SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

TV Land's The Soul Man, starring Cedric "The Entertainer," Emmy(R)-nominated actress, Niecy Nash and Wesley Jonathan, has been renewed for its fifth and final 12-episode season, the network announced. The sitcom, which follows Cedric as R&B super-star-turned minister Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine, is the network's highest-rated original series among African Americans P25-54 and African American Women 25-54. Over the course of four seasons, the series averaged a 2.20 AA P25-54 rating and a 2.65 rating among AA W25-54. Last season, The Soul Man averaged a 1.07 rating among African American P25-54 viewers, up +365% compared to the TV Land prime average among the demo and among AA W25-54, Season 4 averaged a 1.32 rating, up +340% compared to the TV Land prime average. Since the series launch in 2012, The Soul Man has followed Boyce after he relocated with his wife, hairdresser Lolli (the recently Primetime Emmy(R)-nominated Niecy Nash) from Las Vegas to St. Louis, where they're constantly caught between the pull of the glam celebrity life and the simple life of a reverend's family. They've always had plenty of obstacles in their way, including Boyce's brother Stamps (Jonathan), who is still trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, and their unruly cousin Nikki (recurring guest star Sherri Shepherd), who always finds a way to make trouble. The Soul Man has continued to evolve and become a fan-favorite, especially on social media, where memes from the show often see thousands of shares and have gone viral.

Netflix has announced a premiere date for the new Aziz Ansari comedy series Master of None. The series will premiere on the service on Friday, November 6, 2015. Based on the comedic viewpoints of Aziz Ansari, the show follows the personal and professional lives of Dev (Aziz Ansari), a 30-year-old actor in New York who has trouble deciding what he wants to eat, much less the pathway for the rest of his life. Ambitious, funny, cinematic, and both sweeping in scope and intensely personal, Dev's story takes him through subjects as diverse as the plight of the elderly, the immigrant experience, and how to find the most delicious pasta for dinner. Ansari stars in and created the series with Alan Yang; both serve as executive producers alongside Mike Schur (Parks and Recreation), Dave Becky (Louie) and David Miner (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). The series also stars H. Jon Benjamin, Eric Wareheim, Lena Waithe, Noel Wells and Kelvin Yu and is produced by Universal TV and 3 Arts for Netflix.