Tuesday, April 15, 2014

TV Land Picks Up Hilary Duff, Sutton Foster Sitcom; Episodic Review: New Girl - "Big News" Airing Tonight on Fox



TV Land has picked up comedy pilot Younger, which is written, executive produced and directed by Darren Star (Sex and the City), to series with a 12-episode order. The 30-minute single-camera comedy stars Tony® Award-winning Sutton Foster (Bunheads), Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire), Debi Mazar (Entourage) and Miriam Shor (GCB) and will premiere fall 2014 on the network. The series will shoot in New York – a first for TV Land. The new comedy follows 40-year old Liza (Foster), a suddenly single mother who tries to get back into the working world, only to find it’s nearly impossible to start at the bottom at her age. When a chance encounter with a young guy at a bar convinces her she looks younger than she is, Liza tries to pass herself off as 26 – with the help of a makeover, courtesy of her best friend Maggie (Mazar). Armed with new confidence, she lands a job as an assistant to the temperamental Diana (Shor) and teams up with her new co-worker and 20-something Kelsey (Duff) to make it in the career of her dreams. Now she just has to make sure no one finds out the secret only she and Maggie share.




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

Fox's Tuesday adorkable sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel airs Tuesdays at 9:00pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (April 15). In the episode airing tonight, "Big News," Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick (Jake Johnson) scramble to keep their break-up a secret from the loftmates. Meanwhile, Schmidt (Greenfield) tutors Cece (Hannah Simone) for her G.E.D. and Winston (Lamorne Morris) passes his police academy entrance exam, demanding that the gang throw him a "Honey Roast."

In its previous episode, New Girl made the curious decision to break up with Nick and Jess, who have been the shows' central focal point for over a year now. In a way, this seemed inevitable. While Nick and Jess have undeniable chemistry and clash in ways that make them an incredibly interesting relationship, they're fundamentally different in so many aspects. Much of the third season of New Girl has been focused on exploring these differences and questioning whether or not people should feel the need to compromise for the sake of a relationship. This season has had a lot of messy elements, but its strongest aspect has easily been the in-depth analysis of the Nick and Jess relationship. The Nick/Jess stories have provided a fresh take on the weary old friendship-turned-relationship concept, and "Big News" offers a similarly refreshing spin on what happens when that relationship ends. Since they live together, Nick and Jess's dynamic is different than most sitcom couples that have been in this situation before, and the way the episode allows Nick and Jess to almost mourn the end of their relationship together is the most interesting thing it brings to the table.



"Big News" isn't necessarily just a Nick/Jess episode, as it also features a prominent Winston storyline and gets the rest of the group actively involved in dealing with Nick and Jess's fallout. In fact, "Big News" felt like the biggest ensemble episode in quite some time, and it seems to reaffirm that this isn't only a show about Nick and Jess. There's a vocal group of New Girl fans who feel the Nick/Jess relationship has sort of silenced the rest of the characters, and much of this episode seems to be a comforting conformation that this simply isn't the case. Similar to last seasons' post-Cooler episodes, "Big News" is just as much about how Nick and Jess's dynamic affects everyone else as it is about Nick and Jess themselves. What I wanted more out of "Big News," though, was - as usual - Winston's story. "Big News" sort of acknowledges how Winston's adventures are often sidetracked, but it doesn't quite go far enough for me to say that it's a successful acknowledgement of this recurring problem. Winston is a hilarious character who could certainly do a fine job in a storyline of his own, and it's slightly disappointing that the show can never quite jump the gun and give him the same treatment as the other roommates, even if he does get some strong moments in this episode. Still, "Big News" was overall a strong aftermath episode that grounded itself in not just Nick and Jess's characters, but the characters of everyone in the loft. B+


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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11/07 - A Very Merry MeTV 2024 Schedule; Stranger Things Final Season in 2025
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)
11/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Simpsons Themed Monday Night Football Alternate Telecast in December; MeTV Planning for Christmas
11/01 - BET+ Renews Churchy for Season 2 and The Ms. Pat Show for Season 5; Remembering Teri Garr
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
10/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 28, 2024)
10/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Matlock Renewed for Second Season; Happy's Place Off to a Solid Start
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