Ladies and gentlemen, Cher … is returning to prime time. GetTV, the nostalgia-centric broadcaster that’s also available through several cable providers and Dish, will add three of Cher’s classic 1970s variety shows to its Monday-night rotation next month, the network announced Tuesday. GetTV’s Cher rollout will kick off Sept. 12 with the pilot episode for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, the 1971 CBS summer replacement series the actress-singer co-hosted with her late husband (and singing partner) Sonny Bono. Over the next few months, TSCCH will share the 8 p.m. Monday time slot with Cher’s 1975 solo hour (Cher) and 1976’s The Sonny & Cher Show, which reunited the couple following their very public divorce. All three shows combined comedy sketches with musical performances, along with a parade of big-name guests, including Elton John, David Bowie, the Jackson 5, Bette Midler, Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett, Redd Foxx, Muhammad Ali and, of course, Betty White. The return of Cher’s variety shows is a pretty big deal for variety show fans: While GetTV has aired a handful of Sonny & Cher specials since its launch three years ago, this will be the biggest prime-time exposure for the series since TV Land and VH1 aired reruns back in the late 1990s and early aughts. Now if only somebody would bring back The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show.
