TVSquad

I love Andy Richter, but he seems awfully stiff every time I watch him on The Tonight Show. I prefer to remember the guy from his early days on Late Night, his short-lived show Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and his other short-lived show, the hilarious Andy Barker, P.I.

Like Danny reported back in May, Andy Barker, P.I. is finally coming to DVD. Shout! Factory will release the entire series on Nov. 17. The two-disc set will include all six episodes, some with commentary by Richter and producer Conan O'Brien, plus a retrospective feature and a doc about the show's amazing writers, including Jonathan Groff (How I Met Your Mother), Josh Bycel (Psych), and Jane Espenson (Buffy, BSG). Click through for a better look at the DVD cover art.

The DVD shelves have become a heaven of forgotten shows that barely saw the light of day.

Get ready to welcome one that got less sunlight than your goth cousin gets in a year.

The Late Night Insider blog, the underground blog of the former Late Night with Conan O'Brien, reported that O'Brien and former and returning sidekick Andy Richter are recording commentary tracks for a new Andy Barker P.I. DVD.

NBC may have canceled Andy Barker, P.I., The Black Donnellys, and (probably) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but they seem to have a hard on for reality shows, and more are coming this summer.

Returning reality shows include America's Got Talent, which has a new host ... Jerry Springer. Expect the throwing of chairs and DNA tests to be "talents" this season, which starts May 29. The Biggest Loser, which returns for a fourth season late in the summer with new host Allison Sweeney (Days Of Our Lives). It still amazes me that a show about fat people losing weight can be a hit and last for four seasons. Before The Biggest Loser returns, we'll get another season of Last Comic Standing, which will also have a new host, Bill Bellamy. It returns on June 13. And then we have the new show Age of Love, a "new twist on the reality dating show format" (yeah, right). It will be hosted by Mark Consuelos.

This just shows us how accurate Studio 60 was, with that whole plot involving the new VP of alternative programming at NBS pitching a show titled All You Need Is Love. NBC says that Age of Love will be "bringing romance back to television." Oh, I can hardly wait.

Julia mentioned previously that Amy Sedaris would be appearing in a guest role on Andy Barker, P.I. Well, Julia wasn't lying, but you won't see the episode on TV. Instead, click on over to NBC's site to see "The Lady Varnishes," in which Sedaris plays a sex-crazed older woman who spent some time in the slammer. Funny, that sounds an awful lot like her Jerri Blank character from Strangers with Candy. The two characters do share similar traits, but who the heck cares, I'd give my left leg to see Sedaris in anything (and that statement will mean more to you after you've watched the episode).

• At 8, CBS has a new Survivor, followed by new episodes of CSI and Shark.
• FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? at 8.
• TBS has one of the great Friends episodes at 8, "The One With All The Thanksgivings."
• At 8:30, Showtime has the documentary Fired! (I read the book, it's quite good.)
• At 9:30, NBC has a new Andy Barker, P.I.
• At 10, ABC has a new October Road.
• Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 10, then a new Ace of Cakes.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Showbiz Show with David Spade.

Check your local TV listings for more.

For those of you looking forward to the grand return of Andy Richter and Tony Hale to television, wait no longer. NBC has posted the first six episodes of Andy Barker, P.I. (in their entirety) on its website. You have to watch advertisements for TurboTax to see them.

The half-hour comedy series is a mid-season pick-up for NBC. Richter stars as a CPA-turned private eye when he is mistaken for the detective who used to occupy his workspace. I only watched the pilot, but the jokes are very Conan O'Brien-- which is not surprising since he created, produced and wrote the show. Tony Hale (Arrested Development) plays a movie snob who owns a video store, but is bored so he joins Andy to solve mysteries. I laughed out loud a few times- mostly at Hale's comments about Sandra Bullock and Meet the Fockers.

In case you're old school and like to watch your television the way they did when you were a kid, Andy Barker, P.I. premieres on Thursday, March 15th on NBC at 9:30 pm.

NBC has announced that they plan to stream their mid-season shows, The Black Donnellys, Andy Barker, P.I., and Raines on NBC.com. The network is also set to stream all produced episodes of Andy Barker and the pilot of Raines before their premiere dates. There will also be web exclusive content for both The Black Donnellys and Andy Barker.

In addition to all that, Medium and Identity will also begin streaming full episodes in March. That brings NBC's total of full episode streaming series to 13 when added to The Apprentice, Heroes, 30 Rock, Las Vegas, Friday Night Lights, Passions, Studio 60, and My Name Is Earl. The network also plans to make the full seasons of Heroes and Friday Night Lights available, starting with the pilots, beginning in the spring.