Freeform (ABC Family) Announces Nicki Minaj Comedy Stars; Tiffani Thiessen Returns with Cooking Channel Series

Monday, December 21, 2015

Freeform (ABC Family) Announces Nicki Minaj Comedy Stars; Tiffani Thiessen Returns with Cooking Channel Series

ABC Family has confirmed the cast for the scripted comedy Nicki. Ariana Neal (Get Hard, Fruitvale Station) will play Nicki, a role inspired by Nicki Minaj in her early years before she became a Grammy Award-nominated, multiplatinum superstar; Selita Ebanks (Real Husbands of Hollywood) will play the role of Grace, Nicki's mom; Wesley Jonathan (The Soul Man) will play Vincent, Nicki and Jaylen's father; and McCarrie McCausland (Army Wives, The Originals) is cast as Jaylen, Nicki's older brother. Whoopi Goldberg will guest star as Nicki's neighbor, Miss Martha. Minaj is executive producer and will also appear in the show. ABC Family is becoming Freeform on January 12, 2016.

The single-camera comedy is inspired by the story of Minaj and her family's immigration from Trinidad in the early 1990s, her growing up in Queens, New York with her vibrant family, and the personal and musical evolution that lead to her eventual rise to stardom. In October, ABC Family announced a series commitment for the half-hour comedy. Nicki will shoot in Queens this winter with director Tim Story (Ride Along, Think Like a Man). Kate Angelo (Sex Tape, Will and Grace, Bernie Mac) penned the pilot and will write and executive-produce the series. Minaj, Aaron Kaplan (Life in Pieces, Kevin From Work), Stella Bulochnikov and Brian Sher (Boss), and Gee Roberson will also serve as executive producers.

Dinner at Tiffani's

Actress Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell, Beverly Hills 90210, White Collar) returns to Cooking Channel for a second serving of Dinner at Tiffani's, premiering on Wednesday, February 3 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Throughout the 16 half-hour long episodes, Tiffani showcases her culinary talents and entertaining skills for throwing effortless get-togethers for family, friends and former castmates, where every dinner is filled with special guests, entertaining stories, and party-pleasing recipes. From burger bashes to fiesta nights, and from campfire cookouts to farmer's market fresh meals, guests will come for the party, but stay for the food. Tiffani knows that delicious dishes and good company are the main ingredients for the perfect dinner party.

Over the course of the season, her dinner menus include mouthwatering, crowd-pleasing recipes such as Jumbo Crab Cakes and Tartar Sauce, Citrus Marinated Beef Fajitas, and the juiciest Ultimate Lux Burger topped with bacon and Tiffani's special sauce. The list of special guests RSVPing to attend in the new season includes Sasha Alexander, Bill Bellamy, Julie Benz, Dan Bucatinsky, Hilarie Burton, Eric Close, Neal Dodson, Ethan Embry, Jennifer Finnigan, Dave Foley, Daisy Fuentes, Catriona & Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Clare Grant, Seth Green, Bill Horn, Vanessa Lachey, Matthew Lillard, Scout Masterson, Ross Mathews, Tim Meadows, George Newbern, Cheri Oteri, Naomi Priestly, Missi Pyle, Property Brothers Drew & Jonathan Scott, Nicole Sullivan, Bree Turner, Cynthia Watros, Ashley Williams, and Scott Wolf. It is the not-to-be-missed event of the season, so pull up a chair for Dinner at Tiffani's.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, August 9

What We Do in the Shadows - "The Wedding" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Guillermo loses his mind trying to help Nandor plan the perfect vampire wedding.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 8)

Tuesday, August 9

Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Catch Ryan on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kaitin Olson (Hacks/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Mick) - Kaitlin appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Rob McElhenney (Mythic Quest/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Rob guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) - Maitreyi is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
D'Arcy Carden (Barry/The Good Place) - D'Arcy will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Chris Redd (Bust Down/Kenan/Disjointed) - Chris appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris will be on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm. He talks about Beast on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo. She talks about Never Have I Ever on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Adam Pally (Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
David Duchovny (Californication) - David chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Raven-Symoné (Raven's Home/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/The Cosby Show) - Raven-Symoné is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill/Sunnyside) - Joel appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jay Pharoah (White Famous) and Guy Torry (Good News) - Jay and Guy talk about teaming up with an all-star comedic cast to pay tribute to Phat Tuesdays at the Comedy Store, now a Prime Video documentary, on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey talks about Emily the Criminal on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Tisha Campbell (Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha talks about Netflix's Uncoupled on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri will be on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am. She guest hosts a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) - Danica appears on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Jennette McCurdy (Sam & Cat/iCarly) - Jennette is a guest on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.