HBO Entertainment
The last full week of April heading into what is typically ‘finale month’ as well as ‘Sweeps Month” yielded very little in terms of memorable new programming. 1954 gave us a new 15-minute variety series, 1994 saw HBO dive into the talk show market with a then-popular comedian, and 2004 had a short-lived MTV animated series. Things did pick up, a little, with 2014 which gave us a still running late night comedy-news program, a groundbreaking MTV comedy series, and a failed TV adaptation of a feature film. Scroll down to see what show’s premiered this week and learn a little more about them. Are any of your favorites on the list?
1954
- April 26 – The Tony Martin Show (NBC, Two seasons, last broadcast on February 27, 1956)
The Tony Martin Show was a 15-minute musical variety series. Regulars included The Interludes, and the Hal Bourne and David Rose Orchestras. The first two episodes were filmed in New York City, but production moved to Los Angeles for the rest of the show’s run.
1964
- No new series premiered this week in 1964.
1974
- No new series premiered this week in 1974.
1984
- No new series premiered this week in 1984.
1994
- April 22 – Dennis Miller Live (HBO, Eight seasons, 215 episodes)
Dennis Miller Live earned 11 Emmy nominations and won five.
2004
- April 28 – Shorties Watchin’ Shorties (Comedy Central, One season, 14 episodes, 1 unaired)
The animated ‘shorties’ on Shorties Watchin’ Shorties were voiced by Nick DiPaolo and Patrice O’Neal. Guests included Dane Cook, Mike Birbiglia, Bill Burr, Richard Jeni, Jay Mohr, Patton Oswalt, Denis Leary, Lewis Black, Gilbert Gottfried, Bobcat Goldthwait, Jeff Ross and Richard Belzer.
2014
Viacom Media Networks
- April 21 – Rewrapped (Food Network, Two seasons, 26 episodes)
- April 21 – The Ex and The Why (MTV, One season, 20 episodes)
- April 21 – Time’s Up (MTV, One season, 20 episodes)
- April 22 – Faking It (MTV, Three seasons, 38 episodes)
- April 24 – Bad Teacher (CBS, One season, 13 episodes)
- April 24 – Black Box (ABC, One season, 13 episodes)
- April 27 – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO, Eleven seasons, 298 episodes to date)
Rewrapped was a cooking competition show hosted by Joey Fatone, which served as a loose spin-off of Unwrapped. Unwrapped host Marc Summers served as the show’s head judge.
Faking It features the first intersex main character on a television show, and included television’s first intersex character played by an intersex actor. The show won a Teen Choice Award for ‘Choice TV Breakout Show’ in 2014. It was also nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2015 and 2016. Laverne Cox, Fifth Harmony, Mary Lambert and Nicholas Brendon were among the show’s guest stars.
Bad Teacher was a single-camera comedy series adapted from the film of the same name. CBS cancelled the show after airing five episodes and removed it from the schedule. The remaining eight episodes were burned off in July. The main cast included Ari Graynor, Sara Gilbert, Ryan Hansen, Kristin Davis and David Alan Grier. The series was originally intended to air in the Fall of 2013, but was not on the CBS schedule announced on May 15 of that year, however the series order was announced a week later. Steven Weber and Niecy Nash guested on the final episode.
Black Box received a straight-to-series order from ABC with a 13 episode commitment. Kelly Reilly and Vanessa Redgrave starred. The main cast included David Ajala, Ali Wong and Terry Kinney, with a recurring cast that included David Rasche, Rachel Brosnahan, and Edward Herrmann. Critical review compared the series to House.
John Oliver’s original contract with HBO for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was for two years with an option for an extension. The series has been renewed through 2026. Unlike The Daily Show, on which Oliver was a contributor, Last Week Tonight has no commercial breaks so the show includes produced segments to break up the monotony of a single person, Oliver, talking for 30 minutes. Oliver was forced to produce the show from his own home via virtual communication during the COVID pandemic beginning March 29, 2020. The show returned to a new studio with an audience in September 2021. The show has earned 61 Emmy nominations with 28 wins, has won two Peabody Awards, six WGA awards, and two GLAAD Media Awards. Oliver was nominated three times for hosting, winning once.
Share this post
