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

Tuesday, April 23

American Housewife - "Grandma's Way" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Katie gets sick, Greg enlists Kathryn’s (Wendi Malick) help in taking care of the kids, but Kathryn leaves the kids to fend for themselves while she entertains an old high school boyfriend. Meanwhile, Taylor gets a taste of her own medicine when she tries to help an unruly Katie.

Bless This Mess - "Pilot" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Newlyweds Rio and Mike drop everything (including their jobs and overbearing mother-in-law) to make the move from big city New York to rural Nebraska in search of a simpler life. They soon realize that becoming farmers isn’t as easy as they planned as they are faced with unexpected challenges.

black-ish - "Good in the 'Hood" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Dre’s sister Rhonda takes Jack and Diane to her part of town in a black neighborhood and claims the twins are scared of their own community. Dre and Rhonda take them to a local diner to show them why it’s so special. Meanwhile, Bow becomes the “office mom” at work, and Junior tries to help her break the label.

Bless This Mess - "The Chicken and the Goat" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After weeks of researching soil revitalization and coming up with a wonderful plan to make their farm successful, Rio and Mike are forced to find a new strategy when the weather forecast is not in their favor. As Mike tries to focus on addressing the dead soil, Rio attempts to connect with new neighbors at the Bowman’s potluck but ends up spicing up her romantic relationship with Mike instead.

The Last O.G. - "Scenario" (TBS, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Bobby blows an important loan meeting for Tray, who has to reconsider his business relationship with his cousin; Shay drags Amira to a birthday party so she can spend time with her new friend Faith.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 22)

Tuesday, April 23

Sophia Bush (Partners) - Catch Sophia on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:34pm on NBC.
Tony Hale (Veep/Arrested Development) - Tony appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Timothy Olyphant (Santa Clarita Diet) - Timothy is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) - Harvey appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Ben Feldman (Superstore/A to Z/Living with Fran) - Ben visits E!'s Busy Tonight at 11pm.
Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Brie Larson (United States of Tara/Raising Dad) - Brie stops by The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
J. D. McCrary (The Paynes) - J. D. is a guest on The Real, so check your local listings.
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) - Alec appears on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Scott Foley (The Goodwin Games/A.U.S.A./Scrubs) - Scott is a guest on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Bob Saget (How I Met Your Mother/Surviving Suburbia/Raising Dad/Full House) - Bob talks about Benjamin on NBC's Today in the 9am hour and on the BUILD SERIES at 4pm.