary Mel Blanc.

Love it or hate it, "Sanford and Son" is one of the most groundbreaking American sitcoms of all time. The NBC series about a widowed get-rich-quick schemer (Redd Foxx) living in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood with his adult son (Demond Wilson) was an undeniable hit during its run. It ushered in a Golden Age of Black family sitcoms thanks to dynamic performances, frank dialogue written from a working-class Black perspective, and its often uproarious scripts. It was such a ratings juggernaut that it's often credited for killing off its much more sanitized competition, "The Brady Bunch."

"It was a groundbreaking series," Eric Deggans wrote in a series retrospective for the official Emmys website, noting that "Before 'Good Times' and 'The Jeffersons' would make TV history with powerful stories focused on Black families, 'Sanford and Son' would explore the prickly relationship between a middle-aged Black man and his son.

Say what you will about "Gilligan's Island," but the critically derided 1960s sitcom knew its audience and pandered to them with buffoonish élan. Though that audience didn't fully materialize until after the series' cancellation in 1967, decades of successful syndication is all the proof you need to acknowledge that creator Sherwood Schwartz (who also brought together "The Brady Bunch") was some kind of low-aiming visionary.

Those of us who blew countless hours of our childhood hanging with the castaways on that uncharted desert isle somewhere in the Pacific Ocean owe Schwartz a debt of gratitude. Watching Bob Denver's Gilligan ineptly ensure that the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.) and the passengers of the S.S. Minnow remain stranded on that tropical patch of earth made not doing chores and/or homework a brain-numbing joy. Yes, the jokes were awful and the plots shamelessly recycled, but there was something strangely compelling about Schwartz's dramatis personae.

Desi Arnaz Jr. has made a rare appearance online. The 71-year-old son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz is admittedly a bit of a recluse, but his sister, Lucie Arnaz, got him out of the house recently. Continue reading to see the photos she shared.

Lucie Arnaz Shares Rare Pic Of Desi Arnaz Jr.

On Saturday, Lucie shared a couple of photos featuring her younger brother Desi. In the caption, she thanked Nick Luckinbill for a wonderful meal with their “special guest,” referring to her brother. She wrote, “Desi is alive and well, my friends – just likes to stay a bit ‘undercover.'”

Lucie went on to share that she was in Las Vegas for the weekend with her husband, Larry. There was a tribute to him during the 35th Anniversary of Star Trek V celebration at The Treksperts Convention. He played Spock’s brother, Sybok, in Star Trek V.

Ross and Rachel’s relationship on the hit sitcom Friends was marred with several ups and downs. The duo’s constant breakups and reconciliations kept the fans on the edge of their seats. Among their many splits, one notable moment occurs when Phoebe sets Ross up with her friend, Bonnie. After hearing this, Rachel is initially relieved, recalling Bonnie as bald. But to her dismay, Bonnie now has gorgeous long hair.

Christine Taylor in a still from Friends || NBC

This sparked jealousy, and Rachel’s subsequent actions—convincing Bonnie to shave her head again—are often viewed as one of the biggest betrayals on screen. However, a Reddit post has made this infamous scene a lot less cruel and more of a comedic highlight.

Friends Epic Fail Turns Rachel’s Obnoxious Scene Into Comedy Gold David Schwimmer and Christine Taylor in a still from Friends || NBC

Jennifer Aniston‘s Rachel Green was iconic,...

Sherwood Schwartz's "The Brady Bunch" was entering its Cousin Oliver death throes when the bankable television producer unveiled what he hoped would be his next sitcom smash in "Dusty's Trail." He had good reason to be upbeat. The zany Western series was a reunion with his "Gilligan's Island" star Bob Denver, who'd become a household name thanks to the syndication success of that critically derided, yet ridiculously watchable 1960s show. If couch potatoes were content to gorge on reruns of their previous collaboration, surely they'd have an appetite for Denver playing an equally inept coachman bumbling his way west to California.

There were, however, warning signs ahead of the series' September 1973 debut. For starters, Schwartz's efforts to revive "Gilligan's Island" based on the strength of its syndication popularity had proven fruitless. Meanwhile, the networks simply weren't interested in another go-round with Schwartz and Denver, which forced the producer...

Whitney Rydbeck, an actor and mime known for his work in seatbelt PSAs and the Friday the 13th franchise, has died at age 79. Rydbeck died Monday, July 15, of complications from cancer while in hospice in Chatsworth, California, longtime friend and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives director Tommy McLoughlin told The Hollywood Reporter. In that sixth Friday the 13th installment, Rydbeck played Roy, a paintball player dismembered by serial killer Jason Voorhees. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tommy McLoughlin (@tommy.mcloughlin) “We lost not only a truly funny comedian and actor … but one of the most good-hearted human beings I’ve ever known,” McLoughlin wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, July 17. “God bless you and rest in peace, Whitney Rydbeck. Our loss is heaven’s gain.” Rydbeck’s other TV appearances over his nearly four-decade career included episodes of The Brady Bunch, M*A*S*H,...

