Fri-Yay: Corporate Is Solid on Comedy Central; Netflix Gets Weekly Talk Show

Friday, March 02, 2018

Fri-Yay: Corporate Is Solid on Comedy Central; Netflix Gets Weekly Talk Show

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

One of the new sitcoms that I've been enjoying the most is Comedy Central's Corporate, a dark satire of Corporate America that has some of the most pitch black humor I've ever seen on television. A warning, though: if you're not a fan of humor that sometimes...pushes the envelope a little bit, Corporate might not be for you. It's an absolutely scathing takedown of corporations in modern American society, and one of the more painfully accurate portrayals of what it's like to be a soulless worker of a giant company on TV. In many ways, it reminds me of Better off Ted, a short-lived "cult classic" sitcom from the late 2000s that served as a fairly biting satire of working in a corporate office and some of the more ridiculous antics of office middle management types.

However, Corporate goes even darker than Better off Ted. Its main characters freely admit that they hate their lives and "kind of want to die" most of the time. Almost nothing goes right for any of the characters of the series - essentially no one is happy, even the company's ultra-rich CEO, who comes into meetings perpetually angry and always wanting more money. It's the kind of show where I almost can't watch too many episodes in a row because its tone is so bleak, and yet, it's also a show that has me laughing consistently. Corporate isn't for everyone, but if you like dark and irreverent satire, it's absolutely worth a show - and it was just renewed for a second season.

Hasan Minhaj

Hasan Minhaj is set to host his own weekly talk show on Netflix that will debut later this year. Netflix has committed to a 32 episode order, making Minhaj the first Indian-American host of a weekly comedy talk show. Minhaj's comedy show will explore the modern cultural and political landscape with depth and sincerity. Each week, Minhaj will bring his unique comedic voice and storytelling skill to investigate the larger trends shaping our fragmented world. Last year, Minhaj earned rave reviews for his one-hour Netflix comedy special Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King, and for his performance hosting the 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner. He joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where he was Jon's last hire, in November 2014 as a correspondent and continued on in that role after Trevor Noah took over as host the following year. He will remain with The Daily Show through the end of July, before beginning work on this new project.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, April 22

St. Denis Medical - "Bruce-ic and the Mus-ic" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
At the annual fundraiser, Alex and her husband, Tim, try to have a wild, kid-free night; Ron and Joyce butt heads over hosting duties; Bruce sets out to win this year's "Dancing with the Caregivers" competition.

Night Court - "Passing the Bar" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby gets more than she bargained for when she offers to help Wyatt's friend stay sober for the night; Dan and Julianne battle for the best prize in Gurgs' annual evidence locker lottery.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Piece by Piece" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Calvin teams up with his ex-wife Miranda to get to the bottom of why Laura broke off their engagement; Calvin works with Ella to repair his relationship with Calvin Jr.; Curtis and Floyd attempt to get publicity for their barbecue sauce brand.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Tough Love" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Phillip makes a decision, Jeremy rethinks the way he handled the recent argument between them; everybody worries about Phillip's safety; Jeremy wonders if his tough love did more harm than good; Mr. Brown goes through a breakup.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 21)

Tuesday, April 22

Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Will on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Dove Cameron (Schmigadoon!/Liv and Maddie) - Dove appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael makes a special appearance on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey/Catastrophe) - Rob appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Jon Bernthal (The Class) - Jon talks about The Accountant 2 on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
Terry Crews (Everybody Still Hates Chris/Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet?/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry is hitting the headlines with Drew and Ross Mathews on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew and Valerie are covering the latest headlines and hearing from a dance group of all senior citizens on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Susan Kelechi Watson (Louie) - Susan talks about Netflix’s unique murder mystery The Residence on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Daniella Pineda (The Detour) - Daniella is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.