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

Wednesday, June 26

grown-ish - "Tweakin'" (Freeform, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ana and Aaron struggle to define what they each want out of their relationship.

Younger - "The Unusual Suspect" (TV Land, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Liza and Charles heat up, but Liza suspects he’s keeping something from her. Millennial gets the scoop on a tell-all from acquitted murderer Audrey Colbert. Kelsey feels undermined by Quinn. Maggie, scarred after Clare’s labor, seeks rehabilitation.

Just Roll with It - "Blair Gets Grounded" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Blair gets into trouble at school, Rachel puts Byron and his radio sidekick "The Gator" in charge of Blair's punishment while Rachel becomes the fun parent with Owen.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 24)

Wednesday, June 26

Zendaya (K.C. Undercover/Shake It Up) and Cobie Smulders (Friends from College/How I Met Your Mother) - Watch Zendaya and Cobie on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry visits Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Rob Lowe (The Grinder/Parks and Recreation) - Rob appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) - Harvey is a guest on a repeat of Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35am on NBC.
Bill Hader (Barry) - Bill appears on a repeat of Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Adam Scott (Ghosted/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Adam stops by The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Christina Applegate (Up All Night/Samantha Who?/Married with Children) - Christina stops by LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place), Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie), Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie) and Maya Rudolph Up All Night) - The Ellen DeGeneres Show has her favorite funny ladies, so check your local listings.
Suzi Barrett (Just Roll With It) - Suzi talks about Just Roll With It on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT.
Jazz Smollett (On Our Own) - Jazz whips up quick meals to make life easier on The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.
Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia talks about The Rook on People Now at 12pm, on the BUILD Series at 2pm and on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Cheers) - Kelsey chats about Frasier and Cheers on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
Michael Rapaport (Atypical/White Famous/The War at Home) - Michael is a guest on Reality Check on People Now.
Eve (Eve) - Eve appears on Access Live, so check your local listings.
Gabriel Iglesias (Mr. Iglesias/Cristela) - Gabriel talks about Netflix's Mr. Iglesias on Access Live, so check your local listings.