Whitney Rydbeck, who memorably appeared in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and later made a major impact in a safety PSA, died last week from prostate cancer complications while in hospice care in Chatsworth, California. He was 79.

Rydbeck started in TV, making one-episode appearances on shows like The Brady Bunch, Big John, Little John, M*A*S*H, Switch. He continued later in his career with appearances on 3rd Rock From the Sun and Scrubs.

He was featured as Roy in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, a paintball soldier who fires shots at Jason Voorhees, but ultimately is murdered by him.

Perhaps his biggest role came as crash test dummy “Larry” in PSAs asking people to wear seatbelts. One of Rydbeck’s original outfits ended up in the Smithsonian.

Deadline Related Video:

More recently, Rydbeck taught drama at Pasadena City College.

The Hollywood Reporter and TMZ reported first on his death.

Heartbreak comes frequently for Friday the 13th fans. The franchise has had a rough ride over the last couple decades, getting bogged down in legal issues and creative false stars. We get a video game, then the rug is pulled out from under it when it’s just getting started. A movie almost happens, then gets scrapped just weeks before filming was scheduled to begin. The Crystal Lake TV show was just a couple months from filming, then the showrunner gets fired. But worse than all of that is the fact that we’re in a time when actors from our beloved films are passing away very often. Just last month, we lost Erich Anderson, who was in the cast of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Now Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI director Tom McLoughlin has broken the news that Whitney Rydbeck, who played the ill-fated paintball player Roy in his film,...

We’ve learned the sad news this week that actor Whitney Rydbeck, who played a brief but memorable role in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, has passed away at the age of 79.

Jason Lives director Tom McLoughlin said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “I’m heartbroken to share this past Monday night we lost the wonderfully talented physical comedian/actor Whitney Rydbeck. He played Roy the nerdy businessman/paintball player. His comic performance is still making audiences and fans laugh almost 40 years later.”

“I have worked with Whitney for over 53 years,” McLoughlin’s statement continues. “We’ve collaborated on so many projects together. Some as comic partners on stage and film, others on projects I wrote and directed. I specifically wrote the Roy part in Jason Lives for him knowing his unique talent. We also became close friends over these past decades.

“He’s truly the kindest,...

By the time I got to work with William Keck at TV Guide Magazine, his tabloid days were long behind him. Sort of. Always with a twinkle in his eye, Keck still knew a good story when he found one — even if it caused a bit of a stir with celebrities or (more likely) the publicists employed to shield them from dogged reporters like him.

At TV Guide, I got to watch first-hand as Keck dug into the on-set turmoil during the final seasons of “Desperate Housewives” and create some ire with his own eyewitness accounts. And then there was the time that Victoria Principal promised Will an exclusive about why she wouldn’t appear on the “Dallas” revival. There’s no bigger “Dallas” fan than Keck, and it was a hot scoop — which she then gave to a competitor instead. Will didn’t take it well, taking to social...

The development of a television show is always kind of a wacky, potentially surprising thing, but the creation of the classic CBS television series "Gilligan's Island" is truly one for the books. Series creator Sherwood Schwartz, who would also go on to create the immensely popular "The Brady Bunch" for ABC, famously developed the series purely based on his idea for the theme song. In his defense, it's an earworm and it explains the entire backstory for the show, so it's basically perfect as far as theme songs go, but there were some folks at CBS who just weren't entirely sold on the concept. In fact, the president of CBS at the time, Jim Aubrey, absolutely hated the show and wanted nothing to do with it!

Eventually, it was Aubrey himself who greenlit "Gilligan's Island," surprising Schwartz and everyone who helped create the initial test pilot. In the book "Sitcom...

Pluto TV, Paramount’s free streaming service, has revealed its July highlights. The Pluto TV July 2024 schedule includes a new Westerns category and a Yellowstone Fourth of July marathon.

You can also expect fireworks at the Big Brother house when season 26 premieres, and with Pluto TV’s dedicated 24/7 live feeds, you won’t miss a second of the drama. Fans can also relive past seasons of the competition series on a new dedicated channel.

Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live, linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience. The Emmy Award-winning service curates a diverse lineup of channels in partnership with hundreds of international media companies.

Pluto TV offers various genres, languages, and categories featuring movies, television series, sports, news, lifestyle, kids, and much more. The service can be easily accessed and streamed across mobile, web, and connected TV devices.

The following article contains spoilers for "House of the Dragon" season 2, episode 2.

