Q • My friends and I are upset that “Dancing With the Stars” moved from ABC to Disney+. There are so many shows that do not provide us with wholesome entertainment while “DWTS” did.
A • Then you will be pleased to learn that the show will be back on ABC in the fall, with simulcasts on Disney+ and next-day streaming on Hulu. Several reports noted this will give ABC an unscripted program to fill time if the writers strike delays production of scripted shows for the fall.
There will be changes in the show. To the delight of many of my readers, Tyra Banks will no longer host. Alfonso Ribeiro, who co-hosted in Banks’ last season, will be back as host along with Julianne Hough. Judges are Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Julianne’s brother, Derek Hough. (Longtime judge Len Goodman stepped down from the show last year and died in April.)
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Q • There was a sitcom in the late ‘80s on Fox, I believe, about an interracial couple with a blended family. He was a dentist; she was a therapist. Do you have any information? It was hilarious.
A • That was “True Colors,” which aired on Fox in 1990-92. Frankie Faison originally starred as a widowed dentist married to a kindergarten teacher played by Stephanie Faracy. The cast also included Nancy Walker as Faracy’s mother. Faison was reportedly unhappy on the series and left after the first season; he was replaced by Cleavon Little. The show’s history has a lot of sadness. Not long after completing the show’s final episode, Walker died of cancer; later that same year Little died, also from cancer.
Q • At the conclusion of “Modern Family,” there was no reference to the fact that the families had been the subject of a documentary. I expected the documentary maker would be revealed, the way “The Office” did. It seemed like a huge loose end.
A • When the long-running sitcom ended in 2020, co-creator Christopher Lloyd told EW.com that the show did not want to reveal the documentary crew. “Obviously, we started out in our pilot having that person be a character,” he said, but the show felt that would take the audience out of the family stories. “And then having lived in a mockumentary form without literally a crew for 250 episodes, it felt like it might’ve been too meta or too cute to maybe do that for us. … We were just using (the documentary) as a technique more than a sort of an actual reality.”
Q • Is it just me, or is it strange that the Carol Burnett special celebrating her 90th birthday was broadcast on NBC, when most (if not all) of the clips shown were from her variety show, which was originally shown on CBS?
A • It’s not just you. Josef Adalian of Vulture.com called the network change “a little surprising” when interviewing Burnett. And Burnett herself said, “I’m not sure if executive producer Mark Bracco offered (CBS) the idea first, but they passed. And it was kind of odd because I was with them for 11 years, and before that on ‘The Garry Moore Show.’ But NBC jumped up. They said, ‘Two hours? Great.’ And they’ve been terrific.” The show was a rating hit, and you can still see it on Peacock.
Q • I am wondering if “Only Murders in the Building” on Hulu is likely to be renewed.
A • The comedy-mystery starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez has a third season on the way. And on his tour with Short, Martin said the new season arrives Aug. 8. Look for Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd in the cast.
Send questions to Rich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260, or brenfels@gmail.com.
Len Goodman, former 'DWTS' head judge, has died at 78.
