Fri-Yay: What Was the Best Decade for Sitcoms?; The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations

Friday, July 13, 2018

Fri-Yay: What Was the Best Decade for Sitcoms?; The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations

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

Since it's the doldrums of summer and there's not many sitcoms on the air (although if you haven't caught up with the latest seasons of excellent shows from this past year like The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and GLOW I'd suggest rectifying that now), I thought I'd spend the next few weeks taking a look at where sitcoms have been and where they're going. First, I'll be taking a nostalgic look back, wondering: when were sitcoms at their best?

There are a couple of possible time periods I have in mind when thinking of this question. Immediately, the 1970s come to mind - with shows like All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show leading the way, the '70s were a non-stop barrage of groundbreaking and classic sitcoms, from those two shows to The Jeffersons to Good Times to Taxi to Barney Miller to One Day at a Time, and even to slightly lower-bar but still enjoyable material like Happy Days and Three's Company. The '70s were a time when the sitcom was truly discovering itself, and feeling out the limits of what it could be. All in the Family proved that sitcoms could handle serious and real-life issues after they spent most of the '50s and '60s being comfort food, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was an incredible step forward for women-centered sitcoms, shows like The Jeffersons and Good Times broke down so many barriers for Black Americans in sitcoms, and even a show like Three's Company dealt with taboo topics such as sex and sexuality that would've been taboo to discuss ten years prior. I wasn't alive in the '70s, but I can only imagine what an exciting time it was for sitcoms.

I also think about the '90s, a time when sitcoms broke down their structure and analyzed their place in viewers' lives. Shows like The Simpsons and Seinfeld constantly questioned the sitcom structure and how artificial it all is, all while telling jokes that were some of the funniest in TV history. The '90s were a time of deconstruction and analysis, from the aforementioned shows to even shows like Married...with Children and Roseanne that presented working-class families and their everyday realities, rather than the picture-perfect family structures that had existed on TV previously.

However, my own personal favorite time for sitcoms may come more recent, as surprising as it might sound. Most of my favorite sitcoms in TV history come from the later '00s into the early years of this decade, shows like The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Community, and New Girl. These were shows that, to me, went deeper and into more surprising territory than most sitcoms had previously, and they did so by understanding and respecting the shows that came before them. In many ways, 30 Rock was like if someone combined Mary Tyler Moore and The Simpsons, with MTM's social commentary and themes of empowerment with The Simpsons' dry wit and cutting satirical bite. Community was, in many ways, a more high-concept version of Cheers - it may have gotten attention for its creative conceptual episodes, but it was really a show about a bunch of sad, broken people who hang out together at a specified location. New Girl offered much of the same dynamics of Friends with a modern and sharp twist. I loved seeing the creative heights these shows reached, and as a young writer falling in love with comedy, it was exciting to see shows that loved comedy as much as I did. That may be for largely personal reasons, but I think we can all agree - any of these time periods are excellent sources for top-notch sitcoms, and we're still feeling the effects of all of these landmark shows in today's sitcom landscape.

The 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Nominations were announced. Here are the nominees for the main categories:

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Atlanta (FX)
Barry (HBO)
black-ish (ABC)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
GLOW (Netflix)
Silicon Valley (HBO)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)

OUTSTANDING LEAD COMEDY ACTOR
Donald Glover, Atlanta (FX)
Bill Hader, Barry (HBO)
Anthony Anderson, black-ish (ABC)
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
William H. Macy, Shameless (Showtime)
Ted Danson, The Good Place (NBC)

OUTSTANDING LEAD COMEDY ACTRESS
Pamela Adlon, Better Things (FX)
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish (ABC)
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie (Netflix)
Issa Rae, Insecure (HBO)
Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR
Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta (FX)
Henry Winkler, Barry (HBO)
Louie Anderson, Baskets (HBO)
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS
Zazie Beetz, Atlanta (FX)
Betty Gilpin, GLOW (Netflix)
Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne (ABC)
Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Megan Mullally, Will & Grace (NBC)

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
The Americans (FX)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
This Is Us (NBC)
Westworld (HBO)

OUTSTANDING LEAD DRAMA ACTOR
Jason Bateman, Ozark (Netflix)
Matthew Rhys, The Americans (FX)
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us (NBC)
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us (NBC)
Ed Harris, Westworld (HBO)
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld (HBO)

OUTSTANDING LEAD DRAMA ACTRESS
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve (BBC America)
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)
Keri Russell, The Americans (FX)
Claire Foy, The Crown (Netflix)
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld (HBO)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland (Showtime)
David Harbour, Stranger Things (Netflix)
Matt Smith, The Crown (Netflix)
Joseph Fiennes, The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones (HB)
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things (Netflix)
Vanessa Kirby, The Crown (Netflix)
Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
Thandie Newton, Westworld (HBO)

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
Genius: Picasso (National Geographic)
Godless (Netflix)
Patrick Melrose (Showtime)
The Alienist (TNT)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)

OUTSTANDING LEAD LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE ACTOR
Antonio Banderas, Genius: Picasso (National Geographic)
John Legend, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (NBC)
Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Melrose (Showtime)
Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Jeff Daniels, The Looming Tower (Hulu)
Jesse Plemons, Black Mirror (Netflix)

OUTSTANDING LEAD LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE ACTRESS
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Cult (FX)
Michelle Dockery, Godless (Netflix)
Edie Falco, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders (NBC)
Regina King, Seven Seconds (Netflix)
Jessica Biel, The Sinner (USA Network)
Laura Dern, The Tale (HBO)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE ACTOR
Jeff Daniels, Godless (HBO)
Brandon Victor, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (NBC)
Ricky Martin, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Ricky Martin, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Édgar Ramírez, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Fitt Wittrock, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Michael Stuhlbarg, The Looming Tower (Hulu)
John Leguizamo, Waco (Paramount Network)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS
Adina Porter, American Horror Story: Cult (FX)
Letitia Wright, Black Mirror (Netflix)
Merritt Wever, Godless (Netflix)
Sara Bareilles, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (NBC)
Penélope Cruz, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)
Judith Light, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX)

The 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards airs LIVE Monday, September 17 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on NBC.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, March 29

Ghosts - "The Traveling Agent" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Pete discovers a power that he never knew he had – one that brings him closer to his buddy Jay (and further apart).

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 24)

Friday, March 28

Walton Goggins (The Righteous Gemstones/The Unicorn/Vice Principals) - Watch Walton on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Mike Epps (The Upshaws/Uncle Buck/Survivor's Remorse) - Mike is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) and Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern) - Nathan and Matt talk about Mid-Century Modern on ABC's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone) - Natasha appeas on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
John Hodgman (Up Here/Married) - John is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am (delayed ET/CT due to NCAA basketball coverage) on CBS.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) and Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern) - Nathan and Matt talk about Mid-Century Modern on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Seth Rogen (The Studio/Platonic/Undeclared), Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents), Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) and Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) - Seth, Kathryn, Ike and Chase talk about The Studio on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul talks about Death of a Unicorn on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Keshia Knight Pulliam (Tyler Perry's House of Payne/The Cosby Show) - NBC's Today catches up with Keshia in the 9am hour.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross to cover the latest news on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie is telling Drew about her upcoming movie The Life List on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Beth Behrs (The Neighborhood/2 Broke Girls) - Beth is telling Drew about the latest season of the hit show The Neighborhood on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Chelsea talks about Netflix's Chelsea Handler: The Feeling on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Joanna Gleason (Bette/Oh Baby/Love & War/Hello, Larry) - Joanna talks about We Had a World on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.