Healthy romantic relationships in Westeros are rarer than Valyrian steel and even more valuable, and in "House of the Dragon" season 2, they're almost non-existent. Instead, the various rulers all duking it out for control of the Seven Kingdoms are involved in passionate but potentially fraught romances, like Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Lord Commander Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), who are both supposed to be celibate. Then there's Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and her uncle-husband Daemon (Matt Smith), who have one of the most interesting and complicated relationships in the whole franchise. They've been trading flirtations and barbs in High Valyrian since Rhaenyra was a child, eventually getting married after the deaths of Rhaenyra's first husband Laenor and Daemon's second wife Laena. They raise their children from those marriages together like a sort of extra-incestuous, dragon-riding "Brady Bunch" and have two kids together,...

NCIS is one of the most popular long-running primetime television series still on the air amid constant series cancelations like NCIS: Hawaii and Station 19.

Fans instantly fell for the charisma of Mark Harmon's character, Gibbs, and his team of special agents over two decades ago. While Gibbs is gone, his legacy remains.

These days, fans have the face of Silver Fox Gary Cole as Supervisory Special Agent and a constant reminder of Gibbs in nearly every episode, from his rules to former cases.

As we prepare for an impressive 22nd season of NCIS, let's examine the cast and characters we can expect to see return.

Who Will Be Part of the NCIS Season 22 Cast?

Fans have said goodbye to several main characters over the years, including the infamous Gibbs, lab tech Abby Sciuio, deceased medical examiner and NCIS historian Ducky, and agents Tony Dinozzo and Ziva David.

Related:...

Save the date for MeTV’s “Marry Me” marathon! The network has compiled a schedule of wedding-themed episodes from classic television shows for you to enjoy on June 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Et/Pt. Celebrate wedding season with memorable episodes of The Brady Bunch, including the pilot episode featuring Mike (Robert Reed) and Carol’s (Florence Henderson) wedding. Fans will also be treated to the M*A*S*H episode centering around Hot Lips’ (Loretta Swit) wedding. Below, check out the full marathon schedule. MeTV 8:30 a.m. – Saved By the Bell’s “The Mamas and the Papas” As part of a class project, Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and Kelly (Tiffani Thiessen), Slater (Mario Lopez) and Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley), and Screech (Dustin Diamond) and Lisa (Lark Voorhies) are paired up in mock marriages. 9:00 a.m. – Saved By the Bell’s “Palm Springs Weekend Part 1” The gang...

They can be goofy. They can be cool. They can be stern. They can be wise. In the 60 years since programs like “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It to Beaver” dominated the airwaves, television dads have changed some, but continue to bring us some of television’s funniest and most poignant moments.

Over the years, dads like Ward Cleaver (“Leave it to Beaver”), Mike Brady (“The Brady Bunch”) and Howard Cunningham (“Happy Days”) have dispensed sound advice and doled out stern but gentle discipline when needed. New dads such as Ricky Ricardo (“I Love Lucy”) and Jack Pearson (“This Is Us”) have shown the joy and wonderment of being a new parent, and the various dilemmas all parents face when raising young children. Andy Taylor (“The Andy Griffith Show”), Steve Douglas (“My Three Sons”) and Danny Tanner (“Full House’) are widowers trying to be both mother and father to their broods,...

If there had never been “The Tracey Ullman Show,” there likely would never have been “The Simpsons.” Too, without “Happy Days,” then “Laverne and Shirley” and “Mork and Mindy” would never have seen the light of primetime. Television series spinoffs have been a thing going back to some the earliest days of the medium itself, when “The Honeymooners” premiered in 1955 after beginning life as a series of sketches on “The Jackie Gleason Show” a few years earlier. Thus was born the concept of introducing a character or characters on a show that prove so popular it’s decided they deserve their own series.

SEEHappy 30th anniversary! 30 greatest ‘Frasier’ episodes, ranked worst to best [Photos]

Sometimes, the strategy hasn’t worked out so brilliantly, such as when “Cheers” gave birth to “The Tortellis,” “M*A*S*H” to “AfterMASH” and “The Brady Bunch” to “The Brady Brides” (we’ll save the rest...

Classic TV shows are still loved and appreciated by the masses today.

We all have specific go-to favorites we have seen many times over but never seem to get sick of watching.

Certain technological advancements didn't exist when classic TV shows were produced, such as the ability to pause, rewind, or record episodes.

Those advancements have since changed how we can view our favorite classic shows.

While binge-watching is not always great for enjoying modern programs, it is another advancement that can offer new insights into classic shows that are fun to explore.

The Attraction of Classic TV

Whether it's a 1950s show like Lassie or a 1980s show like The Facts of Life, there is something inherently special about a classic TV show.

Watching one is like eating comfort food.

Experts say classic shows are so attractive because humans are social creatures. We want to form connections with other people.