TBS to Drop the Mic In 2017; Watch black-ish on iTunes for Free

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

TBS to Drop the Mic In 2017; Watch black-ish on iTunes for Free

TBS is injecting a little groove into its original series lineup. The network has greenlit Drop the Mic, a new mixture of comedy and music from executive producers James Corden and Ben Winston. Joining them as executive producer is Jensen Karp, former battle rapper Hot Karl. Drop the Mic is already a huge viral and digital success as an ongoing popular segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden. The new series will be produced by CBS Television Studios and Fulwell 73 and is slated to join the TBS lineup in 2017. Drop the Mic will pit four celebrities against each other in a rap battle royale packed with "I can't believe they just said that" moments. Each week's winner will be chosen by the studio audience. TBS has ordered 16 episodes of Drop the Mic, with a host to be announced later.

TBS has been undergoing a major programming and brand evolution that began in January with the highly successful launch of Angie Tribeca. The network kept the hits coming with the launches of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee in February, The Detour in April and Wrecked in June. As a result, TBS now claims four of cable's Top 10 new comedies for the year-to-date, with Wrecked and The Detour topping the list. TBS is also home to ELEAGUE, Turner and WME | IMG's new eSports venture. Drop the Mic marks TBS's fourth series greenlight in the past two weeks. On July 31, the network announced it has ordered 10 episodes of The Guest Book and begun production on the new animated series Tarantula. A few days earlier, TBS announced it has greenlit the new digital animated series Storyville from Mass Appeal.

black-ish

On the heels of its three Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, ABC Studios' black-ish season two is available for free exclusively on iTunes (iTunes.com/black-ish) now through Wednesday night, August 17. All 24 episodes are available, including the acclaimed "Hope," about the family's reaction to a verdict in a trial involving alleged police brutality. During its just-completed sophomore season, black-ish was recognized by the American Film Institute as an AFI Television Program of the Year, and it received the coveted Peabody Award. In July, the show received three Emmy nominations, including a second consecutive nod for Anthony Anderson for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, a first-time Outstanding Comedy Series nod, and a first nomination for Tracee Ellis Ross for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

black-ish stars Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, Laurence Fishburne as Pops, Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson Jr., Miles Brown as Jack Johnson, Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson, Jenifer Lewis as Ruby, Peter Mackenzie as Mr. Stevens.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, August 17

Abbott Elementary - "Pilot" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible educators may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.

Abbott Elementary - "Work Family" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Jacob reveals a detail about his personal life, Janine realizes she doesn’t know the other teachers as well as she thought. Meanwhile, as Gregory’s stern teaching approach is causing his whole class to underperform, Barbara and Melissa teach him how to relax and make his lessons more fun.

Abbott Elementary - "Step Class" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Janine is thrilled when Ava asks to help her teach the after-school step class, but the two don’t see eye to eye on how to run the program. Later, when Barbara, Melissa and Jacob plan an “eat-off” to decide who makes the best pizza in Philadelphia, Gregory is forced to reveal a secret.

Abbott Elementary - "Desking" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the students start participating in a new online trend that causes disruption to the school, the teachers band together to put an end to it. Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson provides comforting life advice to Gregory; and later, the teachers finally meet Jacob’s boyfriend, Zach, who joins in to help stop the students “desking”.

Wellington Paranormal - "Mobots" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Officer Minogue meets Officer O'Leary's mom when they use her house for a stakeout to investigate why a mass quantity of obsolete electronics goes missing.

Wellington Paranormal - "The Invisible Fiend" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Minogue and O'Leary investigate a mysterious home invasion with no visible signs of entry, managing to arrest an invisible creature and bring it back to the station for questioning.

grown-ish - "You Don't Know Me" (Freeform, 10:00PM ET/PT)
The girls enlist Junior's help to find their shady roommate, Lauryn, who has a habit of mysteriously disappearing; Junior wonders if Annika is starting to catch feelings for him; Aaron suspects that Doug isn't being honest with him.

Everything's Trash - "Rom-Coms Are Mostly Trash" (Freeform, 10:30PM ET/PT)
After Phoebe suddenly sees Michael in a new light, she attempts to set him up with Malika, who already has her eye on an old flame; Jayden worries that he and Jessie have lost their spark, so they decide to spice things up.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 15)

Wednesday, August 17

Alison Brie (GLOW/Community) - Watch Alison Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke) - Sasheer appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi co-hosts The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan will be on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Zazie Beetz (Atlanta) - Zazie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Simu chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Susan Walters (Dear John/The War Next Door) - Susan is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Blair Underwood (The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair will be on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Kel Mitchell (Game Shakers/Kenan & Kel) - Kel appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri guest hosts a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Josh Peck (Grandfathered/Drake & Josh) and Rhea Perlman (Cheers/Pearl/Kirstie) - Josh and Rhea talk about Netflix's 13: The Musical on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Murray Bartlett (Physical/Looking) - Murry talks about White Lotus on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.