Fri-Yay: Shows I'm Looking Forward to in 2018; Adult Swim Parodies Lifetime Movies

Friday, December 22, 2017

Fri-Yay: Shows I'm Looking Forward to in 2018; Adult Swim Parodies Lifetime Movies

It's time for another edition of Fri-Yay! That means we will take a look back on some sitcom happenings in recent days or weeks or other fun sitcomy stuff. It's a sitcom lover's paradise! Happy Fri-Yay!

by Vincent

2017 was a pretty strong year for comedies, and 2018 promises to continue what made 2017 so great - lots of 2017 favorites will be returning in 2018, and there are also some promising new series that I'll be very curious to check out in 2018. In my final column of the year, I'll be looking forward into the new year and naming which shows whose return I am most anticipating!

If there is a single show I am looking forward to the most in 2018, it would have to be The Good Place. The Good Place was my #1 favorite show of 2017, and every week I never know where the story is going to take me - all while I'm laughing and cheering for the characters I've grown to love. The Good Place really feels like it's on a roll, and I'm hoping it's a hot streak that will continue well into 2018. Additionally, its timeslot partner Superstore is on an absolute roll right now. Its third season might just be its strongest yet - it's somehow managing to combine some of the darkness of the characters' backstories with a lot of laugh-out-loud moments and top-notch comedy. It's been a while since a network comedy was able to combine some truly deep and dark material with laughs as much as NBC's Thursday night line-up currently is.

I'm also really looking forward to see what Bojack Horseman has up its sleeve in 2018. The animated horse sitcom had a surprisingly optimistic fourth season (okay, it still had some pretty dark moments...) and I've become so invested in its character and its world that I'm really interested to see where the show goes next. The same could be said for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which has turned the corner from some really dark (and amazing) places into a positive upward trend. Hopefully, these characters we've come to care about will finally get the relief they deserve.

2017 saw a lot of great comedy, and 2018 will see many of those great comedies continue. Hopefully, those comedies will continue to reach the heights they saw in 2018 and give us an equally incredible year of TV comedy.

Mother May I Dance with Mary Jane's Fist: A Lifetone Original Movie for Adult Swim

Adult Swim will be spoofing Lifetime with a new special. Aspiring ballerina Mary Jane Stevens (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) moves to a new town with her emotionally abusive mother (Artemis Pebdani) in hopes of escaping her physically abusive father (Jimmi Simpson). But the abusive abuse doesn't stop there. She begins taking dance classes with the sensually abusive Delice Svensson (Artemis Pebdani) and finds herself DANCING FOR HER LIFE! Will she fall victim to life's thrusting fists, or will the abusee become the abuser? Mother May I Dance with Mary Jane's Fist: A Lifetone Original Movie for Adult Swim was written by and stars Ellis and Pebdani, based on their play.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, September 24

The Big Bang Theory - "The Conjugal Configuration" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon and Amy’s honeymoon runs aground in New York, while Penny and Leonard discover they are uncomfortably similar to Amy’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fowler (Teller and Kathy Bates). Also, Koothrappali insults physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and starts a Twitter war.

Young Sheldon - "A High-Pitched Buzz and Training Wheels" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After Sheldon dismantles the refrigerator to stop an annoying hum, he gets a paper route to pay for the repairs.

In The Cut - "The Big Day" (Bounce TV, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Jay and Cheryl try to overcome the obstacle of their wedding venue being double-booked; Mabel is offered a lot of money to sell her restaurant.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 24)

Monday, September 24

John David Washington (Ballers) - Watch John on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC. He also talks about Monsters and Men on the BUILD Series at 3pm.
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement (The Flight of the Conchords) - The Flight of the Conchords give a musical performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Ron Livingston (Loudermilk) - Ron stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany visits The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Jay Hernandez (Hang Time) - Jay is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. He will also be on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Janet Montgomery (Entourage) - Janet appears on Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Bradley Cooper (Kitchen Confidential) - Bradley drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Yara Shahidi (black-ish/grown-ish) - Yara is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Lonnie Chavis (White Famous) - Lonnie appears on Steve, so check your local listings.
J. R. Ramirez (Tyler Perry's House of Payne) - J. R. talks about Manifest on Access Live, so check your local listings. He will also be on the BUILD Series at 1pm and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Martha Plimpton (The Real O'Neals/Raising Hope) - Martha will be on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Ricky Gervais (The Office) - Ricky talks about Child Support on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Stark Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - Neil talks about The Magic Misfits: The Second Story on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Bill Engvall (The Bill Engvall Show) - Bill will be on The Doctors, so check your local listings.
Jason George (Eve) - Jason appears on Good Day New York on WNYW-Fox5 in New York sometime between 7-10am.