Wednesday, May 29, 2013

ABC Family Orders 4th Season of Melissa & Joey; Episodic Reviews: Melissa & Joey - "Works for Me" and Baby Daddy - "I'm Not That Guy" - Season Premieres Airing Tonight on ABC Family

ABC Family announced the network has expanded the third season of its hit original comedy series, Melissa & Joey by adding on 20 more episodes, as well as ordered a fourth season of 20 episodes, making this the network's first comedy to reach 100 episodes. The order comes prior to the third season premiere on ABC Family, which is tonight, Wednesday, May 29, from 8:00-8:30 p.m., ET/PT, leading into hit comedy Baby Daddy. The 20 additional Season 3 episodes will air in 2014. The original order we believe for season three was 15 episodes (like season two), but now with these 20 it is expanded to a whopping 35. As of now season 4 will have 20 episodes, but of course they could add on more. No word on when season four will premiere, but that is a while away. By the time those 20 season four episodes air, they will reach episode 100 exactly.

Along with series stars Melissa Joan Hart, Joey Lawrence, Taylor Spreitler and Nick Robinson, the upcoming third season features such notable guest stars as Sterling Knight, Shannon Elizabeth, Trevor Donovan, Marla Sokoloff, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Jaime Pressly and Doris Roberts, who will be appearing in two episodes as Joe's grandmother. The series is executive-produced by Bob Young & David Kendall, Paula Hart, Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence. The series follows local politician and former wild child Mel Burke (Hart) who employs down on his luck "manny" Joe Longo (Lawrence) as she raises her teenaged niece (Spreitler) and nephew (Robinson). Melissa & Joey ranks as ABC Family's highest comedy debut ever in Total Viewers, and its second season wrapped as the series best to date in several key demos, including Adults 18-49, Women 18-34 and Viewers 12-34. The third season premieres tonight...read our review below!




On the next...Melissa & Joey:
By: Pavan

ABC Family's New Comedy Wednesday sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, airs Wednesday nights at 8:00pm and we have just watched the season premiere that airs tonight (May 29). In the season premiere, "Works for Me," Joe (Joey Lawrence) pursues a new job opportunity, sending Mel (Melissa Joan Hart) into a panic when she realizes he may actually leave. But the job is not quite what Joe expected, causing him to reevaluate his place in the house, and Mel scheming to prove how much everyone needs him. Meanwhile Lennox (Taylor Spreitler) thinks her artist boyfriend Zander (guest star Sterling Knight) may have found another muse, and Ryder's (Nick Robinson) class trip has an unexpected outcome.

We love this show! It's like Who's the Boss? and that's a good thing. On this season premiere, we leave off where we left off on the second season finale. Joe is still on the verge of leaving Mel's household for another job, since he can't be a temporary manny forever. Mel of course wants him to stay and tries every way possible to keep him but she makes it seem like she doesn't really want him. We all can see that she does really want him, but the only person who can't see that it seems is Joe. Classic sitcom plotline but it works because Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence have such great chemistry. It's like Tony Danza and Judith Light all over again. They both mesh well with the kids as well. The kids are the niece and nephew of Mel, if you didn't know. Back to Mel and Joe, we are waiting and waiting for them to get together but it seems like it is not going to happen right away. We had a kiss at the end of the season one finale but nothing more since. As you just read above, we're going to have more than 15 episodes this season (15 in the summer and then 20 more in 2014, plus another 20 for season four), so we will have plenty of Mel and Joe moments, I'm sure. Just be patient, I guess.



The storylines with the kids were decent as well. It's hilarious what Ryder does but at the same time a real life situation that families can learn from. I'll just say, I didn't expect that from Ryder, but surprises are always good on sitcoms. Meanwhile, Lennox has a story with her boyfriend Zander that is pretty well done as well. He is a great artist and draws Lennox all the time, but when Lennox sees another girl...she gets jealous and tries to find out who this girl is. Is he cheating? Tune in and see. It's a great opener the third season and I think this show now can go deep since it has some security of lasting at least 100 episodes. As the theme song goes, "it's all good, it's ok, it's all right," is underestimating this show, "it's great" is more like it. B+




On the next...Baby Daddy:
By: Pavan

ABC Family's New Comedy Wednesday sitcom starring an ensemble young cast lead by Chelsea Kane, airs Wednesday nights at 8:30pm and we have just watched the season premiere that airs tonight (May 29). In the season premiere, "I'm Not That Guy," Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) thinks he might like Riley (Chelsea Kane) and tries to convince her he's changed his playboy ways. Riley invites Ben to be her date at a work party, but Ben's efforts to prove he is dependable fall short. Danny (Derek Theler) hopes to come to Riley's rescue but he arrives only to find Riley getting friendly with another man. Meanwhile, Tucker (Tahj Mowry) schemes to go out with a model and Bonnie (Melissa Peterman) attempts to get to know a handsome stranger...with a little help from Emma.

