New Sitcom Starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict Coming to NickMom; Episodic Review: New Girl - "First Date" Airing Tonight on Fox

Thursday, April 04, 2013

New Sitcom Starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict Coming to NickMom; Episodic Review: New Girl - "First Date" Airing Tonight on Fox

NickMom has ordered 13 episodes of Instant Mom (working title), the primetime TV block's first original scripted comedy series, starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict. The half-hour, multi-camera series is set to premiere later this year on NickMom and repeat on Nick at Nite. The series was originally set for Nick at Nite, as we mentioned last summer, but now it will premiere on NickMom and encore on Nick at Nite. The network is currently airing reruns of Yes, Dear after 10pm to test the sitcom waters. NickMom, as you know, is a new primetime ad-supported TV block for moms that airs on the Nick Jr. channel. The block features a mix of original long and short-form programming, including talk shows, stand-up and sketch comedy, docu-series and more. As for this sitcom, production will commence in Los Angeles this Spring with the series premiere scheduled for later in 2013. Stay tuned for premiere date and time.

Instant Mom follows young party girl Stephanie (Mowry-Hardrict) who trades in cosmos for carpools when she marries an older man, Charlie (Michael Boatman, Spin City), with three kids. Stephanie slowly grows into her role as a full-time stepmom while struggling to maintain some sense of her fun-loving, slightly irresponsible life. Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha) stars as Stephanie's mother Maggie and rounding out the cast are the three kids played by Sydney Park, Tylen Williams and Damarr Calhoun. The series is created by Warren Bell (Victorious, According to Jim) and Jessica Butler (In Plain Sight) and executive-produced by Howard Gould (The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Cybil) and Aaron Kaplan (Nickelodeon's Wendell & Vinnie, The Neighbors). View behind the scenes images from the pilot taping.

On the next...New Girl:
By: Vincent

Fox's Tuesday adorkable sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel airs on a special night tonight, Thursday at 9:00pm after American Idol and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (April 4). Will they or won't they? In the episode airing tonight, "First Date," Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick (Jake Johnson), who are caught between friendship and something more, try to break out of relationship-limbo by going on a "first" date. Once Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Winston (Lamorne Morris) realize a full-on Jess/Nick romance might be happening, they swoop in to try to sabotage the date. To complicate matters even further, Jess and Nick run into Jess' ex-boyfriend, Russell (guest star Dermot Mulroney), on their night out.

This is a pretty monumental episode of New Girl, with Nick and Jess finally addressing their feelings for each other and going out on a date. The show has played their relationship perfectly up to this point - pretty much every sitcom these days brings in a "will they/won't they" arc at some point, but New Girl's is the most compelling one in a long time. A lot of people have compared Nick and Jess to Sam and Diane from Cheers - and I can definitely see the comparison. They're simultaneously fascinated by and frustrated with each other, and they could just as easily be a disastrous couple as they could a perfect one. That's what's made their growing attraction to each other so interesting to watch, and it's all on perfect display in Date Night. Throw in a very funny subplot with Schmidt and Winston, and you have yet another excellent episode in what's been an incredibly strong sophomore season. B+

Check out a video preview:

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 22

Bob's Burgers - "The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the power goes out two days before Christmas, The Belchers must spend the holiday at Mr. Fischoeder's family's old hunting lodge.

Krapopolis - "Krapocalypse" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tyrannis is stuck in a time loop trying to save the city.

The Simpsons - "The Man Who Flew Too Much" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The new and improved Pin Pals travel to Capital City for their first ever state bowling championship.

Universal Basic Guys - "The Devil You Know" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark insists on teaching his son Darren how to throw a handmade boomerang that was gifted to Darren by his father; the two soon find themselves on a trek deep into the Jersey woods; David is the recipient of a sex doll that he swears he didn't order.

The Great North - "The Lies Aquatic Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While Beef is away, the Tobin fishing boat goes missing; the Tobin siblings wildly speculate on what could have happened.

Krapopolis - "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The family takes a vacation to Storgos for Shlub's mother's birthday.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Full-Frontal Dottie" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Excited by her physical therapy progress, Dottie insists she is ready to return to MaxDot, much to Bob, Douglas and Christina's dismay.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)

Friday, December 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.