Man this show is good. It has the relationships and style of Boy Meets World. This series is fresh and hip and I think it is going to explode this season. The season premiere brings the goods and the triangle is in full force. As we saw on the second season finale, Ben finally is into Riley! Riley has been into Ben for so long, but he wasn't seeing it. BUT...Ben's brother Danny is into Riley, but Riley doesn't see it. Relationships can be so tricky! In this episode, we are getting closer to the Ben-Riley match, but will it actually happen? Ben says he has changed and is no longer "that guy" that he used to be, so Riley invites him to her law firm party. Without giving anything away, Ben has an "emergency" and Danny fills in but even that doesn't go as planned. It's chaos for Riley, but this is good because we see her with both Ben and Danny. I honestly don't know who is a better fit for her, as I'm rooting for both. Tucker brings in the laughs when he goes out with a tall model. He is "climbing up!" And if you thought Tucker was funny, Ben and Danny's mother Bonnie brings more laughs when she meets a stranger at the bar while watching Emma.



The latter minutes of the episode brings in a surprise and Kyle XY fans will love it, as Matt Dallas appears. We only get a taste of him this week, but more of him is to come next Wednesday (which we will also review). We won't reveal who he is playing yet, but no, he isn't playing Kyle XY, unfortunately. I wonder if we will get a reference to that series soon? Anyway, this is an excellent episode and the storyline is very well done. It is setting up to be an even better season and the race is on to grab Riley. We just don't know who it will be yet. I mean, neither brother knows that the other wants Riley. Well, maybe Danny knows that Ben now wants Riley...but Ben doesn't know how Danny feels about Riley. Come on back next week for our review of the second episode, which in essence is part two of the season premiere. Yep, this episode's arc continues next week! This episode is funny, fresh and fools with love! Tune in! A-


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, November 21

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "The 6:10 to Lubbock" (CBS, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie and Mandy get fed up staying with her parents and reconsider their living situation after a fight with Mandy’s mom, Audrey.

Ghosts - "Man of Your Dreams" (CBS, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam learns that one of the ghosts’ powers is to enter the dreams of the livings and influence their decisions. Also, two of the ghosts think they’ve learned the secret to moving on.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Thursday, November 21

  • Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Catch Jim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time/Happily Divorced/9 to 5) - Rita appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This/GLOW) and Timothy Simons (HouseBroken/Veep) - Justine, Jackie and Timothy are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
  • Maura Tierney (NewsRadio/The Van Dyke Show) - Maura is in the studio to discuss the neww season of Law and Order on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Paul Reiser (Mad About You/Red Oaks/Married/My Two Dads) - Paul is telling Drew about his huge return to comedy after thirty years with his standup special, Life, Death and Rice Pudding, and his new movie The Gutter on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • John O'Hurley (Seinfeld/Over the Top/The Mullets) - John will be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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11/06 - Outer Banks to End with Season 5; Nothing to See Here Season 2 on Netflix
11/05 - ABC Holiday Schedule for 2024; NBC Holiday Schedule for 2024
11/04 - Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule 2024; A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin at NJPAC
11/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 4, 2024)
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10/31 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Gets Full Season Order; Fox's Going Dutch Trailer
10/30 - Clifton Davis Joins CBS Daytime's Beyond the Gates; Ronny Chieng's 3rd Netflix Special
10/29 - The Simpsons Monday Night Football Disney+ Telecast; Prime Video Announces The Sticky
10/28 - Fortune Feimster Gets 3rd Netflix Special; Cruel Intentions Series for Prime Video
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10/25 - Peacock's Based on a True Story Returns November 21; CBS to Honor Jerry Mathers at Awards Show
10/24 - Family Guy's Gift of the White Guy Holiday Special; Laid Arrives December 19 on Peacock
10/23 - Bad Sisters Season 2 Returns November 13; Trailer for Hulu's Interior Chinatown
10/22 - Goosebumps: The Vanishing Premieres January 10; Michelle Buteau Gets 2nd Netflix Special
10/21 - Fox Adds Martin Short to Grimsburg; Secret Level Cast Announced by Prime Video